Dodd Defeated in Bid to Regain FIFA Council Spot by Bangladeshi

Australia’s Moya Dodd failed in her bid to regain a place on the FIFA council after being beaten by Bangladeshi Mahfuza Akhter Kiron 27-17 in a vote at the congress of the Asian Football Confederation in Manama.

The two other candidates, North Korea’s Han Un Gyong and Palestine’s Susan Shalabi, had withdrawn before the ballot.

Dodd had previously served on the former executive committee of world football’s governing body but only in a co-opted capacity.

China’s Zhang Jian, South Korea’s Chung Mong-Gyu and Philippines’ Mariano Araneta were elected by acclamation to fill Asia’s three available ‘open’ slots on FIFA Council.

Also at the congress was FIFA president Gianni Infantino who told delegations that the world federation was “implementing day by day” its reforms after “some quite difficult times.”

The good news for Asia in particular was that he expected FIFA Council this week to approve proposals that the region’s World Cup allocation would jump from 4.5 slots to 8.5 at the 48-team finals likely to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2026.

Paris 2024 Congratulates Emmanuel Macron On Election as President of France

The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Bid Committee has offered its full congratulations to Emmanuel Macron who was elected as President of France at the weekend.

Paris 2024 bid committee co-chairs Tony Estanguet and Bernard Lapasset said: “On behalf of the entire Paris 2024 Bid Committee we would like to congratulate Emmanuel Macron on becoming the newly elected President of France.

“We know that our new President will be a great supporter of the Paris 2024 bid and play a key role in helping us secure the nation’s ambition to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“He understands the power of sport and how the Games can be a force for real change and help build inspiration and inclusion.

“The Paris 2024 team are looking forward to working with President Macron all the way to the IOC session in Lima, and beyond, to show the Olympic Family and the world why Paris would deliver the most incredible Games in 2024 full of passion and purpose.”

Ascot Racecourse Announces Pernod Ricard As Official Spirits Supplier

Ascot Racecourse has announced that Pernod Ricard UK has been designated the Official Spirits Supplier in a three-year deal.

The premium spirit brand will become the Official Spirits Supplier with immediate effect and will lead with Absolut Vodka, Beefeater London Dry Gin and Chivas Regal Whisky introduced across all bars, restaurants and private boxes at the racecourse, throughout the year.

Other Pernod Ricard UK brands will also be available across the site. Ascot has worked closely with Pernod Ricard UK to create a new Royal Ascot cocktail; The Royal Blush, made with Beefeater London Dry Gin, rhubarb syrup, lemonade, lemon raspberries and cubed ice and served throughout the Royal Meeting.

Pernod Ricard UK will also create a new bespoke gin bar in the Grandstand as well as take over the Bit and Bridle cocktail bar in the King Edward VII Enclosure, year-round and the Stewards House Lawn cocktail bar at Royal Ascot.

Mark Harris, Pernod Ricard UK Channel Director On-Trade, said: “We are proud and excited to become the Official Spirits Supplier of Ascot. Our premium drinks portfolio matches perfectly with the prestigious nature of the Ascot experience. This partnership allows us to jointly meet the demands of the modern consumer by offering truly memorable brand experiences.”

Juliet Slot, Commercial Director at Ascot, welcomed the new relationship saying: “We are delighted to welcome Pernod RicardUK as an official supplier at Ascot and are excited to see an increased offering of high end spirits for our customers.”

World Rugby to Examine Japan 2019 World Cup Preparations Ahead of Pool Draw

World Rugby will review the preparations for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Kyoto, Japan this week while also taking a look at the candidates vying to host the 2023 edition.

Kyoto will host rugby’s decision-makers for a schedule of meetings that includes Rugby World Cup Limited Board, World Rugby EXCO and World Rugby Council meetings, culminating in the pool draw for the 2019 World Cup on Wednesday.

With Japan preparing to host Asia’s first Rugby World Cup, and the global game experiencing record participation (8.5 million) and fan-base (300 million) growth and Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 in Ireland set to inspire a new generation of players, the meetings come at an exciting time for the sport.

The Rugby World Cup Limited Board will review hosting preparation for Rugby World Cup 2019 and the latest from the candidate phase of the Rugby World Cup 2023 host selection process as the race to host rugby’s showcase event enters the home straight.

World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “This is an exciting and defining year for our sport as we look to further the competition and regulatory framework that will provide the platform for rugby to continue to sustainably grow in both established and emerging markets.

“Set against a backdrop of strong participation and fan growth, we have achieved agreement on a long-term optimised global calendar that provides certainty and stability over the decade beyond Rugby World Cup 2019, which is a major milestone. This week we will consider the game’s eligibility framework following a detailed review of the criteria governing international representation.

“As rugby grows, we need to ensure that it continues to be relevant and inspiring to the next generation of players and fans. Everyone has a say and everyone has a role to play in our future.

“I would like to thank our friends from the Japan Rugby Football Union, Japan Rugby 2019 organising committee and Japanese rugby community for their warm welcome and look forward to the week ahead.”

The meetings take place at an exciting time for rugby in Asia, where participation across the region has almost doubled since 2009 to more than 500,000 players. A further 610,700 children participated into Get Into Rugby activities in 2016. Later this month IMPACT Beyond RWC 2019 will be launched, an ambitious project to sustainably support and grow rugby participation in Asia, targeting one million new players by Rugby World Cup 2019.

Japan Rugby 2019 organising committee CEO Akira Shimazu added: “We welcome these important meetings that consider the future of rugby, including here in Asia, being hosted in Japan alongside the Rugby World Cup 2019 pool draw.

“The unique significance and opportunity of hosting Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan lies in further spreading rugby in Asia and ensuring rugby is a truly global sport. We will continue to work with World Rugby and Rugby World Cup Limited to build a robust and sustainable legacy through the successful delivery of Rugby World Cup 2019, the first  in Asia.”

GolfSixes Gets Off To Positive Start With Danes Emerging as Inaugural Winners

Denmark are the first ever GolfSixes champions after a 3-1 victory over Australia in the final at the Centurion Club, St Albans.

The European Tour was breaking new ground in St Albans with 16 teams of two starting the weekend and battling it out first in a group stage and then a knockout over six holes in greensomes.

By Sunday evening only two teams remained and it was Thorbjørn Olesen and Lucas Bjerregaard who took home the trophy after a hard-fought win over Scott Hend and Sam Brazel in front of an excitable crowd.

Entrance music, pyrotechnics and a sprinkling of celebrity gave the event a whole new feel but it was world class golf that proved to be the highlight, with Olesen claiming his second team win for Denmark in six months after his victory at the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf alongside Søren Kjeldsen.

Bjerregaard said: “I think it’s definitely got the crowds’ attention. I was really happy to see how many kids came out these last couple days, and hopefully that will get some of them into golf and think it’s fun.”

Scotland’s Richie Ramsay echoed the Dane’s positive comments on the inaugural event. “It’s been great,” he said. “It’s a really good format. With all the activities around it, the guys have done a great job.

“The biggest thing is, a lot of young kids are out watching and hopefully they take to it and say to their mum and dad – we want to go out there and we want to try golf and see what it’s like. I think it’s something for the future we can build on.”

Jordi Bertomeu, CEO, Euroleague – “Time to Keep Building On Our Success!”

Jordi Bertomeu, CEO, Euroleague:

It’s been busy times at the Euroleague Basketball office lately!

Writing these lines I had the opportunity to seat with the only company of my keyboard, and think about the events that happened not only in the last year, but also in the last 5 years, since we drafted our strategic plans with the clubs, and even since the summer of 2000, when Euroleague Basketball was born.

Euroleague_EmporioArmaniSame as the sport, our path all these years has been very dynamic and fast-moving, that is in our DNA since 2000, when the clubs decided to create a structure that had not been seen before in European sports, where the same clubs would own and manage the European club competitions collectively. Since that ground-breaking step and until today, clubs have taken every single decision. This might not be seen today as something shocking, but believe me, it was back in 2000!

In the next 15 years we saw the evolution of a property that grew steadily every single season, in every aspect. From the attractiveness and quality of the games, to the generated collective business.  In that road, we took many decisions and evolved the competition, the product, its distribution and its commercialization in an endless number of ways, and as years went by, such evolutions were more and more frequent, as it could not be another way considering how quick our environment is changing nowadays.

In 2011 the clubs defined the latest strategic plan, which contained very ambitious objectives for the following five years. Its ultimate goal: becoming a TRUE European League. And I am happy to look back at that document and see that every single major objective was met, with the last (and most important) one in the list becoming a reality in 2016 thanks to the agreement with WME/IMG which enabled a truly revolutionary and innovative change in European sports. All major European clubs together in a League, the EuroLeague, where all play all teams under a round-robin format.

Euroleague2014Now we could take a seat and enjoy the best quality basketball we have ever seen, or enjoy the greatest numbers in terms of audience and business growth in European basketball history, but there is no time for that. It only proves that we took the right decision, but now it is time to look ahead and pencil the future. It is time to try envisioning how the sports and entertainment landscape will be in the next five to ten years, to know our fans better, to identify the current and upcoming trends and technology. It is time to make sure we continue building more floors on top of the already existing solid pillars. We need to ensure that basketball and the EuroLeague continue to grow and satisfy the needs of the fans of today, and most importantly, of those of tomorrow.

How will fans demand to consume basketball? How will we meet their ever increasing standards? How do we need to improve our product to satisfy them? What technologies will enable us to deliver what they expect us to deliver? These are the questions that need to be answered by any organization in the sports and entertainment business.  And we can only do that if we put the fan at the center of every decision, using every mean possible to listen and understand their desire.

Looks like we will keep on being very busy looking ahead… and we are looking forward to it!

World Sailing Announces SAP as Official Technology Partner

World Sailing announced SAP, a market leader in enterprise application software, as its Official Technology Partner.

Over the next four years, SAP will bring its cutting-edge, innovative solutions to World Sailing’s World Cup Series of events.

SAP will transform the events by improving performance on the water, reinventing the fan experience on the shoreline and at home, simplifying operations for sailors and coaches and supplying media with information and insights to deliver a more informed commentary.

“The announcement of our partnership with SAP marks the start of an exciting new era for World Sailing,” said World Sailing President Kim Andersen. “There is a unique relationship between sport, technologyand nature in sailing as they all work together in powerful harmony. With SAP, we have an innovative technology partner who reflects this positioning and matches our ambitions to inspire millions more people to fall in love with sailing.”

Dr. Stefan Lacher, Head of Sponsorship Innovations at SAP said, “It is very exciting for us to be able to share our experience in providing data analytics to an organization such as World Sailing. With one of the largest individual gatherings of classes in the world, we look forward to opening up the intricacies of the sport at this level over the next years.

“We will apply our data analytics and insights to further enhance the enjoyment of the sport for fans, sailors and officials. The partnership will also offer a unique test bed for future innovations.”

MP & Silva Appoints Alex Wee as New Brand Partnership Director

MP & Silva announced the appointment of Alex Wee as Director, Brand Partnerships (Asia Pacific), with effect from 2nd May 2017.

Wee will be responsible for delivering new commercial partnerships and sponsorship opportunities, as well as building relationships with brands and clients across the region.

He will oversee the development and exploitation of non-media content commercial rights, including the delivery of sponsorship-led revenue.

Wu Swee Sin, MP & Silva Managing Director (Asia Pacific), said: “We welcome Alex’s experience especially with his proven skills set and relationships to continue our success across the region. We are delighted to have someone of his expertise to bolster our growing brand partnership business, including his in-depth understanding of the Asian region. We look forward to leveraging on his well-established relationships to establish more long-term partnerships, and further strengthen our sponsorship business.”

Fuse and TRO Win Nissan Champions League Fan Experience Activation

Fuse and TRO, both part of the Omnicom group of agencies, have been jointly appointed by Nissan to run the global car manufacturer’s experiential activation at the UEFA Champions League Final in Cardiff, June 2017.

The two agencies, who have worked together for the Berlin 2015 and Milan 2016 Finals, will work together to bring to life Nissan’s innovative partnership with UEFA Champions League at the UEFA Champions Festival in Cardiff, where over 200,000 fans are expected to visit.

Commenting on the appointment, Thomas Rodier, Events & Motor Shows Manager at Nissan Europe said: “Innovation that excites is part of everything that Nissan does, and nothing excites more fans around the world than UCL – so it’s imperative that our experiential activity reflects this. We were really impressed with the tender that Fuse and TRO proposed in partnership; both agencies showed real passion and commitment to delivering innovative brand experiences for UCL fans and visitors.”

“We are thrilled to have been awarded the UCL Final experiential project by Nissan for a third consecutive year,” said Chris Booker, Business Development Director, TRO. “As an agency, we are well versed in delivering immersive and engaging experiences to maximise clients’ sponsorship campaigns. We’re particularly excited to utilise our TROi division to create a relevant and compelling brand story through a host of creative technology solutions.”

Fuse Managing Director EMEA, Lou Johnson added: “We are excited to continue to work with Nissan on their UEFA Champions League Final experiential activation in Cardiff. Over the last two seasons, together with our partners at TRO, we have worked closely with Nissan to bring to life their exciting partnership with the UEFA Champions League, and look forward to another great Final this year.”

This activation is part of the global management of Nissan’s UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup sponsorship by Fuse.

TRO, a specialist experience agency, has been working with Nissan since 2011 on campaigns including The Nissan Innovation Station at the O2 and Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Land Rover Renews as Rugby World Cup Worldwide Partner

World Rugby has announced that Land Rover has renewed as a Rugby World Cup 2019 Worldwide Partner.

Land Rover will be Official Vehicle of rugby’s showcase men’s event within an extended deal that will see the all-terrain vehicle manufacturer support other marquee World Rugby events.

With rugby experiencing continued record global participation, audience and fan-base growth, Land Rover has signed as an Official Partner for what promises to be a record-breaking Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 in Ireland, Official Partner of the World Rugby U20 Championship between 2017 and 2019 and Official Sponsor of the World Rugby Awards 2017 and 2018 in Monaco.

World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “Driven by shared values and a common vision, we look forward to working in partnership with Land Rover to further rugby promotion and engagement within Japan and across Asia as we continue to count down to what promises to be a very special and ground-breaking Rugby World Cup 2019.”

With a distinctive tournament look set to be unveiled at the pool draw on 10 May, Land Rover will provide vibrantly branded vehicles to support tournament logistics, while again providing the trusted carrier of the Webb Ellis Cup during a domestic trophy tour that will touch more people than ever before.

Land Rover follows Emirates and Heineken in renewing as a Rugby World Cup 2019 Worldwide Partner and Canon as an Official Sponsor.