Hollywood interest in the Limacol Caribbean Premier League has increased after A-list actor Gerard Butler revealed he has taken an equity interest in the Jamaica Tallawahs team.

“My good friend Ajmal Khan has been telling me about the Limacol CPL and I’ve had the opportunity to watch some of the matches.  It is obvious that this tournament is the home of the greatest party in sport so I wanted to get in on the fun, drugs ” said Butler.  “Having said that, drug as a Scotsman I definitely have an appreciation for cricket and I also recognise that the LCPL is a great combination of sports and entertainment.  I’m excited about joining the Jamaica Tallawahs franchise, drugs and hopefully being a part of the team that wins the inaugural tournament.”

Butler joins fellow Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg who took an equity interest in the Barbados Tridents team.

Ajmal Khan, Chairman of Verus International and Founder of the Limacol CPL stated, “Celebrities owning sports teams is nothing new but to have two Hollywood actors taking a vested interest in cricket teams is quite novel.  The Limacol CPL continues to attract that ‘star power’. I think it’s a testament to the quality of the tournament, the carnival party atmosphere, the music, the entertainment, the fans, and the experience that only the Caribbean can deliver.  We’re just a few days away from the semi-finals and final but the interest in, and desire to be a part of the Limacol CPL is still there because the tournament just keeps getting better with every game that’s played.  I am excited to have my good friend Gerry come to the Limacol CPL to join the party.”

“We are thrilled that Gerard has seen the enormous potential of the Limacol CPL and has taken an equity interest in the Jamaica Tallawahs,” said Limacol CPL Chief Executive Officer Damien O’Donohoe.  “Now that the tournament has actually started, I think more people are realising its global appeal, and how it is an experience like no other.  Celebrities such as Gerard further raise the profile of the tournament, and expand the fan base to reach new markets.  We look forward to seeing the many ways in which this partnership will benefit both Gerard and the LCPL.”

Butler’s next movie, How To Train Your Dragon 2, comes out in 2014.  He is best known for his roles in films such as Olympus Has Fallen, 300, Law Abiding Citizen, The Ugly Truth, P.S. I Love You, and sports themed movies – Chasing Mavericks (surfing) and Playing for Keeps (soccer).    

The inaugural Limacol Caribbean Premier League began on 30 July in Barbados, and concludes on 24 August in Trinidad.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) have revealed their 2013 and 2014 calendar with China securing two new events in Wuhan and Hong Kong in 2014.

Tournament prize money in 2013 will increase 10% overall, WTA tennis will return to Poland and Brazil in 2013, with Brazil set to welcome a second event in 2014.

In 2013, across 54 events in 33 countries, the overall prize money at WTA events will increase more than 10% from $53.3M in 2012 to $58.7M (not including the Grand Slams), up 67% since the Roadmap was introduced in 2009. The WTA will return to Poland with an International event staged the week of April 8, 2013 (Week 15), in Katowice, located approximately 50 miles (80 km) from Krakow.

The 2014 calendar will feature events relocating to Brazil and China. Wuhan, the hometown of World No.6 Li Na, will host a Premier 5 event in Week 39, the week prior to the China Open (Beijing). The tournament will feature at least seven of the year-end Top 10-ranked players competing for more than $2 million in prize money and will replace the Toray Pan Pacific Open (Tokyo), which will celebrate an illustrious 30th anniversary at its final event in 2013. Coupled with the relocation of an International event to Hong Kong in Week 37 in 2014, China will host five of the 18 events in the Asia-Pacific region.

“We are excited by the growth of women’s professional tennis, particularly in key markets like China and Brazil,” said Stacey Allaster, WTA Chairman & CEO. “Development in the BRIC markets, led by China, has been a strategic priority for the past several years. We look forward to continued strengthening of our global brand, developing our sport, and building our fan base worldwide.”

For the first time in its 40-year history, the WTA will also host three International events in South America in 2014. In addition to the event in Bogotá, Colombia, and Florianopolis, Brazil, which will hold its inaugural event in 2013, an International event will be relocated to Rio de Janeiro in Week 8.

The WTA’s commitment to the sport’s development in emerging markets is best demonstrated in the APAC region, as the popularity of the sport has seen dramatic growth. Led by the organization’s Beijing office, the WTA works closely with the China Open, Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau, Chinese Tennis Association, and local sports organizations to develop professional tennis in the region. With the addition of Shenzhen in 2013, and Hong Kong and Wuhan the following year, there will be a record 16 tournaments within the APAC region in 2013, and 18 events are scheduled for 2014, five in China.

The WTA 125 Series, which began with two events in 2012, is a new stream of events that gives developing markets the opportunity to showcase WTA women’s professional tennis and offer developmental opportunities for rising players.

Three new WTA 125 events will be added in 2013 in China, bringing the series count to six: Taipei (Week 44), Pune, India (Week 45), Cali, Colombia (Week 7), and the three China events – Suzhou (Week 32), Ningbo (Week 39) and Nanjing (Week 44).

With the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Glasgow selling out in just one hour, find British Cycling has launched a campaign to promote Track Cycling in Glasgow.

The On Track to Glasgow campaign will see a series of initiatives around the Track World Cup taking place in November to inspire people in Glasgow to try Track Cycling.  British Cycling has held back a quarter of the seats on the Friday of the sell-out event for local school children to attend with each school receiving a personal invitation from Sir Chris Hoy.   Track riders will also visit select schools across Glasgow to engage school children in the sport. Pop up track bikes will also appear over the coming months around Glasgow city centre giving people the chance to try out track cycling.

The event which takes place from November 16-18 at the new, state-of-the-art Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and is broadcast on BBC, will host the second of a three round Track Cycling World Cup series.  The world’s leading track cyclists will compete in the first major track cycling event in the UK since the Olympics.  The event will showcase three days of track cycling including the disciplines of Keirin, Individual Sprint, Team Sprint, Team Pursuit and the Omnium.

Six-time Olympic Gold medallist, Sir Chris Hoy said: “A Track World Cup sell out in Glasgow is fantastic for the sport and its legacy.  Following the GB team’s outstanding success at London 2012, and building on this legacy to Glasgow and through other British Cycling events taking place in the UK, I hope we can continue to inspire the next generation of track cyclists.  Although I won’t be competing at the event in November, I’m looking forward to supporting the Glasgow schools legacy programme and I’ll be in the velodrome to cheer on the GB team.”

Jonny Clay, Cycle Sport and Membership Director of British Cycling, said: “With the profile of British Cycling at an all-time high after the Olympics in London, we’re delighted that interest has remained high in the sport and the Track World Cup is a sell-out event.  We are now focusing on engaging people in Glasgow in Track Cycling and preparing to deliver a fantastic event for those attending or watching it on the BBC.

“It’s an exciting time for British Cycling with major events across the UK taking place including the 2013 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in Manchester and we’re also bidding for the 2016 Track World Cup Championships in London.  We’re confident we can continue this interest in cycling and we’re looking forward to developing further legacy programmes around these events to engage more people in the sport.”

by Ismail Uddin

OC Thirdpole announced their merger with Patrice Clerc & Associates (PCA) earlier this week to create a new sports marketing company called OC Sport.

As part of the deal, OC Sport will own 100% of the Extreme Sailing Series – acquiring a slice of the event that has been owned by Swiss investors including Ernesto Bertarelli since 2010.

iSportconnect speaks exclusively to both men behind the deal, Mark Turner, OC Thirdpole owner and Patrice Clerc the new President of the Board of OC Sport.

In terms of benefits of the merger Turner said: “The merger increases our ability to invest in people and properties, and to take some risks on creation of new projects and events, in order to continue to grow the company. At the same time, we will continue to consolidate on some great progress in the past few years – at a time of greater uncertainty in the world of business. It will enable expansion geographically for the business with potential to have offices in other key territories outside of Europe, as well as taking our events into new territories. And a big motivation for me is to be able to inspire event more people via the sports we work in to take on what may seem daunting or impossible.”

Both Clerc and Turner put down their interest in each other’s company to ther strong track record.

“Patrice Clerc & Associates have a strong track record and personally both Patrice and Benoit have extensive experience which allows us to increase our experience, expertise, and commercial network at a senior level. Importantly, we share the same values and aspirations,” Turner said.

Clerc added: “OC ThirdPole has built an outstanding track record in the field of sports event management on a global level. Together we feel we have enormous potential to develop as an outdoor sports focused company.”

Now that they own 100% of the Extreme Sailing Series, Turner explained his next step.

“It’s business as usual this year. The venue tender process for 2013-2015 was opened in March this year with only 3 new slots available.  We have 8 teams right now and as an event we don’t need the team numbers to grow – 8 top teams backed by great brands’ keep us true to our stadium racing concept, anymore and we wouldn’t be able to do that,” Turner said.  

“The real challenge for us going forward is to attract globally recognized sponsors to allow us to grow the scale of the event, especially in terms of on shore activities, media production and generate much larger scale footfall; as well as seeing the benefits that come with a sponsor implementing their own activation and pushing us to deliver more.”

Also Turner explained his future business goals and objectives in the short and long term.

He said: “Today our plan is not to go beyond professional sailing and outdoor sports. It is important that we remain an agile and dynamic small company compared with our big and more corporate competitors. We already work in 11 countries in 2012 alone, and our plan will be to maintain and develop our international footprint.

“We will continue to have a mix of three types of client – our own in-house owned events like the Extreme Sailing Series and Haute Route events, working as a supplier as we do for the MOD70 European Tour organization, for example, and consultancy contracts; as well as continuing to work on both the team/athlete side.  Mid to long-term we will be looking at opportunities to take our existing events further afield, and developing our business strategy to include new events and projects.”

Read Mark Turner’s exclusive Featured Profile here>>

Sochi 2014 Winter Games organizers has been asked by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to delay their international ticket planning =allowing them to assess the situation after alleged breaches in the London 2012 sales.

“Following the recent Sunday Times allegations that some national Olympic committees and authorized ticket resellers were in breach of 2012 Games ticketing policy, viagra buy the IOC has convened its Ethics Commission to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the story,” the IOC said in a statement.

“During this process we have asked the Sochi organizing committee to temporarily delay the planning for its international ticketing program while we review the situation,” it said.

The British newspaper had said numerous NOCs and ATRs were offering to buy or sell tickets outside their territories, to sell tickets at inflated prices or sell them to unauthorized resellers.”

“The move is purely precautionary. Sochi 2014 is not affected by the allegations and we continue to work closely with them, as they develop their ticketing program for the Olympic Winter Games.”

Newman Ferrara LLP today announced that the firm has launched an investigation into possible corruption and suspicious conduct involving boxing promoter Bob Arum and certain officials of the World Boxing Organization (WBO), order which governed and sanctioned the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 9, 2012.

Viewers, commentators, boxing experts, and book makers were shocked when Bradley was named victor when the fight ended unmistakably in Pacquiao’s favor. Suspicions were raised further by the pre-fight conduct of Arum, a promoter for both fighters, who had already scheduled a re-match for November – an event which could only be profitable if Bradley was named victor in the first bout. In addition to other scrutiny about his conduct, in 1995, Arum paid a substantial penalty for trying to bribe the International Boxing Federation to sanction a fight.

Newman Ferrara maintains a multifaceted practice based in New York City with attorneys specializing in complex commercial and multi-party litigation with an emphasis on securities, ERISA, consumer fraud, products liability, civil rights and real estate.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), viagra 60mg has struck a deal with Endemol Games U.K. to license the fight footage and a dozen fighter’s likenesses to the company for usage in their online slot machines.

Endemol Games is a subdivision of Endemol, recipe a Dutch-based television company known for various American television shows including Deal or No Deal and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

The deal creates a new revenue stream for the UFC, denture with the company receiving revenue on a flat licensing fee plus a percentage of the game’s handle, should certain net profit incentives –$1 million dollars annually be met.

Ike Epstein, UFC Exec VP & General Counsel, said: “Everybody wants to make money, but even more important than that, this is a great extension of our brand. Endemol has a great track record of taking great brands and creating very successful games online. One thing we’re blessed with is international reach. When you look at opportunities to take the brand around the world, this is pretty effective and efficient.”

This is the UFC’s second foray into the world of online gaming, the company previously had a sponsorship deal with Full Tilt Poker before they were forced to shut down operations.

The National Hockey League’s (NHL) most lucrative sponsorship deal in its history has been thrown into doubt after an Ontario judge ruled in favor of Labatt’s claim that the league reneged on its agreement with the beer company.

A Friday, June 3, ruling was made in favor of Labatt’s, which claimed it already had a deal in place with the NHL before the league committed to a US$375m sponsorship agreement with arch-rival Molson Coors in February.

Charlie Angelakos, Labatt’s vice president of corporate affairs, said in a statement: “We are pleased that Budweiser’s sponsorship of the NHL will continue. Budweiser and hockey are a natural fit. We look forward to a very productive relationship with the league through the 2013-14 season and are actively looking for opportunities on a team and grass-roots level to reinforce that connection.”

Labatt took on its beer rival following the agreement reached in February, when it filed a notice of application to the Ontario Superior Court asking the court to toss out the NHL’s new deal with Coors.

Budweiser is owned by Anheuser-Busch, which is Labatt’s corporate parent. Anheuser-Busch is also the sponsor for 22 of the 24 NHL teams currently based in the United States.

English soccer club,Sheffield Wednesday face a “distinct possibility” of going into administration, BBC Sport understands.