You Heard It Here First! iSportconnect Exclusives of 2012

January 2, 2013

By Edward Rangsi & Ismail Uddin

Not only does iSportconnect pride itself on bringing you breaking news as it happens, the platform also publishes the ‘you heard it here first’ stories from the sports business world. With such a crammed sporting calendar, there was certainly no shortage of exclusives for members to enjoy.

As well as the customary sporting trimmings, 2012 had a couple of meatier events for the world to drool over. With all eyes on London, there has been a great deal of talk about the Games, the legacy and the Olympic Stadium, we gained some exclusive insight into each of these topics and a host of others.

Here are our top ten exclusives from this year…

Exclusive: Olympic Bidding Countries Should Focus Less On Monetary Gains says Reedie… 06.12.12

Now that the dust has begun to settle on the London 2012 Games, the Olympic torch is heading to the carnival city that is Rio de Janeiro, before stopping at the always mysterious, TBA. Sir Craig Reedie, Vice President of the International Olympic Committee and Chair of the 202 Evaluation Commission, has the daunting task of deciding which country has the honour of staging the greatest show on earth. The remaining candidates – Istanbul, Tokyo and Madrid – are looking to hit the jackpot, but may want to place financial gains behind other benefits.

Exclusive: Barry Hearn Criticises ‘very poor’ Olympic Stadium Bidding Process… 13.11.12

Barry Hearn, Chairman of Matchroom Sport and businessman extraordinaire, is definitely not one to mince his words. Hearn’s boyhood club, Leyton Orient is looking to pip the other runners in the race for the Olympic Stadium, but the drawn out bidding process has proven somewhat frustrating to say the least.

Exclusive: Visa has Helped Regenerate East London after Olympics says Grannell… 30.10.12

The build up to any Olympic Games usually coincides with the arrivals of teams of construction workers in hard hats. East London was reconstructed and refurbished from a deprived urban area into a fun fair for sports enthusiasts. Since its relationship began in 1986, Visa has progressed with the Games, so some of the plaudits should be directed toward the credit card company.

Exclusive: Kirkwood Reveals Steps Needed for NFL London Franchise to Happen… 25.10.12

The annual regular season game at Wembley has served as an appetiser for British fans of the National Football League. The overwhelming reaction has convinced the powers that be to add another Gridiron rendezvous to the international calendar. The Jacksonville Jaguars will hit the turf at the home of ‘soccer’ once a year for the next four years to prove that the Brits can support a single team, but is that enough to justify a London franchise?

Exclusive: Ten Sports Looking to Get Premier League Rights…19.10.12

Sanjay Raina, COO, Ten Sports, wants to get as much football and as much cricket as possible under his ‘belly’. Given, the astronomical, unforeseeable rise in both domestic and international broadcast rights of the Premier League, it may be time to smash open the piggy bank.

Exclusive: Wimbledon Chief Believes Extra Week is ‘crucial’ for the Sport… 16.10.12

A lot needs to be considered, reprocessed, and then given some further thought when tampering with tradition. There’s no doubt, as a former tennis professional, that AELTC’s CEO Richard Lewis went through the motions, and logic prevailed. Moving the Grand Slam back one week made perfect sense for the sport, it’s participants, and of course, the supporters.

Exclusive: Wembley Not Looking for Naming Rights Deal… 09.10.12

Naming rights is currently a trend for stadia around the globe, but given the importance of the ‘Wembley Stadium’ name, we can safely rule out the possibility of Wembley jumping on the latest revenue-generating bandwagon.

Exclusive: Wales “interested” in a Multi-Country Euro 2020 Format… 09.10.12

UEFA President has confirmed a multi-country format for the 2020 European Championships. The details have yet to be ironed out, but Wales has its hand raised. Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium indeed has the credentials to stage a competitive match of international football.

Exclusive: Match-Throwing Will Not Tarnish the Sport says BWF General Secretary… 09.08.12

Spending four years preparing for the world’s biggest spectacle only for two teams to take to the court and ‘fix’ a match is not ideal. But the Badminton World Federation (BWF), particularly General Secretary Thomas Lund, is adamant that the positives from this years’ Olympic Games, such as the highly entertaining final between Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei, will drown out memories of the disqualification of the two women teams. It remains to be seen whether Lund is right…

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