The DOSB (German Olympic Committee) have announced an extension of their partnership with Adidas until 2024

adidas remains at the side of the German Olympic team for the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang (South Korea), for the Summer Games in 2020 in Tokyo (Japan), as well as for the Games in 2022 (Beijing / China) and 2024.

The partnership between the DOSB or the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Germany and adidas has been around for more than 45 years.

At this year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, adidas supplies more than 60,000 items for German athletes, including the podium and workout clothes, and for the first time also the official equipment for the opening ceremony.

An important part of the partnership between adidas and the DOSB is also working closely with numerous youth programs and events such as the “Youth Olympic Games” or the “Olympic Festival of European Youth”.

Herbert Hainer, adidas Group CEO, said: “The close and trusting cooperation with the German Olympic team is undoubtedly very special for us. We are pleased that we can support the best German athletes at the Olympic Games in the future. “

DOSB president Alfons Hörmann added: “The adidas brand is an integral part of the German Olympic team. We are very happy that this partnership will now continue until at least the 2024. Together we will write new chapter in Olympic history and inspire the younger generation to the sport”

The BBC and BT Sport have retained the rights to The FA Cup until 2021, decease after the broadcasters reached agreement with the FA to extend their shared coverage of the competition for another three years. 

BT Sport will broadcast more FA Cup matches than ever from 2018/19, remedy when they will show an extra live match in Rounds 1-5 of the competition, covering up to 30 matches exclusively live each year.

From next season, fans will be able to enjoy enhanced FA Cup coverage in Ultra HD and on the BT Sport app.

The new deal will also see an enhanced commitment to women’s football from both the BBC and BT. 

The BBC will offer live coverage of international qualifiers, the Women’s FA Cup final, plus one England Women’s friendly match per season alongside additional live matches and The FA Women’s Super League highlights.

BT Sport will remain the exclusively live broadcaster of The FA Women’s Super League and from 2018 will show both Women’s FA Cup semi-finals exclusively live, the Women’s FA Cup Final and England Senior Women’s home friendlies. 

Martin Glenn, FA chief executive, said: “The Emirates FA Cup has enjoyed record viewing figures, with 7 million alone watching Tottenham’s Third Round tie against Leicester City, outstripping all viewing figures for club matches in England this season, both domestically and in Europe.  

“It is a competition loved not only in this country but throughout the world, as demand for broadcast rights globally highlight.”

“The competition is all about the success of the underdog and this season has seen some more fantastic stories.”

“The money clubs win can make a hugely positive impact both on and off the pitch and we’re very proud to have distributed £25m to clubs via the prize fund and broadcast fees this season.”

“We are excited to continue this association and look forward to sharing new ideas and breaking new ground in the coming years in the world’s oldest and most loved domestic cup competition.”

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Dutch football association president Michael Van Praag has been appointed deputy chairman of European football’s governing body UEFA.

Van Praag will be one of five deputy chairmen at UEFA, who support president Michel Platini. 

Read more HERE.

By Christian Radnedge

The president of the South African Football Association, Danny Jordaan, has admitted that his country did route $10m to CONCACAF in 2008 but denies that it was a bribe in return for South Africa winning the right to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The money in question emerged in the US Department of Justice investigation into allegations of corruption in football which saw 14 people indicted last week. Seven people, including CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb, were arrested in Zurich ahead of the FIFA Congress where Sepp Blatter was re-elected for a fifth term as president.

Jordaan led South Africa’s World Cup bid and was chief of the local organising committee but he maintained to local media that the $10m was a donation towards the Carribean’s football development fund.

The South African was quoted as saying: “I haven’t paid a bribe or taken a bribe from anybody in my life. We don’t know who is mentioned [in the indictment] – and I don’t want to assume that I am mentioned.

“During my tenure as ceo at the 2010 World Cup organising committee, I was bound by [strict] regulations [and] could authorise payments of a maximum of R1 million.”

Jordaan pointed out that the $10m was paid four years after the award to South Africa by FIFA in 2004, adding: “How could we have paid a bribe for votes four years after we had won the bid?”

The US indictment alleges that Chuck Blazer, general secretary of CONCACAF and FIFA exco member at the time, “learned from Jack Warner that high-ranking officials of FIFA, the South African government, and the South African bid committee, were prepared to arrange for the government of South Africa to pay $10m to ‘support the African diaspora’.

Blazer apparently then later found out the South Africans “were unable to arrange for the payment to be made directly from government funds.

“Arrangements were thereafter made with FIFA officials to instead have the $10m sent from FIFA – using funds that would otherwise have gone from FIFA to South Africa to support the World Cup – to [the] CFU.

“In fact, on January 2, 2008, January 31, 2008 and March 7, 2008, a high-ranking FIFA official caused payments of $616,000, $1,600,000, and $7,784,000 – totalling $10 million – to be wired from a FIFA account in Switzerland to a Bank of America account in New York held in the names of CFU and CONCACAF, but controlled by the [then CONCACAF] president [then Trinidadian Jack Warner].

“Soon after receiving these wire transfers, the president [Warner] caused a substantial portion of the funds to be diverted for his personal use.”

In a statement on Thursday, the South African government denied any knowledge of payments and said that their books for the 2010-11 financial year had been audited and were clear.

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iSportconnect, the world’s largest global private network of sports business executives, is delighted to announce Pedro Pinto, Chief of Press at UEFA and Will Chignell, Head of Communications at the Rugby Football Union (RFU), as the final panellists for the first ever Media and Communications Masterclass.

The exciting new event will be debuting in London on June 17^th.

An impressive panel line up has already been confirmed for this event with Pedro and Will joining Dan Johnson, Director of Communications at the Premier League, Steve Atkins, Head of Communications and Public Affairs at Chelsea FC, Philip Bernie, Head of BBC TV Sport, Shaun Custis, Head of Sport Content at The Sun, Lee Clayton, Group Head of Sport for the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday and Christian Pfennig, Director of Corporate and Brand Communications at the Bundesliga.

Pedro Pinto has been the Chief of Press at UEFA since January 2014 and is responsible for the communication of UEFA President Michel Platini. His duties also involve being an official spokesman for European Football’s Governing Body.

Pedro was previously a journalist for almost two decades, most notably spending 15 years as a sports presenter and correspondent for CNN.

Will Chignell became the Head of Communications at the RFU in July 2011. Prior to this role, Chignell spent 17 years as an international TV broadcaster on Sky Sports.

Chignell was also the owner of bespoke communications business, Chignell Communications for 10 years, before closing the business to join the RFU.

The Media and Communications Masterclass will be a unique event with presentations and discussions for senior media industry experts and Executives from across sport to discuss and learn about the growing trends and issues in the industry.

Pedro said: “I am really looking forward to participating in the iSportconnect Media and Communications Masterclass in June. It is a unique opportunity to share valuable experience, expertise and insight with other high ranking professionals in the industry.”

Will said: “I’m excited to be taking part in the Media and Communications Masterclass and sharing best practice with my peers in the industry. The event should prove insightful, with a good mix of speakers in place.”

Invitation Policy: The Media and Communications Masterclass is an exclusive invite only event to senior media industry executives and other similar positions.

To register your interest please contact Sylvia-Line Lamaro at sylvia-line@isportconnect.com

Event Partners:

            

            

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The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has announced a three-year partnership with Sportradar.

As part of the deal Sportradar will monitor three IIHF tournaments from 2015 to 2017.

Sportradar will be monitoring the world’s betting markets on the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, IIHF World Junior Championship and IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship for the next three seasons.

Read more HERE.

Serbian Nenad Lalovic was elected president of United World Wrestling on Sunday in Uzbekistan.

Lalovic immediately marked his election by presenting a re-brand of the federation to member countries at the FILA Congress.

The international federation has now become ‘United World Wrestling’ after formerly being known as ‘FILA’.

Lalovic’s election also marks the one-year anniversary of wrestling’s re-admission into the Olympics and he outlined his vision for the organisation and its efforts for closer integration into the Olympic Movement.

“The Olympic world is changing, troche ” said Lalovic.

“Under (IOC President) Thomas Bach and his vision of Agenda 2020 the Olympic Movement could undergo more revisions, salve more changes.

“We need to be part of that change … We are not guaranteed anything.”

Lalovic’s presidency is now secured for six years and with the new brand in place, cough | he’s looking to expand the sport to new heights.

“I promise you that the steps all of us are taking now will be huge.  They will propel us into a new age in our sport,” he said.

“We will look different on the mats, in our competitive dress and in our brand.  We will take our message to sponsors and media that wrestling is worth investing in.

“We will become good partners in telling the story of wrestling.”

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