Doncaster Rovers have confirmed the appointment of Liam Scully to the new role of chief operating officer.
The new position was formed to provide a strategic overview for all ongoing and future projects with Club Doncaster.
Read more HERE.
UFC and USA Wrestling Sign Extended Partnership
Wigan Warriors Expand into London With Launch of Business Club
English rugby league club Wigan Warriors began their expansion into London with the official launch of the Wigan Warriors Business Club in the capital on Monday night.
The Wigan Club hosted over 100 business leaders, health media executives and sporting partners at the prestigious Institute of Directors on Pall Mall, viagra 60mg Central London.
Read more HERE.
COMING SOON:
Exclusive interview with Wigan Warriors Chairman Ian Lenagan on iSportconnect TV.
Turkmenistan Set to Attract Sportsmen and Women From Around the Globe
By Michael Rocha-Keys in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
One of the fastest growing economies in the world is poised to move spectacularly into the international sports competition and training sector.
Turkmenistan – a Central Asian nation four times the size of England, but with a population of only five million – is building a 157 hectare, 30-venue sports complex in its capital city, Ashgabat.
By 2017, this vast new facility will be available as a training and competition venue for sportsmen and sportswomen from around the world.
It will consist of 30 state-of-the-art venues – including indoor arenas, equipped multi-sports training halls, training facilities for track and field competitions and the largest velodrome in the world.
Key features will include a 45,000 seat football and athletics arena and a 15,000 seat basketball, volleyball and handball stadium. An athletes’ village is being constructed and will be equally impressive – with 12,000 beds.
Ultra-modern, the complex will boast hotels, restaurants, a high-tech medical centre and a monorail system to allow sportsmen and women to move around in comfort and speed.
The complex is being created to host the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2017.
The construction process began less than three years ago – but I can report that it is progressing well and will be able to provide ultra-modern training and competition facilities to the sporting world.
To showcase the progress being made in constructing the new international sports complex, Turkmenistan has just held an International Sports Media Forum near to the complex itself in the nations’ capital, Ashgabat.
I was there as the Senior Partnerships Manager of iSportconnect, now the world’s largest global private network of sports business executives.
The ‘Turkmenistan International Sports Media Forum 2015’ (TISMF) saw sports journalists and others from around the world travel to Turkmenistan’s capital city, Ashgabat, to tour the Central Asian nation’s emerging international sports complex and experience first-hand Turkmenistan’s preparations for hosting the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2017 (AIMAG 2017)
By creating the new sports facilities and by convening TISMF 2015, Turkmenistan is using sport as a powerful tool to open up to the world as well as to increase and improve international relations and cooperation.
Turkmenistan is a country of great potential, boasting both natural beauty as well as very valuable natural resources. Current research shows they have the fourth largest natural gas reserves in the world and the second largest single gas field in the world.
Currently handling the PR for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2017 and organising the Turkmenistan International Sports Media Forum is the London-based company, Jon Tibbs Associates. Its Chairman, Jon Tibbs, told iSportconnect: “Turkmenistan’s sports assets are the world’s best kept secret.
“The purpose of these events is to allow for the first time ever an insight into the astonishing progress that Turkmenistan is making in their sports development.
“The media who visited Ashgabat this week have seen first-hand one of the most innovative and compact multi-sports complexes on the planet. Now they hopefully realise that Turkmenistan has arrived on the sporting map.”
Chungwon Choue, President of the World Taekwondo Federation, added: “I’ve been very impressed by the white city of Ashgabat.
“It has to the cleanest city in the world. My father always said that peace is more precious than triumph but I am sure that the AIMAG will deliver both peace and triumph in 2017.”
Glasgow and Berlin to Co-Host Inaugural European Sports Championships
Scotland and Germany have been chosen to co-host the first ever European Sports Championships in 2018.
The new 10-12 day multi-sport event will be staged in Glasgow and Berlin.
The Scottish city will play host to four sports including cycling and swimming, sale with the German capital staging the athletics.
The inaugural event will be held in the summer of 2018, vialis 40mg with around 2,900 athletes expected to descend upon Glasgow, with a further 1,500 athletes competing in Berlin.
Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, said: “Last summer Scotland showed the world what a tremendous job it can do when it comes to staging major sporting events, with the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup both hugely successful.
“As part of the legacy of those events, we want to attract even more top class sport to Scotland, and the European Sports Championships is certainly in that category.”
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Infront Sports & Media and 1860 Munich Seal Marketing Partnership
Sports marketing company Infront Sports and Media has become the exclusive marketing partner of German football club TSV 1860 Munich.
As part of the deal Infront will handle the entire marketing portfolio of the club.
Read more HERE.
AS Monaco Sign AIM Sport to Sell Sponsorship Rights
French Lique 1 club AS Monaco have signed a long-term extension deal with AIM Sport, allergist who will continue to sell their sponsorship and commercial rights.
AIM Sport originally came onboard with the wealthy club in September 2013 and the length of the new deal has not been specified.
Monaco Vice-President and Chief Executive Vadim Vasilyev added: “Following the significant sporting developments and success seen in recent years, this is the next big step in the development of Monaco.
“The preceding months have convinced us absolutely of the huge value of this partnership.”
New Chief Commerical Officer
As a part of the deal, AIM Sport’s Henri van der Aat has been named as the Chief Commercial Officer at Monaco.
AIM Sport Chief Executive Bernard De Roos commented: “The developments seen over that past 10 months are hugely promising and we are proud to have now sealed this partnership.
“We are convinced that with the experience of both partners and the innovative technology solutions we develop, Monaco shall soon be at the very forefront of the sports marketing industry in Europe.”
Manchester City Announce Further Expansion Plans to the Etihad Stadium
Premier League champions Manchester City have announced plans for a further expansion to the Etihad Stadium, which will see the total capacity top 55,000.
The new plans revealed today will add three more rows of seats at pitchside and is in addition to the work already started on an extra 6,000 seats in the South Stand.
The whole redevelopment will be completed in time for the start of the 2015/16 Premier League season.
Tom Glick, City’s chief commercial officer, said on the club’s website: “We have always been committed to bringing fans closer to Manchester City, to the players and to the pitch.
“Whether that’s through digital innovation, community work, international tours, or as in this case, physically allowing fans to be right next to the action, it is our top priority. We are already looking forward to seeing the expanded stadium in action for the 15/16 season.”
The club has also been given planning permission to add 6,000 more seats to the North stand if they decide to carry out the third phase of expansion.
British Racing Drivers’ Club Withdraw Plans to Sell Part of Silverstone
The British Racing Driver’s Club (BRDC) will no longer sell off a part of the Silverstone racecourse after talks with the investor fell through.
The BRDC confirmed a £32m deal with commercial property firm MEPC had been struck, with the company acquiring a 999-year lease on the industrial estate and development land around the circuit.
Despite this, negotiations with a second investor for the lease of the circuit and sale of Silverstone Circuits Limited have not been as successful, and as such, the deal has fallen through.
BRDC chairman John Grant said: “After intense efforts to secure an acceptable deal, we have not been able to bring negotiations with the second potential investor to a satisfactory conclusion.
“The BRDC will now retain full ownership of SCL, whose highly experienced management team will continue to operate, promote and further develop Silverstone as a premier racing destination.
“With or without another investor, the futures of both Silverstone and the British Grand Prix are secure.
“The circuit business has enormous potential and MEPC’s development of Silverstone Park – a high-tech business park on land surrounding the circuit – will enhance the circuit’s image and value over the next several years.
“We are delighted with the progress MEPC is already making. They are proving to be excellent partners and strong believers in our shared vision for Silverstone.
“We look forward to working with them towards implementing our joint vision for the development of Silverstone as a globally recognised centre for world-class motor sport and advanced technology.”
British Cycling Announces Participation Targets
British Cycling have announced plans to get one million more women on bikes by 2020.
The new target is part of the “vision for women’s cycling” scheme at the Department for Media, Culutre and Sport. The new plans aim to encourage more women to become coaches, members and officials as well as participating themselves.
Brian Cookson, president of British Cycling, said: “We have never been scared of a challenge. We are not saying we are going to be perfect, far less that we are perfect now. But the direction of travel is important. Our aim is to inspire one million more women to get on bikes and we are determined to make this happen.
“The next four years present a number of challenges, not least sustaining the elite success which has driven substantial rises in participation. A fair share of that elite success is due to the exceptional progress made by our women riders…. Now the challenge is to use that inspiration to effect significant change in the number of women cycling. Across sport, women’s participation levels are well behind men in just about every area so this will not be easy.”