The Yamaha Factor Racing MotoGP team has signed a new deal with motorcycle parts supplier Racing Boy, ahead of the World Championship’s return this weekend.

The deal focuses on the Asian and Greek markets and see the Racing Boy logo appear on Yamaha’s bikes, steered by world champion Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi, during races in Malaysia, Australia and Japan this season.

Yamaha Motor Racing managing director Lin Jarvis said: “The Asian territory is hugely important for Yamaha so it is with great delight that we welcome this agreement with a top quality partner from this region.

“Like Yamaha, Racing Boy is a manufacturer who places a great emphasis on technology and design and is already a partner with Yamaha for racing activities in Malaysia as well as other territories.

“We look forward to a successful adventure together in the second half of the 2013 MotoGP season and especially for the three important fly-away races as this season’s championship challenge reaches its critical phase.”

Bruce Lee, chief executive of Meng Kah Auto Parts Trading, Racing Boy’s parent company, added: “This sponsorship is in line with our direction to expand and strengthen the Racing Boy as a leading brand internationally.”

 

Force India team principal Bob Fernley has stressed that the financial problems co-owner Vijay Mallya is facing will have no bearing on the team.

Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines owes 17 banks around £840m in unpaid debts and it is reported that the company is on the verge of collapse.

His stake in Force India has been mentioned as one of the assets the banks are looking to sell as collateral.

However Fernley has denied this. Speaking to jamesallenonf1.com, Fernley said: “There is a disconnect between what happens in Vijay’s business and what Vijay is doing on the F1 team.

“So it doesn’t matter what happens there. The shares in United Spirits have quadrupled in the last few months, so he did a wonderful deal there.

“But whether Kingfisher or United Spirits is doing well or not doesn’t affect the team, and it’s very difficult for us to get that message across, although we have been trying for several years.

“We get a story every three or four months where we are about to go bankrupt, or someone is selling us or whatever, and we’ve had that for five years, so we are used to it.

“Five times a year we are up for sale. But we are still there and the strength of Force India, which so many people seem to have missed, is our shareholders.

“We don’t have to go to the external market to be able to raise our race budgets. We are blessed to have quality shareholders like Vijay and Sahara.”

Subrata Roy Sahara, who purchased 42.5% stake in Force India 16 months ago is also battling financial problems, after having bank accounts for two of his companies frozen due to unpaid refunds to investors that amounts into the millions.

Location: Munich, denture Germany

Closing date: 1st November

Overview:

FIBA Europe, denture the regional office of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) in Europe, seeks to recruit a full time Competitions Co-ordinator for its Competitions Department in Munich, Germany.

Responsibilities:

The Competitions Co-ordinator will work within the Competitions department for all FIBA Europe competitions, mainly the club competitions (EuroLeague Women, EuroCup Women & FIBA Europe Cup) and the National Team competitions EuroBasket Women 2017 in Czech Republic, EuroBasket 2017 in Finland, Israel, Romania & Turkey and several European Youth Championships (U16, U18 and U20) across Europe.

He/she will be administering the competitions from the office, be in touch with clubs, national federations and local organising committees in the respective countries for preparation and then be the operational person for the department on site for the games/events.

He/she will also assist the department in various other activities.

Requirements:

Prospective candidates must:

• – Be willing to work flexible hours, including weekends, as well as be willing to travel to games/tournaments/site visits.
• – Be fluent in English in written and oral form. Working knowledge of other European languages is a plus.
• – Have working experience/background in basketball preferably from a National Federation, league or club.
• – Have an international outlook.
• – Have good interpersonal and intercultural skills.
• – Have problem solving abilities.

To apply, please click here

Chelsea have announced a new global partnership deal with Carabao, doctor which sees the South-East Asian energy drinks brand, become the club’s official training wear partner for the next three seasons.

As part of the new deal, Carabao branding will adorn the training wear worn by the Chelsea squad and new manager Antonio Conte.

The brand will also be the sole training wear sponsor for the Chelsea Under-21s and Women’s teams.

Peter Gutierrez, CEO of Intercarabao, comments: “The principal partnership deal agreed with Chelsea for the next three years is a landmark moment for the Carabao brand, and one we’re really excited to activate as we embark on our product launch.” 

“We have ambitious plans to expand Carabao’s global presence in the coming years, and Chelsea’s worldwide fanbase and status as one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League will undoubtedly play a big part in helping us achieve that goal. Football is the world’s number one sport and is enjoyed by men and women, young and old.”

Chelsea FC Managing Director, Christian Purslow added: “We are tremendously excited about this opportunity for Carabao. Our training wear is worn six days a week by our players, so will offer the brand a tremendously visible and powerful level of exposure.” 

“I’m quite certain that our millions of followers around the world seeing this wonderful, iconic logo on our training wear will help Carabao achieve their objectives of becoming a truly global energy drink company.”

UK sports broadcaster BT Sport has secured the UK rights to Formula E’s inaugural race in Mexico.

The fifth round of the 2015/2016 FIA Formula E Championship at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez will take place on 12 March.

Read more HERE.

By Christian Radnedge

FIFA’s independent chairman of the audit and compliance committee admits that Russia and Qatar could lose the rights to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups if there is evidence that bribery occurred in the bidding process.

In an interview with Swiss newspaper Blick, Domenico Scala said “should evidence be present that the awarding to Qatar and Russia only came about with bought votes, then the awarding could be void.”

His comments come after the news that the US Department of Justice’s own investigation into corruption in world football includes scrutiny of the awarding of the controversial World Cup hosting rights in December 2010.

When seven high ranking FIFA officials were arrested in Zurich at the recent FIFA congress as part of the 14 charged by US prosecutors, it was also announced that Swiss authorities were launching an investigation into the 2018/2022 bidding process.

Other World Cup hosting bids are under scrutiny following former FIFA executive committee member Chuck Blazer’s revelations that he and others were bribed to vote for the host of the 1998 and 2010 World Cups.

Also in his interview, Scala insisted that any future president of FIFA should serve only a maximum of three four-year terms.

“If a FIFA president does two or three cycles that is enough,” he said.

President Sepp Blatter announced last week his intention to lay down his mandate, despite winning a fifth term in office just days beforehand.

Blatter has been president of FIFA since 1998.

FIFA film flops

The film about the history of FIFA, United Passions, has taken just $607 in its opening weekend.

Starring Tim Roth as Sepp Blatter, the budget for the project was estimated to be between $25-32m with FIFA believed to have contributed three-quarters of the money from its own reserves.

The adage that ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’ doesn’t seem to hold true in this situation, as even with FIFA dominating the news agenda there has been scarce interest in the film.

United Passions supposedly presents the history of FIFA through three leaders. Actor Gerard Depardieu plays FIFA founder Jules Rimet, Sam Neill as Joao Havelange and then Roth as Blatter.

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014 and was given a limited release in US cinemas this weekend.

Critics have not been kind to it either, with the New York Times calling it “one of the most unwatchable films in recent memory, a dishonest bit of corporate-suite sanitizing that’s not good even for laughs.”

The Guardian said it was “cinematic excrement”, while the New York Post described it as “tedious, amateurish and hilariously ill-timed.”

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Dorna have agreed a three year deal with IT services and solutions provider UST Global that will run from the 2015 season through to 2017.

The deal sees UST Global become the official IT services and solutions provider for the MotoGP World Championship.

Read more HERE.

 

iSportconnect, sale the world’s largest global private network of sports business executives, is delighted to announce an exclusive events partnership with international sports marketing agency Professional Sports Group (PSG).

PSG become the Official and Exclusive Middle East Partner of iSportconnect and iSportconnect Directors’ Club events.

PSG will work closely with iSportconnect to deliver Directors’ Club events in the Middle East.

The iSportconnect Directors’ Club will be returning to the region this year after three successful events in 2014.

PSG will collaborate with iSportconnect to create further events in Dubai and Abu Dhabi as well as launching an inaugural Directors’ Club in Doha, Qatar, as the event continues to expand in the Middle East.

Professional Sports Group is an international sports marketing agency with offices in the UK and the United Arab Emirates.

They have specialists in a number of specific fields such as brand strategy, PR, sponsorship, digital marketing, event creation and management and much more.

They work with an equally diverse amount of clients including corporate organisations, sports governing bodies, governments and brands.

iSportconnect Founder and CEO Sree Varma said: “We are thrilled to partner with Professional Sports Group for our Middle East events. Our events were very well received in the region last year and with PSG’s extensive knowledge and expertise we can continue the growth of the Directors’ Club.”

Professional Sports Group CEO & Founder Jamie Cunningham said: “Aside from our core consulting and event departments, we are always keen to represent elite brands and rights holders in the region. The Directors’ Club is fast becoming the must attend event for sport leaders in major cities worldwide.

“Given our knowledge and experience in the Arabian Gulf, we’re looking forward to running 3 Directors’ Club events in 2015 and also looking at other ways where we can help iSportconnect develop its business.”

About Professional Sports Group

Professional Sports Group (PSG) is a multi-award winning international sports marketing agency with offices in the UK and Abu Dhabi. Since starting out in 1995, PSG has grown organically to establish itself as a market leading agency, delivering remarkable results for a diverse range of clients from corporate organisations and world famous brands, to sports governing bodies and governments – as well as sporting legends, the sports stars of today and rising stars of the future.

The PSG team offers a wide range of commercial services from sponsorship to event management, from consultancy to PR and social media. Our golf division is a market leader in the industry with clients including Titleist, Footjoy, The Belfry, Golf in Abu Dhabi and Troon Golf. Our consulting division has strong experience in all sectors but particularly Financial Services, FMCG and Travel/Tourism.

Our exclusive athlete roster includes The Brownlee Brothers, Chad le Clos, Tom Daley, Dame Kelly Holmes and Sir Matthew Pinsent. Our events division advises and partners The Boat Race, which this year includes The Newton Women’s Boat Race for the first time – whilst over the last 2 years we have created The Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge, The Abu Dhabi Swimming Festival, The Brownlee Tri & The Dolphin Energy Doha Dash.

PSG is committed to providing world-class service to all our clients. We prioritise clear objectives and effective communication to deliver success. Our dynamic and resourceful team are passionate about sport and understand its commercial, marketing and social potential to #InspireTalent, #BuildBrands, #CreateOpportunities and #DeliverSuccess.

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