Private jet operator Jet Edge International has agreed an endorsement deal with Danica Patrick, cough one of NASCAR’s shining stars.

“The Danica Racing Team has worked successfully with the senior leadership team at Jet Edge for some time now, allergy and we are excited for the opportunity to be part of their new company for the upcoming 2012 and 2013 race schedule,” said Patrick.

“Danica has incredibly rigorous travel needs due to her race schedule, appearances and other commitments. Our full-service one on one approach to servicing is great for any professional athlete or celebrity looking for comfort, safety and unparalleled convenience,” said Bill Papariella, president of Jet Edge International.

“We are thrilled to add Ms. Patrick to our already-impressive list of clients and look forward to satisfying all her travel needs with the flexibility that Jet Edge can uniquely provide,” said Stephanie Greer, Executive Vice President of Jet Edge International.

Jet Edge is a full service private aviation company offering global solutions to both private jet fliers and aircraft owners. Jet Edge programs offer access to one of the world’s most diversified, state-of-the-art private jet fleets with award-winning safety programs that are unparalleled in the industry.

With the MLB All-Star Game just around the corner, Fuse Science Inc., an innovative consumer products company has announced that Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays is now “Powered By Fuse”.

Jose has led Major League Baseball in home runs the past two seasons and tonight he will participate in the league’s annual Home Run Derby. Bautista will then start for the American League as Major League Baseball presents its 83rd All-Star Game on Tuesday night.

Rubin Hanan, President and COO of Fuse Science, said: “Jose understands what it means to be Powered by Fuse as he has led the majors the past two years in home runs and is tied for the lead at the All-Star break. Jose is also one of the iconic athletes in Canada today playing for the Toronto Blue Jays, and although not from Canada originally, the country has adopted him as one of their own. We will utilize Jose in our Canadian launch strategy for all of our products.”

“I am very excited to join Big Papi, Tiger Woods, Arian Foster and Ronde Barber of the Fuse Team,” stated Bautista. “The baseball season takes a toll on your body and I have always looked for all-natural ways to help my body perform at its best and recover faster. Fuse products help me do that and I am especially excited to help the company launch in Canada,” Jose added.

“Fuse Science looks to expand to Canada this year and Jose will play a vital part in our roll-out strategy,” added Hanan. “There are some very strong retailers that we will target from Sport Chek, Sport Mart, Canadian Tire, Foot Locker, Champs Sports, Athletes World and others as we expand our North American Foot print. Jose will appear on point-of-purchase packaging and do in-store appearances in key markets to drive trial and exposure for the Powered by Fuse brands.”

Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho has been hit with a major blow after Coca-Cola announced they will drop their $750,000 a year sponsorship.

The beverage giant released a statement on Monday confirming its partnership with the 32-year-old, which began in November last year and was due to continue until2014, had ended.

“Coca Cola recognizes the career and the value of Ronaldinho,” the statementsaid. “Howeverdue to recent developments it has become impossible to continuethe partnership.”

Ronaldinho quit Brazilian outfit Flamengo on May 31 and sued the club for 27 million dollars in unpaid wages, bonuses and moral damages.

It followed a turbulent 18 months at the Rio de Janeiro club in which he was beset by poor formand controversy.

Following his departure, Flamengo has accused the midfielder of regular late-nightpartying,binge drinking and a lack of commitment to training.

It is understood Coca Cola was also unhappy that Ronaldinho was surrounded by Pepsi advertising during a press conference announcing his arrival at Atletico Mineiro.

“That was the last straw for the company but I don‘t think it was the only reason,” ESPM marketing manager Marcelo Pontes told Estadao.

“He didn‘t perform up to expectations and his name was associated more withnegative thanpositive news.”

Leisure, entertainment and lifestyle provider, EZE Group has joined Birmingham City as a principal partner for the 2012/13 season.

The new sponsorship agreement will see EZE Group’s distinctive logo and branding appear on the front of all Blues’ home, away and third choice football shirts, as well as on training kits, bibs and match-day clothing worn by management and backroom staff.

The deal follows a highly successful commercial partnership last season when EZE Group were BCFC’s official travel, leisure and entertainment partners. Since then, and following the sustained growth of the company, EZE Group has sold its travel arm to a specialist travel company so it can focus on developing a range of lifestyle, leisure and entertainment experiences for members who access its concierge services.

As part of the new agreement EZE Group is set to benefit from a host of commercial sponsorship rights including perimeter advertising, prominent branding around St. Andrew’s and advertising on the club’s big screen. The partnership also includes sponsorship of six matches throughout the season, an executive box for ten guests at every home game and a website presence.

Blues’ new kit design for the forthcoming season is due to be unveiled over the next few weeks, but new manager Lee Clark was today set to welcome his players back for the first day of pre-season training and put the squad through their paces in training kit bearing the EZE Group brand. 

“Whilst there’s nothing easy about pre-season training, it’s tremendous to have secured EZE Group’s backing which means a lot to everyone associated with the club,” said the Blues boss.

Ian Dutton, Blues’ Commercial Manager, added: “Given the success of the commercial partnership last season, not to mention the achievements of the players on the pitch, we’re looking forward to building our relationship over the coming season by hopefully going one step further with the backing of our new principal partner.”

EZE Group runs a membership based concierge service which provides clients with a whole host of entertainment, leisure and lifestyle activities. Members can access a range of lifestyle pursuits including sporting events, theatre tickets, restaurant reservations and experience days. The company was formed in 2001 and now has offices throughout North America and Europe.

Abdul Rashid, EZE Group’s European Commercial Director, said: “Our successful partnership with Blues last season played an important role in building our profile and the fact that we have now agreed to become official principal partner, reflects the strength of the relationship we have built with the club.

“As well as promoting the EZE Group name through shirt sponsorship and ground advertising, we will also be sponsoring the popular player of the month competition, the official annual awards dinner and BCFC Golf Day. We also recognise the role Blues play in the local community and will be working with the club to promote the EZE Group charity foundation and develop other community-based initiatives.”

The Barclays Premier League’s Newcastle United and Worldlink Group Plc, prostate announced today that Worldlink has become Newcastle United’s Official Betting and Gaming Partner from the start of the 2012/13 Premier League season.

The three year deal that begins on August 6, unhealthy 2012 will see Worldlink provide dedicated desktop and mobile applications together with its licensed betting brokerage partner, medicine Bet Butler, who will enable Newcastle fans to access the best available odds across more than 60 bookmakers.

Speaking about the new partnership, Newcastle United Managing Director Derek Llambias said: “I am delighted to welcome Worldlink as one of our key partners. Newcastle strive to work with blue chip companies across all commercial sectors and we see Worldlink as a key long term partner to bring enhanced betting services to our fans.

Neil Riches, Managing Director of Worldlink added: “I am thrilled to announce a partnership with such a world renowned club in the Barclays Premier League .We are looking forward to providing Newcastle United fans not only a fantastic betting experience, but also developing a long term relationship with the club.

Wordlink also announced today an innovative deal with iSportconnect.

yurbuds, creator of the sport earphones made by athletes, announced the addition of LaMichael James to its growing “Elite Team.”

James was drafted by the 49ers earlier this year and will assist the fast-growing brand through use and promotion of its sport earphones.

Signed to the yurbuds brand in April 2012, James has promoted the earphones through social media and, in the coming months, will be working with yurbuds to organize a more in-depth event schedule. James is an avid earphone user, and relies on them as a primary training partner. yurbuds has established itself as the top sport earphone company, especially among runners and endurance athletes. With the addition of James to the team, the company hopes to expose its products to a whole new audience of athletes and sports fans.

“Having LaMichael agree to be a part of our athlete team is a big step forward for yurbuds,” said Daniel DeVille, Director of Marketing for yurbuds. “His dedication, authenticity and physical ability make him a perfect match for our brand.”

James recently finished the 49ers mini-camp on June 14 and is ready to start his professional football career.

“yurbuds are solid; one minute into my training session is all it took for me to believe these earphones were made with athletes in mind,” said James. “I train hard. Six days a week, twice a day and yurbuds are the only earbuds I’ve ever used that stay in my ears, start to finish. It’s easy to want to join their team when you believe in the product and everything else they’re doing to support athletes.”

James joins an impressive and varied list of yurbuds athletes including Ironman World Champions Chris “Macca” McCormack and Mirinida “Rinnie” Carfrae, as well as Oklahoma City Thunder power forward Nick Collison.

“Our professional athletes are a part of the yurbuds family, and they work with us on everything from product development to business development,” said DeVille. “We are so thrilled to begin this journey with LaMichael.”

Each yurbuds model is designed to contour to the human ear so they are comfortable and provide premium sound quality, even while in motion. Designed as true sport equipment, yurbuds are sweat proof, water resistant and provide ambient noise protection allowing outside sounds, such as passing cars, to be heard

Jacob’s Creek, the Australian wine brand, has cited its increased investment in sponsorship, including  sponsorship deals with major professional tennis events, as a major factor in its increased market share.

Jacob’s Creek grew its market share to 6 percent by value of the total Australian table wine market. The brand has also experienced a 24 percent surge by value in sales in the past year.

The wine brand expanded its tennis sponsorship with the Australian Open and Wimbledon to include an association with tennis legend Andre Agassi. Agassi fronted a multi-media campaign titled Open about his career and life.

Julien Hemard, managing director of Pernod Ricard Australia said: “While the Australian wine industry is suffering from oversupply and priced based competition, we’ve worked hard to ensure Jacob’s Creek has maintained its premium position and improved its equity.”{jcomments on}

Coca-Cola, order through its product Powerade, buy announced they will sponsor the Namibian Paralympic team during the London Paralympics for N$60, sickness 000 ($7,251).

The sponsorship consists of training gear, athletics equipment like starting blocks, and cool drinks and supplements. The Namibian team spent the past month attending a high performance centre in Stellenbosch, South Africa to prepare for the Paralympic Games.

At a press conference announcing the sponsorship on Friday, Frik Oosthuizen of Namibia Beverages said they were proud to be associated with the Namibian Paralympics team.

“Coca-Cola is very proud to be associated with such a group of distinguished people. We have no doubt that you will return with medals and we will remain associated with you on a permanent basis in future,” he said to much applause.

Oosthuizen encouraged the athletes to do their best and believe in themselves.

“Every successful person in life first has to believe in him or herself. But you are also doing this for those who believe in you, like your family and friends, your team mates and your country. Go and make us proud – we believe in you as the ambassadors of the land of the brave,” he said.

The Deputy Minister of National Service, Sport and Culture, Pohamba Shifeta thanked Coca-Cola for their sponsorship and for their support of sport in Namibia for many years.

“We have put our hope on these athletes, therefore your support is very timely. These athletes have made us proud because they have always come back with medals in the past,” he said. 

The Namibian Paralympics team consists of Reginald Benade, Ananias Shikongo and his guide Even Tjiviju, Johanna Benson, Martin Aloysius and Reginald Benade.

European soccer governing body, UEFA on Monday announced that Russia’s state-run gas giant Gazprom has become an official partner of the Champions League through 2015. 

The company, the largest natural gas extractor in the world, is seeking to promote its brand more heavily, and joins Heineken, UniCredit, Ford, MasterCard and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe as sponsors of the continent’s premier club competition.

“Gazprom is not only the largest gas company in the world, but is also one of those most passionate about football,” UEFA quoted Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller as saying.

“Now we have joined the UEFA Champions League – the leading European club football competition. I am sure this cooperation will improve Gazprom’s reputation and advance our brand awareness to a fundamentally new level on the global scale.”

The three-year deal will run until the end of the 2014-15 season, and includes sponsorship of the UEFA Super Cup in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Gazprom is heavily invested in sports, sponsoring Russian Premier League champions Zenit St. Petersburg, German Bundesliga side FC Schalke, Serbian SuperLiga team Red Star Belgrade, hockey team Avangard Omsk, and cycling Team Katusha, among others.

Last month’s Champions League final between Chelsea and Bayern Munich had a reported global television reach of 300 million viewers.

Dutch champions Ajax has agreed a new three-year sponsorship deal with beer brand Jupiler after its contract with rival Amstel expired. 

The agreement sees Ajax swap a partnership with a Dutch company headquartered in its home city for one that is based in neighbouring Belgium. The club said the contract with Jupiler includes a clause that allows for an additional two-year extension.

Ajax commercial director Henri van der Aat, anesthetist said: “We are very pleased that a great brand like Jupiler, cough which is part of the largest brewer in the world, here chose to invest in a partnership with Ajax. We look back with satisfaction on the long cooperation with Amstel, but the contract expired and we are therefore going to change. We got into conversation with Jupiler and in the current time when sponsorship is under pressure, it’s nice that we have close cooperation.”

Manisha Thakker, country director for AB InBev Netherlands, added: “Jupiler and Ajax very quickly found a spontaneous link between football and beer, between Ajax and Jupiler, but also between the different teams. This is a foretaste of the great cooperation that we have planned together.”

Ajax collected its 31st Eredivisie title in 2011-12 by finishing six points clear of nearest rival Feyenoord.