Sports Marketing Surveys Inc has signed a partnership with Swedish Golf Federation (SGF) for the research body to be the preferred research supplier of Swedish Golf’s governing body.

The innovative relationship between SMS INC. and SGF will enable the two entities, vcialis 40mg to better understand the dynamics of the Swedish and Scandinavian Golf Market. It will allow SMS INC. to explore the lifestyle, price purchase behaviour and equipment considerations amongst Swedish golfers which will enable decisions to be taken to help grow and enhance golf in the region.

“This arrangement with SMS INC. as our preferred supplier will allow the Swedish Golf Federation to continue to grow and improve our service to golf in Sweden, medic | as well as offer further expertise and value, based on SMS INC.’s experience, to our existing and new clients and sponsors,” said Bo Bengtsson, Deputy General Secretary of the SGF.

John Bushell, MD of SMS INC. added “We are very excited about this relationship, and recognize the mutual value to both parties and to the industry. It will greatly enhance our research offering, and complements the existing relationships we already have in place with the respective national federations such as that with FFG in France, Golf.de in Germany, and Golf.dk in Denmark.”

Michael Dahl, Sports Marketing Surveys, Sports Business Manager based in Sweden confirmed, “We have agreed an ongoing plan of research, and will be launching programmes immediately looking at everything from media & lifestyle behaviour, to a lapsed golfer study. We are delighted to build on the relations with have with the SGF, and become the preferred research supplier. I am certain that they will reap the rewards of our expertise, and in turn we will be able to develop our cooperation further.”

Following the recent decisions by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and International Softball Federation (ISF) to merge into a single federation, sale cialis the heads of these organisations has appointed Olympic bid specialists, clinic  Helios Partners to help drive their campaign for Olympic 2020 inclusion.

The Atlanta (USA)-based firm has a notable track record of helping manage winning Olympic bid campaigns.

Helios will provide critical support to the ISF & IBAF team on preparing the presentations to the IOC Olympic Programme Commission in December and the IOC Executive Board in May 2013, as well as the overall strategy for the campaign.

“We have achieved incredible progress on the merger in a very short period of time, and now we have to really move forward decidedly in other areas”, said Don Porter, ISF President “We needed a highly professional and experienced agency to support our efforts, and we could not think of better partner than Helios”.

“By combining into a single IF, we now need to bring our athletes and sports back to the forefront and focus on preparing our case for the exceptional value baseball and softball bring to the Olympic Movement.” said Riccardo Fraccari, IBAF President  “We have a great story to tell and Helios is the perfect partner to help us articulate that”.

“We are honoured to work alongside these two great sports, played and enjoyed by millions of men, women, boys and girls around the world, to help return them to the Olympic Programme as a single, unified and inclusive Federation,” said Terrence Burns, President of Helios Partners. “Together, baseball and softball will reinforce the Olympic ideals at sport’s grassroots level in hundreds of countries around the globe”.

A court in Karnataka has issued a stay order on the Indian Tennis Association (AITA) decision not to consider selecting doubles specialists Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna to play for India until 2014.

The order means AITA’s decision not to select the pair for the next two years is suspended pending further appeal.

The players took the AITA to court after it banned the two players from selection because they both refused to partner any other players at the Olympics.

Having qualified together as a pair, Bhupathi and Bopanna did not want to be separated for the tournament.

Although the duo was eventually selected as the second team for the Games, neither partnership won any medals in London.

AITA secretary, Bharat Oza, said in a statement the organisation had “decided not to consider Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna for selection to play for India until June 30, 2014”.

Oza said they would bring in a new code of conduct to avoid a repeat of the situation arising in the future.

“We’re going to lay down a new code of conduct in the next two to three months. Mahesh and Rohan refused to partner any other player in the Olympics.That clearly amounts to indiscipline and calls for action.”

The duo were dropped dropped for the recent Davis Cup tie with New Zealand.

Bhupathi criticised Anil Khanna, the AITA President, for the ban.

“Khanna has redefined the term divide and rule…the AITA and its dictatorial attitude, and its administration are harmful for the future of Indian tennis,” he said.

Bhupathi called on the AITA leadership to resign.

The decision to stay the ban is a step forward for the players. {jcomments on}

Prague will host the 2015 European Athletics Indoor Championships after the Czech capital was selected ahead of Istanbul.

European Athletics awarded the rights for the 33^rd edition of the event at their 132nd Council meeting held in today Sofia, Bulgaria.

The Czech Athletics Federation conducted their presentation to host the championships after Istanbul, the only other candidate city, had made their bid.

Hansjörg Wirz, President of the European Athletics Council said: “We are very pleased to confirm that Prague will be the hosts of the European Athletics Indoor Championships in 2015.”

Libor Varhanik, the Czech Athletics Federation’s President, said to the Council: “Thank you very much for putting your trust in us, and we welcome you all to Prague in 2015.”

In 1967 Prague hosted a forerunner of the European Athletics Indoor Championships before it staged the outdoor event in 1978.

The 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships will be held in Gothenburg, Sweden between March 1-3.

Glasgow Rangers administrators are taking Ticketus to court to seek permission to breach the £24.4m deal for season ticket sales struck by the SPL team’s owner Craig Whyte.

Duff and Phelps have raised the action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, which is scheduled to last two days, starting on Thursday morning.

The administrators believe are seeking legal permission to breach the deal for four years’ future season ticket sales. This action does not mean Duff and Phelps are questioning whether or not the agreement is legally binding, but the insolvency firm are seeking the court’s approval to not pay Ticketus the money earned from season ticket sales until 2015.

If the request for the breach is allowed, Ticketus would become creditors that the administrators would need to include in any company voluntary agreement needed to bring Rangers out of administration.

The consequences of the court move could also have ramifications for the Blue Knights takeover consortium. The company is backing the bid fronted by ex-Rangers director Paul Murray, but should it become a creditor rather than a stakeholder at Rangers, its involvement in the consortium may change.

Administrators Duff and Phelps previously stated the remainder of the Ticketus money had not touched the club’s accounts, while they have also said they were looking into the “validity” of Mr Whyte’s position as majority shareholder as he does not appear to have put any of his own funds into the club.

by Ismail Uddin

Alberto Contador’s conviction for doping and the resulting two-year suspension could end up costing him millions of Euros, between legal fees, penalties, the return of prize money and lost income.

In its decision announced on Monday, CAS said that it would rule separately on the UCI’s request to fine him “2,485,000 Euros ($3,275,446) in addition to the 70% of the variable part of his image contract.”

Contador is estimated to earn 5 million Euros ($6,592,299) a year under his Saxo Bank contract, and 70 percent of that would be 3,5 million Euros.

However, the court order also requires the “forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes” he won at the Tour de France 2010, Giro d’Italia 2011 and all other races after January 25, 2011.

It is not clear to whom  the fines would be paid, and what would be done with the money.  Nor it is known whether the prize money would be returned to race organisers and subsequently paid to the new winner, or whether the forfeiture would include bonuses paid by the team or sponsors.

He also faces the loss of his income until the ban expires in August.

The case itself has cost Contador a lot of money in legal fees alone.  He may have paid up to 2 million Euros ($2.63m) to his various lawyers already, Daniel Malbranque, former general secretary of the professional riders union, told Bloomberg.net.

“The money runs out very quickly in these cases,” he said. “He’s been paying lawyers non- stop for 18 months.”

In addition, Bloomberg reported that Contador lost at least one potential sponsor due to the doping case.  A deal with Hugo Boss AG to supply him with clothing for public appearances was cancelled when the positive doping control became public, Till Pohlmann, head of sports sponsorship for the luxury clothing company said.