Sports and Events Tourism Exchange (SETE) 2012 organisers’ Thebe Exhibitions and Projects Group is proud to announce its partnership with iSportconnect, clinic the world’s largest sports business community. The partnership will bolster both the scope and efficacy of Thebe Exhibitions and Projects Group’s online marketing campaign in the lead up to their event at the ICC Durban later this year (12-14 September).

iSportconnect offers an exclusive online platform that brings together thousands of sports business professionals worldwide. With a wide range of applications, therapy iSportconnect combines business and social networking, detailed insights into the latest sports business news and market data, listings of business events and executive jobs, as well as market analysis to provide a one-stop shop for the sports business community. Existing LinkedIn and Twitter profiles can be synchronised and updated from iSportconnect, which also has iPhone and BlackBerry applications. iSportconnect has no introductory fees, and has no limit on communication.

Tasked with creating synergy between South Africa’s tourism, sport and event industries and promoting the country as a popular sports and events destination, there is a clear opportunity with SETE 2012 to maximize communication between the various elements with the help of a powerful specialized social media like iSportconnect, as well as others like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

iSportconnect’s Marketing & Partnership Manager Xavier Cureau said, “We are very pleased to be contributing to the Sports and Events Tourism Exchange event, as this will further expand our image in South Africa. We look forward to promoting a major event from Africa, across Europe, USA and the Middle East”.

SETE Conference Director Sugen Pillay said that “maximising our online presence is big part of our marketing and PR strategies. Identifying the appropriate social media and choosing from one of the many channels available to ensure that our messages are targeting the right audience is crucial, and in this way the specialised nature of the iSportconnect community is an ideal match. The ability to communicate with a captive audience is crucial, and the user-friendly way in which iSportconnect amalgamates all relevant and useful information renders it a powerful tool in the sports business industry”.

This year’s second annual SETE exhibition and conference will feature a number of high profile international and local exhibitors and speakers, as well as more than 60 international buyers who have been attracted by South Africa’s solid reputation as a viable location for events.

The two day SETE conference (12-13 September) boasts a line-up of high profile international and local speakers who will engage and exchange ideas that will ultimately enhance South Africa’s sport, tourism, and event industries.

As one of the quickest growing types of global travel, the sports tourism industry is estimated to have contributed over R6 billion to the South African economy last year.

For more information, visit www.sportsandevents.co.za, like www.Facebook.com/SETE.ZA on Facebook, follow @SETE_ZA on Twitter.

Exhibition Details:

Sports and Events Tourism Exchange 2012

12 – 14 September

ICC Durban

Entrance: FREE

Times: Wed 12 September & Thurs 13 September 09h00 – 17h00, Fri 14 September 09h00 – 14h00

Conference:

12 – 13 September

Registration: Open

Contact: Rene Staack on rene@tepg.co.za or Jenna Harper on jenna@tepg.co.za

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has curtailed plans to provide client hospitality at Wimbledon following the week-long payment processing crisis that has hit millions of customers.

Around three bank executives traditionally entertain more than a dozen clients on each day of the tournament, discount according to The Times. But the banking giant said last night that it would be “inappropriate” to provide hospitality at the tennis this year and has also cancelled a one-day tournament at Gleneagles in Scotland.

The crisis was sparked by a technical glitch last Tuesday which stopped payments going in and out of customer accounts. It happened again on Thursday and while the bank said the software was fixed on Saturday, patient a backlog of 100 million transactions had built up. An inside source talking to technology website The Register has claimed it was an “inexperienced operative” who caused the banking meltdown.

Thousands of customers were left without cash, causing disruption to people moving home and taking holidays. One man was left with nothing to eat or drink on a 12-hour night shift when his cash card was refused and another had to spend a weekend in prison because his bail money could not be transferred.

On Monday night, the bank said it had updated all but one per cent of NatWest and RBS account balances. However, many customers have vowed to leave the bank and shares in the group slumped 9.1 per cent yesterday.

RBS has apologised to its 16.9 million customers and promised that they will not be left out of pocket. But the bank is facing a “detailed investigation” by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), according to Sir Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has appeared in court to face trial for tax evasion.

The Englishman touted as a future England manager, denies two counts of cheating the public revenue when he was manager of Portsmouth Football Club.

He appeared behind bullet-proof glass at Southwark Crown Court to face charges alongside former Portsmouth FC chairman Milan Mandaric.

The first charge alleges that, between April 1 2002 and November 28 2007, Mandaric paid $145,000 US dollars (£93,100) into a bank account held by Redknapp in Monaco, to avoid paying income tax and National Insurance.

The second charge for the same offence relates to a sum of $150,000 (£96,300) allegedly paid by Mandaric to the same account between May 1 2004 and November 28 2007.

Redknapp, 64, who underwent minor heart surgery last year to unblock his arteries, is the most successful English manager in the modern game, having led Portsmouth to FA Cup success and Spurs to last season’s Uefa Champions League quarter-finals.

Serbian Mandaric is now chairman of Sheffield Wednesday, having previously worked at Leicester City. The trial is due to last two weeks.

Judge Anthony Leonard told jurors to “leave prejudice or favour behind” as a panel of eight men and four women were sworn in.

“The defendants are two well-known personalities within the world of football,” he said. “It can prejudice if you hold such allegiances or prejudices towards clubs that the defendants were or are presently involved with.”

He said football “almost overwhelms other aspects in life” as he ordered jurors to focus solely on the charges. Jurors were also told to inform the judge if they had listened to episode of TalkSPORT radio on November 17 last year.

The inaugural Indian Grand Prix has only sold two-thirds of its 120,000 circuit capacity, race organisers have confirmed ahead of Sunday’s showpiece.

Just over 80,000 tickets have been sold for the new Buddh circuit. Race organisers still expect more tickets will be sold at a discounted rate in order to further fill the circuit.

A spokesman for race promoter Jaypee, said: “We have sold close to 80,000 tickets which is pretty encouraging considering that its the first F1 race ever in the country. Of course we would have been happier had we sold off 90 per cent tickets because ticket sales are the only source of revenue for us. But there are still a few days to go and we are keeping our fingers crossed.”

Meanwhile, drivers and teams have offered mixed reaction after landing in preparation for the weekend’s racing.

“I had a bit of a feeling that the Indians didn’t really want to see us,” Virgin driver Timo Glock told Germany’sT-Online. “I hope the fans take us closer to the heart than the local immigration authorities did.”

It also emerged that fellow German Nico Rosberg was initially denied entry to India and Lotus driver Heikki Kovalainen added that the entry process was unnecessarily complicated.

“I had to fill in about 70 pages of paperwork. It’s unreal how complicated it was,” he said.

The International Association of Athletics Foundation (IAAF) have announced they will be taking collect blood samples from all athletes taking part in the IAAF World Championships in Daegu in an unprecedented anti-doping programme.

It will be the first time that a heterogeneous population of nearly 2000 elite athletes competing in a major sports event will be blood tested under the same optimal conditions, medic within the same time period.

This programme will be managed in close co-operation with the Lausanne WADA-accredited Anti-Doping Laboratory (LAD) and with the support of the World Anti-Doping Agency and a number of local partners including the Daegu Local Organising Committee, capsule the Korean Anti-Doping Agency and the Doping Center of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.

The samples will mainly be collected at a purpose-built doping control station located in the Athlete’s village starting from 18 August 2011. The samples will be analysed by the LAD on-site in Daegu for a first haematological screening analysis and after the end of the Championships in Lausanne for further analyses.

The analyses by the LAD will focus on measuring relevant parameters (biomarkers) for individual profiling purposes within the framework of the Athlete Biological Passport.

If there are any suspicious results from the on-site screenings then this will trigger follow up tests and if the sample still comes back with a banned substance then they would be in full violation of the anti doping laws.

The new blood testing programme in Daegu is being organized alongside the regular doping controls that are collected at a World Championships. It is thought in Daegu approximately 500 urine sample shall be collected in and out of competition.

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner will be on the Hall of Fame veterans committee ballot next month for the first time.

Steinbrenner was the owner of the Yankees from 1973 until his death in July.  During his ownership, the team won 16 AL East titles, 11 AL pennants and seven World Series championships.  

Also on the ballot with Steinbrenner will be former New York manager Billy Martin.  Martin had five different stints as Yankees manager under Steinbrenner, who fired him four times.

Also on the ballot will be former union head Marvin Miller, former Toronto, Baltimore and Philadelphia GM Pat Gillick and players Vida Blue, Dave Concepcion, Steve Garvey, Ron Guidry, Al Oliver, Ted Simmons, Rusty Staub and Tommy John.  Some may be surprised to know that Tommy John was not the doctor who invented the popular ligament replacement surgery, but a pitcher who was the first player to undergo the procedure.

To be elected, a candidate must appear on at least 75 percent of the ballots.  Results will be announced Dec. 6 at the winter meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

This year’s veterans committee ballot covers baseball’s expansion era.  Players, managers, executives and umpires whose significant impact was from 1973 on were considered in the first of a three-year cycle.  Under changes announced last summer, the golden era (1947-1972) will be voted on in 2011 and the pre-integration era (1881-1946) will be voted on in 2012.

Anyone elected will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during ceremonies in Cooperstown on July 24

Major League Soccer (MLS) today announced the launch of its new marketing campaign, “For Club and Country.” 

The campaign, which will include multiple creative elements, television spots, digital advertising, social content and storytelling, will be rolled out throughout the course of the MLS season. The campaign debuted this week with a billboard in Times Square in New York, along with significant online activation. 

“For Club and Country,” created in-house, lets soccer fans know that they can watch many of the American and international stars of this summer’s FIFA World Cup play in Major League Soccer in the lead up to the biggest sporting event in the world. 

The campaign will be supported by all five of MLS’ national broadcast partners: ESPN, NBC Sports, Univision, TSN and RDS, as well as all regional MLS broadcast partners. In addition, MLS digital channels — MLSsoccer.com, MLS+, MLS’ content creation arm, and KICKTV — will play a leading role with the campaign. 

“Soccer is different from other sports in that a player can play for both club and country,” said MLS Chief Marketing Officer Howard Handler. “This campaign speaks to the fact that many MLS stars will be representing their countries this summer in Brazil at the World Cup. To prepare for the world’s most popular tournament, fans only have to look in their own backyard.” 

This campaign captures the true essence of MLS through a patriotic lens in a World Cup year. The visual elements reflect the authenticity, integrity, inclusiveness, possibility and excellence of Major League Soccer, its players and its fans, who combine to characterize the sport in the United States and Canada. 

In addition to the primarily online campaign, the “For Club and Country” thematic will be featured on television, in print and in-stadium across North America, capitalizing on the attention the World Cup will receive from North American soccer fans this summer. Running before, during and after the tournament, the campaign aims to entice fans of the world’s most popular sport to align with and support their domestic league. 

March to Brazil and the hashtag #ItAllStartsHere are additional elements to the new campaign designed to launch the season. 

“We’re at an inflection point at MLS – we’ve got magical stadiums, we’re investing in world-class players and we’re on a path to becoming one of the best leagues in the world,” said Handler. “In a World Cup year, all of these things are coming together. The World Cup will captivate hundreds of millions of fans. MLS players represent the foundation of the U.S. Men’s National Team headed to Brazil – Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan and several other stars from around the league. We’re launching a campaign and creating a lot of content to connect with as many of these fans and prospective fans as possible.”

Leading sports media company MP & Silva have announced today the expansion of its presence in the Asia-Pacific with the launch of its inaugural Taiwan office.

The new developments come after MP & Silva look to capitalise on their partnership with Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) following last month’s appointment as its exclusive advisor for all media rights sales, order as well as the production of all games.

In conjunction with the opening of its Taipei office, treat MP & Silva has appointed Country Director Jammie Chen to head the Taiwan market, in addition to Anthony Yu as Executive Producer to oversee its sports production initiatives.

Jammie is primarily responsible for overseeing MP & Silva’s relationship with CPBL, developing new commercial opportunities, in addition to business functions related to sales, marketing, production and operations. Jammie will be based in Taipei and will report directly to Beatrice Lee, Managing Director of MP & Silva, Asia-Pacific. Highly regarded for his sports production experience, Anthony’s appointment highlights MP & Silva’s commitment to partner the CPBL to showcase the league in the best possible manner with high production values.

Beatrice Lee said: “MP & Silva is focused on growing the Taiwan market, and we are delighted to have someone with Jammie’s and Anthony’s experience and expertise in the sports broadcast industry.

“We’re confident their insights will contribute to expanding our presence in the market. The availability of expanded CPBL media rights in Taiwan will introduce a new competitive edge to the sports media industry, and we believe fans will ultimately benefit from this as the real winner. With an optimistic outlook of the CPBL, we look forward to reaching new heights in partnership with the league.”