Four of Netball’s biggest national teams – England, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia – have teamed up in a ground-breaking partnership which will be known as SANZEA.
SANZEA will bring the four teams together to play in a new international Netball competition on a regular basis.
The aim of the new competition is to develop regular international fixtures outside of Netball World Cup and Commonwealth Games years.
More info HERE.
online Sports Development & Olympic Commercialization” style=”float: left;” alt=”JeanThierryDiscovery” height=”250″ width=”400″ src=”images/stories/news/FeaturedReleases/JeanThierryDiscovery.JPG” />Discovery Communications has announced a number of key appointments at Eurosport, with new roles created to support the company’s Olympic Games Strategy.
The company’s Olympic Games leadership organisation team will have five key functional areas; commercialisation, operations and planning, Olympic Relations and oordination, engineering/technology and production.
Full story HERE.
The Spanish LaLiga has agreed a new partnership with social video platform Grabyo.
As part of the deal, erectile the league will use Grabyo’s technology to collaborate on the production and distribution of ‘real-time’ video content, anabolics such as instant replays and behind-the-scenes footage, to football fans across various regions.
LaLiga will use Grabyo Studio to distribute real-time video clips in mobile-friendly formats. Grabyo will also work with the League to evaluate social video opportunities on additional fast-growing platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, Sina Weibo and Line.
“This strategic deal with Grabyo will dramatically enhance the experience we offer fans on digital platforms and use the clubs and players as distribution channels,” said Ignacio Martinez Trujillo, Managing Director, Innovation and Global Development at LaLiga.
“Ninety minutes of football just isn’t enough for fans anymore. Yes they want real-time highlights but they also want interviews, special features and a whole range of footage around match day.”
Gareth Capon, CEO at Grabyo added: “LaLiga’s teams and players are among the most powerful distribution channels in digital media today so it’s an enormous honor to be working on this ambitious project.”
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The National Rugby League (NRL) has confirmed that Dave Smith will be stepping down as CEO in November.
Smith stated that “it was the ideal time for the game to plan for the next phase of its future”.
Full story HERE.
Outgoing IAAF president Lamine Diack has expressed his confidence about the future of athletics with the presidential election set to take place tomorrow.
Athletics legends Seb Coe and Sergey Bubka will go head to head for the right to lead the sport, tadalafil with the announcement to be made at the 50th IAAF Congress in Beijing.
The sport will be electing a new president at a crucial time, purchase with athletics in the headlines for all the wrong reasons amid allegations of doping.
However Diack is unconcerned and has faith in the two candidates involved.
Speaking at the IAAF Council Meeting Diack said: “This is an important Council meeting for all of us, as it comes in the week of our 50th IAAF Congress and heralds the arrival of a new president who has the task to build the future of our sport.
“I am all the more confident of what we have in store as neither of the candidates will find themselves in an unfamiliar environment. I have laid the foundations for the future of the IAAF with our two great champions… whoever the IAAF athletics family elects he will be a bona fide son of our sport.”
Tune in to iSportconnect.com and iSportconnect TV for coverage of the IAAF election with updates, announcements, analysis and special reports.
Also join our discussions on Twitter for reaction to the new IAAF president @iSportconnect.
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talkSPORT, the official global audio partner of the Premier League, have chosen to renew their partnership with Soccerex for 2015 ahead of the Soccerex Global Convention, 7-9th September, taking place at the Manchester Central Convention Complex.
Building on the successful partnership established in 2014, which saw talkSPORT sign up Champions Travel as their international travel partner as result of attending the Global Convention – the expanded 2015 deal has allowed the broadcaster to benefit from the Asian Forum as well as giving them a large package of rights at Soccerex’s flagship event in September.
talkSPORT will deliver an outside broadcast from the Convention, featuring a number of the event’s big name stars, to their 3.4 million weekly UK listeners, plus features with Soccerex CEO Duncan Revie and other Soccerex ambassadors. talkSPORT will also send a large delegation to promote their international radio services.
talkSPORT’s Managing Director Calum Macaulay said: “I am pleased to renew our partnership with Soccerex, and looking forward to enjoying a strong presence at the Global Convention. Soccerex gives us fantastic visibility for our international rights and provides a great platform to network with the industry’s elite.”
Duncan Revie, Chief Executive Officer, Soccerex said: “I am delighted by our association with a market leader of talkSPORT’s stature and their involvement is another example of the expansive media coverage that our events generate. With talkSPORT broadcasting live from the event, we are looking forward to welcoming yet another exciting component to what will be a thriving exhibition floor. “
The Global Convention will consist of a thought provoking conference programme packed with business insight, alongside a market-leading international exhibition and extensive networking. A programme of social events completes the schedule for what is widely acknowledged as the world’s leading football business event.
Powerboat P1 has renewed its partnership with sports intelligence company Repucom.
The extension of the partnership will see Repucom provide solutions to monitor and analyse the exposure of all P1 events.
Full story HERE.
This week Sky and BT paid over £5bn to the Premier League for its live domestic broadcasting rights in a three year deal. Such was the competition that the amount paid was a reported 70% uplift on the previous astronomical deal.
Prior to the announcement, Virgin Media who purchases Sky Sports and BT Sports on a wholesale basis from its rivals to sell on to its own retail customers had complained to Ofcom that the collective selling of live Premier League rights breached competition law.
Such claims related to the number of Premier League matches made available being lower than in other European leagues, where more live matches are sold.
Virgin argue that the exclusive provisions in the Premier League auction process significantly raise the price broadcasters have to pay and that as a result British subscribers pay too much money to access premium content as costs are passed on by way of higher prices.
Interestingly, just before the auction winners were announced, Virgin asked Ofcom to temporarily suspend the award, pending the outcome of Ofcom’s investigation.
Virgin failed to freeze the auction but the investigation continues. Structural changes in the way the rights are sold and how the auction is carried out could be a possibility, should Ofcom rule that the Premier League is breaching the competition rules.
With Virgin competing on various fronts with BT and Sky for broadband, mobile, Pay-Tv and phone line rental, there is a wider narrative developing around broadcasters becoming triple play and quad play providers.
Indeed, BT incentivises its customers to take its broadband offering through marketing its BT Sport channels for free. Sky conversely offers free broadband if consumers sign up to its premium TV channels.
With Sky entering the mobile market next year and BT’s purchase of EE, live premium sports rights are seen as one of the core drivers for new bundled quad-play consumer offerings.
Virgin already offers ‘quad’ bundles and its Pay-Tv complaint to Ofcom may be the start of round of interlinked competition and regulatory skirmishes involving Pay-Tv, broadband and mobile. Watch this space.
Daniel Geey, Associate in the Competition and EU Regulatory Group at Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP.
Daniel has provided advice and presentations on a whole raft of football related issues and can offer industry specific legal advice on football takeovers, Premier League, Football Association, UEFA, FIFA, FFP and more.
Check out Daniel’s blog, ‘The Final Score on Football Law’ here and follow Daniel on Twitter here
Please feel free to get in touch with Daniel Geey should you or your club have any questions concerning the regulations.
Daniel Geey’s 
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal to Geraint John, diagnosis for outstanding service to the Olympic Movement.
The award makes Geraint John the first British recipient of this special decoration since the medal was inaugurated in 1997.
Sir Craig Reedie, Vice-President of the IOC, said: “I am delighted to have presented this prestigious award to mark Geraint’s many years of outstanding service to the Olympic Movement.
“The Pierre de Coubertin medal reflects the Olympic values of respect, excellence and friendship. Geraint has proved to be a great friend to the Olympic community, both in Britain and around the world, and brings a wealth of experience and expertise to Olympic design.
“The award of the Pierre de Coubertin medal is the richly-deserved recognition of a lifetime of service.”
An architect by profession, John has been recognised for a long and distinguished career in the design and provision of international sports facilities.
A Senior Adviser to Populous since 1996, the global sports design practice and architects behind three Olympic stadia (Sydney 2000, London 2012 and Sochi 2014), Geraint was Chief Architect and Head of the Technical Unit for Sport at the GB Sports Council for 21 years.
He is also Honorary Life President of the International Union of Architects (UIA) Sports and Leisure Programme Group, of which he has been a member for more than 25 years.
Through these roles, Geraint has a made a significant contribution to the IOC’s promotion of environmental and sustainable sports facilities that deliver lasting Olympic and Paralympic legacies.
He helped produce the IOC’s Sustainable Stadia Guide and advised on the permanent stadia exhibition at the recently renovated Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, the largest archive of Olympic Games memorabilia in the world.
Commenting on the award, Geraint John said: “To be the first British recipient of this award is quite overwhelming. Architecture has and will continue to provide exceptional service to the Olympic Movement and I accept this award on behalf of all the talented people from so many countries that I have been fortunate to work alongside.”
Rod Sheard, Senior Principal at Populous, said: “As a friend and colleague of over 20 years, I am delighted to see Geraint’s hard work recognised. Geraint brings both architectural and international expertise to every project, and his contributions have proved invaluable to the experience and enjoyment of Olympic Games for millions of people around the world.”
The Russian Football Premier League (RFPL) has agreed a partnership with the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) in an effort to help protect Russian football from threats to the safety, salve security and integrity of the game ahead of the country’s hosting of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
As part of the deal, the RFPL and ICSS will collaborate on a number of events, initiatives and training programmes aimed at increasing sport safety, security and integrity in Russia.
The partnership will also help protect RFPL officials, coaches, players and young athletes in the country.
In the lead up to the 2018 World Cup, the RFPL will use the ICSS’s technical expertise and global programmes to develop best practice in the security design of sports facilities.
“The Premier League is continuously working hard for the implementation of international best practices to ensure the safety and comfort of all participants in the Russian Championship,” RFPL president Sergey Pryadkin said.
“The signing of a cooperation agreement with the ICSS for us is an important step in this direction.”
Mohammed Hanzab, president of the ICSS, added: “This partnership represents a significant boost in the fight to protect top clubs, officials and players around Russia and will hopefully play an important part of the country’s preparations in the lead up to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2018 World Cup.
“The Russian Premier League is a powerful voice in European and world football. Signing with the country’s top football league represents an important landmark for ICSS and builds upon our existing partnerships in football, which include the European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL), Deutsche Fußball Liga, Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional and Lega Pro.”