According to SportsBusiness Journal, leading sporting apparel brand Nike is close to finalising an extension of its sponsorship with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

The reports suggest that the deal would guarantee Nike the exclusivity to continue to outfit Team USA athletes on the podium through until at least 2016, extending the brand’s position as the official outfitter of Team USA.

Under the terms of the deal, Nike would provide the podium uniforms worn during medal ceremonies at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics. Additionally Nike will have access to U.S. Olympic marks and graphics for use in advertising and marketing and for display on its other brands such as Converse.

Although terms of the deal were not available, sources indicate that it is “a modest increase” over the previous deal, which was valued at close to US$15m over four years and “was a mix of cash and product.”

The renewal  would be first the USOC has completed for the 2013-16 quadrennial and gives the organization some early momentum as it looks to extend partnerships with more than a half-dozen key partners before the 2012 London Games.

Nike has made Team USA-branded hats, shirts and jackets for every Olympics since the 2006 Turin Games and also sponsors 10 U.S. national governing bodies, including USA Basketball, USA Hockey, U.S. Soccer and USA Track & Field.

In the second part of an exclusive in-depth interview with FIFA.com, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter spoke at length about the challenges facing the game in 2011 and beyond. In doing so he discussed the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2010, the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, women’s football, refereeing and the Task Force Football 2014, among other issues.

FIFA.com: The year kicks off with the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala. What do you make of the three nominees, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Xavi?
FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter: Last year was a World Cup year and it’s no surprise that two of the three candidates should play for world champions Spain. As for Argentina’s Lionel Messi, no one can deny he’s an exceptional player. Spain’s Vicente del Bosque is also in there as one of the three nominees for coach of the year.

Brazil usually have a few candidates in the frame. Why do you think they’re missing this time around?
There are some Brazilians up for the FIFA/FIFpro World XI, but they’re mostly defenders. That’s a little bit of a surprise perhaps, but it’s just a reflection of Brazil’s approach at South Africa 2010. They played a European game based around a formidable defence comprising the likes of Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio, Juan and Michel Bastos.

The three nominees for the FIFA Ballon d’Or are all relatively small in size. What do you think that tells us?
That anyone can play football and that you don’t necessarily have to be big and strong. That’s always been the case, though. Just look at strikers like Gerd Muller and Uwe Seeler, Diego Maradona or Jean-Pierre Papin, who weren’t very big players either.

South Africa 2010 is still fresh in the memory and now 2014 is looming on the horizon.
Yes. The World Cup will be taking place in a little over three years. The preliminary draw will be held on 30 July and there’s still a lot of work to be done in terms of infrastructures. There’s no time to waste.

The next FIFA World Cup is being played in Brazil. Is it a case of football coming home?
I’m delighted the tournament’s going back to South America for the first time since 1978, when there were only 16 teams. Now there are 32 and the World Cup has taken on a whole new dimension since then. No matter where it is held, though, the World Cup is so big that our partners in both television and marketing will follow us anywhere.

You’ve talked before about the social role of the FIFA World Cup. What will that involve in Brazil exactly?
Our goal in Brazil is to create infrastructures in the provinces. A lot of the population live in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, but at the next World Cup we’ll be going further north and to Manaus in the state of Amazonia. It’s an emerging and very multicultural country with 200 million inhabitants, although there is still poverty as well. Nevertheless, I’ve no doubt the legacy of the World Cup will help in that respect too.

Brazil 2014 aside, the year ahead promises to be a busy one.
There are competitions in four different confederations in 2011: the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, the Copa America in South America and the African Nations Championship. And then we have five FIFA World Cup competitions: the Women’s World Cup, the U-17, U-20 and Beach Soccer World Cups and the Club World Cup. So we’re going to be seeing a lot of good football this year.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011™ is a major event on the calendar. What are you expecting from the competition?
I think it’s important it’s taking place in the heart of Europe, in a country where women’s football is strong. The women’s game has struggled to gain acceptance in financial terms. People don’t seem to have much faith in it, but Germany can change that by putting on a good tournament and, more importantly than anything, filling the stadiums. A crowd of 50,000 is expected for the Opening Match in Berlin, which is already a great achievement.

Why has women’s football failed to take off in some countries?
Young women have a lot of passion for the game. It’s a sport anyone can play, but when women reach a certain age or level they find there aren’t any professional leagues around, which makes it difficult for them to carry on playing. Technically, however, the game has improved a great deal. For example, the standard of play in the final of the U-17 Women’s World Cup between Japan and Korea Republic was very high.

A number of big issues will be tackled in the months ahead, some of them by the Task Force Football 2014. What is its role?
Its objective is to assess tournaments and the way in which the game is organised. Let me give you a few examples. At the moment three points are awarded for a win and one for a draw, which is something we can discuss and decide whether it’s a good thing or not. Is extra-time the only option we have when a game ends in a draw? And if we stick with extra-time, how should we end games? Is it worth taking another look at the golden goal? Some people like it, some people don’t. There are a lot of issues regarding tournaments we can look at and discuss.

What other topics will be coming up for debate?
The other big issue is the calendar. In my view, and this is something on which Michel Platini agrees, domestic championships are too long because there are too many teams and too many matches. Teams in leagues with 20 clubs play 38 games, on top of which they also have national cup competitions and league cups, etc. This also creates a conflict of interest between national teams and clubs, some of whom complain that their players come back tired or injured. That’s not the fault of the international calendar, however, and it’s a subject that ought to be discussed.

There has been a fair amount of criticism with regard to refereeing recently. What, in your opinion, are the next steps that need to be taken?
We have a very clear target in this respect, and that’s to have only professional referees officiating at the 2014 World Cup. That’s a target we have to reach. Coaches are professional now and so are players, and there’s no reason why referees shouldn’t be either. Some people say there’s not enough money to pay them, but there always seems to be plenty in the professional leagues.

Is the international calendar for youth players also up for discussion?
I think the calendar for youth tournaments should be brought into line with the international calendar. It’s the same principle. As for Olympic tournaments, we have a regulation that is valid until 2016, and that’s for teams to pick U-23 players and three over-age players if they wish. Those U-23 players should be released by their clubs.

After talks were held yesterday (January 4) between representatives of all 12 Scottish Premier League (SPL) soccer clubs, it seems that plans to reformat the league are edging ever closer. Some members and fans were strongly opposed to the latest proposal of reducing the league back down to a top-10 tier but it appears that the decision is looking more and more likely.

Ralph Topping chairman of the SPL believes that the other radical change possibility of a 16 or 18-team League has been dismissed, “It’s two (divisions of) 10s or the status quo in my view. If you look at Scottish football, a 16-team League wouldn’t work economically and it would have a knock-on effect in terms of the quality of players you can attract” he said.

Stewart Milne chairman of Aberdeen soccer club revealed that no alternative to a 10-team top flight had been put forward at the meeting. “Each option has been fully evaluated and the one that delivers way above any of the others is a 10-team league,” he claimed.

St Johnstone chairman Geoff Brown added: “The meeting went well and I would be fairly confident of the two 10-team leagues. All we have had are discussions and every club can make their own minds up, but I would like to think we have a consensus.”

A vote will be taken on a reform package with the final decision set to be made on January 17 which could also include a winter break demanding an earlier start to the season.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will join the line-up of major sports stars at the inaugural Aspire4Sport Conference and Expo, allergist it has been confirmed.

Ferguson will participate in a special on-to-one and will give an insight into his career and thoughts on management.

He visited the Aspire academy in Qatar earlier this year when he took the United team to the Middle East for warm weather training.

After the trip Ferguson said: “Aspire’s complex is without question the best I have ever seen. Not only that, clinic the operation is so well managed that it has made our stay very easy and relaxed. We hope that this journey is not our last here and that it will initiate a true bond between Manchester United and our friends at Aspire and in Qatar.”

Other confirmed speakers at the event include Barcelona president Sandro Rosell, Inter Milan CEO Ernesto Paolillo, Olympic champion Michael Johnson and tennis legend John McEnroe.

The event will take place in Doha, Qatar, from 15 to 18 November.

The Australian Government has cleared Football Federation Australia (FFA) of providing misleading information over how public money was being spent on the bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

A number of claims were made about bonuses to consultants, gifts of pearl necklaces and cufflinks to to FIFA executive committee members, and paying the costs of a Trinidad and Tobago youth team to fly to a tournament.

FIFA is still investigating the allegations, but FFA officials have indicated the document was an “informal planning document”, and government officials have examined accounts, clearing them of any attempt to mislead them.

A letter to the FFA from the Australian Government’s World Cup bid taskforce said: “We note that the contents of this planning document align with the reports provided by the FFA to the taskforce, and we accept your explanation that the existence of the planning document does not mean that the FFA maintains ‘dual’ financial reporting and records.”

FFA chief executive Ben Buckley said of the matter: “We are involved in an extremely sophisticated and competitive process where we are trying to bring the biggest sporting event in the world to Australia but we have always said that we would play by the rules.

“All of our operations are in line with FIFA guidelines and our financial reporting meets our obligations under the funding agreement with the government and any suggestion otherwise is completely wrong and the government has accepted that.”

 

Talent and sports agency CAA Sports have been selected by Ryder Cup Deutschland to push Germany’s bid to host the 2022 edition of golf’s Ryder Cup.

Marco Kaussler, allergy who has worked in leading roles at more than 50 major national and international golf events, adiposity will lead the campaign.

Kaussler and Ilka Stepan have been appointed as co-managing directors of Ryder Cup Deutschland.

Ryder Cup Deutschland chairman of the board Norbert Löhlein said: “It is our goal to bring the Ryder Cup 2022 to Germany. In Marco Kaussler of CAA Sports and Ilka Stepan, prostate we have found the best possible partners to launch a successful campaign and application around the Ryder Cup 2022 on German soil.”

Kaussler added: “We are extremely honoured to have been selected by Ryder Cup Deutschland to spearhead this campaign and look forward to accessing our resources and relationships to bring the Ryder Cup 2022 to Germany.”

Germany will be competing against Austria, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Turkey, who have all registered an interest by the August 31 deadline. Official bids must be submitted 

Official bids are expected by February 16 while Ryder Cup Europe will make the final decision by Autumn 2015.

Team Penske announced today that it will form a partnership with Dick Johnson Racing in the V8 Supercars Championship, capsule beginning in 2015.

DJR Team Penske will compete with Ford Falcons in the 2015 V8 Supercars Championship with Marcos Ambrose behind the wheel.

Marcos Ambrose will return to the Series where he drew international acclaim to race the iconic No. 17 Ford for DJR Team Penske. Ambrose is a two-time V8 Supercars champion; winning back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004. He transitioned to a winning career in NASCAR where he has earned seven wins and eight pole positions while competing in the Sprint Cup, ed Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series over the past nine seasons.

“Team Penske is excited to partner with Dick Johnson Racing to compete in the V8 Supercars Championship starting next season,” said Roger Penske. “We believe in building our businesses through racing and our success on the track. With our new business ventures in Australia, it makes sense to showcase our brands through the V8 Supercars Championship and the opportunity to work with DJR and Marcos Ambrose convinced us to go forward.”

Ambrose, a native of Launceston, Tasmania, is one of the most successful drivers in the history of the V8 Supercars Championship. In the 65 rounds in which he competed from 2001 to 2005, he won 28 individual races.

“This is a great opportunity to return home to a place that I love in a Series where I’ve experienced a lot of success,” said Ambrose, who has earned two career victories at the highest level of NASCAR competition – the Sprint Cup Series. “It will be an honor to race for two motorsport legends in Roger Penske and Dick Johnson.”

“We are certainly looking forward to this new challenge,” said Dick Johnson, a legendary driver himself who claimed five Australian Touring Car Championships and won the prestigious Bathurst 1000 race three times before he retired from racing in 1999. “I have always admired what Roger Penske has accomplished in business and with his racing teams and it will be a thrill to work with Team Penske and Marcos in 2015.”