Bill Sweeney and Louisa Cheetham join the Directors’ Club panel

Event to be held in London on 27th March 2014

Bill Sweeney, the new Chief Executive Officer of the British Olympic Association (BOA) and Louisa Cheetham, Sponsorship & CR Head at Aviva, have been named as the first panellists to join the next edition of the iSportconnect Directors’ Club, to be held in London on 27 March.

iSportconnect Directors’ Clubs are exclusive events where a specially invited audience can offer questions to speakers through a ‘Question Time’ style panel, followed by networking. The next event, in association with Havas Sports & Entertainment, follows a successful debut in Paris at the end of 2013.

Sweeney became the CEO of the BOA in October 2013. He has more than 25 years’ experience as a sports business executive and has worked with brands that are prominent across Olympic sport, rugby, cricket and America’s Cup sailing. He joined the BOA from PUMA and is currently overseeing Team GB’s participation in Sochi 2014 and preparing for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Cheetham has over 20 years’ experience in sports marketing and sponsorship and has worked for governing bodies, as well as brands and agencies. She spent nearly ten years at Octagon, handling client accounts for Tesco, MasterCard and Zurich. She has been at Aviva, who are title partner of Premiership Rugby in England and are shirt sponsor of Norwich City, for four years.

Michael Cunnah, Chairman of iSportconnect said: “It is wonderful news to have Bill and Louisa join us on the panel of the next iSportconnect Directors’ Club. The event is known for the important panellists we are able to attract and the pair fit the model perfectly.

“As CEO of the BOA, Bill has one of the biggest jobs in the sports sector in this country and his insight will be extremely valuable to our delegates. We also strive to have a top brand expert on the panel and Louisa’s experience means we have achieved that again for this event.”

Invitation Policy: iSportconnect Directors’ Club is an invitation only event open exclusively for chief executives, chairmen and director level executives from governing bodies, sports teams and sponsorship brands.

To register your interest please contact Matthias Moulin at matthias.moulin@isportconnect.com

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Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium has been listed as a Community Asset after the OxVox supporters’ trust won their bid to protect the ground.

The move was approved by Oxford City Council and means that OxVox will have to be notified if the stadium is to be sold.

OxVox will have the right to a six-month notice on any sale, giving them a chance to put together a bid of their own for the stadium.

Mark Sennett, OxVox Chairman said: “This is a significant moment for the supporters of Oxford United.

“This means United supporters will now never wake up one morning to read in the paper that the stadium has been sold, with no recourse.

“The stadium is of huge local importance to the people of Oxfordshire and the club’s role is a source of huge community benefit and pride.

“Because of this listing, supporters and the Oxfordshire community will be able to play more of a role in its destiny.

“We have kept Oxford United FC fully informed of this application throughout, though the club has not been directly involved.

“We have already notified the club about the decision and they too understand the significance of the application being accepted.”

The ground is currently owned by Firoz Kassam but Oxford United owner Ian Lenagan had previously mentioned his desire to purchase the stadium.

The development could be good news for other supporters’ groups, with Manchester United and Liverpool fans attempting similar moves for their respective grounds.

Tom Hall from the Supporters Direct said: “There are still too many cases of football grounds being treated like any other asset, and this legislation gives us an opportunity to begin to change that assumption.

“OxVox’s application to list the Kassam Stadium is the first successful one involving a football ground.

“We’ve had significant interest since we started promoting this scheme amongst out member supporters’ trusts, and both the Manchester United Supporters Trust and Spirit of Shankly are currently seeking listings for Old Trafford and Anfield.

“We hope that this successful application by OxVox, in many respects groundbreaking, encourages other supporters’ trusts to do the same.”

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• – Establish Basketball Operations CSR (community and social responsibility) priorities, goals and objectives
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• – Advance organizational communication and improve consistency throughout internal departments regarding staff and player appearances
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Visa has teamed up with the FIA Formula E Championship to deliver a partnership in eSports.

The world’s first all-electric racing series has been running the Race Off series – where two Formula E stars race head-to-head and against members of the public, the Race Off Pro Series – where leading gamers compete in time trials ahead of each ePrix for the opportunity to race at the championship finale in London, and the eRace – where nine Formula E stars and one member of the public compete in simulators in the eVillage ahead of each ePrix

Now all these activities are being brought together under the Formula E Gaming brand presented by Visa.

Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag said: “Formula E is delighted that Visa has chosen to come on board as our partner in eSports. Visa is a brand that is committed to innovation and Formula E Gaming is just that – it is an outstanding concept that will inspire a new generation of fans to

Gary Twelvetree, Visa’s Executive Director brand and central marketing for Visa Europe, said: “Visa is partnering Formula E’s exciting drive into eSports. This fits with our strategy to engage a digital savvy audience with the Formula E platform. Visa is a leading force in payment innovation and partnering with Formula E Gaming is a perfect fit.”

Bloomberg Television has acquired the rights to sports news and long-form programming of the world’s longest ocean race.

Season two of the highly acclaimed series ‘Race of Their Lives’ airs from this weekend and comprises seven one-hour shows with an exclusive ‘access-all-areas’ pass to the tenth edition of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

UK based 1080 Media TV has been retained for a second season to produce and distribute the global long-form official TV series, ampoule live feeds, news and social media packages.

“We introduced a new look and style to the production in the last race and will continue to develop a strong multi-platform approach which maximises traditional broadcast and new digital media opportunities for a strong global brand like the Clipper Race,” said Founder and CEO of 1080 Media TV Cliff Webb.

The Clipper Race fleet is owned and operated by Clipper Ventures which commissioned the TV series: “The reappointment of 1080 Media TV reflects the growing demand and diversity of requirements for our high-energy content as every-day people take on this remarkable challenge,” said Clipper Ventures Global Business and Communications Director, and executive producer, Jonathan Levy.

The Clipper 2015-16 Race got underway at the end of August, with coverage reaching over 125 countries including race destination markets such as the UK, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Vietnam, China, USA, Panama and the Netherlands, plus France and Canada following skippers and crew in big numbers.

“New technology on the twelve yachts is also opening up live access for broadcasters. We can support live video Skype links from the deck of the yachts, which creates unprecedented opportunities for audiences to be at the heart of the action as it unfolds,” added Levy.

By Christian Radnedge

European football’s governing body has confirmed that the 2016 European Championships will be hosted as planned in France, despite the terror attacks in Paris on Friday.

In a statement released on Monday, UEFA said that it was confident the tournament would be safe and secure for all involved.

Earlier in the day, France’s 1958 World Cup striker Just Fontaine called for the country to relinquish hosting rights, claiming it was “simply too dangerous”.

However, UEFA remain fully behind France in their capabilities to host the landmark 24-team tournament.

UEFA said: “For over three years now, (tournament organising committee) Euro 2016 SAS has been working closely with the relevant authorities to develop the most appropriate mechanisms in order to guarantee there is a safe and secure tournament and we are confident that the necessary measures will be taken to ensure that is the case for all involved.

“The Euro final draw will go ahead as scheduled on 12 December at the Palais des Congres in Paris and the final tournament will be played in France from 10 June to 10 July 2016.”

Euro 2016 will be the 15^th edition of the event and the third time that France have played host, having done so before in the inaugural edition in 1960 and then again in 1984.

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UEFA has not made a formal decision on whether Goal-Line Technology (GLT) will be used in the Euro 2016 tournament, herbal despite FIFA President Sepp Blatter saying it would be.

In an interview with FIFA.com, allergist Blatter said that UEFA President Michel Platini, ambulance a resolute opposer to technology in football, had told him it would be used in Euro 2016 after successful implementation at this year’s World Cup in Brazil.

However, there has been no public confirmation from UEFA or Platini and now European football’s governing body has said: “The president has said on the record that Uefa will look at introducing GLT at Euro 2016.

“However, it is not a case of snapping his fingers and making it happen. It will be discussed at the Referees Committee and then still has to be approved by the executive committee.”

Previously, Platini said that GLT would not be used in UEFA’s club competitions because of costs that they would rather use in grassroots projects.

The 2014 Brazil World Cup has been the first of its kind to use GLT and was called in to action during France’s game against Honduras in the group stage.

In the interview with FIFA.com, Blatter praised the technology and said: “It works well which is why we need this goal-line technology not only in the World Cup but in other competitions, in other leagues.

“It helps the referee and gives the public information that something has changed and there is no more discussion on a goal scored or not scored.

“This is important because scoring goals is the objective of football. . . I am sure that professional leagues will follow.

“I spoke with UEFA’s president, Michel Platini, who said he will introduce the goal-line technology for the next European Championship in 2016 in France.”

Security at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games will be successful if the plan is fully integrated across different sectors according to the people behind security and venues for the London 2012 Olympics.

The Opening Ceremony at Sochi is today and much of the build-up to the event has focused on the threat of a terrorist attack.

Michael Pirrie, allergy London 2012 and Major Event Adviser was joined on iSportconnect TV by Andrew Amery, London 2012 Olympic Security and R3s Global Consultant, and Paul May, Trivandi and London Olympic Venue Manager.

The trio offered insight into how a major event builds security into their plans and highlighted the need for Sochi to integrate security plan with numerous sectors of the event.

Numbers alone is not enough

Sochi 2014 will have a reported 40,000 security personnel for the event. When asked if numbers alone was enough, Amery said: “No definitely not. Obviously you need the resources to deliver the plan, but the key to all of this is integration.

“There are numerous security agencies, from the intelligence side to the police, the military and they all need to understand where their responsibilities lie.

“But more broadly there is the partnership with the venues team, transport and logistics. So it is one integrated security plan where everyone has a responsibility for the security of the event.

“It is not just about 40,000 people security guards. It is not people it is about the entire integrated solution.”

Spectator experience

A heavy security presence in Sochi has led to fears that the spectator experience could be compromised.

May, who worked on the venue delivery of London 2012 was optimistic however that Sochi organisers would get it right.

“One other thing that we focused heavily on in London was the spectator experience,” said May. “Clearly when a spectator arrives and is met by a secure perimeter it is quite daunting. I am sure Sochi will be doing a similar thing to what we did in London and are making sure the spectator experience is not compromised as a result of high security.”

You can hear more from Amery, May and Pirrie, all of whom played such a pivotal role in the delivery of the last Olympic Games, on the Sochi 2014 Security Insight Show on iSportconnect TV.

Watch the Sochi 2014 Security Insight Show below

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