Vodafone in Near USD10m Deal for CWC Live Streaming Rights

The exclusive rights for the live streaming of ESPN Star Sports’ coverage of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup 2011 have been awared to telecom services provider Vodafone Essar.

As part of this deal, Vodafone’s customers will be able to watch ball-by-ball live coverage of all 49 ODI’s on their mobile phones via ESPN Mobile TV. Vodafone has been named co-presenting broadcast sponsor for ESPN Star Sports’ coverage of ICC CWC 2011, making the company one of the biggest sponsors of India’s most popular sport this season. It is also the co-presenting sponsor of IPL besides being one of the on-ground sponsors.

Having secured the on-air broadcast sponsorship rights of ESPN Star Sports’ coverage of the ICC CWC 2011, Vodafone has created on-air advertising campaign  for this event after reportedly paying US$9.85m for the co-sponsorship rights.

Vodafone released a statement, reading: “Vodafone’s interest in the cricket season in 2011 is a continuation of this same belief to capitalize on large cricketing events like the World Cup, thereby reaching out to a very large cross section of audiences, cutting across diverse geographies.”

Kumar Ramanathan, Vodafone Essar CMO, added: “The 2011 cricket season in India coincides with an exciting time in the telecom industry when MNP and 3G are buzz words and the entire consumer base is being wooed afresh by incumbent and new competitors alike. Through this association with ESPN Star Sports to provide live streaming of its ICC CWC 2011 coverage, we continue to engage our customers in a more meaningful and relevant manner, that enriches the service experience.”

Sokorin Feels England Must ‘Know How to Lose’

Alexey Sorokin, Russia’s World Cup bid chief, says England’s reaction to his country winning 2018 hosting rights was regrettable and that the team didn’t know ‘how to lose’. He claims the bid team ran a clean race and that Russia is now ready for scrutiny to intensify as preparations begin.

England’s shock elimination in the first round of the FIFA vote on Dec. 2 prompted bid leaders to criticize FIFA’s bidding process after securing just two votes in what reports revealed to be the best technical bid.

“They [England] had a good bid in general. We regret that it turned out this way. But you have to know how to lose too,” Sorokin said in an interview with Russia Today.

“We think our bid is totally within FIFA’s philosophy, that is to move the World Cup to new regions, to open up new horizons to expand the power of football.”

IOC hopes to break billion-dollar mark for sponsorship

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) hopes to break the billion-dollar mark for revenue from top sponsors by the time of the London Olympics in 2012, ed IOC marketing head Gerhard Heiberg said. The IOC already has $960 million of sponsorship in place for the 2009 to 2012 timeframe and remains confident of adding one or two more major companies by the London Games.

“The market situation has relaxed considerably. I hope that we will reach the billion-dollar mark in the coming year, asthma ” Heiberg told DPA on the verges of the IOC Executive Committee meeting in Acapulco.

The IOC have managed to sign up Dow Chemical and Procter & Gamble in the last four months, bringing the number of top sponsors to 11.

The sponsorship programme brought in $866 million for the 2006 Winter Games in Turin and the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

ICC gives green light to Test league

The International Cricket Council has approved (ICC) has provisionally approved the introduction of a Test League, it has been announced.

The ICC chief executives’ committee (CEC) has recommended setting up a Test league that would include a play-off with the four top teams to crown a champion.

An ICC statement read: “These recommendations seek to give exciting content and context for international cricket within the Future Tours Programme (FTP) after 2012.”

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat added: “We have agreed in principle to exciting and far-reaching proposals to tackle this most important issue.

“Achieving balance and unanimous agreement is not easy but we have responded well to a strategic priority to restructure international cricket.

“The proposals, especially introducing more meaningful context, means we now have the potential to follow international cricket that is even more exciting.”

The ICC wants to introduce the Test league in 2013 and also agreed to a one-day league first running from 2011-14 and separate from the Cricket World Cup.

HSBC to title sponsor IRB Sevens World Series

Financial services giant HSBC has become the title sponsor of the Rugby Sevens World Series, look The International Rugby Board (IRB) has announced.

As part of the five-year deal the tournament will be named the HSBC  Sevens World Series, and will begin with the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens on 3 and 4 December this year.

However, the 2011 Hong Kong sevens will not feature HSBC branding as it clashes with rival title sponsor Credit Suisse.

IRB president Bernard Lappaset said: “The appointment of a market leader in the banking industry as title sponsor of the IRB Sevens World Series further enhances rugby sevens’ prominent stature as an Olympic sport with significant prestige and attraction within the global marketplace.

“HSBC is an internationally renowned brand and a true champion of the development of Rugby around the world. HSBC has a massively successful history of working with its partners to develop the Game on and off the field through the HSBC Rugby Festivals and sponsorship of the Asian 5 Nations.”

Group head of sponsorship at HSBC, Giles Morgan, added: “HSBC has a long-standing heritage in rugby and is excited about investing in such a thriving area of the game.”

The series is made up of tournaments in Dubai,South Africa, New Zealand, USA, Australia, Hong Kong, England and Scotland.

ECHL Extends Einstein HR Partnership

The ECHL have announced that Einstein HR will once again return as the “Official Payroll & HR Service of the ECHL” for a sixth year during the 2014-15 Season.

Through the deal the company will continue to provide payroll processing and human resource services for all 21 ECHL teams and their players. 

Einstein HR will present the “Einstein of the Month” on ECHL.com each month during the ECHL regular season (October-April). Fans have the opportunity to answer a unique League-related question monthly for the chance to win a prize pack from the ECHL and Einstein HR using their ECHL knowledge. 

Einstein HR will also be featured on ECHL.com, allergy the official website of the League and on member sites through the ECHL.com Network. 

“Einstein HR continues to provide superior customer service for our League payroll needs with professional and courteous dedication, treat ” said ECHL Sr. Vice President of Business Operations Ryan Crelin. “Entering our sixth season together is a real accomplishment and we look forward to another great hockey season with their company.” 

“We take great pride in our partnership with the ECHL,” said Layne Davlin, President of Einstein HR. “We look forward to our continued relationship in the 2014-15 Season and providing each team with the payroll solutions they need in their fast paced business.”

Dutch Match Cup Announced as New Alpari World Match Racing Tour Stage

The Alpari World Match Racing Tour have announced the addition of the Dutch Match Cup as an official stage of the 2014 world championship tour.

The Dutch event joins the current schedule of six championship events in Germany, treat Sweden, generic Poland, Chicago, Bermuda, and Malaysia. Today’s announcement comes just 2 days before the start of the 2014 Alpari World Match Racing Tour on the shores of Lake Constance at Match Race Germany from 5-9 June.

The Dutch Match Cup will mark the first ever Alpari World Match Racing Tour event to be held in Holland. The event will take place from 24-28 September in Lelystad, the largest municipality in Holland and the capital of the province of Flevoland. The event will offer a prize purse of USD75,000 [adding to the current 2014 Tour prize purse of USD1.4million] and teams will compete in an identical fleet of Maxfun 25 keelboats with four crew per boat.

The racing will take place directly off the harbour wall at Bataviahaven in Lelystad, one of the largest marinas in the Netherlands located on the 700 km2 Markermeer in between North Holland and its larger sibling, the Ijsselmeer. The €7million marina development at Bataviahaven was started in 2002 to host large nautical events including boat shows and regattas. The development also includes residential and commercial space including restaurants, shops and bars.

The sea wall will provide an ideal stadium sailing atmosphere for spectators to watch the world’s top match racing teams go head to head in September. A separate offshore event – the 200miles Solo Race – will also start and finish at Bataviahaven during the Dutch Match Cup which will add to the spectacle around other shore side events.

Today’s launch of the Dutch Match Cup was presented to local media at Lelystad’s City Hall attended by the Deputy Mayor of Lelystad, Jop Fackeldey; CEO of Batavia Sailing Center and Event Promoter of the Dutch Match Cup, Joop van Diest; and James Pleasance, Executive Director of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour.

“I am very pleased we have been able to add the Dutch Match Cup to the 2014 Alpari World Match Racing Tour season,” commented James Pleasance, Executive Director of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour. “It is the first ever Tour event in Holland and Bataviahaven is an excellent sailing stadium venue. Together with the City of Lelystad and local partners, the event organisation has worked very hard to ensure the event goes ahead this year and we look forward to coming to Lelystad in September.”

As Deputy Mayor Jop Fackeldey added: “The sport of sailing is an integral part of the coastline of Lelystad. Hosting a world class event such as the Dutch Match Cup will attract many visitors to the region and generate a very valuable exposure for the City. In turn, this will contribute greatly to the economic development of the region.”

MATCH Hospitality to Run Corporate Hospitality at Barclays ATP World Tour Finals

MATCH Hospitality AG, ailment | a leader in in sports hospitality, cough has revealed they will run the Corporate Hospitality programme for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in 2014 and 2015 held at The O2 in London.

The latest addition to MATCH Hospitality’s growing portfolio of high-profile sporting events follows the ATP’s appointment of Infront Sports & Media to manage the global Corporate Hospitality rights for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for 2014 and 2015.

Within the framework of this appointment, prescription MATCH Hospitality has been entrusted by Infront, which is one of its shareholders, to develop, manage and sell the Corporate Hospitality programme for this event, starting with the 2014 edition that will be contested from 9 to 16 November at The O2 in London.

Jaime Byrom, Executive Chairman of MATCH Hospitality AG, hails the appointment as yet another milestone in the already successful track record of the company: “MATCH Hospitality is absolutely delighted to offer its unique hospitality expertise and international sales agent network in support of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Our programme will provide customers with a thrilling and unforgettable experience from the very first serve to the final point at the year-end-climax of the professional tennis season.”

Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President, stated: “The ATP World Tour is very pleased to announce the appointment of Infront Sports & Media to manage the Corporate Hospitality rights for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Their agreement with MATCH Hospitality will deliver a truly outstanding corporate hospitality programme, which will fully leverage the one-of-a-kind atmosphere that the event provides in the iconic setting of The O2. We are looking forward to a great partnership of the highest quality befitting the status of our flagship event.”

NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes Reveal Rebrand to Arizona Coyotes Next Season

Phoenix Coyotes have announced today the National Hockey League team will rebrand to be named the Arizona Coyotes from next season.

“We are very excited to announce that our franchise name will change to Arizona Coyotes for the start of the 2014-15 NHL season,” said Co-Owner, President and CEO Anthony LeBlanc. “Becoming the Arizona Coyotes makes sense for us since we play our games in Glendale and the city is such a great partner of ours. We also want to be recognized as not just the hockey team for Glendale or Phoenix, but the team for the entire state of Arizona and the Southwest. We hope that the name ‘Arizona’ will encourage more fans from all over the state, not just the valley, to embrace and support our team.” 

As part of the name change, the Coyotes will be introducing a new shoulder patch for their home and road jerseys in 2014-15. The patch will be unveiled for the Coyotes first preseason game next season. The rest of the Coyotes uniform will not change. 

The franchise has been known as the Phoenix Coyotes since it moved to the Valley from Winnipeg in 1996. The Coyotes played their home games in downtown Phoenix from 1996 until 2003 when they moved to their current home, Jobing.com Arena, in Glendale.

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Leyton Orient Claim ‘injustice’ Over High Court Decision

Leyton Orient have blasted High Court’s decision to deny them the right to challenge the Olympic Stadium tenancy.

Orient’s lawyers argued in the High Court yesterday in London that the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) tenancy agreement with West Ham was “entirely flawed”.

The League One club called for a judicial review because they were “never properly considered as a co-tenant with Premier League side West Ham”.

However, the LLDC argued that some of Orient’s points were “wholly illogical”, their case was “devoid of merit” and their Decision Letter clearly explained the process.

Orient have now released a statement branding the decision an “injustice”, and they will now consider their next course of action.

The statement read: “We feel a real sense of injustice at today’s decision.

“Karren Brady told the House of Lords only a few weeks ago that West Ham United had no objection to a ground share with Leyton Orient, but West Ham United’s barrister today claimed that to ground share would adversely affect the club because the Olympic Stadium is “part of the brand”.

“Our real concern is the lack of transparency that has been shown throughout the process by a public body. It is deeply disappointing that both the Court and the LLDC have made decisions based only on financial considerations, when the purpose of the Stadium’s legacy was regeneration of the area with a community focus.

“We believe that the LLDC exercised its discretion to favour West Ham United, no doubt under pressure from West Ham United to make them sole football tenants for the benefit of their “brand”.

“Delivering a new brand to West Ham United was not the intended purpose of the Olympic Stadium, and we now have to look to the House of Lords to find a common sense solution for Olympic legacy and local community.

“As the judge noted, Leyton Orient are flying high in League One. We will enjoy our current on-pitch success whilst we contemplate how to proceed in the best interests of the club.”

Following the hearing, which lasted over two hours, Mr Justice Lewis refused Orient’s application for a judicial review.