Organisers of the United States Formula One Grand Prix, which will be held in Austin, Texas from 2012, have said the race will go ahead.

Reports have suggested the race is already in doubt, with claims that local authorities have not been properly consulted over the plans, and concerns over the road links to the site which is expected to attract around 120,000 fans.

However, Formula One United States spokesman Adam Goldman has said: “Tremendous progress is being made on the circuit in Austin, Texas.

“The project team and community look forward to hosting the F1 United States Grand Prix in 2012.

“We are working with the State of Texas, City of Austin and Travis County to break ground on the project by the end of the year.”

The last US Grand Prix took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana in 2007. The race’s eight-year run came to an end when F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone failed to come to an agreement with the circuit’s chiefs over new terms.

Indian cricketer, Nilesh Kulkarni, who announced his retirement from the game yesterday, has launched the Indian Institute of Sports Management.

The Institute aims to provide a structured sports marketing and management programme through its undergraduate and postgraduate diploma in Sports Management in association with Jai Hind College in Mumbai.

Kulkarni said: “I have retired in order to focus on developing the younger generation in the field of sports. I am now ready and excited to move into the next phase of my life which will be of paramount importance.

“Sports has always been my passion. IISM aims to deliver sports education with a global perspective and I’m confident that my students will find their tenure with us an enriching experience.”

The launch was attended by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief administrative officer, Prof Ratnakar Shetty. He added: “Sports management is a huge area which is untouched in India. Sports today have got various areas of specialisation.

“Cricket only used to be related to cricketers but today it is a career, you have an umpire who makes a career, you have a statistician, you have a video analyst. So I think avenues are open for people, it’s only how you look at it and go into areas where you want to understand and create a career for yourself.”

Kulkarni played three Tests and ten One Day Internationals for India. He became the only Indian ever to take a wicket on his very first delivery in a Test match.

This years Business India Forum was held on July 22, 2010 and the event once more organised by Celebrasian UK was held this year in London at Christie’s. A lovely small, niche auditorium amongst all those works of art from around the world.
The mix of topics this year was once more quite interesting with sports business meeting luxury and lifestyle in an Indian context, something with the exception of IPL isn’t really the case for India just yet. So something which is set to become more and more real for India in the coming years.

It was a half day forum with over 100 delegates attending. The opening session had the title “Overview of the Indian economy and three sectors”. Ridhika Batra, Director – Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, UK; was in the chair with Vijay Goel, Indo-EU Business Forum; Deepak Lalwani, Astaire Securities; and Farid Haque, Global Markets, Accenture as panellists and they all gave their views on how business could and should be done in India plus where the opportunities and possible problems lie. This set to tone for the rest of the afternoon.

The second session had the topic “The Business of Sports” with myself as the moderator with the focus mainly on cricket and football. My panel included Ishan Saksena, Chairman, Queen’s Park Rangers FC; Ashish Ray, Author and journalist; Kevin Roberts, Editorial Director, Sport Business Group; Anders Grundberg, Partner, McGuire Woods; and Clive W. Leach, Chairman, Durham County Cricket Club.

I started off giving a general overview on the Indian sporting field with the IPL the often mentioned example of commercialisation of sports in India, but I also gave the audience the information that football is a fast growing sport in India with the question to be asked on how and where can cricket grow further. My aim was to give an overview not only of cricket and football, which still where the main focus. My seasoned colleague Ashish took the discussions to another level as he is a cricket purist and was more interested in Test cricket, while most of the world was interested in 50 Overs and T20. An interesting discussion developed as India has clearly shown that Test cricket is of no real interest for the general public these days, while T20 is the new craze through the IPL; while in England Test cricket still has its place of its own. An interesting comparison was made as a strong league doesn’t automatically mean a strong national side. England and the EPL in football were compared to India and its IPL in cricket. And yes, it scarily sounded correct as both national sides have failed in recent major competition.

We also focused in the session on the main topic of business of sports in India. There are numerous opportunities not only in cricket and football with the example of the 30 year deal signed by IMG-Reliance with the Basketball Federation of India recently made, but there are also chances in Formula 1 and Golf.

After a tea break “Session Three – The Burgeoning Luxury and Lifestyle Markets” was held with Amin Jaffer, Director Indian Art, Christies; in the chair. The panel included Fiona Sanderson, Managing Director, The Luxury Channel; Onita Prasada Vashish, Owner, Onitaa Fashion; and Kevin Rego, International Head of Sales and Marketing, B4U TV.

The fourth and final session was on “Doing business in India”. It had Carl Nisser, Board member, Europe India Chamber of Commerce Counsel & McGuire Woods; as the moderator. The panel included Atul Gupta, Director, Euro Max Capital; and Parvinder Bhatia, Wasserman Media Group – India. They talked about the does and don’t in the Indian market. One thing that came out clear of this session was anyone interested to do business in India needs to know and then also understand how to do it in India. And that is the difficulty for international business across all fields as even multinationals have failed in India.

By Arunava Chaudhuri

http://arunfoot.blogspot.com/2010/07/business-india-forum-london-review.html

The British Amateur Boxing Association (BABA), which operates the GB Boxing team, has appointed sport and entertainment agency Generate to develop and deliver a new commercial strategy.

Generate will be working with the British Amateur Boxing Association to plan and deliver a commercial strategy including maximising broadcast media rights, digital, event innovation, CRM and sponsorship opportunities to leverage increased interest in the sport following the success of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Generate will work in collaboration with the BABA’s retained Media & Communications Consultant, Lee Murgatroyd, and report to the Chief Executive (CEO) of the BABA, Matthew Holt.

Matthew Holt said: “We believe that boxing possesses a great combination of assets and are looking forward to working with Generate to create a strategy that will allow us to develop the sport and ensure we continue to capitalise on the success of 2012 as we focus on the road to Rio in 2016.”

Andy Muggleton, Co-Founder & Commercial Director at Generate, said: “We’re delighted to be working with the British Amateur Boxing Association at what is an undoubtedly exciting time for the sport of boxing.

“We have a real passion for the sport, and having previously worked on commercial strategy with NGB’s such as the British Canoe Union, Volleyball England and Archery GB we believe there is a fantastic opportunity to deliver a strong commercial plan for the sport.”

Circuit of The Americas (COTA) and motorcycle racing legend Kevin Schwantz has become a new ambassador for the circuit.

Schwantz will serve as an official ambassador for COTA and work to promote the upcoming Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas MotoGP event set for April 11-13, 2014.

“Kevin is a great champion and partnering with him gives us an opportunity to learn from his deep knowledge, as well as continue to celebrate his accomplishments,” Circuit Chairman Bobby Epstein said. “Kevin and I have always shared the desire to see him be a part of COTA, and it’s awesome to finally see it become a reality. A great American track and a great American champion in the same city can’t be kept apart. As a result, casual riders, current racers, future stars and the fans all win.”

“I look forward to being the ambassador for two-wheel racing for COTA, especially as the 2014 MotoGP season begins and returns to Texas,” Schwantz said. “Grand prix motorcycle racing has been my life, and to help COTA market and promote that moving forward is exciting!”

As a COTA ambassador, Schwantz will play a prominent role in a variety of promotions for the upcoming Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas event in April, including media availabilities and fan activities. For example, Schwantz will serve as Grand Marshal for the MotoGP race on Sunday, April 13, and will lead the parade laps scheduled for COTA’s personal seat license holders on Friday, April 11, between grand prix practice sessions.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) Board has approved the introduction of an International Women’s Championship.

This bi-lateral competition involving the top eight ranked women’s teams will determine qualification for the next Women’s World Cup.

Competing countries will include Australia, here West Indies, anesthetist England, doctor New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, India and Pakistan with promotion and relegation at the end of the first cycle.

Each team will play the others in a series of matches between mid-2014 and the end of 2016, with the top teams qualifying automatically for the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2017. 

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: “This is a very positive step for the profile and competitiveness of women’s cricket.

“It guarantees a more regular and balanced programme of meaningful ODI cricket for a broader group of nations than ever before.

“The ICC Women’s World Cup last year set a new benchmark in terms of quality and public interest and with this added context the pathway to the 2017 event in England looks really exciting.”

The bottom countries at the end of the International Women’s Championship will be joined by a number of teams from the ICC’s regional qualification structures to play in an ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier which will determine the final Women’s World Cup participants.