International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Presidential candidate Seb Coe says he will ensure a greater focus on major event legacy planning if he is elected as the new President of the IAAF.

Coe was speaking from the Pan Arab Athletics Championships which is taking place in Bahrain and he pledged to create Athletics development programmes for future host nations of the Olympic Games and major IAAF events.

“If elected IAAF President, pharmacy cheap I will ensure that tailored development programmes are put in place for major IAAF events and the Olympic Games at least five years ahead of hosting, viagra order and supported for at least four years after, asthma ” Seb Coe said

“This would also offer a clear legacy to those cities bidding for these major events.

“If you look at upcoming IAAF World Championships and Olympic Games over the next six years they cover China, Brazil, Qatar, Japan and the United States.  It is crucial that the IAAF supports the Federations in each of these countries so they can in turn support young people who want to try Athletics because of what they have experienced through a major championships taking place in their home city or country.

“No Games or World Championships, wherever they are held, should leave Athletics untouched.

“The legacy from these events must be stronger local, regional and global Athletics development with more young people being drawn into our sport.  This has not always been the case and the IAAF needs to be more hands on in helping Member Federations through greater promotional and marketing support and tailored resources to drive local Athlete development.

“If I am elected IAAF President I will make this a priority.”

{jcomments on}

By Christian Radnedge 

Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour, hailed the moment that his brand “grew up” thanks to Jordan Spieth triumphing in the Masters decked out in the brand’s apparel.

The young American was dressed head-to-toe in Under Armour gear as he equalled the lowest ever winning score on his way to an exciting finish in the tournament on Sunday.

It’s fantastic vindication for the company, founded 19 years ago, who signed Spieth on a four-year contract in January 2013 before he had even played in his first professional tournament.

“Thanks to Jordan [Spieth], our company grew up today,” Plank told ESPN.com. “He was challenged by the greatest players in the world on the biggest stage, looked them straight in the eye and never blinked. This is a global event and he’s the leading trending athlete in the world right now.”

Under Armour recorded record levels of revenue last year, reaching $3billion. What impact Spieth’s win has remains to be seen but it could have easily been Rory McIlroy in his shoes had Nike not made the biggest offer.

“We were ready to write a big check,” Plank said. “So when it didn’t happen I asked our golf director Ryan Kuehl what we should do, and he came back with Jordan.”

If nothing more, it’s significant exposure for the company worldwide who last year overtook Adidas as the second best-selling shoe and apparel company in the US.

But indeed much of their focus recently has been on increasing their market in Europe. Their biggest partners across the Atlantic are currently the Welsh Rugby Union and Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.

But the digital sphere is also a big market for the company started in Grandmother Plank’s basement.

After its 2013 acquisition of digital app maker MapMyFitness for $150million, in February Under Armour announced it had purchased the calorie and nutrition counting app maker MyFitnessPal for $475million, as well as the fitness app maker Endomondo for $85million.

For now, they’ll mostly be enjoying seeing their brand on sports pages all over the world.

Legendary Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson has formed a partnership with talent management agency Benchmark Talent.

The four-time Olympic Gold medallist will now have the group work on speaking and brand partnerships, as well as representation of and consultancy for Michael Johnson Performance (MJP), the athletic training for youth, college and professional athletes.

Johnson said: “I am delighted to be working with Benchmark Talent as Michael Johnson Performance expands further within the UK.

“I truly believe the success we have had in the USA can be echoed and developed further in this always exciting sports market, and I look forward to welcoming a wide range of organisations to our facility at St George’s Park as the MJP brand becomes a key part of the UK sporting landscape. “

Johnson joins Paralympic legend Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Rugby World Cup winners Will Greenwood and Richard Hill, and former NBA star, psychologist and activist John Amaechi on Benchmark Talent’s books.

Benchmark Talent’s Lisa Norman added: “Michael is an inspirational figure not just for his accomplishments on the track but for all his achievements off it.

“His drive and ambition is matched by his vision, and his success with MJP is reflective of his will to win, to innovate and to push boundaries.

“Like so many of his teammates and colleagues, we are excited to be working with Michael because we know he will push us to perform more and more impressively on a daily basis – as he has throughout his career.”

The NBA’s Orlando Magic has been given the go-ahead by the City Council to invest $200m into a project that will see a new complex next to the Amway Center.

The mixed-use venue will feature a corporate headquarters for the Magic which will see over 100 employees move into downtown.

Orlando City Council unanimously approved the SED Development, medical LLC – a sister company of the Magic – after a 120-day investigation period and a study of the Orlando Sports and Entertainment District.

Orlando Magic CEO, cheap Alex Martins said: “Like with the Amway Center, this has been several years of planning and working with the City to find the right avenue to add another great piece that will add to the core of downtown.

“So it’s incredibly exciting to get to the approval stage. Now, the real work begins in planning for construction.

“It’s going to be a long project and from start to finish we’re probably looking at five-to-six years. But we’re very excited to get started.”

The design firm of RTKL, who worked on LA Live next to the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, Victory Park near American Airlines Arena in Dallas and more, helped to formulate the renderings.

In the spring, City Council unanimously approved the sale of land across the street from the Amway Center to the Magic for $12.7 million.

That cleared the way for the Magic to move forward on designing the 650,000-square-foot complex.

The land is located north of Church Street, east of Division Street, south of Central and west of Hughey Ave.

Prize money for the French Open is set to rise above €25m ($34.5m) at this year’s event, thumb which is a rise of €3m ($4.1m) from 2013.

The men’s and women’s winners will see an increase of €150, sales 000 ($207, clinic | 016) from 2013, up to €1.65m ($2.27m), whilst runner-ups will receive €825,000 ($1.14m), a rise of €75,000 ($103,501).

Gilbert Ysern, the tournament director and French Tennis Federation director commented: “This notable increase in Roland Garros prize money is part of the plan that was put in place for 2013 until 2016.”

In 2013 the prize pot was increased from €18.7m ($25.8m) to €22m ($30.36) and this year there will also be notable increases for players knocked out in the second, third and fourth rounds.

The French Open starts on 25 May.

{jcomments on}

Ever since George Best morphed into El Beatle to become the world’s first football and fashion icon, certain players and their clubs have been set on a collision course. Of course the Belfast Boy did not plan to become a global brand. It was just that his looks, style and performances both on and off the pitch captured the spirit of the time – a psychedelic fusion of sex, drugs and rock & roll. But the emergence of the celebrity culture in football also had a downside as Best tragically discovered.

Sometimes, the commercial pressures that followed success had a corrosive effect. Peter Marinello’s early promise snuffed out by addiction, Eric Cantona’s angry early retirement and Gazza’s injury-fuelled descent into alcoholism showed the fallibility of the heroes loved and scorned in equal measure by a public eager for every salacious disclosure of misbehaviour.

Then along came Beckham. With the talent, the looks, the pop star consort and a support team dedicated to delivering his desire for fame, David Beckham almost single-handedly developed the blueprint for the footballers’ personal brand cult. And where Beckham led, Ronaldo followed. DB7 became CR7 much to the puzzled annoyance of Sir Alex.

Now savvy players with outstanding talent look to promote themselves rather than their clubs, adopting names and positioning that identifies them as a brand rather than a member of a team. Witness the developing profile of the troubled teenage prodigy Ravel Morrison, or “Ravel” as the name on his West Ham and England U21 shirts identifies him.

But what happens when a player’s brand image collides with and even outshines his club’s? Players like Rio Ferdinand and Joey Barton have managed their personal profiles using social media channels on Twitter and Facebook so effectively that they have amassed personal followings greater than the clubs they play for.

Consequently, clubs keen to engage with and monetise social media are looking to piggyback their players’ popularity to promote their own commercial interests. But can it be assumed that players’ followers also support their parent clubs and is it possible or even right for clubs to attempt to exploit their players’ followers in this way?

The challenge for clubs is to help their star players to develop their personal brands without diluting or denigrating their own. In return, clubs must be invited to share in the rewards achieved by successful individuals in the form of subtle cross marketing and endorsement. After all, players build their personal brands on the back of the clubs who pay their wages and in many cases, own their personal image rights.

Few have yet confronted, much less solved this conundrum. But with clubs desperate to drive global fan engagement, players and their advisors seeking to develop personal brands should focus on the benefits to be gained from a collaborative approach. This may reduce the potential dangers they face in the changing room from flying boots and volcanic tantrums.

---

Steven Falk is director of Star Sports Marketing a consultancy providing advice on sponsorship activation, CRM, brand and affinity marketing. He was previously Marketing Director at Manchester United. You can follow him on Twitter @steven_falk

Star Sports Marketing can help you to devise and implement an effective social media. Visit www.starsportsmarketing.com or email steven.falk@starsportsmarketing.co.uk

Steven’s

{jcomments on}

The English Football Association is set to increase the prize money on offer in the FA Cup, with the focus of the initiative benefitting lower-ranked clubs.

Martin Glenn, Chief Executive of the FA, revealed that the association could raise prize money on offer, in the wake of lucrative new international rights deals being completed.

The FA agreed six-year media-rights deals with Pitch and IMG in October which were reportedly worth around $1bn collectively.

The FA Cup prize fund currently stands at £25m, but the Football Association is considering increasing this to increase distribution to lower-league clubs.

The Third Round of the FA Cup took place this weekend, with 10 teams from outside the top two divisions still in the draw.

Location: London

Closing Date: January 4, allergist 2017

Overview:

The Premier League is looking to recruit a new Head of Youth Operations to support their mission of developing more and better Home Grown Players.

The successful candidate will be responsible for leading a team of six staff in the delivery of all aspects relating to Youth Operations, drugs including the delivery of a world-leading age-specific Games Programme for players at all phases across the Academy; Foundation Phase (FP), Youth Development Phase (YDP), and Professional Development Phase (PDP)

This post is a senior position within the Premier League Youth Department, and would require the holder to be a member of the Department Leadership Team. 

Responsibilities: 

• To manage the Youth Operations function (and staff) within the Youth Department and contribute to the overall management of the department 
• Lead the support, development and delivery of Youth Operations programmes across Clubs 
• Work with the Games Programme Manager (PDP) and Games Programme Administrator (PDP) to successfully deliver the PDP Games Programme for Category 1 and 2 Academies; includes Premier League 2, Premier League Cup, Premier League International Cup, Professional Development League 2, U18 Premier League, and U18 Professional Development League 2 
• Work with the Games Programme Manager, Games Programme Football Manager (FP & DP) and other support staff to successfully deliver the FP and YDP Games Programme for Category 1 and 2 Academies; includes regional, national and international festivals and tournaments, and the winter indoor futsal programme 
• Work with the Head of Youth and Independent Standards Organisation (ISO) on the development of the Academy Audit in the third cycle of the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) 
• Manage the development and communication of the Charter for Academy Players and Parents across the FP, YDP and PDP to Clubs, Players and Parents 
• Work with the PFA to support the delivery of the PFA Independent Advisory Service for Academy Players and parents 
• Support the Club case-file process and Academy Annual reports in relation to Youth Operations 
• Lead the implementation of a Player Recognition system for use within the Games programme, with the aim of safeguarding and monitoring Academy Players 
• Manage the design and implementation of a modernised Youth Bulletin which effectively communicates to Clubs, internal and external stakeholders, news and relevant Games Programme information 
• Work with the Premier League’s Legal and Registrations departments to ensure the effective management and monitoring of all Academy registration issues 
• Actively support the development of staff in the Youth Operations function by ensuring that they have a Development Action Plan that; supports their ability to effectively perform their role, and supports their personal and professional development 
• From time to time undertake other duties as necessary to meet the needs of the Premier League Youth Department 

Person specification (experience and qualifications) 

Essential: 

• Extensive Project Management experience 
• Leadership experience in an elite performance role 
• Relevant experience of working in an Academy or equivalent 
• Experience of writing and implementing performance plans 
• Understanding of the principles of Youth Development preferably in a football environment 
• High level communication, written and organisational skills 
• High level emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills 
• Ability to lead and facilitate meetings 
• Safeguarding and Protecting Children 
• DBS clearance 

Desirable: 

• Passion for football 
• Relevant football coaching qualifications 
• Understanding of the principles of Youth Development in a football environment 
• Experience of working in an elite Youth Development environment 

The Premier League is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community Applicants will be subject a DBS Disclosure, references and a Probationary Period

How to apply:

Email hr@premierleague.com including details of your curriculum vitae and covering letter.