Former Australia cricketer and captain of Indian Premier League (IPL) side Deccan Chargers, Adam Gilchrist, has said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has created insecurity among the league’s franchises following the expulsion of Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab.

The two teams were thrown out by the BCCI because of issues over ownership, but Gilchrist has said the decision could harm the league.

He said: “It does have an impact on the IPL, the brand and overall competition in general. No doubt it came as a surprise. I hope there is still scope for discussion between the franchisees and the BCCI. Hopefully they will stay in the competition.

“There is a need to maintain value and integrity which has so far been so successful for the venture. There have been some negatives. If people sit down there’s an opportunity for everyone – business, players and spectators – as long as none of them get greedy. Hopefully, there is still a way for a compromise.

“There will be a ripple effect. I read with interest, comments of few others franchisee owners regarding this issue. It does create a feeling of insecurity. It just needs to be well managed, well administered. There is an interest on what exactly happened.”

England and Harelquins rugby union star Nick Easter has become the latest brand ambassador for business insurance company QBE, the official partner of England Rugby.

QBE’s partnership with Easter will begin immediately and runs until December 2011.

QBE teaming up with Easter is part of the company’s continuing awareness and business development drive through its rugby sponsorships at both elite and grassroots levels.

Easter will become the face of QBE’s rugby activity and will attend important industry events.

The player had a brief stint as an investment banker before he signed for Harelquins back in 2004.

Total Sports Asia (TSA) has agreed an exclusive partnership deal with Simply Sports to distribute the viewing rights to the  World Karate Championships in Asia.

The deal will give TSA rights throughout several Asian countries and includes delivery of four hours of content in HD format. The delivery method will be live via satellite, stuff tape of file transfer protocol.

Executive vice-president of TSA media, medicine Julian Jackson, said: “TSA places great emphasis on catering to the needs of a large variety of sports fans. The World Karate Championships is the highest level of competition for the sport and only comes around once every two years, thus giving a great opportunity for broadcasters to tap into the growing combat sports segment at an opportune time.”

Managing director of Simply Sports, Javier Tola, added: “We are delighted with this partnership that could only increase the exposure and international development of the World Karate Championships, which is our main goal.”

The Championships will take place from 28 to 31 October in Belgrade, Serbia.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has reversed his decision to ban the national football team from international competition for two years after their poor performance at this summer’s FIFA World Cup.

FIFA had given the Nigerian Government a deadline of 1700 BST yesterday afternoon to lift the ban or face a larger punishment, as under FIFA rules, any government interference on member associations is strictly prohibited.

The presidency said in a statement: “The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) assured the president of their commitment to evolving an enduring football development programme, and grow a new senior national team that will bring glory rather than consistent embarrassment to Nigeria on the World stage.

“Based on these assurances, and the appeals of well-meaning Nigerians, including former leaders, President Jonathan has decided to review the earlier two-year ban on the country from all international competition.”

On Sunday, two of the NFF’s top officials were sacked in an effort to appease the president.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has appointed PHAR Insight to undertake an analysis of the value Lead Global Partner (LGP) sponsorship opportunity can deliver to brands.

The LGP partnership provides the opportunity to be recognised as the leading brand associated with women’s tennis in the world, and has been developed by the WTA to reflect the strategic goals that brands are increasingly aiming to achieve through their sponsorships.

To that end, as well as calculating the value delivered from on-court branding at 54 events in 33 countries, PHAR Insight’s work will focus on the range of other benefits, including access to its 2,500 professional players, provided to a brand through the partnership – including the strength of the opportunity’s strategic benefits.  

Steve Tseng, Chief Sales Officer at the WTA, said of the appointment: “We have worked very hard to create a partnership which goes much further and deeper than year-round global media exposure alone, and provides brands with unique access and content to enable them to engage meaningfully and distinctively with consumers. 

“An analysis just of media value would never capture the extent and depth of the value that a brand can receive from this partnership.  And so we were extremely impressed that the tools which PHAR Insight has developed assess not just all the tangible benefits which is impressive in its own right, but also the strength of the opportunity’s strategic attributes. PHAR Insight’s analysis now enables us to have a much more strategic discussion with brands, by enabling us to demonstrate more comprehensively the value that the LGP opportunity can deliver.”

Alastair Macdonald, Director of PHAR Insight, commented: “It’s easy to get blinded by the sheer scale of the media exposure that the WTA schedule delivers for a brand, but this only tells one part of the story.  A large number of powerful strategic attributes makes the LGP opportunity one of the most interesting currently available in world sport. 

“Given brands’ increasingly strategic approach to sponsorship, and focus on understanding the value of their investments, it is essential that any analysis reflects the strategic value meaningfully.  Our new analysis tools and proprietary valuation algorithm take these strategic considerations into account, and are showing that the WTA’s LGP opportunity has the potential to deliver some of the strongest returns in the sponsorship industry.”

The newly launched CFH Racing has confirmed that it will be powered by Chevrolet after a new deal with the US manufacturer.

The new team is being formed by a merger between Ed Carpenter Racing – a Chevy team since its inception in 2012 – and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, which has been using Honda engines since it entered competition in 2008. 

“I am very proud that CFH Racing will be powered by Team Chevy for the 2015 season,” said Carpenter. “Team Chevy has delivered for ECR over the past three years, and I know that our new combination of CFH Racing and Chevrolet will continue to put us in a great position moving forward. 

“We are totally confident in their product, and cannot wait to début the Chevrolet Aero Kit starting in 2015,” he added. 

“We are pleased that the newly formed CFH Racing will compete with Chevrolet’s twin-turbo V6 in the Verizon IndyCar Series beginning in 2015,” responded Jim Campbell, Chevrolet’s vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports. 

The team is expected to field two cars in 2015, with Josef Newgarden already signed to extend his stay in the #67 car building on three years with SFHR. It’s yet to be announced who will be at the wheel of the #20 car in 2015, which this year has seen driving duties split between Carpenter on oval tracks and Mike Conway on street and road courses. 

Sarah Fisher and her business partner Wink Hartman said that they were delighted to have clinched the deal to use Chevrolet engines next season. 

“I have been extremely grateful for the partner that Honda has been in my career and to SFHR,” Fisher said. “We are thankful for their ongoing support of the Verizon IndyCar Series. 

“The decision to partner CFH Racing with Chevrolet was the first of many that we will make together as a team,” she continued. “The process was sincerely a group effort and encourages all of us as to how we will work as a team.” 

“The team is excited to start a strong relationship with Chevy going into the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series,” added Hartman. “CFH Racing continues to develop into a top tier team with a contract with Chevy.”

The International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) and International Sailing Federation (ISAF) have both unanimously agreed to merge into one entity it has been announced at the 2013 ISAF Annual Conference drew to a close in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

The merger will create a single governing body for MNAs and sailors to better serve the needs and interests of sailors with disabilities.

IFDS President John Twomey said: “We are delighted that both IFDS and ISAF unanimously agreed to form a merger.

“At the IFDS Annual General Meeting our members gave full support and I was delighted to see the same from ISAF Council.

“The round of applause received from ISAF Council and was incredibly touching and now the work can begin to align IFDS and ISAF, it’s one we look forward to implementing.”

As a single governing body the merger will be able to provide consistency within the sport, from relationships with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to technical support and operational efficiencies.

IFDS will retain responsibility for the Paralympic Sailing Competition, including event and equipment selection as well as the IFDS World Championships.

The processes that will enable the merger, including all the necessary structural and regulation changes, will be completed by November 2014.

Columbus have been announced as the host of the 2015 NHL All-Star Weekend, two years later than planned.

Commissioner Gary Bettman made the announcement and said the festivities will take place at Nationwide Arena on Jan. 24-25, 2015.

Columbus was originally awarded the 2013 All-Star Weekend but that event was canceled due to the lockout.

“The commissioner made a promise, and that promise has been kept,” Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman said. “As a politician, that’s always something good to hear.”

Bettman said there was never any serious consideration of taking the next available All-Star Game anywhere but Ohio’s capital city.

“The only issues we had to deal with were logistical,” Bettman said. “We had to make sure that the convention center and hotel space were available. We wanted to come back as quickly as possible, but we had to make sure we were able to do it.”

There won’t be an All-Star Game this season because of the Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Columbus will become the third straight first-time host of the NHL’s big weekend, following Raleigh, N.C., in 2011, and Ottawa in 2012.