The Ladies European Tour (LET) has confirmed that Mark Lichtenhein and Michael Siebold have joined the Board as Non-Executive Directors.

Mark Lichtenhein was with the PGA European Tour for 16 years and until recently was Head of Television, capsule Digital Media and Technology.

Michael Siebold served as general manager of the prestigious Golf- und Land-Club Berlin-Wannsee in Germany for 11 years.

More info HERE.

The Egyptian government recently took steps that have lead to football fans being labelled as terrorists. The arrest and detention of alleged members of the Ultras White Knights (UWK), a highly politicised supporters group associated with Cairo club Al Zamalek SC, has marked renewed attempts by the government to curb the influence of some fans on Egyptian society and politics.

At the other end of the continent, South Africa is to become the first ever African nation host to an American NBA game. An all-star team will take part in an exhibition game in Johannesburg in early August. Unlike Egypt, talk is focusing on business-development, market-entry, brand experiences and fan engagement.

Comparing Egypt and South Africa might seem disingenuous, like comparing Canada and Peru or Iceland and Albania. But the contrasting fan experiences aptly illustrates some of the contradictions and challenges facing the sport industry across Africa.

The numbers can be misleading

For many cynics, African sport is played out against the backdrop of a post-colonial narrative. This paints the continent as poor victim with more pressing needs to address than the development of a sport industry. To some extent the numbers add credence to this view with the value of sport elsewhere in the world dwarfing Africa’s contribution to the industry.

A recent study of the global sport industry tends to suggest just how far behind the rest of the world Africa is. Another by African Investor supports this. On this evidence, there is little to suggest that Africa’s sport industry is on the verge of becoming a global force.

Yet this view is misleading and patronising given the growing economic strength of African nations. Over the last decade a number have recorded some of the fastest annual national income growth figures in the world.

Africa is perfectly capable of competing with the rest of the world on fields and tracks, and in organisational terms too. Kenyan marathon runners and Ivorian footballers have proved that some of the globe’s best athletes are African. South Africa’s 2010 World Cup proved to be something of an unexpected success.

Perhaps African nations simply underestimate their prowess or lack confidence in the face of a prevailingly bullish industry narrative that emphasises North American corporate values. This narrative dominates even though the sport industry is not just about sponsorship values and the sale of media rights.

Fuel for the cynics

But in these examples of African success lay the contradictions that fuel the cynicism. For instance, while Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure may be world-class footballers, they are better known for playing football in Europe than in Africa. Labour migration is a major issue for African nations, a problem sometimes exacerbated by clubs such as Arsenal and nations such as Qatar harvesting athletes to fuel their own sporting ambitions.

The reason for migration is principally an economic one – money. By moving to Europe a footballer will earn more, possibly play for a big team and appear on television around the world, the ticket to signing endorsement deals. Building an industry back home without any big stars is difficult.

The case of South Africa’s football World Cup is rather misleading too. On the face of it the tournament was a success, despite the apocalyptic scenarios predicted ahead of the event. Yet the real tragedy is only now being realised: great stadiums were built but many are either unused or under-utilised. It seems South Africa was seduced into heavy spending on an event which, in reality, was neither necessary nor desirable.

Grounds for optimism

Yet recent economic growth figures suggest there may be grounds for optimism. In this case, phenomena such as labour migration might to be curbed. This is a serious issue for African countries as attendances at sporting events are often weak. This is hardly surprising when the big drawcards such as Drogba and Toure mostly perform elsewhere.

Even if economic growth helps to generate the resources to underpin development of the sport industry, significant questions remain. Many African nations face socioeconomic challenges that would appear to be more pressing than sport. While countries such as China and Qatar see sport as a means to addressing a range of socioeconomic issues, there is little evidence that African countries are about to adopt the same approach.

This may be the result of attitudes towards sport in African countries. Working as a governor or manager in sport might be an acceptable career option in Europe, but many in Africa don’t view sport in this way.

Nor should big changes in African sport be expected any time soon unless politicians and other decision-makers realise that building a stadium is not a one-off activity but an event that can drive broader infrastructural developments.

There are other issues too, notably corruption. The last thing many African countries need is unscrupulous, avaricious and corrupt individuals of world sport swarming around the continent. The recent events surrounding FIFA are a case in point.

We are already seeing a new race for Africa and its sport emerge like 19th-century colonialism in 21st-century clothes. The NBA will need to work hard to convince people that its African fan engagement programme is as much about the development of sport as it is about the pockets of Wall Street businessmen.

In the same way, China is using African sport as a focus for its aggressive global soft-power agenda. For the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola four venues were built by China as part of a $600 million aid package. This “stadium diplomacy” isn’t a coincidence. Angola is now China’s leading oil supplier

Africa is heading towards a crossroads: the continent has emerging economic powers able to perform on an international sporting stage but lacking a sport industry infrastructure of organisations and businesses that can lead change. We can look forward to more breathtaking African athletic performances, but not, in the near future, a healthy and thriving sport industry.

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Professor Simon Chadwick holds the position of Chair in Sport Business Strategy and Marketing at Coventry University Business School, where he is also the founder and Director of CIBS (Centre for the International Business of Sport). Simon is the founding Editor of ‘Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal’, is a former Editor of the ‘International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship’ (he continues to serve as an editorial board member for several other sport journals), and has authored and published more than 600 articles, conference papers and books on sport. His academic research has appeared in journals including Sloan Management Review, the Journal of Advertising Research, Thunderbird International Business Review, Management Decision, Marketing Review and Sport Marketing Quarterly. Simon has co-edited the books ‘The Business of Sport Management’ and ‘The Marketing of Sport’ (both Financial Times Prentice Hall), ‘Managing Football: An International Perspective’ (Elsevier), ‘Sport Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice’ (F.I.T.), and ‘International Cases in the Business of Sport’ (Routledge). Alongside his books, Chadwick has created a Sport Marketing talk series for Henry Stewart Publishing, is Editor of a Sport Marketing book series for Routledge (Taylor and Francis), and is a visiting academic at IESE and Instituto de Empresa in Spain; the University of Paris, France; the Russian International Olympic University in Sochi, and the University of Pretoria in South Africa.

Follow Simon on Twitter @Prof_Chadwick

Simon’s 

Major League Soccer (MLS) club DC United have reached an agreement with the District of Columbia government which clears the way for the team to build a new stadium. 

Full story HERE.

International Cycling Union (UCI) Presidential candidate Brian Cookson has received a significant boost in his campaign through the public endorsement of Cycling Australia.

Cookson (pictured) gave a presentation to members of the Cycling Australia Board in Sydney over the weekend and the expression of support has been quick to follow.

Klaus Mueller, Cycling Australia President, said: “After meeting with Mr Cookson this weekend, where he detailed his vision to rebuild trust in the UCI and grow cycling worldwide, my board has carefully considered the options before it and decided that Brian Cookson is the best candidate to restore both the sport’s, and the UCI’s, credibility.”

The credibility that Mueller speaks of was damaged by the Lance Armstrong doping scandal, which revealed that Armstrong had doped his way to seven Tour de France victories.

Commitment to governance & anti-doping

Mueller continued: “We are confident that he (Cookson) is genuinely committed to developing the sport worldwide and can deliver on his objectives to help grow the sport in Australia and Oceania. His commitment to introduce reforms to address the sport’s governance and anti-doping challenges were critical in our considerations.

“We believe that the leadership skills that he has demonstrated so effectively at British Cycling will be transferred to the UCI for the good of cycling on a global level.”

Cookson delighted

In response Cookson said: “I am delighted to have the backing of Cycling Australia, who have shown such a positive approach to the development of our sport. We have had very productive discussions over recent days and I have listened carefully to their views on the UCI, cycling in Australia and international development.

“We share a real commitment to restoring the credibility of the UCI and strengthening cycling globally.”

The UCI Presidential campaign has turned into a slanging match between Cookson and his only competitor, current President Pat McQuaid.

Cycling Australia expressed concerns of rule changes for this election process, which would benefit McQuaid, who has lost his backing from the Swiss federation.

Rule changes ‘unsatisfactory’

“Even if those changes are legal it is entirely unsatisfactory in any democratic process and it lacks openness, transparency and integrity,” said Mueller. Cycling Australia will not be supporting this motion at the UCI General Congress.”

The Presidential elections will take place at the UCI Congress in Florence, Italy on September 27, during the 2013 UCI Road World Championships in Tuscany.

The investigation proceedings into former FIFA Executive Committee Member, denture Chuck Blazer have been provisionally suspended until the end of 2013 at the earliest.

Blazer, herbal 68, drug who is the former General Secretary of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), was originally suspended from football for 90 days after allegations he received more than £12.86m ($20m) from the association.

He was said to have abused his power by gaining personal wealth at FIFA’s expense and was said to be guilty of ‘fraudulent’ behaviour.

However, chief of investigation Robert Torres has decided to provisionally suspend the investigation proceedings after receiving written confirmation that Blazer would not be engaging in any football-related activities until at least 31 December 2013.

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