iSportconnect, the world’s largest private network for sport business professionals, is delighted to announce Damian Smith, Head of Information Technology at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Matt Locke, Director at Storythings, as panellists for the Digital Media and Technology Masterclass.

The event, in association with Seven League, will make its return to London on April 15^th.

The duo will be joining a strong panel already assembled for the event, which includes David Sternberg, Head of Media at Manchester United FC, Jerry Newman, Head of Digital Marketing and CRM at Chelsea FC, Murray Barnett, Head of Broadcast, Commercial and Marketing at World Rugby, Joaquim Cardona, Head of Digital Business at FC Barcelona and Andrew Meikle, Co-Founder and CEO of Sportlobster.

Damian Smith has over 20 years’ experience in the IT sector and returned to join the ECB as Head of IT in 2013 after initially spending almost two years with the organisation in the role of IT Strategy between 2005 and 2006.

Smith also previously spent 12 years as the director of data warehousing company Madelo as well as previous IT roles in various companies such as Brit Insurance and Xchanging.

Matt Locke established Storythings in 2011, a studio that develops new ways to tell stories through consultancy and production.

Matt has 10 years’ experience working for major broadcasters, such as the BBC and Channel 4.

Before starting Storythings, Matt had roles as the Head of Multiplatform Commissioning and Commissioning Editor for Education at Channel 4.

The exclusive, invitation-only Masterclass series, is a unique gathering providing sports digital media and technology executives with the chance to learn from each other.

Delegates will also hear industry insights, join in on discussions and network in a relaxed environment.

Michael Cunnah, Chairman of iSportconnect, said: “Damian and Mark’s contributions will add more expertise and insight to what is already our strongest panel yet for this event.”

Invitation policy: The Digital Media and Technology Masterclass is an exclusive invite only event to Heads of Digital Media and Technology 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.

You can find the agenda and topics for the Digital Media and Technology Masterclass HERE.

Event Partners:

        

       

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Spanish football giants Real Madrid and Microsoft have signed a major partnership deal which will see the digital transformation of the club through technology.

The deal sees Microsoft become the strategic technological partner of Real Madrid and they will provide digital services that are accessible anywhere and on a host of devices such as PCs, link tablets, ambulance smartphones and wearables.

Florentino Pérez, chairman of Real Madrid said: “Today we seal a powerful alliance and the creation of a gigantic digital platform capable of changing the relationship of millions of fans with Real Madrid.

“It is essential to remain at the technological cutting edge and for this reason we have chosen Microsoft to lead this commitment to the future.

“In every country, on every continent, there will always be millions of Madridistas connected by a feeling that knows no borders, and we will be there with you.

“This club always seeks excellence and there are areas in which this club has proved a pioneer. Today, we again inspire one of those areas.

“We must keep pace with the new times and strengthen the pride of belonging to the best club in the world.”

Satya Nadella CEO of Microsoft said: “At Microsoft we are fully committed to ensuring that people from across the world can make the most of each moment of their lives.

“Amazing things can happen by providing people with the right tools, just when they need them in order to interact, create or share everything they can imagine.

“We are delighted to offer these tools to millions of Real Madrid fans worldwide and help make their passion for football much more exciting.”

Orlando Ayala corporate vice president and chairman, Emerging Markets at Microsoft: “Today is the start of a long journey that Real Madrid and Microsoft are embarking on together, heading toward the full digital revolution of the club.

“This new era translates into an unprecedented personalized experience for supporters that will allow millions of fans from all over the planet to enjoy their passion for Real Madrid anywhere, anytime and on any device.”

The initial step in the collaboration between Real Madrid and Microsoft will be to build a digital platform that will allow Real Madrid fans to follow their team in new ways.

Supporters of Real Madrid will be able to access experiences, content and exclusive digital services, either at the stadium, at home or in any other location.

This agreement also provides for the use of services and devices by players and coaching staff as key work tools, with the aim of enhancing the performance of the team.

New internal collaboration and communication solutions will also be adopted, as well as the latest technology trends in areas such as cloud computing or big data.

Additionally, both parties will collaborate by exchanging and facilitating access to useful information and knowledge on the application of technology in the sports industry and assess potential partnerships on joint research projects with Microsoft Research in this area.

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Location: Colorado Springs, cough US

Closing Date: 18th November 

POSITION SUMMARY: The High Performance Manager is responsible for the day to day administration of the High Performance Department of USA Taekwondo

Reports to: High Performance Director

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Act as primary liaison for all coaching education programs, including scheduling and administration of coach training and seminars. Manage the registration and processing of the Associate Coach Quiz and handle logistics for level 1 and level 2 coach seminars.
• Manage annual Athlete Development Training Camps at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, and other locations. Perform all logistical duties and assist with marketing and and recruitment, acting as primary contact for all camps, disseminating camp information as needed.
• Manage event logistics for international elite teams, including the senior, junior and cadet national teams, the Paralympic national team and the Poomsae national team.
• Handle air/ground transportation, meals, lodging, medical supplies, registration and budget for international competitions.
• Expand coach/athlete education programs, including the USA Taekwondo webinar series. Manage monthly webinars, including recruitment, marketing and execution
• Develop the Paralympic Taekwondo Program, including coach and athlete recruitment; program development; training and competitions.
• Day to day management of the High Performance intern, including hiring, performance management and evaluations.
• Assist the High Performance Director in managing the High Performance budget.
• Assist the Events Department in the execution of USA Taekwondo national events.
• Occasional international and domestic travel required.

Duties and responsibilities may be revised at the discretion of the High Performance Director and at the direction of the Executive Director.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Two years of experience working for a National Governing Body or other high performance sporting organization
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Knowledge of U.S. Olympic Committee and NGB policies and procedures a plus.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Knowledge of Sport Taekwondo
• Team Leader experience with international competitive sport teams

How to Apply

Please supply your resume and cover letter. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. A current resume, and a cover letter explaining candidate qualifications should be sent to keith.ferguson@usa-taekwondo.us. Due to the anticipated number of high-quality applicants, only shortlisted

 

The highlights of this year’s Cross Sports Book Awards will be shown on Sky Sports in the weekend following the awards ceremony, it has been announced today.

The Cross Sports Book Awards is the major annual promotion for sports writing & publishing. The awards exist to highlight the most outstanding sports books of the previous calendar year, to showcase their merits and to enhance their reputation and profile.

The best of the star-studded evening, which is being held at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Wednesday, 1st June, will be shown four times over the weekend of 4th and 5th June, across a number of Sky Sports channels.

This year’s award-winners will be selected by independent judging panels featuring a host of household sports broadcasters and celebrities; Lawrence Dallaglio, Brian Moore, Beth Tweddle, Bob Willis, Manish Bhasin, Claire Tomlinson, Jill Douglas, Paul Allot, Charles Colville and England’s Rugby World Cup winning captain Martin Johnson.

The Autobiography of the Year Award, as won by Wales and British Lion rugby player Gareth Thomas in 2015, features a stellar list of nominees for 2016 including books from; Sir AP McCoy, Steven Gerrard, Steve Davis, Nigel Mansell, Andrew Flintoff, David Lloyd, Phil Tufnell and Ben Cohen.

Barney Francis, Managing Director of Sky Sports, said, ‘Sky Sports is delighted to be supporting the Cross Sports Book Awards in its 14th year and we wish the Awards many more successful years.’

Nicola Shepherd, Marketing Director at A.T. Cross said “It’s great to have Sky Sports on board for the second year of our sponsorship. We look forward to unveiling the winner of the Cross Autobiography of the Year award at Lord’s later this summer.”

The Shortlists for all 10 categories will be released on 29^th April. The official promotional campaign runs through to the ceremony on 1^st June and the beyond up to Fathers’ Day on 19^th June. There is a public vote to find The Times Best Overall Sports Book of the Year from the shortlist of category winner on the 1^st June, with the result announced on the 15^th June.

talkSPORT 2, cough the new national 24-hour sports radio station, has agreed a rights deal with ATP Media, the broadcast arm of the ATP World Tour, to become an official broadcaster of the top tier events on the ATP World Tour.

As part of the deal talkSPORT 2 will broadcast matches from all nine Masters 1000 events and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Mike Bovill, Programme Director for talkSPORT 2, said: “With our rights to broadcast the ATP Masters Series, talkSPORT 2 will be bringing more tennis to the UK airwaves than ever before, from some of the world’s greatest players. To give listeners and tennis fans unprecedented access is just fantastic.”

Mark Webster, CEO, ATP Media, said “ATP Media prides itself on innovation and leading the sports production industry, so we’re pleased to be partnering with talkSPORT 2 as this new sport radio channel launches.”

Following Michael Van Praag withdrawal from the FIFA Presidency election, ex-Portugal midfielder Luis Figo pulled out on the same day as the Dutchman, to leave Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan as Blatter’s only rival.

Figo, whose manifesto included staging World Cups across two continents and who enjoyed the backing of star names such as David Beckham and Jose Mourinho but not enough of the Fifa electorate, said he would be ready to serve again “whenever it is proven to me that we are not living under a dictatorship”.

More details HERE.

 

By Christian Radnedge

Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has cooled talk of an Indian bid for the 2024 Games saying it is “too early” for the country to think of hosting the event.

The IOC chief was in the country meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the state of sport in India and its future development in the Olympic sphere, having had their suspension for alleged corruption reversed in 2014.

There were reports earlier this month that India was preparing to enter the race to host the 2024 Games in Ahmedabad or Delhi, but Bach said these stories were surprising.

“A year after returning from Olympic suspension, the IOA still needs to find its feet” he said. “We are surprised with the speculation about the Olympic bid. It’s too quick now for India to host the Olympics in 2024.

“For now India needs to build its athletes, find unity among themselves so that you can field a strong team at the Rio Olympics.”

However, the German did not rule out the possibility that a first Olympic Games in India could be hosted at some point.

“PM Modi is also seriously looking into India’s Olympic candidature in the future,” Bach added. “But he wants India to be well prepared. From now to September, it would be difficult to get everything ready in time.

“But both the IOC and PM will be in contact about this in the future.”

India’s Olympic history is not wholly glorious for the world’s second most populous country. Their only individual gold medal came at the 2008 Games in Beijing when Abhinav Bindra won the men’s 10m air rifle shooting event.

The most significant multi-sport event held in India in recent times was the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

However the event was beset with construction and infrastructure problems, as well as water quality issues and – once again – allegations of corruption.

With allegations behind them now and Bach’s public backing, perhaps begins a new era for Indian sport.

The applicant city phase for the 2024 Games begins in September. So far Boston, Rome, Hamburg, and Paris have all announced their intention to bid.

The official decision will be taken by the IOC at their 130^th Session in Lima, Peru in 2017.

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