A deal, negotiated by IMG, has been reached between Soccer United Marketing (SUM) and insureance firm Allstate, with the latter becoming the official insurance sponsor of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the US National men’s and women’s sides.

Under the terms of the agreement a four-year renewal has been agreed with Mexico’s national team for its friendly matches on U.S. soil.

Although financial details were not released, according to sportsbusinessdaily, sources estimate that the deal could be “in the eight-figure range”. MLS has been without an insurance partner since for the last eight years, when New York Life concluded a four-year deal.

Allstate Senior Marketing Manager Karen Uhler said: “We are casting a wider net. We’ve had a great track record with the Hispanic audience and it’s time to grow our involvement with the sport”

The Boxing Federation of Russia have brokered a deal which sees the country’s top sports club, Dynamo, takeover the Moscow franchise of the World Series of Boxing (WSB). The new agreement was announced after the current Moscow franchise was terminated due to a breach of financial obligations and will begin with immediate effect.

A statement from the WSB read: “The current Moscow franchise has been in breach of its agreement with the WSB since before the start of the season, notably with respect to non-payment of financial obligations towards the WSB. Despite numerous reminders there has been no attempt by the franchise owner to remedy the situation. The agreement with the current franchise owner has therefore been terminated with immediate effect.”

The team will now be named Dynamo Moscow upon entering its first match against the Istanbulls away on 28 January before the first home match on 5 February in a new home venue.

Dr C. K. Wu, AIBA President and WSB Chairman, welcomed the new agreement: “I am delighted that we have been able to resolve this issue with the help of the Boxing Federation of Russia and Dynamo,” he said. “The WSB will not tolerate any impropriety in any of its franchises and will not hesitate to take action to protect its interests if agreements it has in place are not respected. We have had an excellent start to the inaugural season with universal acclaim from boxers and fans alike. We will not let this be jeopardized.”

It is expected that UEFA President, and former France international soccer player, Michel Platini will be re-elected in his post on 23 December. The decision looks to be a foregone conclusion as no challengers have gone up against the current president or look set to do so by midnight on 22 December.

Platini has held the position at UEFA since January 2007 and earlier this year revealed that he would put himself forward to continue his role for a further three years.

In an eventful and sometimes controversial tenure, Platini’s main achievement has been to deliver on his promise to “take the game back to the fans in the smaller countries”. That pledge remains a vote-winner among the majority of the 53 member associations.

In comparison with the 2007‑08 season when Platini took over the presidential position, teams from Israel, Denmark, Switzerland, Slovakia and Serbia have taken part in the Champions League group stage. Russia and France have also had their participation increased by a single club with teams from Portuguese, Turkish, Spanish, Italian, Scottish and Czech leagues all sacrificed.

Last Friday, after the executive committee meeting in Prague, Uefa announced a €300,000-a-year (US$394,313) boost to all member associations’ conditional funding, largesse that would probably not be overlooked if Platini’s candidacy was contested. The big clubs are less pleased about the Champions League reforms introduced by Platini than the “smaller countries” and if reinstated, he may face a tougher 3 years ahead..

English soccer club Blackburn Rovers’ new owners, the Venky’s Group, have refuted claims that the club’s transfer policy is being set by sports agency Kentaro.

Less than a month after the Indian poultry firm had bought the club, the new owners decided to sack manager Sam Allardyce who has since claimed that he no longer controlled transfers. 

Venky’s group chairman Anuradha Desai said: “Kentaro are our main consultants but Sam had the final call. But we didn’t even get as far as discussing any names with him.” 

Desai stated that Allardyce’s dealings in previous transfer markets had not impressed the new owners. 

“My father once told me that out of 10 decisions you must get at least seven right – you can get two or three wrong, we’re not gods,” she continued. 

“But to get nine or 10 wrong is not good and things have been going wrong with transfers – that’s a fact.

“As for Kentaro, they introduced us to the club in August and continue to advise us, but we are talking to a lot of people and we certainly don’t have an exclusive deal with them. All our transfers don’t have to go through them.” 

Kentaro’s role at Ewood Park has been the source of speculation ever since Venky’s emerged as a potential buyer of the Lancashire club.

The group that have taken over at English Premier League soccer club Blackburn Rovers and quickly sacked manager Sam Alladyce, advice are looking to strengthen their involvement with soccer in their native India.

The Venkateshwara Hatcheries (VH) Group, generic is planning to set up a state-of-the-art football academy in Pune, the city where it is headqurtered. According to reports, the academy is likely to come up in a year’s time with former India skipper, Baichung Bhutia, at the helm of affairs in the academy with the support of foreign coaches who will run the academy.

“We will have the best football academy in the country and it will be in Pune for sure,” VH Group chairperson Anuradha Desai told the English daily, DNA on Tuesday. 

“We are likely to rope in Baichung Bhutia as chief selector and some assistance will be taken from an Englishman to run the academy.”

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission for the London 2012 Games concluded its seventh visit to the British capital today, pills following three days of meetings with representatives of London 2012 and its partners.

With a little over a year and a half to go until the London Games, viagra the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) remains on track as it transitions from planning to the operational phase of its preparations, with test events starting in earnest next year.

Bigger Picture
In addition to receiving updates on the progress made since its last visit in July, the Commission, led by Chairman Denis Oswald, visited a number of the venues, including Wembley Arena, Earls Court, Hadleigh Farm, the Royal Artillery Barracks and the new velodrome being built in the Olympic Park. These visits allowed the Commission to witness firsthand the progress being made on the London 2012 project and its legacy.

“We can see the pieces of the puzzle falling into place now, and the big picture is rapidly becoming visible,” Oswald said. “Preparations are advancing at an astonishing rate and LOCOG, the ODA, and their partners should be congratulated for the high quality of the work they are producing across this complex project. The continued support of the British government for the Games has also been key to the progress made since our last visit, and they should be thanked for the efforts that they have made in these challenging times. This underlines the British people’s strong connection to sport and to the Olympic Games in particular.”

London 2012 Organising Committee Chairman Sebastian Coe said: “We are entering a new phase of delivery, where we will be testing our plans right across the project on a range of sports events over the next 18 months. These testing opportunities are an important part of our journey to hosting a great Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.”

Client Perspectives
With the London Games drawing nearer, the Commission held a series of workshops aimed at examining London 2012’s plans from a client perspective to better understand what each group can expect to experience at Games time. The sessions looked at the plans from the perspectives of the athletes, spectators, International Federations, National Olympic Committees, media, the International Paralympic Committee, marketing partners, workforce, and others. Technical meetings were also held on subjects ranging from communications and branding to technology and ceremonies.

An unforgettable welcome awaits visitors to London in 2012 thanks to the innovative Look of the Games programme outlined by LOCOG and the Mayor of London’s office during the visit. The Commission was impressed by how the programme would be rolled out across the city, and, while a lot of planning remains to be done, it was confident that this would greatly add to fans’ Olympic  and Paralympic experience in 2012. The Commission also received updates on the successful launch of both the London 2012 volunteer programme and ticketing prices in recent months, and welcomed LOCOG’s plans to ensure that families of athletes participating at the 2012 Games will be able to secure tickets to events featuring these athletes.

The Commission was also presented with London 2012’s matrix of test events for the months leading up to the Games. The test events are integral in the journey to preparing the services, operations, venues and related infrastructure, so that they are running smoothly by Games time. The events provide an important testing ground to ensure that pre-Games planning is workable and to allow improvements and changes to be made, where necessary, ahead of the Games.

Red Bull Racing has agreed a one-race deal with SKY, meaning the largest high-definition satellite TV provider in Latin America will become a Race Partner for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The agreement means SKY’s logo will feature on the bargeboards of Red Bull Racing’s Formula One cars throughout the race weekend. The well-known TV company, which has over 2 million subscribers, has been a partner of the Red Bull Racing Brazilian Stock Car team since 2009.

SKY Brazil CEO, Luiz Eduardo Baptista da Rocha said: “Since we have such a successful partnership with Red Bull Racing in Stock Car for the last two years, it is natural that we extend this project to include the Formula One team also. We look forward to an excellent race and hope for a successful result.”

Red Bull Racing Team Principal, Christian Horner said: “It’s great that we have signed this deal with SKY, which is recognised globally as an exciting and progressive brand. SKY entertains via the latest technology and so is an excellent fit with Red Bull Racing, which seeks to do the same. I hope that together we produce an inspiring result at the Brazilian Grand Prix.”

Argentinian football club San Lorenzo have renamed their stadium after Pope Francis, a supporter of the club.

“San Lorenzo will make Pope Francis eternal,” the club said on its Twitter account.

San Lorenzo, which won South America’s Libertadores Cup for the first time this year, are to build a new stadium in the historic Gasometro district of Boedo in the Buenos Aires suburbs.

The club sold its old stadium in Boedo in the 1970s and moved to Flores, but have always said they wanted to move back.

San Lorenzo, one of Argentina’s top five clubs, took on new prominence in 2013 after the election of the Argentinian pope. The team had an audience with Francis at the Vatican in August when they showed off the Libertadores trophy.

The Asian Tour have revealed that Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters will return onto the Asian Tour Schedule for the seventh consecutive year in September with a prize fund of RM1.3 million (approximately US$410, order 000).

The full field Asian Tour event, which offered prize money of RM1.2 million last season, will welcome many of the region’s finest players back to the challenging Seri Selangor Golf Club from September 18 to 21 and form part of a busy run of events towards the second half of the 2014 season.

Pariya Junhasavasdikul of Thailand, who won the tournament in 2013 for his second Asian Tour victory, will headline the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters alongside many of the leading Asian Tour stars and Euro Asia Cup Team Asia heroes.

Worldwide Holdings, a 100 per cent subsidiary of PKNS – the development arm of the state of Selangor – will maintain its commitment as the title sponsor of the Selangor Masters for the seventh straight year.

“We are delighted to have forged a very strong partnership with the Asian Tour over the past seven years. Worldwide Holdings has enjoyed great global exposure through the Selangor Masters and we are pleased to announce the event will be staged in September at Seri Selangor Golf Club,” said  Hj.Ami Nardin Hj.Ishak Head Of Corporate Communication Divison of Worldwide Holdings.

“The Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters has grown from strength-to-strength since joining the Asian Tour in 2008 and we are confident our event will continue to attract the best players from the Asian Tour to compete in our tournament.”

Worldwide Holding’s support of the Selangor Masters is part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) where apart from sports sponsorship, it also supports the underprivileged through various community projects under the Yayasan Raja Muda Selangor (YRMS).

Asian Tour Chairman Kyi Hla Han lauded the continued support of Worldwide Holdings. “We are proud with our long-established association with the Selangor Masters and I would like to thank Worldwide Holdings and the Selangor Government for their commitment and contribution towards the game at the highest level in Asia,” said Han.

“Our talented players always look forward to playing in the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters and I am sure we will enjoy another great week of golf at Seri Selangor. The Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters will also give Malaysian players an opportunity to enhance their games as many will be aiming to follow in the footsteps of Ben Leong who won the event in 2008.”