The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Sportradar have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will see both organisations exchange information that they are privy to around sports betting and the integrity of sports competitions.
Full story HERE.
iSportconnect staged an intriguing and thought-provoking Developing Rugby Business event on Thursday evening at the 5-star Grange City Hotel in London.
The event attracted an impressive audience which included representatives from major sports teams/clubs, ed governing bodies, federations and brands.
This included Adidas, Arsenal FC, Commonwealth Games England, ECB, England 2015, Eurosport, Everton FC, EY, LTA, PGA European Tour, QBE, RFL, Samsung, Sport England, Team GB, The O2, Wasps and many more.
The event consisted of two panels; Global Sponsorship and The Future of Rugby.
The Global Sponsorship panel featured sponsors of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, which included Michael Goldstein, Vice President of Global Sponsorships at Mastercard, Tom Kingsley, Director of Sport and Sponsorship at EY and Fiona Taag, Global Sponsorship Manager at DHL.
The panel was moderated by Henry Chappell, CEO of leading international communications agency Pitch.
The trio created interesting discussions by giving an insight into their individual sponsorships of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, how they activated it, the success of it, the challenges they faced and what future involvement they will be looking to have with rugby.
The Future of Rugby panel, which was moderated by David Slemen, Managing Director of Elite Performance Partners, included Simon Halliday, Chairman of the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), Steve Grainger MBE, Rugby Development Director at the RFU and Ex-France Rugby International Serge Betsen.
They spoke in-depth about how successful the tournament has been and the impact this will have on the future of the sport.
The panellists also gave their expert opinions of the legacy the Rugby World Cup will leave behind and how it will help grassroots rugby and participation.
Speaking after the event, Tom Kingsley of EY said: “It was a great event, to bring people from sport, from agencies, from brands together to discuss issues is always a good thing.”
Michael Goldstein of Mastercard added: “I’ve really enjoyed it, it’s been good it’s my first one and its been good to be here and meet some interesting people in the industry.”
Fiona Taag of DHL said: “It’s been wonderful to be part of this event and be alongside some of my fellow Rugby World Cup sponsors as well.”
Stay tuned to iSportconnect TV for the highlights to this event which will be available soon.
More pictures below
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International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach has warned world football’s governing body FIFA that it must “act swiftly to regain credibility” after Sepp Blatter, Jerome Valcke and Michel Platini were all handed 90-day suspensions.
Bach released a damning statement in which he said that FIFA’s reform process must be “accelerated”, in the wake of Blatter and Platini’s suspensions which were announced on Thursday, along with the six-year ban of former FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon.
“Enough is enough,” the German said.
“We hope that now, finally, everyone at FIFA has at last understood that they cannot continue to remain passive.
“They must act swiftly to regain credibility because you cannot forever dissociate the credibility of FIFA from the credibility of football.
“FIFA must realise that this is now about more than just a list of candidates.
“This is also a structural problem and will not be solved simply by the election of a new President.
“They must do two things immediately: they must accelerate and deepen the reform process in order to comply with accountability, transparency and all the principles of good governance, as expressed in our reform programme, Olympic Agenda 2020.
“They should also be open for a credible external Presidential candidate of high integrity, to accomplish the necessary reforms and bring back stability and credibility to FIFA.”
British Athletics has appointed digital consultancy Seven League to carry out a digital review.
Seven League will be working on the role of digital throughout the organisation, buy leading to a digital strategy which will take British Athletics up to the London 2017 World Championships and beyond.
Read more HERE.
English rugby union club London Irish have confirmed a number of senior appointments as part of a management restructure.
The senior appointments include Bob Casey as Chief Executive, prostate Paul Forsyth as Head of Finance, anabolics Darren Henry as Head of Commercial, Fiona Stockley as Head of Operations, Glenn Delaney as Head of Rugby Operations and Kieran McCarthy as Rugby Chairman.
Full story HERE.
Manny Pacquaio is facing a $5 million (£3.2m) lawsuit from fans after it appeared he failed to disclose a shoulder injury prior to his ‘fight of the century’ with Floyd Mayweather.
Reports have surfaced that Pacquaio’s team were aware of the injury before the Las Vegas bout but didn’t report it to the Nevada Athletic Commission, as they are required to do so by law.
The lawsuit reads: “Defendants prior to and at the time the plaintiffs and the class decided to purchase tickets; purchase pay per view showings or wagered on the event the defendants knew and had full knowledge and information that defendant Pacquiao had been seriously injured and was suffering from a torn rotator cuff.
“Defendants further know that such injury would severely affect his performance.”
However, Pacquaio’s promoters Top Rank have denied the allegations.
“The allegations in this lawsuit are demonstrably false,” said Top Rank’s attorney Daniel Petrocelli speaking to ABC News.
“There are documents that explicitly show the medications that Manny was using to treat his shoulder and it was fully disclosed with USADA, which we contracted for this fight.”
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Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) Group Chief Executive Roger Lewis has announced he will be stepping down from his position in October following the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Lewis has been with the WRU for nine years since joining in 2006.
Full story HERE.
Golfer Paul Maddy has signed a deal with MB Partners for full management and commercial representation.
Full story HERE.
SportAccord Convention today announced that registration is open for the World Sport & Business Summit, ed providing the sports community with a global platform and catalyst for growth in this 6-day gathering.
The Convention will be held 19 -24 April 2015 in Sochi, Russia, at the Sochi Expocentre. Early-Rate discounts are available for delegates who register before 31 January 2015.
The conference will be attended by over 1,000 organisations, 100 international sport federations and organisations, and 250 exhibitors, with the majority of delegates being Presidents, CEOs and key decision-makers.
The conference will host distinguished panellists and speakers including business and sport leaders, inventors, policymakers, media and technology specialists.
Building on the successful legacy of previous Conventions, the World Sport & Business Summit, brings fresh horizons and opportunities.
Nis Hatt, Managing Director, SportAccord Convention said: “We are excited by the level of interest received from delegates, partners, exhibitors, and speakers, as well as sport organisations worldwide.
“By providing a joint platform, the SportAccord Convention World Sport & Business Summit brings together all levels of sport, economy, media, suppliers, art, culture and visitors, opening up innumerable opportunities.”
To register now, please visit www.sportaccordconvention.com.
The NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks are close to being sold for around $550m, arthritis subject to approval from the NBA and its board of governors.
Long-time Bucks owner Herb Kohl announced that he had reached the agreement with hedge-fund billionaires Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry on Wednesday.
Kohl bought the team for $18m in 1985 and made it a condition of the sale that the team stayed in Milwaukee.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said he was happy the Bucks were staying and said the new ownership would help the team “flourish in the state.”
Walker also said “I think it’s a big deal.”
One of the biggest challenges for Lasry, chairman and chief executive of Avenue Capital Group, and Edens, co-founder and chairman of Fortress Investment Group, is to build a new stadium.
The Bradley Center is outdated and NBA commissioner Adam Silver once described it as “an obvious issue.”