Sharad Pawar has become President of the International Cricket Council (ICC), taking over from England’s David Morgan following the body’s annual conference in Singapore.

Pawar, who is a former chief of the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI), will lead the ICC for two years after having served as Morgan’s deputy for the same amount of time.

Pawar is the second Indian to hold the top post in world cricket after Jagmohan Dalmiya’s stint in the late Nineties.

He praised the outgoing Morgan, saying: “David Morgan has set the principles by which the ICC operates and now it is our responsibility to build on his legacy.”

Morgan was grateful for having held the position, adding: “In the past few days many people have thanked me for my contribution to cricket. All I would say is that cricket has been kind to me it has given me much more than I have given back.”

Pawar becomes the seventh ICC President just as the sub-continent prepares to hold the World Cup next year.

Ketchum announced today that Ann Wool, partner and director of Ketchum Sports & Entertainment (KSE), has been promoted to president with the global public relations firm also launching a sports and entertainment base in London. 

Commenting on Wool’s promotion, Rob Flaherty, senior partner, CEO and president of Ketchum, said, “As our clients leverage global sports and entertainment sponsorships and invest more in content, we are expanding our resources to meet their needs. The innovation coming out of KSE around sports, music, branded film and video, content and celebrities in social media is in demand in all parts of the world, and Ann has shown her ability to attract talent to deliver break-through results.”

KSE recently has been responsible for leading campaigns at high-profile sporting events including the Summer and Winter Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. Recent client work includes the award-winning program to save wrestling at the 2016 Olympic Games, which won numerous awards including a Grand Sports CLIO, Bronze CLIO, a Bronze Cannes PR Lion and a PRSA Silver Anvil.

Describing the new KSE hub in Europe, Denise Kaufmann, partner and CEO of Ketchum London, said, “Ketchum’s London office serves as the base for some of our largest global clients and for strong regional clients throughout EMEA. Locating our new sports and entertainment hub in London will take advantage of that connectedness and enable us to provide even more services to help our clients reach their business goals.”

Under Wool’s leadership, KSE now operates from three continents, and experts from around the world collaborate through a series of regional hubs. New York and Los Angeles-based KSE teams serve as hubs for work across North America. In the U.S., Shawn McBride was recently promoted to executive vice president, sports, and Courtney Nally was promoted to senior vice president and group manager, entertainment, reporting to Marcus Peterzell, EVP, entertainment.

The Sao Paulo-based KSE team serves as the hub for work across South America and is led by Vania Ciorlia. The newly expanded London KSE team will operate across Europe with the addition of Steph Burke, vice president and associate director, with support from Sean Flynn, account supervisor.

Reflecting on her promotion, Wool said, “Ketchum Sports & Entertainment has become a nerve center for experts in global sports, media, movie studios, TV networks and digital properties who bring the most insightful and engaging ideas to the table. I couldn’t be more proud of the incredible team we have assembled and the stellar work being done. We have great momentum right now and look forward to expanding further as we look towards the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games and 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.”

Ann Wool joined Ketchum as senior vice president and director of Ketchum Sports Network in 2001 and became a Ketchum partner in 2009. In 2012, Wool was one of 40 professionals profiled by Sports Business Journal in its annual “Game Changers” feature, dedicated to celebrating women who are making an impact in the sports industry. Prior to joining Ketchum, Wool spent 10 years at Edelman, where she played an instrumental role in establishing a sports and sponsorship marketing practice.

Anheuser-Busch have announced today they will debut five new ads during the Super Bowl XLVIII broadcast on FOX on Sunday, Feb. 2.

Iconic brands, Bud Light and Budweiser will represent Anheuser-Busch in 3.5 minutes of creative.

“The Super Bowl is the biggest moment in sports and advertising,” said Paul Chibe, vice president, U.S. marketing. “With the largest television audience of the year, it’s an unprecedented opportunity and we make the most of it. We have a game plan in place this year to deliver creative that celebrates Bud Light and Budweiser while reaching loyal beer drinkers and new generations.”

Super Bowl XLVIII marks the launch of Bud Light’s new creative campaign, “The Perfect Beer for Whatever Happens.” The campaign kicks off with two corresponding “Epic Night” units— totaling 90 seconds and telling one cohesive story across two ad blocks—featuring top celebrity surprises when they are least expected. The Bud Light “Epic Night” spots were created by BBDO.

“‘The Perfect Beer for Whatever Happens’ will be the most robust and digitally integrated campaign in Bud Light history,” saidRob McCarthy, vice president, Bud Light. AKQA is the lead agency for Bud Light digital.

The official beer sponsor of the NFL will also use advertising’s biggest stage to debut the new Bud Light reclosable aluminum bottle with a 30-second spot title “So Cool.” Holding the coveted 1A position in the game, “So Cool” will feature the world debut of a new song from a well-known artist. The spot was created by Cannonball.

Budweiser will be in the game with a 60-second and a 30-second spot—both featuring the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales. Budweiser will continue its long-standing support of the U.S. military and celebrate returning troops with “Hero’s Welcome.”

“The Budweiser Clydesdales are an icon of the brand and have become an icon of the Super Bowl as well,” said Brian Perkins, vice president, Budweiser. “These majestic horses represent the values of the brand and universal values of trust, quality and nobility that appeal to audiences of all ages.”

The Fiba Asia Executive Committee on Thursday officially let the Philippines take over the holding of the qualifying event for the 2014 FIBA World Cup, stomach mainly due to the continuing unrest in West Asia striiping the rights away from Lebanon.

“Unfortunately, the current situation in the region and the on-going civil war in Syria, which has its indirect effect on the countries in the whole of West Asia, especially on Lebanon, creates doubts about the stability that we might not have, at least, till the fixed dates of our event,” said FIBA Asia Secretary General Hagop Khajirian explaining the decision.

Despite the change in venue from Beirut to Manila, dates of the biennial tournament which dangles three spots to represent Asia in the FIBA Worlds remain as scheduled, from August 1 to 11.

The Executive Committee originally granted Lebanon the rights last year despite a “clear and thorough” presentation, according to PBA Commissioner Chito Salud, by Samahang Basketball Pilipinas (SBP) in Japan.

But the SBP never closed its doors — and was rewarded in the end.

The last time the country hosted a marquee event such as this was way back in 1973, 20 editions ago.

“We are honored to host this prestigious event,” said SBP Executive Director Sonny Barrios, also in a statement.

“We thank FIBA Asia for giving us this privilege, which will give great happiness and enjoyment to the millions of Filipino basketball fans,” he added.

Indian cricket authorities have terminated Indian Premier League club Deccan Chargers for failing to comply with a deadline for overdue player fees.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement the decision was “only due to the absolute inability of the franchise to effectively run the team.”

The BCCI also said because of the “stated position of the Deccan franchise to refuse to rectify the various defaults including payments to players…a decision was taken to forthwith terminate the Deccan Chargers franchise.”

The board said it had “received repeated assurances that the overdue player fees would be paid; all of these promises have been unfulfilled.”

Deccan Chronicle Holdings, generic a media company that bought the team before the inaugural IPL season in 2008, ambulance sought to sell the cash-strapped team this week, by placing advertisements in newspapers inviting bids.

It received just one proposal when bids opened , which it rejected because of the payment terms offered by the bidder.{jcomments on}