FISA Renews WWF Partnership

The World Rowing Federation (FISA) have renewed their strategic alliance with WWF for the promotion of Clean Water.

The alliance, online created in 2011, ambulance will now go through to 2019. Stuart Orr, store Manager, Global Freshwater Programme, WWF International, describes it an unprecedented move for WWF.

“This is the longest strategic alliance with a sports federation that we have formed to date,” said Orr. “It is a direct reflection of the work World Rowing has done so far in the promotion of Clean Water and the ideal match that WWF has found with World Rowing.”

FISA president Jean-Christophe Rolland said, “I am really pleased that we have renewed our Clean Water partnership with WWF.  Over the past three years, we have shown that our sport is a powerful means of communication for the vital resource of Clean Water. It also reinforces the commitment we made three years ago that rowers take the environment seriously and will do everything they can to contribute to protecting our water ecosystems.”

Koukash Reveals Newcastle Knights Ownership Interest

Newcastle Knights may be soon under new ownership after Salford Red Devils chairman Marwan Koukash revealed his interest in purchasing the National Rugby League (NRL) team.

Koukash saved Salford from financial ruin in 2013 and now he looks set to repeat the feat in the NRL with the Knights.

The 55-year-old former Palestinian refugee, who earned his fortune after setting up EuroMaTech, confirmed on Twitter that tentative takeover talks have taken place.

“I would confirm that there has been some contact with an NRL team but it is very early days,” Koukash tweeted.

“My absolute focus remains on the Red Devils.”

The Australian club were left in a precarious financial position after billionaire owner Nathan Tinkler relinquished ownership of the club in May.

The NRL took over the Knights in June and owns 80 per cent of the club under the new model, with the Members Club owning the remaining 20 per cent.

The NRL said it would be open to talks with Koukash.

“We have invested heavily in transferring control of the Knights’ ownership and now our focus is on bedding down the business,” a spokesman said.

“The NRL has indicated that, at some point in the future, we will entertain a sale to a long-term owner.

“At that time, we will need to be satisfied that any new ownership brings all the right values for the club, the community and the game.”

Hall of Fame Quarterback Joe Namath Joins Sketchers in Advertising Deal

SKECHERS USA, denture Inc., pills  today announced that it has signed hall-of-fame quarterback legend Joe Namath to join the team representing the high-performing men’s Relaxed Fit from SKECHERS footwear line.

A new advertising campaign featuring Namath will begin in Fall 2014.

“Broadway” Joe’s campaign launches with a new television commercial utilizing the same humorous tone as ongoing spots for Relaxed Fit footwear starring Joe Montana and Mark Cuban. The campaign will extend across all media with Namath appearing in print, denture outdoor, online and point-of-sale materials through 2015.

“I’ve loved what SKECHERS has done with this campaign so far and I’m excited be joining the team,” said Joe Namath. “The Relaxed Fit shoes really are as comfortable as they say, and I look forward to working with SKECHERSon what will be a fun commercial that my fans will enjoy.”

“Our Relaxed Fit from SKECHERS campaign has had so much success with one football Joe, that we thought it was time to bring on another,” added Michael Greenberg, president of SKECHERS. “Joe Namath is one of the first pro football television stars in the world and with fans that go back to his days in Alabama, his personality and familiar face is perfect for our team. We know he’ll be a great asset when it comes to getting the word out about our comfortable Relaxed Fit footwear line.”

RFL Renews Partnership with Sponsorship Agency Essentially

Essentially have signed a new three-year partnership with the Rugby Football League.

Essentially have been appointed as the RFL’s Preferred Sales Agency after the two worked closely during a highly productive initial 18-month period, symptoms which saw marquee brands such as Singha Beer, generic Specsavers, erectile Go Daddy and Gatorade become associated with Rugby League World Cup 2013.

The domestic game has also benefited from the partnership already, with a host of new brands becoming involved with the sport, such as Super League’s title sponsors First Utility, Tetley’s, who continue their sponsorship of the Challenge Cup and other partners Alcatel OneTouch, Specsavers, Foxy Bingo and Brut.

RFL Commercial Director James Mercer said: “We are extremely happy with the way our relationship with Essentially has developed in the last 18 months and are looking to take another big step forward over the next cycle.

“Essentially were instrumental in developing key relationships with RLWC2013 partners including Go Daddy and Specsavers. They have worked as an extension to our commercial team on all our activities, new agreements and strategy and have helped to successfully deliver a host of high profile partnerships for the Super League.

“We are also confident that with Essentially’s support we will be adding further to this roster for Super League very shortly adding further evidence of the confidence in the League.”

Essentially Chief Executive Officer Matthew Vandrau said: “We joined the sport at a state of transition and we are delighted that, with our help, there has been so much commercial success over the 18 months.

“We have an excellent working relationship with the sport and we are looking forward to driving increased revenues for the sport over the next 3 years.”

Bristol City Push Ahead with Ashton Gate Redevelopment

English League One club Bristol City have announced they will push ahead with the redevelopment of Ashton Gate this summer.

The revamp will happen should there be no application for a judicial review.

The club’s majority shareholder Steve Lansdown broke the news at the Annual Supporters Meeting on Tuesday night.

“We’ll sign the section 106 agreement any day now, and then we have six weeks to wait for the Judicial Review period,” the club’s official website reported.

“We wanted to give some certainty to supporters, so if we get through to March with no Judicial Review, then we will be going ahead with the redevelopment plans, starting in May.

“It’s exciting times.”

PGA Tour Unveils New Professional Chinese Golf Tour

A new professional golf tour in China will be set up in 2014 after a partnership was agreed by the China Golf Association, PGA TOUR and event promoter China Olympic Sports Industry (COSI).

partnership between the China Golf Association, PGA TOUR and event promoter China Olympic Sports Industry (COSI) has established a new professional golf tour in China that will begin play in 2014 with 12 tournaments throughout the country.
The creation of a 12 tournament PGA TOUR China was announced by PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem; Zhang Xiaoning, Vice President and Secretary General of the CGA; and Sun Liping, President of COSI, at Sheshan International Golf Club, site of this week’s World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions.

PGA TOUR China, which also will be open to professionals outside of China, will move geographically throughout the country. Fields are expected to be between 120 and 156 players and purses will be in the $200,000 range per tournament. Plans are to increase the number of events after the first year.

“We are very pleased to announce the establishment of PGA TOUR China, which builds upon our longstanding relationship with the China Golf Association,” Commissioner Finchem said. “As with the structure of NEC Series-PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Canada, PGA TOUR China will provide open competition on a quality tour for elite players from China and other countries and the opportunity to advance to the world stage. Also similar to those two Tours, we plan to provide access to the Web.com Tour for the season’s top players.”

“We have seen great advancement of Chinese elite golfer development in the last few years, and the creation of this Tour is the next positive step forward for this sport in China,” Mr. Zhang said.

“This will raise the level of golf in China even further and prepare players from China to participate in the Olympics and other significant global competitions. We are happy to partner with the PGA TOUR, the world’s leading golf organization, and to work together in this effort. We also appreciate COSI, which is an important partner to help deliver the results from these efforts. We continue to grow golf as a sport, and to advance our athletes to greater levels.”

The PGA TOUR will be involved in all aspects of the Tour’s operations and work with COSI, a division of the China Sports Industry Group, on bringing sponsors to the Tour. COSI has extensive knowledge and experience in promoting global-quality events.

“We are excited to be a part of this major milestone for golf in China,” Mr. Sun said. “This is the start of a Tour that will continue to grow within China in the short- and long-term. We are happy to lend our experience in running premium sporting events, including golf tournaments. With our partnership with the CGA and the PGA TOUR, we are confident that this will be a very successful endeavor.”

This relationship marks the further development of the PGA TOUR’s presence in China. In August, the TOUR announced the hiring of Greg Gilligan, an executive who has been based in China the past 17 years, as Vice President, Managing Director of PGA TOUR’s affiliate in China, PGA TOUR (Beijing) Management Consulting Co Ltd.

Gilligan will help the PGA TOUR to increase its efforts in China, including working cooperatively to support the continued growth of golf in China, deepening and broadening the PGA TOUR’s relationships and advancing the TOUR’s business throughout the country.

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NBA Superstar LeBron James to Produce New Television Show

According to the Associated Press, NBA superstar LeBron James is set to team up with television channel show Starz to create a sitcom called “Survivor’s Remorse.”

The Miami Heat baller will be the executive producer of the half-hour show which will focus on two people who make it big after getting out of Philadelphia’s inner city and will chronicle the characters as they try to adjust to that fame along with feelings of guilt for having made it while peers are still struggling.

James has agreed to work on the project with business partner Maverick Carter, along with Tom Werner, the force behind shows such as “The Cosby Show” and “Roseanne.” Actor Mike O’Malley will also be an executive producer.

“I think the main thing for me is, first of all, making it out of a place where you’re not supposed to. You’re supposed to be a statistic and end up like the rest of the people in the inner city — [and] being one of the few to make it out and everyone looking at you to be the savior,” James said in a phone interview to Associated Press.

“When you make it out, everyone expects — they automatically think that they made it out and it’s very tough for a young, African-American 18-year-old kid to now hold the responsibility of a whole city, of a whole community. I can relate to that as well,” said James, who was 18 when he entered the NBA.

Starz CEO Chris Albrecht commented on the new sitcom.

“It’s a contemporary piece, which we’ve been trying to find,” he said. “But mostly it’s an opportunity to bring us into a world where guys as producers and a terrifically talented guy as a writer who I think are going to take the audience on an interesting, fun and I would bet funny ride.”

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Birmingham City Council Denies Edgbaston Cricket Ground Rebrand

Edgbaston cricket ground, pharm which was on the brink of a naming rights deal, will not be rebranded, according to Birmingham City Council.

The arena was to be formally known as the City of Birmingham Edgbaston Stadium under a ten-year sponsorship deal with the council.

The name of Warwickshire Cricket Club’s one-day team was also likely to be changed from the Warwickshire Bears to the Birmingham Bears as part of the package.

But the Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: “We have been in discussions with the cricket club but not about naming rights, rather general support.”

“Considering our financial situation we cannot afford to be talking about sponsorship deals.”

London Ready for NFL Franchise says New England Patriots Owner

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told the crowd at the NFL’s Fan Fest that it’s time for a team in London, ESPNBoston.com reported.

“You’re already hosting the Premier League, and we believe we’re the premier sport in the world,” Kraft said. “I think London has shown, with the way they’ve handled the Olympics and every other major sporting event, that it’s time for you to have your own NFL franchise, based in London.”

The Jacksonville Jaguars are scheduled to play a home game in London from 2013 to 2016. The Patriots andSt. Louis Rams play at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. It will be the sixth International Series game played in London.

“As these things develop and there’s a permanent home team now, I’m sure they’ll develop a great following,” Kraft said. “Whatever we can do to cultivate playing football throughout the world. … We’ve been discussing that the NFL, I don’t know if we’ve done as good a job as we could educating the rest of the world on what a great game it is.”

NFL CMO & Jacksonville Jaguars Owner Join Leaders Lineup

Shahid Khan, owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Mark Waller, the NFL’s Chief Marketing Officer, are the latest speakers to be announced for The Leaders Sport Summit being held at Chelsea FC, on 10th and 11th October 2012. 

With NFL teams dominating the list of most valuable sports teams in the world, and with the organisation keen to expand American football internationally, the session which is scheduled to open day two, will be a unique insight into the vision and strategy of the NFL and one of its newest franchise owners.

Pakistan-born Shahid Khan became the owner of the Jaguars in January 2012, becoming the first ethnic minority owner in NFL history.

Having arrived in the USA at the age of 16, his ambition of one day owning an NFL team began while falling in love with the league while watching games at the University of Illinois, where he was studying for an engineering degree and working for $1.20 per hour washing dishes. Forty years later, after building Flex-N-Gate from scratch into a multi-billion dollar company servicing the car manufacturing industry with 13,442 employees and 52 manufacturing plants in the United States and worldwide, his dream came true.

His purchase of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the team’s commitment to play one home game in London each NFL season from 2013 through 2016 is an indication of how sport in the USA is changing, targeting international growth and opening up to a new breed of entrepreneurs and business people. 

Waller is the first ever Chief Marketing Officer in NFL history, having joined in 2006 as the International Senior Vice President where his role included overseeing the growth of the NFL’s International Series. As CMO, Waller is responsible for the marketing function operating across all NFL platforms and properties, including NFL Ventures, NFL Network and NFL.com, and he continues to oversee the NFL’s International business.

The Leaders Sports Summit is the world’s most prestigious gathering of leaders in sport over 2 days in London.  Held annually it hosts 5 conferences and 100 world class speakers with 1500 senior level executives from over 50 countries and 40 sports in the audience