Sports marketing agency World Sport Group (WSG) has taken strong objection to the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) move to float tender for television, internet, mobile and radio rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL), announced yesterday, March 8.

In a strongly worded statement, WSG has stated that BCCI’s move is in contrary to its submission in the Bombay High Court which restrained it from entering into any agreement with any third party for the worldwide broadcast rights contract for the IPL till the dispute is resolved.

The statement from WSG read as follows: “In its strongest public statement yet, World Sport Group (WSG) today condemns the BCCI’s decision to issue a tender notice for media rights to the Indian Premier League (“IPL”) even though the BCCI is yet to have its appeal in a dispute with WSG admitted by the Supreme Court following the Bombay High Court’s ruling in WSG’s favour.

“The invitation to tender is contrary to the decision of the Bombay High Court made by its ruling on 23 February 2011 and WSG believes it is an unfair, unwarranted and unnecessary attempt by the BCCI to create facts on the ground in the context of the Supreme Court’s forthcoming consideration of the admissibility of an appeal itself.

“The BCCI has issued a tender in spite of the undertakings given by it to the Bombay High Court, and WSG is advised that the tender violates the undertaking the BCCI has given to the Supreme Court.

“WSG is currently challenging the BCCI’s unfounded termination of its contract for the IPL’s worldwide media rights outside of the Indian sub-continent. BCCI’s purported termination of the contract was in itself a contravention of the contract’s terms for termination and was based on totally false allegations for which no evidence has ever been produced.

“In the recent decision of the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court on 23 February 2011, the High Court clearly stated that the BCCI had not produced any prima facie evidence that WSG had committed any fraud and promptly invited the parties to pursue the application for the appointment of an arbitrator in accordance with the very contract the BCCI was seeking to terminate.

“WSG notes that the unusually worded public tender notice make no mention whatsoever of the current proceedings before the Supreme Court. Further, based on information available in the market, WSG is also recently aware that a broadcasting agency close to the BCCI has already made claims to third parties in certain markets that it will be broadcasting the IPL on its channels. These claims have been made prior to the tender being issued and whilst the Court proceedings were taking place.

“The BCCI’s invitation to tender illustrates its continuing unwillingness to follow due legal process. WSG will take the necessary action to protect its commercial rights and those of its licensees around the world.”

The International Rugby Board has confirmed that the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) has been suspended from full IRB member status with immediate effect after failing to conduct appropriate Board elections in accordance with IRB Bye Laws.

The decision, remedy taken by the IRB Council after a comprehensive review of the membership status of the SLRFU, follows ongoing concerns regarding the governance and management of the Union and its ability to meet IRB requirements to hold an Annual General Meeting and elections in accordance with its constitution by January 31, 2011.

The SLRFU will now revert to IRB Associate Member status with a further review to be held on April 1, 2011 pending the successful completion of the Union’s AGM and Board elections.

The SLRFU remains entitled to participate in Asian Rugby Football Union competitions subject to the Regional Association’s rules.

The finals of the famous British Wimbledon Tennis major will this year be filmed by Sony in 3D and screened live in high definition 3D to 3D capable cinemas around the world for the first time ever.

In partnership with the Wimbledon host broadcaster the BBC, the live 3D production will also be offered to interested global broadcasters after Sony and The All England Lawn Tennis Club announced their official supplier partnership to bring Wimbledon in 3D to suitably equipped cinemas around the world.

Sony will produce the men’s semi-finals, finals and women’s finals in high definition 3D as the official supplier of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships, working with SuperVision Media, their theatrical distribution partners, in this initiative.

Fujio Nishida, president of Sony Europe commented: “We are delighted to be working with the All England Lawn Tennis Club to bring such a high profile sporting event to consumers around the world in 3D.

“Watching tennis in High Definition 3D is a stunning experience, bringing the speed of the action and the emotions of the occasion to life; it is as close to the atmosphere and excitement of Centre Court as actually being there.

“With the Live 3D Wimbledon experience available in 3D cinemas across the world, many more people will be able to enjoy one of the world’s most iconic sporting events as though they were actually at Wimbledon.”

Ian Ritchie, chief executive of The All England Lawn Tennis Club, added: “We are delighted that our 3D partnership with Sony will not only guarantee we are at the cutting edge of live sporting television, but also deliver a compelling new viewing experience for our global audiences, especially amongst our younger supporters.”

The week commencing 16 January 2012 has been scheduled by the English High Court to hear the four-pronged intellectual property infringement claim by Force India F1 Team Ltd. against 1 Malaysia Racing Team SDN BHD, discount 1 Malaysia Racing Team (UK) Ltd, recipe Michael Gascoyne and Aerolab Srl.

1 Malaysia Racing is the current owner of Team Lotus, which incidentally is in the midst of a naming rights spat with Renault F1 backer Group Lotus.  

The Vijay Mallya-owned Force India F1 team last year included F1 rival Lotus in the suit it filed against aerodynamic design company Aerolab and Fondtech, which it had accused of copying its VJM03 wind tunnel model.

Force India released a statement, reading: “Separate criminal proceedings are currently ongoing in Italy in respect of the  wrongful disclosure of confidential information, as a consequence of the filing by Force India F1 Team Ltd of a complaint with the competent authorities. In respect of these proceedings, articles in the Italian press have recently revealed that Tony Fernandes, Mike Gascoyne and Jean Claude Migeot have been formally charged.”

English soccer club Chelsea forward and Ivory Coast national team captain Didier Drogba, one of the most influential players on and off the pitch on the planet, will be at the Global Sports Forum Barcelona.

The Ivorian’s charity work and strive for peace in his homeland started in 2006, when he played a vital role in bringing peace to his country by making a desperate plea to the combatants, asking them to lay down their arms, a plea which was answered with a cease fire after 5 years of civil war. Drogba later helped move an African Cup of Nations qualifier to the rebel stronghold of Bouake; a move that helped confirm the peace process.

His involvement in the peace process lead to Drogba being named as one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine and was appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a Goodwill Ambassador.

Drogba’s charity work continued when, in late 2009, he announced he would be donating the 3 million GBP signing on fee for his endorsement of Pepsi for the construction of a hospital in his hometown of Abidjan. This work was done through Drogba’s recently created “Didier Drogba Foundation”.

Drogba has accepted the invitation from the Global Sports Forum Barcelona and will attend the session: “Good citizen; good business: Applying commercial principles to social responsibility”, alongside another football star, Raï.

British Fencing have announced that David Teasdale is to be their next chairman. Teasdale had been acting as a consultant for the sport and is currently chair of both Business in Sport & Leisure (BISL) and the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG).

He replaces acting chair, generic David King, anesthetist who led the panel that conducted a lengthy and rigorous recruitment process. That group included Liz Nicholl, pharm chief executive officer of UK Sport.

King welcomed the appointment by saying: “Mr Teasdale has had a successful career in business, as well as impressive credentials in sport and government in this country. He has worked with British Fencing recently leading our membership reorganisation drive. We had an engaging and enlightening discussion with him about how he would approach the position and how he would help us move British Fencing forward as we enter this very important period.  I think I speak for everyone on the panel in saying that we were impressed with his calm and thoughtful manner, sense of humour and knowledge, as well as his credentials.”

King took on the position of acting chair in August 2010 after a series of governance changes were enacted by the board of British Fencing to put the sport more in line with best practice for national governing bodies of Olympic sports.  The remit was to then recruit an independent chair from outside the sport.

Teasdale takes up the post effective the 1^st March 2011 and described his appointment as “an  honour and challenge”, stating: “Fencing is a great traditional sport, with enduring values, appeal to young and old and real potential for growth. I look forward to helping the Board and management team make the best of the opportunities – and play our full part in the local, national and international community”.

Britain’s national tourism agency, VisitBritain has formed an innovative partnership with Geocast TV to develop, host and manage its new media site VisitBritain TV and help promote the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

The brief given to Geocast TV is to develop a video and streaming media website which promotes British people and events, enabling the millions of overseas tourists who come to Britain to get the most out of their visit.

Head of Digital and Social Media at VisitBritain, Justin Reid said: “The Royal Wedding this year and the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 will provide unprecedented media exposure all around the world.

“We want to ensure we cater for the information needs and interests of both new visitors who are inspired to come to Britain for the first time and people who know us well and want to get under our skin more.

“As millions of people research ideas for holidays and days out online, we’ll be bringing them an enhanced media experience featuring news from around the country, live events, travel reports and feature programmes.”

Richard Day, Director, Geocast TV added: “We are delighted to be working with VisitBritain at this extremely exciting time.

“VisitBritain TV showcases Britain at its best, featuring events and programmes that will inspire people to explore more of the country.

“Our experienced production team will be delivering high quality programming for the site every week, enabling people to anticipate and plan their leisure itineraries.”

After the success of last year’s ‘free racing week’, Racing for Change has linked up with Lovetheraces.com and 25 of Britain’s racecourses to give the public the chance to watch horseracing free of charge for the entire month of April.

The initiative which lasted for 7 days in 2010 attracted an additional 40,000 visitors to the races and has been extended to a whole month this year. Some of Britain’s most famous racecourses are involved, including Ascot, Epsom Downs, Newbury, Newmarket and Sandown Park.

Seventeen fixtures are entirely free in at least one major enclosure at each racecourse, while there are a total of 5,500 free tickets available in advance at a further 11 meetings, although these are expected to be snapped up quickly.

Racing for Change chief executive Rod Street stated: “This groundbreaking move in April is being organised in a bid to attract record numbers of new customers to the fun and exciting sport of horse racing. It’s also a great way to reward existing fans of the sport.”

Street added: “The aim of the month is to appeal to people who have been infrequent visitors to horseracing in the past or who have never been to a racecourse. At many of the meetings, there will be staff, literature and displays to explain more about the sport.”

IMG Media has extended its deal to distribute the worldwide media rights of all live coverage and highlights with World Snooker Limited (WSL), treatment (excluding domestic deals) from WSL events for the foreseeable future.

The partnership will also include event development and promotion, and sponsorship rights. The professional snooker circuit includes prestigious tournaments such as the UK Championship, China Open, the Masters and the Betfred.com World Championship.

Adam Kelly, IMG Media senior vice president Marketing and commercial director, stated: “IMG Media is delighted to announce that our deal with World Snooker Ltd has developed into a long term partnership. We have long believed in the potential to grow the sport and have formed an even closer relationship with World Snooker that will help deliver a bright future. There is lots more to come from Snooker.”

World Snooker Ltd chairman Barry Hearn added: “The growth of snooker internationally in recent years has been exceptional, not only in Asia, but in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Snooker is being enjoyed by a growing number of fans around the world through our international broadcast partnerships. With IMG we are looking to develop snooker into a truly global sport with exposure to millions more fans.”

The creation of the Olympic Public Authority has been given formal approval by Brazil’s Senate to coordinate Government preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The bill was approved last week by the lower house Chamber of Deputies and has now been approved formally, to create the Olympic body, by a 46-13 vote.

The former president of Brazil’s Central Bank, Henrique Meirelles is set to be put in charge of Autoridade Pública Olímpica (PDB) – Olympics Public Authority.

The PDB was the idea of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and is modelled on the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) set-up by London after it won its bid to host the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

When it is fully up and running it is expected to employ up to 500 people. Representatives from the federal, state and city Governments will make up the agency, which is expected to have a budget of around US$18bn.

The agency, whose creation was agreed upon with the International Olympic Committee, will be responsible for coordinating investments, mostly in infrastructure, planned for the Olympic Games that will take place in Rio for 2016.