Surrey Sports Park in partnership with London United Basketball Club have become the owners of the Surrey British Basketball League (BBL) franchise which will now be known as Surrey United.

The former Surrey Heat will continue to play their home games at Surrey Sports Park.

Paul Blanchard of Surrey Sports Parks said of the new venture: “We are excited to be part of this new partnership which has secured the long-term stability of a professional BBL team in Surrey.

“Surrey has some of the most passionate basketball fans in the country and we hope they will unite behind this new franchise and continue to support the long history of top-level basketball in the county.”

Emma Chambers of London United Basketball Club said: “The project is limitless and there are so many factors that can make us successful. We want to create a programme which provides the dedicated Surrey fans with a competitive BBL team consisting of exciting talent, recipe but also by engaging with the community and building strong foundations to develop young talent in the Surrey area. We are completely committed to building a long term sustainable project benefiting from stable partnerships with academic institutions and Surrey Sports Park. We are fully aware of the passionate following of basketball in the Surrey area and hope to give much needed security to the Surrey fans and community.”

Andy Webb Chief Operating Officer of the BBL confirmed the change, “The BBL believes the franchise has been strengthened by the changes and we look forward to working with the new Board. There is a significant opportunity for the increased growth of basketball in the Surrey area, and we believe the additional resources this transaction enables will help make that happen.”

 

It was an event that lived up to the title of ‘Best in the World’ as Soccerex hosted an exclusive debate, price where the former Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games London 2012, look Sebastian Coe and Brazilian football legend Carlos Alberto Torres came together to discuss the Olympics in London and in Rio, ed football and the golden moments of their careers at the Windsor Hotel, in the borough of Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro on 19^th November.

In what was the first meeting between the two-time Olympic gold medallist and the 1970 FIFA World Cup^TM winning Captain, the two sporting legends shared their thoughts on a variety of social and sporting issues; speaking passionately on the power of sport and the key role it plays within society, focusing particularly on how the 2016 Rio Games would inspire a Brazilian generation, like that of the 2012 London Games. During the discussion Lord Coe also raised an important lesson on how to inspire youngsters through athletics by learning from football’s team sports ethics and values.

With a week to go before the Soccerex Global Convention, the world’s leading football business event, returns to Rio for the third year running, Lord Coe and Carlos’s discussion naturally turned to football and in particular, Olympic football. Although the newly appointed Chairman of the British Olympic Association agreed that Team GB’s football performance at the Olympics wasn’t successful on the pitch, the sold-out stadiums across the country and the interest from fans was judged as a huge success and a key lesson for the 2016 LOC. Being a lifelong Chelsea supporter, Lord Coe also highlighted the special connection between the club and Brazil, with a number of key Brazilians now playing for the West London side, as well as expressing his desire for Brazilian superstar Neymar to join them at Stamford Bridge. Concentrating on matters on the pitch, Carlos Alberto Torres raised the idea of making Olympic football an U-21 tournament to increase the level of excitement and experience for younger players.  He also highlighted the link between Chelsea and Brazil and said he will be closely following the FIFA Club World Cup match between Chelsea and Corinthians in Japan.

Having two iconic global sports stars in the same room, for the first time, attracted a large international media presence, with the BBC, Lance!, SporTV, Globo, Terra and Folha de São Paulo all present. In what was a special moment between the two men, Carlos presented Lord Coe with a personally signed Carlos Alberto number 4 shirt and the iconic golden Soccerex ball to mark the friendship between them.

Pictures of this exclusive event can be found at www.actionimages.com using the following details:

Login Name : GlobalConvention2012
Password : Rio2012

 

The NFL is growing well in China but will not hold a game in the country until its fan base hits tipping point, according to NFL China Managing Director, Richard Young.

Young said the NFL missed opportunities because it was slow to focus on China but he is content with the rise in popularity of the sport throughout major Chinese cities.

“We’re not going down the same old route the way some people still do, they look at 1.38 billion people and say, ‘If we could just get 5 percent’,” Young said. “When people follow that strategy it’s all gone.

“A lot of people try to make very homogenous maxims about China all the time, but we don’t believe there’s a cultural reason as to why American football is more popular in the United States than it is overseas.

“It’s just that we haven’t been very active, have not been proactive, in developing it overseas and particularly in China.

“What would we do differently? Start earlier, that’s the number one thing.”

Several US and European leagues and teams have held games in China, but Young said there were no immediate plans for the NFL to do so.

The NFL cancelled an exhibition game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks in 2007 because China was not ready for the sport and the league’s international expansion was instead focused on London.

“Until our fan base is at a level where it can truly support itself, and there is additional demand for more, I’m not supportive of holding a game here,” said Young.

“Wembley sells out in three hours -that’s the NFL. Having empty seats and saying, ‘Oh we still have tickets left’ – that’s not the NFL.

“We’re not going after everyone, we’re going after the rural areas, we’re concentrating on 19 major cities, we know we have a tipping point of 38 million.

“We’re very much more Louis Vuitton than the Gap. We’re focusing on a smaller group of people and until that base is large enough we don’t want to damage our brand equity.”

Unlike the NBA, which has been able to flourish in China due to the country’s long-established basketball structure, the NFL is starting from scratch.

The NFL faces a number of challenges in growing the sport including educating people about what is often considered a complex game and generating enthusiasm about a sport that is not included in the Olympics.

“In developing countries, not unique to China, they see sports primarily through ethnic and national pride,” he said.

Figures related to NFL growth are positive, however, particularly in social media and online streaming.

More than 1 million people in China watched the Super Bowl online last season, while cumulative television viewership jumped from 48 million to 80 million across China.

Nike will begin selling NFL apparel in its stores on November 16.

“Most people in China don’t know what a quarterback does, but our research shows they recognize the NFL shield and the NFL brand quite well, actually a lot better than most people think and a lot higher than many leagues who are also in China.

“They know that it is quality and they know that it has stature in the United States, which carries a lot of weight here, so we don’t want to do anything just to tick a box.

“Holding a game in China just to say that we did it is not part of our plans.”{jcomments on}

Andy Murray’s triumphant win at the US Open win is likely to bring in major new sponsors for the Tennis star according to experts.

Since clinching his maiden Grand Slam, within weeks of nabbing an Olympic gold, Murray’s stock has risen ever higher amongst both British and international audiences, making the bouffant tennis champ a natural choice for commercial sponsorship.

Murray is estimated to have raked in around £14m in prize money throughout his career so far but this is expected to swell alongside income from his personal company.

This venture has allowed Murray to coin £6.4m in sponsorship, merchandising and appearance fees over the past 12 months and with his star never higher that figure is likely to more than treble.

Murray is already sponsored by watchmaker Rado, sports brands Adidas and Head, car maker Jaguar and RBS with more set to follow given the unprecedented current profile of British sport.

Nigel Curry, director of Brand Repport told the Guardian that he expects international brands such as Gillette to quickly show interest in the Scot.

“I think it will be the big global brands, like the ones we have seen in the Olympics – the Samsungs, the Visas, the McDonald’s and Coca-Colas that go for it,” said Curry

Japanese automotive company Toyota and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) have continued their partnership of the World Championships until 2017.

Toyota was already committed to supporting the 14^th World Championships in Moscow next year, order but the new contract will carry on through to Beijing, order China in 2015 and London, England in 2017.

The agreement means the car company will provide 200 vehicles for athlete transportation and the marathon lead timing car, as well as featuring their logo on women athletes’ bibs.

Toyota first became an official partner of the IAAF World Championships in 2003 at the Paris, France event.