The Rugby World Cup 2011 is fast running out of tickets with only 170,000 tickets remaining.

Mike Miller, head of the International Rugby Board, has urged New Zealanders to buy the surplus tickets with New Zealand unlikely to see the tournament again for a while. New Zealand last hosted the tournament in 1987 which they won.

The tournament starts September 9 with the hosts opening proceedings against Tonga.

Miller told National Radio last week New Zealanders did not seem to appreciate the importance of the tournament.

Miller said: ‘My main concern is that you’re not going to get Rugby World Cup back here for a long time. There are lots of countries around the world that want to host the Rugby World Cup, so people should take advantage of it while it’s here’.

European Athletics have announced the renewal of its long-running contract with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The partnership has been in place since 1981 and was extended for the period 2012-2015.

European Athletics and EBU signed the new contract on Wednesday 15 December at the EBU headquarters in Geneva.

The contract renewal will cover all of European Athletics’ major events including the Helsinki 2012 and Zurich 2014 European Athletics Championships, the Göteborg 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships and the 2015 indoor championships which is yet to be awarded.

The agreement also covers the European Team Championships and European Cross Country Championships taking place during the four-year contract period.

European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz said, “I am very pleased that we are continuing our valued partnership with EBU. Our agreement is a vital part of our ongoing aim to increase the popularity of athletics around Europe.

“EBU gives us the biggest platform to promote our sport on public free-to-air TV channels throughout the continent, which is an extremely important consideration for us.”

Stefan Kürten, EBU Director of Sports & Business Department added: “I am very pleased that we have reached an agreement with European Athletics for another four years. This demonstrates our commitment to support all major sports and federations aiming to reach the largest audience in Europe.”

David Pullan, the chief marketing officer of English Premier League side Manchester City, has left his role at the club after just 18 months in the role.

Pullan was appointed in March 2009 to help grow the club’s brand around the globe following the takeover by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Manchester City denied to comment on Pullan’s departure but did confirm the club was now looking for a replacement.

Chris Kay is still at the club as head of marketing, and is the leading internal candidate to replace Pullan.

The Japan Football Association (JFA) has named Junji Ogura as the new president after Motoaki Inukai stood down for health reasons.

Orgura will also lead the country’s bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but the 71-year-old FIFA executive committee member has said he doesn’t expect to hold the position beyond the two remaining years that were on Inukai’s contract.

Ogura said: “At my age I will be looking to retire in two years. I’m surprised the job has suddenly come along but I was asked to step in.”

One of Ogura’s first tasks as president of the JFA will be to find a new coach of the national team after Takeshi Okada resigned following his side’s exit from this summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

Swedish apparel manufacturer Sail Racing has signed a three-year deal with the ISAF World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) to provide it with branded team clothing.

Newly appointed WMRT Chief Executive, Jim O’Toole, said: “This is a key new relationship for the Tour. Sail Racing’s brand concept fits perfectly with the plans we have for the ongoing development of the Tour brand. We share core values such as creativity and innovation and look forward to building our clothing business to mutual benefit.”

Sail Racing Manager Director, Henric Wikestam, said: “Partnering with such a successful sports brand is a very positive step for Sail Racing, we have watched the Tour’s recent growth under the new leadership team with keen interest and are ready to be a part of the ambitious global expansion plans.”

Sail Racing has previously worked with the Volvo Ocean Race and the Nokia Oops Cup, two of the most successful sailing events in the world.

The deal will begin from the Stena Match Cup Sweden on 5 July.

India’s new Indira Ghandi Indoor Stadium velodrome, a venue for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, has been inaugurated by Sports Minister M S Gill and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

In a ceremony on Tuesday, Gill said: “It’s a special occasion today. There were issues but it has come up in 17 months and undoubtedly something to be proud of. The other venues are also ready and I am just fixing the dates for their inauguration.”

Delhi Chief Minister Dikshit added: “Credit should go to the Sports Authority of India and CPWD for it (construction of the venue). The job has been done not only elegantly and beautifully but with the state-of-the-art facilities. I have begun to feel that these will be the best Commonwealth Games.”

The velodrome, which has a seating capacity of 3,800, cost just over US$32 million to build and such are the first class facilities on offer, it has been adjudged as a category one cycling velodrome by the International Cycling Federation (UCI).

The Commonwealth Games will take place from 3 to 14 October this year.

Haas F1 Team, malady which is set to join the grid in 2016, sale cialis has made a key hire in its executive ranks, clinic naming Adam Jacobs as their chief marketing officer.

Jacobs will lead brand strategy and partnership development for Haas F1 Team, which will make its debut in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship in 2016, becoming the first American-led Formula One team in 30 years.

Jacobs comes to Haas F1 Team from Anheuser-Busch where he was the sports marketing manager for the company’s Budweiser brand in NASCAR and the Bud Light brand in the NFL and college sports. In that role, Jacobs oversaw sponsorship programs collectively valued in the billions, which included Budweiser’s sponsorship of Kevin Harvick in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the Bud Light Hotel during Super Bowl XLVIII in New York City.

“Adam came highly recommended to Haas F1 Team and he brings a wealth of sports marketing experience to our organization,” said Joe Custer, chief operating officer, Haas F1 Team. “The projects Adam has overseen are global in scope, involving numerous partners and constituencies. He’s built great relationships during his career and we’re proud to have him at Haas F1 Team.”

Jacobs has amassed extensive experience in and around the sports industry within the corporate, property, agency and academic settings. Prior to his role at Anheuser-Busch, Jacobs joined the NFL’s St. Louis Rams in 2006 as director of marketing before becoming the team’s vice president in 2009. He has also held positions at the Indy Racing League, General Motors R*Works, Washington Mutual Bank and the Miami Fusion of Major League Soccer. 

“It’s a great opportunity to develop and launch a global brand in an organization led by someone as driven and accomplished as Gene Haas,” Jacobs said. “With strong support and leadership already in place, Haas F1 Team is clearly positioned for success. I look forward to helping shape the ways we achieve that success on and off the racetrack.”

Haas F1 Team is currently preparing for its on-track debut in 2016. Haas Automation, Inc., the CNC machine tool builder Haas F1 Team chairman Gene Haas founded in 1983, will serve as the team’s primary sponsor. However, Jacobs is positioning the team to partner with other high-profile brands that desire to reach a global audience.

“One of our key objectives as the only American F1 team is to help grow the sport domestically,” Jacobs said. “With the massive global reach of Formula One, Haas F1 Team is also uniquely positioned to provide a platform for brands seeking to grow their businesses in key markets abroad.”

While the 2016 Formula One season is more than a year out, preparation for Haas F1 Team’s debut is well underway. Work is nearing completion on an 11.600 square-meter (125,000 square-foot) facility adjacent to Haas’ NASCAR team in Kannapolis, North Carolina, that will house the Haas F1 Team. Construction is scheduled to be completed in late November.

English Championship club London Welsh have confirmed its long-term commitment to play rugby in Oxfordshire with the agreement of a new three-year deal to continue at the Kassam Stadium.

A modern facility with excellent accessibility, the Kassam Stadium is a tried-and-tested world-class rugby venue and is the logical choice for London Welsh as it continues to establish itself as Oxford’s representative side at the highest levels in English rugby.

Part of the Club’s long-term vision is its investment in the Oxfordshire community. With an established community development programme reaching over 3,000 young people in schools and rugby clubs across Oxfordshire, the Club has already shown how it intends to keep investing in the area and today’s announcement helps to affirm that commitment.

The Club has been encouraged by the support it has received from those who regularly attend its matches and is now looking forward to increasing and widening its engagement with all communities throughout the region, building on what has already been achieved through a number of excellent business partnerships and community-based activities.

London Welsh Chairman Bleddyn Phillips, said: “The Kassam Stadium is an excellent facility with a great pitch and very popular with the Club’s players. We are delighted to be in a position to be able to confirm the Club’s commitment to Oxfordshire with the signing of this agreement.”

“With the team having secured its place in the Championship semi-finals these are exciting times for both the Club, and for Oxfordshire generally, in the realm of rugby. The Club is committed to establishing itself as a Premiership club and this is a very important step in that direction.”

“We are looking forward to building up and deepening local support in Oxfordshire to help us achieve and continue to play top class rugby in the county, together with maintaining our strong and traditional links with the ever loyal support base from Old Deer Park where the professional team will continue to work and train alongside our Amateur and Womens teams as well as participating fully in junior rugby at all levels.”

Michael Doyle, General Manager of The Kassam Stadium, said: “This is very exciting for the people of Oxfordshire – to have both top-flight professional football and rugby playing week-in week-out is great news, and therefore we are delighted that London Welsh has chosen The Kassam and Oxford to be its home.

“The last two seasons have shown that rugby and football can co-exist very happily and the investments that both Welsh and Oxford United have made, has meant we have a playing surface even better than many single sport facilities.”

“We will continue to welcome the supporters of London Welsh from across Oxfordshire and from further afield to the excellent facilities here at The Kassam. This new three-year agreement will allow us to continue to develop and invest in those facilities.”

The dates for the play-off matches to secure a place in next season’s Premiership will be confirmed in due course.

Liberty Mutual Insurance, which sponsors the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams as Official Property and Casualty and Life Insurance Partner, has launched a new advertising campaign centered on the theme of “Rise.” for the Sochi 2014 Olympics.

The campaign celebrates what can be achieved through adversity, highlights what is possible with the support of others, and showcases the determination in all who face a setback to come back and “Rise.”

Debuting as part of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony U.S. broadcast beginning at 7:30 p.m. EST on NBC, the campaign features three 30-second television spots and one 1-minute commercial.  

The advertisements, “Missteps,” “Trail Back” and “Twists & Turns,” all highlight the comeback story theme — whether it’s Kerri Strug’s iconic vault landing that led her 1996 U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team to gold — or a Midwest American family coming back from the devastation of being victim to a tornado. The television ads, which also revisit the unforgettable 1980 Olympic Winter Games when Team USAhockey rose to victory over the Soviet Union national team, will air throughout the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and continue through the duration of the Paralympic Winter Games in March.

“The comeback story is part of the fabric of American culture for a reason — small or large, setbacks happen to all of us at some point or another — and we always look within ourselves, and to the support of others, to rise,” said Paul G. Alexander, Liberty Mutual Insurance chief communications officer. “Liberty Mutual Insurance not only embraces second chances, we are a catalyst to guide people on the path to comeback. We wanted to capture and embrace this theme with our “Rise” campaign and corresponding new television spots to showcase iconic setbacks and comebacks through U.S. Olympic history.”

After debuting on NBC during the Opening Ceremony, the four broadcast spots will continue to air throughout the Olympic Winter Games coverage on NBC’s family of broadcast networks and will be supported by a significant number of additional broadcast assets, including billboard and bumpers, to promote Liberty Mutual Insurance’s status as official partner of the USOC and Team USA.

deltatre, anesthetist a specialist in sports media and technology, has announced today the acquisition of IMPIRE AG, aleading provider of premium sports data and digital media services, as well as TV graphics and performance analysis technologies in German-speaking markets.

In line with deltatre’s steady track record of growth, the acquisition of IMPIRE represents a significant step forward in deltatre’s strategic expansion and constitutes the first corporate acquisition in the Italian firm’s 28-year history.

By combining the strengths and product portfolios of the two market leading companies, deltatre will be able to deliver a more extensive range of best in-class products and services to its global customer base. Moreover, deltatre will also tap into IMPIRE’s attractive client portfolio in German- speaking markets, including top media companies, broadcasters, football clubs, federations and leagues. Organisations in the German market that will benefit from the deltatre’s new expanded solutions offering include: Axel Springer Verlag, ARD, Clubs as well as others.

In addition to working together to offer a more comprehensive suite of solutions ranging from data gathering to editorial services, IMPIRE’s established presence in the Central European region will accelerate deltatre’s growth in target sectors within the area. The acquisition will also provide deltatre with the global ownership of key proprietary technologies and products such as the VIS.TRACK optical tracking system and the VT.GPS, an easy to use GPS solution for physical performance analysis.

“This union will give us the important opportunity to be closer to our customers and to deliver more fully in the German market directly,” said Giampiero Rinaudo, CEO and Co-Founder at deltatre.“Inheriting IMPIRE’s great tradition of technical achievement will constitute a qualitative addition to our portfolio and, most importantly, deltatre will be in a prime position to offer a full spectrum of services not only in Germany, but also to expand to new markets in Central and Eastern Europe.”

Christian Holzer, CEO of IMPIRE, added: “deltatre will offer us the strategic power to advance in the development and delivery to our national and international clients. We are convinced thatdeltatre’s successful sporting track record makes it the best strategic partner for IMPIRE and we look forward to providing the market with new cutting edge solutions and services.”