LEGAL/REGULATORY
SAMSON SPORT CONSULTANCY lodged a £115,000 demand at the high court against Premier League club West Ham United over what it alleges is unpaid "commission due to it from West Ham for the introduction by Samson to West Ham of Celton Manx Ltd, trading as SBOBET, as a sponsor". Two unpaid invoices dated 12 January and 2 March, each for £50,000 plus VAT, were sent to the club's in-house lawyer Roger Thompson. The consultancy would also charge interest, currently running at more than £1,700.
UK-BASED Formula One team Williams was suspended by the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) for breaking rank and agreeing to sign up for the proposed cap on team expenditure during the next F1 season. Several members of FOTA are resisting the budget cap and the Association remains in discussions with the FIA about the issue.
SPONSORSHIP
ETIHAD AIRWAYS signed a three-year deal to be the official shirt sponsor and partner of Premier League club Manchester City FC. The Etihad Airways brand logo will appear on Manchester City shirts from the summer. The partnership was announced on Sunday at the City of Manchester Stadium by Etihad Airways’ chief executive, James Hogan, Manchester City chief executive Garry Cook and Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council. The airline and club will work together on several overseas projects including team tours to the UAE and South Africa, as well as community-based schemes in the UAE and East Manchester.
LAND ROVER announced it will support the British & Irish Lions as the 'Official Vehicle of the British & Irish Lions 2009' for the summer tour of South Africa. Under the terms of the agreement, the Lions will benefit from the provision of a fleet of Land Rover's Discovery 3 vehicles for use during the UK-based preparations and throughout the two months of the tour in South Africa. The vehicles will be used in transporting the players, support staff and kit.
UK-BASED marketing agency Space is launching Space Sport & Entertainment, a subsidiary to work with rights-holders and brands in sports sponsorship. Space currently works with clients including Eurostar, NIVEA, Heineken Europe and Samsung. The new division will offer brands “a creative end-to-end sport and entertainment proposition that will ensure they fully exploit their sponsorship and investments in these respective arenas”. It will also work with rights holders looking for sponsors. T he division has already started working with the Homeless World Cup football tournament.
ENGLAND CRICKET test match sponsor Npower decided against the use of cricket celebrities for its upcoming marketing campaign ahead of this summer’s Ashes Series. The energy supplier had used players such as Kevin Pietersen to front previous cricket-related marketing campaigns but has decided against the use of players in this year’s activity. A television campaign, created by Beattie McGuinness Bungay and Aardman Animation, will break ahead of the first Test of the Ashes series in Cardiff in early July, and will feature Aardman Animation-created cartoon characters.
UKFAST, the North-West England-based internet hosting firm, agreed a new three-year deal to sponsor Premiership rugby club Sale Sharks. The press release announcing the deal said the value was in ‘seven figures’
FINANCE
THE ECB admitted that advance ticket sales for the UK’s domestic Twenty20 cricket tournament are down by up to 40 per cent. The tournament's earlier start from last season, which has clashed with the tail-end of the football season, and belt-tightening in the current economic climate have both been cited as reasons for the reduced ticket sales. It is also believed that cricket fans have chosen to spend money on tickets for the Twenty20 World Cup, held in the UK and starting next week, and the summer-long Ashes series.
ABU DHABI billionaire Sulaiman al-Fahim had his offer to buy Premier League club Portsmouth accepted. Reuters reported that Portsmouth said, “A period of formal legal and financial due diligence will commence next week so that the transaction can be completed as soon as possible.”
SUNDERLAND FC announced it was to have a new owner when US businessman Ellis Short assumes 100 percent control of the club from northeast England. Short plans complete a buyout of the current owners – a consortium put together by chairman Niall Quinn three years ago. Short had previously been the club’s majority shareholder with a stake of more than 30 per cent.
EVENTS
WORCESTERSHIRE CCC’s New Road ground pavilion will be opened to players for the first time in Sunday's Twenty20 Cup opener against Gloucestershire.
FOOTBALL BUSINESS EVENT Leaders in Football announced that Sunil Gulati will deliver an exclusive interview to the event on 7-8 October at Chelsea FC. Gulati is president of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and chairman of the US 2018/2022 World Cup Bid Committee. He will cover the recent economic events and their impact on the football community as well as the current state of the game in the United States. Gulati’s appointment to the main conference stage follows other high profile names such as Jeremy Darroch (CEO of BSkyB), Jack Warner (President of Concacaf), Andy Roxburgh (Uefa Technical Director), Tim Leiweke (President and CEO of AEG) and Lord Mawhinney (Chairman of The Football League).
THE PROS AND CONS of cashless stadia will be discussed at Sport and Technology: The Conference 2009, held on Thursday 4 June at the BT Centre in London, it was announced. Chris Bignell (Director, XL Communications), Daniel Gidney, (CEO, Ricoh Arena), Paul Jennings (Head of IT, Wembley Stadium) and Randal McLister (Managing Director, Scotcomms Technology Group) will take part in a panel discussion entitled ‘Just the ticket - Access innovations, security and the wireless stadium’. The conference will also feature a post-event networking drinks party attended by special guest double gold Olympic medallist Dame Kelly Holmes, a London 2012 Ambassador.
EVENTS FOR LONDON, part of London tourism promoter Visit London, has signed sports communications agency Pitch as its preferred communications supplier. Events for London, which has been set up to attract major events to the city, will use Pitch’s services this year for sports and cultural events taking place in the city this year including the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the citywide London Restaurant Festival.
THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE predicted that 30,000 Manchester United fans would travel to Rome for the Champions League final match with Barcelona. Between 5,000 and 10,000 were predicted to travel without tickets to attend the match.
LONDON was announced as one of the five European host cities for the adidas NBA 5 United Tour, which begins next month. The promotional event, designed to promote grassroots basketball features outdoor 5-on-5 tournaments, three-point shoot-outs, slam dunk competitions and other games. The five host cities are Athens (June 20-21), Madrid (June 27-28), Rome (July 4-5), Istanbul (July 11-12) and London (September 12-13).
