AC Milan sale confirmed

Silvio Berlusconi has agreed to sell AC Milan to Chinese investors under a deal set to end three decades in charge of the club.

Fininvest, the Berlusconi family’s private holding company, announced that an agreement had been signed between the media tycoon and the prospective buyers.

The deal values Milan, which has some 220 million euros of debt, at 740 million euros, and will lead to a cash injection of 350 million euros over three seasons, Fininvest said in a statement.

A total of 100 million euros of the sale price is to be paid on completion, which is scheduled to happen by the end of this year.

Chinese and Italian authorities will have to rubber stamp the deal but this is not expected to raise any significant obstacles.

The preliminary accord was signed by Danilo Pellegrino, the Fininvest CEO, and Han Li, a representative of the Chinese investors.

The group has been named as Sino-Europe Sports Investment Management Changxing, and includes businessman Yonghong Li, the Haixia Capital Capital group and other private and public Chinese companies.

Berlusconi turns 80 in September, has recently had open heart surgery and has been seeking to offload part or all of his stake in Milan for over two years.

It now means both of Milan’s clubs, Milan and Inter, will be Chinese owned. Chinese investment group Suning bought Inter in June.

 

William Hill agree a deal with Everton

William Hill has penned a two-year deal with Everton to become the Club’s Official European Betting Partner.

The new partnership will see the Club link up with one of the bookmakers to offer exclusive odds on a comprehensive range of markets on all Premier League and cup games, medical exclusive competitions and money-can’t-buy prizes. 

The arrangement for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons will see William Hill use Everton’s platforms to connect withBlues fans in the UK and across Europe, viagra 40mg with its name set to appear on the Club’s LED screens and interview backdrops as well as providing an improved concourse betting experience for fans at Goodison Park.

Alan McTavish, viagra Head of Commercial at Everton Football Club, said: “We are pleased to name one of the world’s leading betting and gaming companies, William Hill, as our new official betting partner and look forward to a successful association between both parties.

“Ahead of an exciting new season we look forward to working together with William Hill, a company that prides itself on innovation, history and heritage just like Everton, and developing a long-term partnership that covers the traditional betting and the emerging interactive markets.”

Alex O’Shaughnessy, Chief Marketing Officer at William Hill, said: “Everton are one of the most iconic clubs in Britainand it’s great to be joining the Blues at this exciting point in their history. We can’t wait to start working with the club and we look forward to offering the millions of Evertonians a fun and innovative betting service across all of retail and digital channels.”

Olofinjana helped into coaching by Sport Directorship Masters

My name is Oluwaseyi George Olofinjana, health former Wolves, capsule Stoke City, Hull City, Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff City player in the United Kingdom as well as SK Brann and IK Start in Norway and Crown FC and Kwara United FC in Nigeria.

Born and raised in Lagos Nigeria some 36 years ago, like every kid, I had my education and kicked balls around the streets as well.

The competitive nature of the environment meant you had to study to get ahead in life, hence my original quest for academics.

I graduated from street football and secondary education to studying Chemical Engineering at university while still playing professional football and was lucky enough to be selected for the Nigerian national A team where I had the privilege of playing 56 times with some as captain in front of over 150million people.

I was then scouted by a Norwegian side – SK BRANN where I played for a season and a half before moving to England with Wolves.

Having obtained a B.Tech.Hons. in Chemical Engineering, I started my Masters degree programme in Project Management at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland with the view to broadening my managerial and leadership attributes to prepare for life after football.

Lack of premiership status meant I had to leave Wolves for Stoke City being managed at the time by Tony Pulis and quickly moved on to Hull City and stayed for 4 seasons though one in Cardiff on a season-long loan.

During the course of my travels, I had the privilege of learning under various managers and coaches with different leadership styles and I saw the benefits and short falls of most.

While doing all of this, I started a football school in Nigeria called IMPERIAL SOCCER ACADEMY (@imperialsoccer) with the view to first of all give back to the society that gave me so much as a kid in terms of life preparation and also to test my leadership qualities with the view to putting into practise all I have been learning and continue to learn over the years.

I quickly discovered the boys in the academy looked up to me so much – hence my surge for coaching education.

I have since then obtained both UEFA B and A licences with the PRO in view.seyi headshot

After finishing playing professional football, I felt it was time to start my full development within the sports industry as a leader but as with everything, the journey of a thousand miles starts with a step hence me attaching myself to Wolves under the tutelage of Kevin Thelwell to broaden my administrative and leadership skills as well as under the tutelage of Scott Sellars to help with football coaching and personal development.

It was at Wolves I got to know about the Sport Directorship Masters programme which suits perfectly for my continuous development as a leader and affords me the opportunity of getting an up to date academic insight into leading in a high-level sports environment while putting it into practise at Wolves.

I must emphasise how helpful the Sport Directorship course has been in terms of validating some of my already formed beliefs around leadership, leadership preparations – that cuts across all sport – and the invaluable knowledge sharing of gurus across different leadership sectors and colleagues.

Econet score Premier League deal

Econet Media have announced they have acquired the package of free-to-air broadcasting rights of the Premier League to sub-Saharan Africa.

The deal is for three seasons from the 2016/17 season and will make one Saturday afternoon fixture live on their free-to-air platform each weekend.

Read more HERE.

 

 

Exclusive: Crystal Palace Chairman Steve Parish Says FIFA Needs to Change the ‘Constitution’

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish believes a change of the ‘constitution’ is needed at FIFA if the governing body is to move past the issues it is currently facing. 

Speaking exclusively to iSportconnect, Parish gave his thoughts on the FIFA crisis and what needs to change.

“If things are wrong at FIFA they’re institutionally wrong and it seems they need to change the constitution,” he said.

“So one country, one vote, seems to not have worked particularly well for them, its kept the wrong people in power. The critical time for everybody is now.”

Parish believes this is a very important time for football and the decisions moving forward must be the correct ones for the sport and FIFA.

“It is a critical time for football and football needs to make sure that it gets it right and of course transparency and integrity very much need to be at the heart of any organisation and a new constitution of that particular organisation needs to take that into account.”

WATCH: Steve Parish’s views on the FIFA issue on iSportconnect TV now.

The full BIG interview with Steve Parish will be available on 22nd June. 

French Olympic Committee Unveils New Logo

By Christian Radnedge

The French Olympic Committee have revealed a new logo for the organisation as a Paris bid to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games edges closer.

The decision to change the old logo, see created in 1998, apoplectic was taken by the President of the organisation, herbal Denis Masseglia, supported by its board of directors.

The CNOSF said the change was made for its need of “a new graphic identity, more meaningful, more dynamic and better suited to its ambitions.”

It comes in the same week that a Paris bid for the 2024 Games moved closer to becoming a reality as the city’s council backed the proposal to present a bid to the International Olympic Committee.

The introduction of a cockerel into the design is an attempt to strengthen the French sporting brand, as teams and organisations in other sports use it too such as the French Football Federation.

The CNOSF will hope that the logo will unite the country even more in supporting the Games bid. Earlier this year, a poll showed that public support for hosting the Games was around 71 per cent.

 

Shaun Custis and Lee Clayton Add to Strong Panel for First Media and Communications Masterclass

iSportconnect, the world’s largest global private network of sports business executives, is delighted to announce Shaun Custis, Head of Sport Content at The Sun and Lee Clayton, Group Head of Sport for the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, as the latest panellists for the new Media and Communications Masterclass.

The inaugural event will be held in London on 17th June.

The pair join confirmed panellists Dan Johnson, Director of Communications at the Premier League, Andy Cairns, Head of Sky Sports News, Steve Atkins, Head of Communications and Public Affairs at Chelsea FC and Philip Bernie, Head of BBC TV Sport.

Shaun Custis took over as Head of Sport Content at The Sun in 2014 after successfully serving as the paper’s Chief Football Writer for many years.

He has over 30 years experience in the newspaper industry on titles such as The People and The Express and was also Sports Editor of The Express before returning to the football beat.

Lee Clayton is Group Head of Sport for the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, as well as MailOnline, having joined the company in 2004.

He started in newspapers aged 16 and has since clocked up 28 years of experience working for a number of major national titles including The Sun, Sunday Mirror and Daily Star.

The Media and Communications Masterclass will be an 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.

iSportconnect Chairman Michael Cunnah said: “We are extremely pleased to have Shaun and Lee on board to what is already a strong and diverse panel. They have a vast amount of experience in this sector and will provide expert insights for this exciting new event.”

Invitation Policy: The Media and Communications Masterclass is an exclusive invite only event to senior media industry executives and other similar positions at governing bodies, federations, teams/clubs and brands only.

To register your interest please contact Sylvia-Line Lamaro.

Sports Agencies, professional service providers & suppliers, please contact Mike Rocha-Keys for limited sponsorship opportunities.

Event Partners:

Exponential_Logo        LongoMatchLogo       

OmnigonLogo         SportlobsterLogo

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Extreme Networks Becomes First Official Wi-Fi Provider of NFL

Networking company Extreme Networks has announced an expanded relationship to become the first official Wi-Fi provider of the National Football League (NFL).

As part of the sponsorship, Extreme Networks and the NFL will work together to enhance the fan experience through Extreme Networks’ technology in NFL stadiums.

Extreme Networks became the Official Wi-Fi Analytics Provider of the NFL earlier this year and will also continue in this role.

Extreme Networks’ Wi-Fi solutions are currently used in the stadiums of six NFL teams; the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans.

“Enhancing the fan experience continues to be one the NFL’s top priorities,” the league’s chief information officer, Michelle McKenna-Doyle, said.

“By teaming up with Extreme Networks, we’re building the technology infrastructure needed and delivering on the high standards we have put in place to give our fans the type of experience they deserve.”

Extreme Networks president and chief executive Chuck Berger said: “We live in a world transformed by digital technology, and as a society, we’ve developed heightened expectations about how technology should support us – at work, at home and even at stadia.

“As the official Wi-Fi solutions provider and Wi-Fi analytics provider of the NFL, we’re helping the league to meet and exceed expectations during games for today’s highly connected fans.”

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Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea to Host Presidents Cup 2015

The PGA TOUR has announced that the first Presidents Cup event to take place in Asia will be at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Korea in 2015.

The golf club is located 40 miles west of Seoul and was opened in 2010 – hosting the Songdo Championship in 2010 and 2011, generic plus the 2012 Korea Women’s Open on the KLPGA Tour.

Mayor Song Young-Gil commented: “We are extremely pleased and honored to be the first city in Asia to be selected as host of The Presidents Cup.

“Along with the upcoming 2014 Asian Games, asthma Incheon City has certainly put itself on the global stage as a choice destination for major international events, and we look forward to welcoming participants, sponsors and dignitaries from around the world to our great city and country.”

Nicklaus himself added: “We’re very honored and proud that Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea has been selected for The Presidents Cup 2015.

“We have always felt strongly about JNGC Korea as a host venue because of its location in the Songdo International Business District, its proximity to the Incheon International Airport, the quality hotels nearby, and the club’s proximity to a large population area.”