The International Cricket Council (ICC) has today relocated the ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division 3 from Uganda to Malaysia after safety concerns. 

The tournament is set to take place between 23 to 30 October in Kuala Lumpur, diagnosis Malaysia. 

Uganda was to host the six-team competition from 26 October to 2 November, medstore however, health due to a recent elevation in the ICC’s ongoing safety and security assessment level, it has been decided to relocate the event to the Malaysian capital.

In coming to this decision, the ICC coordinated with a range of local authorities and security experts.   

Announcing the decision, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: “The safety and security of players and officials is of paramount importance to the ICC, and despite the excellent cooperation received from the Ugandan government and the Uganda Cricket Association, due to recent events beyond the control of the ICC and the Uganda Cricket Association, we were ultimately uncertain if a secure environment could still be provided. 

“Thankfully, the Malaysian Cricket Association has offered to host the tournament at short notice, and, based on previous experience, we anticipate a successful event in Kuala Lumpur.”

The six teams competing in the event are Bermuda, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Uganda and the USA.

Sponsorship intelligence expert IEG has suggested worldwide sponsorship spending on amateur and professional tennis tournaments, case leagues and sanctioning bodies will total $739 million in 2014, sickness up 4.4 percent from 2013.

The increase is consistent with the 4.3 percent increase in overall sponsorship spending but lags the 4.9 percent increase in sports spending.

“Deal-making at the global level has slowed following an active 2013, pills ” said William Chipps, IEG Sponsorship Report senior editor.

Among global deals, the ATP this year renewed FedEx Corp., while the WTA reupped BNP Paribas as title of the season-ending WTA Finals Singapore.

The WTA also secured SC Global as presenting sponsor of the WTA Finals, while the newly-renamed Connecticut Open landed United Technologies Corp. in a similar role.

Michelob Ultra this year gained net signage and on-court activation at 10 ATP tournaments in the U.S. following Anheuser-Busch InBev’s 2013 acquisition of tour sponsor Grupo Modelo. The company’s Corona Extra brand remains the premier partner of the ATP World Tour, a tie it activates at tournaments outside the U.S.

Anheuser-Busch InBev is the most active sponsor of tennis, with 34 percent of properties with a sponsor in the malt beverage category reporting a partnership with the company.

Endemic companies are the most prolific sponsors of tennis. Sports apparel and equipment companies are 8.4 times more likely to sponsor tennis than the average of all sponsors, according to IEG Research.

Syracuse University have signed a new multi-year partnership with IMG for the sports media company serving as Syracuse University Athletics’ multimedia license partner. 

Revitalizing a partnership that began in 1999, IMG will work in conjunction with the university’s athletics department to bring national, regional and local sponsorship and media support to the university’s athletic programs. 

Under the new agreement, IMG will market and sell corporate sponsorships, and manage radio game broadcasts for the athletics’ department sports programs, as well as produce coaches television shows and other programming and publications.  IMG will also market other assets of the athletics department, including certain digital entities, venue signage, in-game promotions and other sponsorship recognitions in conjunction with university athletic events.

“IMG is a valuable partner to our university, we are excited to begin a new partnership with them and their new parent company WME,” said Syracuse University Director of Athletics, Dr. Daryl Gross. “This new agreement will maximize our interests, allowing us to further support our student-athletes on the field and in the classroom, and compete at the highest level in the ACC and nationally for years to come.”

“We are excited to renew our relationship with one of our nation’s great universities,” said Ben Sutton, Jr., Chairman and President of IMG College. “We have enjoyed a longstanding, very productive relationship with Syracuse, and we are proud the school has chosen to re-establish itself as a part of our industry-leading national platform. Our entire team is looking forward to the coming football and basketball seasons, particularly with Syracuse’s new ACC conference affiliation and the new rivalries Syracuse is developing.”

The National Hockey League (NHL) has approved the sale of the New Jersey Devils to Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris.

The founder of one of the world’s largest private equity firms, Harris and his group paid $320 million to owner Jeff Vanderbeek for the rights to the Devils and the lease to the Prudential Center.

The deal was ironed out by the attorneys for the two sides on Thursday morning.

Harris, whose main partner is fellow equities investor David Blitzer, needed roughly a week to close the deal after talks with Philadelphia attorney Andrew Barroway fell through.

In a statement the NHL’s board of governors ratified the deal “The National Hockey League’s Board of Governors approved the sale of the New Jersey Devils to the partnership of David Blitzer and Joshua Harris.”

Vanderbeek will remain with the Devils as a senior adviser.

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Chinese sportswear company, cough Peak Sport Products had cut a total of 1,067 authorised retail outlets this year by the end of September, according to recent reports.

According to a sales report released by Peak Sport, 283 outlets were closed in the first quarter of 2012. Another 464 were shut down in the second quarter and a further 320 in the third quarter.

Peak Sport said in its mid-year report that the average turnover of its authorised retail outlets decreased by 30 percent compared with the same period in 2011.

The value of orders Peak Sport received for the second quarter in 2013 shrank by 20 percent to 30 percent compared with the same period this year.{jcomments on}

The NBA has announced plans to build a vast sports and entertainment complex in Tianjin, health China as the basketball organisation seeks to extend its popularity in its second-largest national market.

The NBA. Center is set to include a gym and an N.B.A.-themed cafe, a restaurant and a store as well as an interactive gaming area and a children’s zone.

The NBA has sold lucrative television broadcast rights in China and has a growing number of sponsors and merchandise deals .

China is an integral part of the NBA’s international expansion plans and reportedly reached more than US$100 million of revenue for the past year.

The NBA did not disclose how much it would invest in the complex but did reveal that several others could be built across China.{jcomments on}

The Minnesota Twins have been awarded Major League Baseball’s 2014 All-Star Game.

They will also host the 85th Midsummer Classic at Target Field, Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig announced at a press conference at Target Field.

Commissioner Selig said: “It is my great honor to name the Minnesota Twins as the hosts of the 2014 All-Star Game. This is especially meaningful to me because of my close personal and professional relationship with Carl Pohlad, who was one of the finest owners in professional sports. The Midsummer Classic will be a celebration of Carl’s legacy, one of our game’s model franchises and the spectacular Target Field, which deserves to be showcased on this global stage.”

“It is an honor for the Minnesota Twins to be selected to host the 2014 All-Star Game at Target Field,” said Jim Pohlad, Owner and CEO, Minnesota Twins. “The excitement of having the Midsummer Classic will permeate the Twin Cities and be a great showcase for our region and for our wonderful community asset, Target Field. My father and Commissioner Selig were very close, so we are thrilled to have the Commissioner at Target Field to announce an All-Star Game coming to the Twin Cities.”

“This is the kind of excitement we envisioned six years ago when the Hennepin County Board authorized the sales tax to help finance the new Twins ballpark,” said Mike Opat, Chair of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners. “Target Field opened a new frontier in downtown Minneapolis and in 2014, we’ll share it with the nation during All-Star Week.”

“I remember being lucky enough, as a starry-eyed kid, to attend the 1965 All-Star Game at the old Met Stadium,” said R.T. Rybak, Mayor, City of Minneapolis. “Holding this game in Minneapolis almost 50 years later, at the best new park in baseball, will be another unforgettable experience for all of us – and it will have a huge, positive financial impact on our city. Now we’re going to get to work doing what we do best: being great hosts in the greatest host city in America.”

The 2014 All-Star Game on Tuesday July 15, 2014 will mark the third time that the Twins will serve as hosts of the Midsummer Classic. Metropolitan Stadium hosted the 1965 All-Star Game, a 6-5 National League victory that featured 18 Hall of Famers, including Harmon Killebrew, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente,
Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle, Juan Marichal and Willie Mays, as well as MLB Executive Vice Presidents Frank Robinson and Joe Torre.

In 1985, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome staged the 56th All-Star Game, a 6-1 N.L. victory that included Hall of Famers Bert Blyleven, George Brett, Wade Boggs, Carlton Fisk, Tony Gwynn, Rickey Henderson, Paul Molitor, Jim Rice, Cal Ripken Jr., Nolan Ryan, Ryne Sandberg, Ozzie Smith and Dave Winfield.

Target Field, which debuted in 2010 as the new open-air home of the Twins, is located in downtown Minneapolis. The stone-and-glass ballpark is rooted in nature and the outdoors. 

One of horseracing’s most prolific sponsors, George Ward, has passed away on Monday, aged 79 following a short illness. 

Ward began supporting the Grunwick National Hunt Flat Race series and followed up sponsoring under the Bonusprint, Doubleprint and Tripleprint banners.

He believed strongly that racing and terrestrial television coverage could create the necessary exposure for his brand names and his events became a feature on many UK courses, as over 22 years he invested £25 million into sponsorship.

Amongst the courses he supported were Ascot, Aintree, Cheltenham, Sandown, Goodwood and Newmarket.

Races he sponsored included the Bonusprint King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, the Tripleprint Gold Cup at Cheltenham in December, the Bonusprint Stayers’ Hurdle at the Festival, the Bonusprint Bula Hurdle and the Bonusprint Old Roan Chase at Aintree.

Ward was a key figure in the relaunch of the Horseracing Sponsors Association about 20 years ago. As president, he spent many years developing the Association, which represents the interests of all UK racing sponsors.

Ward leaves behind his wife Loretto and his two sons Anthony and Francis and their families.