ASO to Sell World Cup Hospitality Programme in Belgium and Luxembourg

Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) has become an authorised sales agent of the 2014 Brazil World Cup hospitality programme in Belgium and Luxembourg.

The move adds to ASO’s involvement in next year’s FIFA World Cup after being appointed as the exclusive sales agent for France.

Jaime Byrom, medstore the executive chairman of Match Hospitality said: “We are very happy to announce the appointment of Amaury Sport Organisation as an authorised sales agent in Belgium and Luxemburg.

“In doing so, we extend our excellent cooperation with this company to market our wide range of hospitality packages.”

Yann Le Moenner, the director general of ASO, added: “This represents an additional opportunity for us and ASO is very proud to be able to place its know-how at the service of the 2014 FIFA World Cup official hospitality programme.

“By becoming an authorised sales agent for Belgium and Luxemburg we can further leverage the professionalism of our team and make it available to clients in these two countries.”

Rugby World Cup Sevens Retained and Integrated into Olympic Cycle

The Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament will be fully integrated into the Olympic Games cycle and used as a springboard to the Games.

The International Rugby Board (IRB) made the decision to integrate the event within the middle of the Olympic cycle to provide a ‘key high performance pathway for teams around the world.’

IRB also confirmed the next RWC Sevens after 2013 will take place in 2018, prescription two years before the 2020 Olympics.

This will ensure an Olympic Games or RWC Sevens will take place every two years and allow RWC Sevens to be used as a key springboard to the Games.

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “Like all Olympic sports, cialis we believe that a world championship event will increase competitiveness, interest and participation, slotting into the multi-sport Games cycle and enhancing Rugby Sevens in the Olympic Games and the sport as a whole.”

The 2013 edition of the tournament takes place June 28-30 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Mosow, three years ahead of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Sheffield City Council Unveil Sports College Plan for Don Valley Site

Sheffield City Council has announced it will bid to build a new University Technical College (UTC) dedicated to sports and life sciences on the site of the Don Valley Stadium, it is to be demolished in September.

The athletics stadium, where Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis trained, is to be knocked down as part of cost-cutting measures by the council. The move will save £700,000 a year.

The council must now find a sponsor, as required under government regulations, to submit the bid and assume responsibility for the UTC’s governance, leadership and organisation. Once a sponsor has been found, they will have until September 2013 to enter the bid as part of the Department for Education’s national competitive process.

Councillor Jackie Drayton said: “This is an exciting opportunity to create a new, all-age learning campus for the city with a UTC at its heart.

“By specialising in Sports and Life Sciences, the city’s second UTC not only allows the young people of Sheffield to benefit from the Olympic legacy but also prepares those who study there for careers in sectors where growth is predicted including sports, health and specialist manufacturing.”

The council has also stated the smaller Woodbourn Road stadium will be reopened for athletes in Sheffield.

Senior Manager, Team & Arena Technology – NBA

Location: Secaucus, USA

Closing Date: 6th October

Overview:

This position will be responsible for supporting League Technology Operations across all three leagues the NBA, the WNBA, and the D-League. The position will work with the NBA’s Traffic Operations Center, as well as support new technology rollouts, working with various IT groups, arenas and teams to ensure successful rollout, testing and deployments across the league.

Major Responsibilities

The position’s primary responsibility will be to support game time technology operations for all three leagues in the Traffic Operations Center (TOC) and manage game technology to resolution. This will include working with the staff who work game night in the TOC, and the operations associated with those technologies. Those technologies include, but are not limited to:

– Clock systems (all components of approved NBA Manufacturers)

– Stats systems

– Broadcast IT support

– Instant Replay

– Sound Meters

– Referee Locker Room Systems

– Video boards

– Video Phones

– Precision Time Systems

– HSAN Support

– IP Radio Support

– Video Distribution systems

– Photos systems

This position will also work on the operational rollout across the league of any new technology initiatives – this will require representing the TOC in the planning and execution stages of all new technologies and contributing to the development of processes for rollouts that are repeatable and manageable throughout the league. The position may be asked to assist with the management of the TOC including, but not limited to:

– Scheduling of resources for game night

– Reporting, management, communication/follow-up on all issues, including compliance related

– Development of technical expertise for all game related technologies

– Ensure that league initiatives are properly relayed to game night staff to become part of the TOC operations

– Reporting to management on system performance throughout the league

– Reporting on team compliance to league mandates

– Management of operational relationships with teams to ensure compliance with pregame check-in procedures

– Use of monitoring tools to monitor all systems across the three leagues as necessary

– Examination of processes within TOC and across league operations to improve efficiencies and streamline game night tasks

Required Experience/Knowledge

– Experience with wide-variety of operational support, including servers, hardware, software, networks, users, etc

– Able to work independently, as well as in a group atmosphere

– Broad understanding of technology

– Ability to prioritize tasks

– Strong organizational skills

– Strong communication skills, both written and oral

– Analytical and project management skills

– Ability to travel (to Arenas, Teams, and Events)

Education

Bachelors’ degree in technology related field a plus

How to Apply

Click to apply HERE

ITV to Broadcast British Horseracing in Four-Year TV Rights Deal

British Horseracing has announced a deal with UK broadcaster ITV to provide coverage of the sport on free-to-air television exclusively starting 1 January 2017 after it won the tender process for a new four-year term.

ITV has secured the rights to show nearly 100 days of racing each year, generic including marquee events on such as the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National until December 2020. 

Read more HERE.

Bayern Munich Reveal Club Record Profit for 2014/15

German Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich have announced a club record profit of €23.8 million for the 2014/15 financial year.

The club recorded a total turnover of €523.7m, which fell just short of the record figure from the team’s treble-winning season in 2012/13, which was €528.7 million.

Bayern Munich’s deputy chairman and finance director Jan-Christian Dreesen declared: “We’re in an outstanding position.”

“FC Bayern München is in outstanding shape both in sporting and financial terms. Our increasing financial power will be used primarily to make the regular investments required in our first-team squad in order to ensure we remain competitive among the elite teams in Europe,” Dreesen added.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the club’s chief executive said: “As before, FC Bayern boasts solid and sound commercial foundations.

“We remain true to our principle that every Euro we spend has previously already been earned.”

The club’s record figures were driven by sponsorship, which yielded €113.9m and merchandising, which brought in €101.7m.

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Top Speakers Join Line-up for HOST CITY 2015

Commonwealth Games CEO David Grevemberg, adiposity  Baku 2015 European Games Chief Operating Officer Simon Clegg and leading sports architect Christopher Lee announced as panellists

HOST CITY 2015 Conference and Exhibition continues to attract top experts and key decision makers to speak at its event with Commonwealth Games Federation CEO David Grevemberg, cough Baku 2015 European Games Chief Operating Officer Simon Clegg CBE and Paul Bush OBE, apoplectic Director of Events for VisitScotland, the latest big names to join the line-up.

In only its second year, HOST CITY, which will take place at the Technology and Innovation Centre in Glasgow on 9 – 10 November, is set to bring together cities, rights holders, event owners and suppliers to explore the challenges and benefits of bidding for major global events.

Under the theme “Creative Innovation Connecting Cities with Sports, Business and Culture Events”, David Grevemberg, Simon Clegg and Paul Bush will join other influential stakeholders such as Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Mike Lee OBE, Chairman, Vero Communications, and one of the world’s leading sports architects, Christopher Lee, Senior Principal at Populous to examine issues concerning the bidding for and hosting of large-scale, multi-sport and cultural events.

Other notable names already announced include:

– Sir Craig Reedie, CBE, Vice-President, International Olympic Committee;

– Louise Martin, CBE, President, Commonwealth Games Federation;

– Marisol Casado, IOC Member and President, International Triathlon Union;

– Dimitri Kerkentzes, Chief of Staff, Bureau International des Expositions (World Expos);

– Mário Andrada, Executive Director of Communications, Rio 2016;

David Grevemberg, Chief Executive, Commonwealth Games Federation, who attended the inaugural HOST CITY event in 2014, said: “I found HOST CITY: Bid to Win enlightening. The calibre of people that attended and spoke was excellent; it was excellent to meet so many experts with a shared perspective and passion and belief that the hosting of major events is a force for good.”

Matthew Astill, Chief Executive of Cavendish Group, owner of HOST CITY 2015, said: “In an increasingly competitive and highly scrutinised global market, cities are hosting a wider range of events to attract a greater share of global trade and investment from mega events such as the Olympic Games and World Expos to major business, scientific and cultural events.

“HOST CITY 2015 aims to provide the platform for them to work together to attract, build and host the greatest events in the world, which is why we are delighted to be able to announce speakers of such a high standing in the world of major event hosting. We look forward to the expert insight and unique perspective they will add to the debate.”

Eurosport Website Posts New Digital Daily Record with 8.4 Million Visitors

The Eurosport.com website achieved its best ever digital daily performance on Wednesday July 9, with 8.4 million viewers connecting through online and mobile.

The viewers coincided with Germany’s 7-1 dismantling of Brazil in the semi-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

There were 6.05 million fans on the website and 2.35 million through mobile, to read the latest news, blogs and expert analysis, as well as to follow the Brazil 2014 game.

The German version did particularly well, beating its own previous digital record by 100,000 to reach 819,869 visitors.

Jean-Thierry Augustin, Eurosport Group CEO, said: “This digital achievement consolidates Eurosport’s place as the number 1 digital platform in Europe.

“At the beginning of 2014 we set the ambitious goal to break the 8 million barrier and we have broken it by a considerable margin.

“This record affirms our ability to draw fans to our quality coverage through the strength of our editorial content and our sporting credibility.”

The Polish website also performed well, securing 508,510 visitors on mobile alone, whilst the Arabic version of Eurosport’s website achieved its best performance ever with 371,626 visitors.

Adecco Continue Agreement with Italian National Paralympic Committee

Adecco and the Italian National Paralympic Committee (CIP) have signed a new agreement that will see the recruitment specialist continue to develop the Athlete Career Programme up until 2020.

The programme is designed to support athletes in education, clinic life skills, employment and making the transition from sport into work.

The agreement should involve 100 athletes over the next five years through interviews, guidance and integration.

CIP President Luca Prancalli was delighted with the agreement and said: “I have always imagined for Paralympic athletes, a path that could lead them by the hand to the world of work.

“The meeting with Adecco allows the CIP and our athletes to have a unique opportunity with a number of qualified professionals who would probably have been inaccessible without this prestigious partnership.

“Adecco has the necessary know-how; our athletes the passion and determination to reach each goal.

“I am sure that this agreement will be even more significant than in the past.”

The Athlete Career Programme has been delivered by Adecco since 2005 and is now being used in more than 30 countries, with the help of National Olympic and Paralympic Committees.

Adecco Italy chief executive Federico Vione commented: “Today, soft skills, i.e. all those soft skills such as flexibility, strength of will, ability to work in teams and problem solving, are among the top criteria for selecting the people that the companies will then decide to invest in training.

“The collaboration with the Italian Paralympic Committee, as well as the one with the Olympic Committee, intends to be a side offer for athletes [to have] the best opportunities for professional growth by helping to enhance the skills and competencies developed during their playing career.”