The National Football League (NFL) could have a franchise in London by the end of the decade, Commissioner Roger Goodell has revealed.

“It depends on if we continue to see that growth and how fast it goes,” Goodell told the NFL Network on Thursday. “We couldn’t be happier with what we are seeing.

“We actually couldn’t be more surprised by the tremendous demand for NFL football in London and the U.K. in general, and frankly even Europe. It’s not something I think is 15 or 20 years away, it could be five or 10 years away.”

For the upcoming season, the National Football League is staging three regular season games in London, the most contests ever held overseas during an NFL campaign.

“The (London) fans want to see more NFL football,” said Goodell. “Our clubs have responded very favorably. We’re anxious to do more of it.”

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft revealed how he would like to see a franchise in London soon.

“We played here three times,” Kraft said. “It’s amazing, the last two times we sold 85,000 tickets out, just like that. It was a great experience.

“I know enough of us in the ownership category along with executives at the league level feel that would be a great entry point and a way for us to expand the reach of the NFL.

“I’d personally like to see a franchise in London before the decade’s out.”

Brian Cookson has revealed his bid to become International Cycling Union (UCI) President has been further boosted following endorsements by Greg Lemond and French Cycling Federation (FFC) Honorary President, health  Jean Pitallier.

Speaking at the Eurobike roadshow in Germany, pills  Greg Lemond, a three-time winner of the Tour de France and two-time World Road Race champion, said: “I have met and spent some time discussing with Brian about where cycling lost its way, how it lost its way, and what to do to bring the sport back to where it is not only a sport that leads by example, but a sport that inspires people once again.

“I feel confident after meeting Brian that his interest is to bring honest and transparent leadership to a sport that so desperately needs it. My hope is Brian will be the one to bring all interested parties together to once and for all do what needed to be done years before, find solutions, both short term and long term, and to make it a priority that cycling comes first.

“The choice between Pat McQuaid and Brian Cookson is, I believe a clear one: only Brian can deliver the change cycling needs.”

Jean Pitallier, who was also FFC President from 2001-2008 and Secretary General of the organisation between 1981-2001, added: “For the dignity of the sport of cycling, it is time to turn the page and bring about a healthy change for international cycling.

“Brian Cookson has presided over great things at British Cycling and has my full and total support to become the next President of the UCI.”

The support from Lemond and Pitallier concludes a successful week for Brian Cookson’s campaign as he builds further momentum in the lead up to the vote, which takes place at the UCI Congress in Florence on 27th September.

Speaking from the 2013 UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, Brian Cookson said: “I am proud to have the backing of respected figures like Greg and Jean and I would like to thank them both for supporting my campaign to become UCI President.

“Greg is a true legend and role model in our sport and has inspired so many people around the world to take up cycling. He understands our sport so well. 

“Jean has provided important leadership to French cycling for many years and I have always respected his insights and views on cycling.

“We are entering a crucial phase of the campaign and I feel very positive about the support and feedback I am receiving.”

The East Coast Hockey League has unveiled a new logo for their 2015 ECHL All-Star Game.

The logo for the 2015 CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic presented by Visit Orlando, drugs was created by the Joe Bosack Graphic Design Co. They were also responsible for designing the primary and secondary logos for the Orlando Solar Bears. In addition, prescription CCM will provide the All-Star game jerseys which will be designed by one lucky winner of the ECHL All-Star Jersey Design Contest.

The 2015 ECHL All-Star Game will be hosted by the Orlando Solar Bears at Amway Center in downtown Orlando on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015.

Disgraced former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif has lost his latest appeal over his match-fixing conviction today.

The 30-year-old former world No 2 Test bowler was released from prison last May after serving half of a 12-month sentence for a fixing scandal that rocked the sport.

He was one of three Pakistan cricketers jailed at London’s Southwark Crown Court in November 2011 after the discovery of a plot to bowl deliberate no-balls in the 2010 Lord’s Test against England.

Ex-captain Salman Butt was jailed for 30 months for his role as the ‘orchestrator’ of the plan, while fast bowler Mohammad Amir was detained for six months in a young offenders institution.

The trio have also been barred from the playing for five years as a result of bans imposed by the International Cricket Council.

In November 2011, the Court of Appeal dismissed challenges brought by Butt and Amir against their sentences.

Asif’s latest challenge has fallen on deaf ears as it as rejected.

Giving the decision of the court, Mr Justice Griffith Williams said: “We are not persuaded that there are any grounds, arguable or otherwise, for attacking the safety of the convictions of this applicant. The renewed applications are accordingly dismissed.”

By Ben Wells

There has been much coverage this week of Liverpool’s long-awaited kit deal with Warrior Sports. It’s an interesting deal on many levels as Warrior’s expertise is in lacrosse and ice hockey and is a brand little-known outside of the USA – until now. It’s also brought some welcome competition to the adidas-Nike duopoly in UK football and may herald a new way of clubs engaging with their fans in far flung places.

I won’t spend too much time talking about top-line values as these deals are always so complex (guarantee + performance bonuses + royalties) that it is difficult to ascertain exactly what the annual value is but it is clear that on the face of it, it is a good cash deal for Liverpool. Following on from the huge deal with Standard Chartered (which gives LFC good presence in Asia, if perhaps, not a great brand experience for their fans) this deal comes at a very good time for Liverpool as they seek to raise funding for a new stadium (as well as the investment clearly still required for their first team).

Herbert Hainer, Adidas’ CEO has spoken publicly that the values Liverpool were seeking for a renewal were at odds with the team’s moderate on-pitch performances. Certainly in the UK, the success of the team has an impact on the club’s retail operation but internationally, the impact is even more marked. Liverpool have consistently been in the top 5 most popular global kits and there is deeply entrenched support for the club in particular Asian markets. However, their fanbase in these countries is ageing and the research we conducted at Chelsea showed that the gap between them and the others (United are miles out on their own in FAPL terms) was closing (and indeed in some markets, Liverpool were 4th) as younger fans and newer converts to football sought to align themselves with more contemporarily successful teams. No doubt Mr Hainer was looking to the future in terms of valuing a fair deal.

Aside from the cash component, Adidas brought great value to Liverpool in its marketing of the club, especially in the Far East. Liverpool consistently had greater in-store presence in the APAC region than Chelsea and Steven Gerrard was more recognisable a front man than Frank Lampard. On the face of it, you might accuse Liverpool of sacrificing the long-term for short-term cash but it’s interesting to note that in this deal, the club will be permitted to launch its own branded retail outlets, which is where I think the deal becomes interesting.

Manchester United tried the retail route in the late 1990s and found it was not as straightforward as they might have thought, culminating in them bundling up these rights and deferring to the greater retailing expertise of Nike in their huge pre-Glazer merchandising deal. It will be interesting to see what lessons Liverpool have learnt from United’s experience and it is certain that if they can get it right there will be big benefits to the club.

Controlling the environment in which fans experience their club will be a huge boon. I’ve written previously about the United cafe in Mumbai being full of punters watching cricket and the “United” store in Macau actually retails various other Nike club kits – not exactly a proper United experience. A major benefit of being Warrior’s only football client is in having a greater say over kit distribution, product lines (offering lower-priced goods without commoditizing flagship products) and replenishment. The two “big beasts” Nike and adidas have to work to incredibly tight kit numbers ordered via the pre-sales process and replenishing any sold-out stock can take up to six months, which makes little sense in these days of one-year kit cycles.

However, this is not something that Liverpool can run solely from offices in L4 if they’re looking to capitalise fully on this opportunity. It’s long been a bugbear of mine that FAPL clubs think that they can take over the world via TV deals and paying lip service to servicing fans locally. This is a great opportunity to create a genuine footprint in the APAC region, to allow fans who cannot ever visit Anfield to understand what the club is all about, to help address suspicions about online shopping and to build longer-term relationships with the much-needed new generation of fans. It will take time before we are able to judge the merits of this deal but there is definitely an opening for Liverpool to break the mould. 

Ben has fifteen years’ experience in the commercial side of sport. Having spent six years at Chelsea FC, where he was Head of Marketing, Ben launched Ishtar Consulting in 2011 with a view to providing specialist sponsorship and marketing support to brands, rightsholders and agencies. Prior to his time at Chelsea Ben spent nearly four years at Redmandarin, the strategic sponsorship consultancy. Follow Ben on Twitter @ben_wells1 or get in touch via ben.wells@ishtarconsulting.com. This Blog appears regularly at http://benwells1.blogspot.com

Ben Well’s  

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