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All the latest sport business news from Sweden. For more, click the categories on the left or use the search box to look through our massive sport business news archive.


MTG acquires Champions League rights - 07 Oct 2008

Modern Times Group (MTG), acquired the exclusive media rights in Denmark, Norway and Sweden for the UEFA Champions League from UEFA.

Infront signs Scandinavia deal for EHF Euro events - 11 Jul 2008

The partnership with the three broadcasters commenced in 2000 and has run successfully since then. It has now been extended for the period covering 2011-2015.

Strong Scandinavian Platform for Sport Marketing - 19 Feb 2008

IEC and now PR Event both now form part of the French conglomerate Lagadère.

ÅF signs as new title sponsor for Golden League - 06 Feb 2008

Under the deal, ÅF will receive a comprehensive package of rights throughout all six Golden League events including the naming rights of the competition that will now become the ÅF Golden League.

LAGARDÈRE AGREES DEAL TO ACQUIRE IEC - 11 Jun 2007

Following the acquisition, IEC will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lagardère Sports in order to leverage numerous potential synergies with the Sportfive and Newsweb companies, also owned by Laga

SIX CITIES BID FOR FUTURE EUROPEAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS - 07 Jun 2007

The cities of Gothenburg, Sweden, Leipzig, Germany and Paris, France are bidding the host the European Athletics Indoor Championships in 2011 while Bydgoszcz, Poland, Carcassonne, France and Dublin, I

ATP SWEDISH OPEN BIGGEST SWEDISH EVENT FOR MEDIA WORLDWIDE - 04 May 2007

The number of confirmed international media takers has hit 35 and the aim is to reach 40 accessing media entities before the tournament starts in the 2nd week of July.

IEC IN TV DEAL WITH ATP SWEDISH OPEN UNTIL 2010 - 05 Feb 2007

Under the new deal, IEC will take care of worldwide media distribution and all host broadcasting functions at the venue in Båstad.

SWEDEN EXPANDS TOP LEAGUE - 11 Dec 2006

The Swedish FA said its First Division will grow from 14 to 16 clubs. The shift will see three teams being promoted at the end of next season and just one relegated.

SERVECAST RECRUITS TOP SPORT INDUSTRY EXPERT - 25 Oct 2006

Tom Schuster, a highly experienced sports marketing expert will join Servecast to strengthen its European operation.

DN GALAN RENEWS WITH IEC IN SPORTS AGENCY - 04 Oct 2006

DNGalan is part of the leading series of IAAF Super Grand Prix Events and has been the leading track and field meeting in Sweden since it was first staged in 1967.

The prestigious DNGalan athletics meeting awarded its international TV rights to IEC in Sports in a brand new three-year-agreement.

ELECTROLUX SIGNS DEAL TO SPONSOR GOLF'S SOLHEIM CUP - 18 Aug 2006

The bi-annual tournament features top European and US players and follows a similar format to the Ryder Cup.

Home appliance brand Electrolux has become an official partner of the ladies golf tournament, the Solheim Cup.

SPORTELMONACO 2006 EXHIBITION SPACE SELLING OUT - 14 Aug 2006

Exhibitors include A1GP WORLD CUP OF MOTORSPORT, AGFIS, ALCATEL, ALFACAM - EURO1080, ALFRED HABER DISTRIBUTION, INC., BBC WORLDWIDE, EUROPEAN BROADCASTING UNION – EUROVISION, EUROSPORT, FGSPORT, FIG

With more than 2 months to go before the opening of SPORTELMonaco 2006, exhibitors have committed to more than 85% of the expanded floor space in the Grimaldi Forum.

IAAF WELCOMES MONTENEGRO AS ITS 212th MEMBER - 28 Jul 2006

The move brings the IAAF’s total membership to 212. The IAAF is currently discussing new three letter abbreviations for the federations of Serbia and of Montenegro with the IOC.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) recognised the Athletic Federation of Serbia and the Athletic Federation of Montenegro as two separate Members after Montenegro withdrew from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP ADDS NEW RACES FOR 2007 - 06 Jul 2006

The 2007 calendar: January 19-21 - Monte Carlo February 9-11 - Sweden February 16-18 - Norway March 9-11 - Mexico March 30-April 1 - Portugal May 4-6 - Argentina

The FC)dC)ration Internationale de l’Automobile approved the calendar for the 2007 World Rally Championship, adding three new races in Ireland, Norway and Portugal. The new races replace those in Australia, Cyprus and Turkey. The FIA said in a statement that its World Motor Sport Council had approved a calendar which would continue to run on the existing January-November format instead of the proposed August-May switch. It said that it would decide whether to add further events to the calendar at its next World Motor Sport Council meeting.

FINANCE FIRM PULLS ADS AFTER STAR IS CROCKED - 21 Jun 2006

The firm had utilised the star as part of its existing sponsorship with Newcastle United – Owen’s club.

UK building society Northern Rock has been forced to pull the plug on a series of print and online adverts after its star – England striker Michael Owen – was flown home midway through the FIFA World Cup after suffering an injury.

FIFA WORLD CUP KICKS-OFF - 09 Jun 2006

And 1.5bn are set to tune in globally today to watch hosts Germany get the tournament underway as they face Costa Rica in the opening group stage game.

After all the hype it is finally here – the FIFA World Cup 2006 kicks-off this evening in Germany and is set to smash TV viewing records.

SEVEN BID FOR SOLHEIM CUP - 05 Jun 2006

The women’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup, bids received by the deadline came from: England, Italy, Northern Ireland, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Spain.

The Ladies European Tour has confirmed seven countries have made bids to host the 2011 Solheim Cup.

INFRONT SCORES FOUR MORE FIFA WEB DEALS - 11 May 2006

The package enables the licensees to ‘transmit up to four minutes of key match footage for near-live and/or delayed coverage over the web and/or via mobile networks to mobile phones, geo-blocked for

FIFA agents Infront have signed four agreements for its standard 2006 World Cup new media broadcast rights packages for France, Canada, Sweden and India.

UEFA BOSS READY TO RUN AGAIN - 26 Apr 2006

Speaking in Sweden, Johansson – who previously vowed to stand down next year – says he could be tempted to win another four-year term.

UEFA president Lennart Johansson, 76, says he has not ruled out once again running for the post at the next elections in 2007.

RECORD ENTRIES FOR ATHLETICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - 05 Apr 2006

Nine countries from five continents (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania) have submitted bids, with the winner to be chosen by the IAAF Council in Spring 2007. The full list is:

The IAAF says a record number of countries have declared an interest to host the 2011 World Championships in Athletics.

SWEDES UNVEIL STADIUM PLAN - 02 Apr 2006

The venue, to be sited in Solna, on the outskirts of the city, will be ready to host its first game in 2011.

Stockholm is set to play host to a new 50,000-seater national stadium, Swedish soccer chiefs have confirmed.

WORLD CUP MAKES A SPLASH WITH BROADCASTERS - 16 Mar 2006

“Interest for the Swimming World Cup has never been greater”, says Anders BjC6rkman, director of television properties at IEC in Sports, which has distributed the majority of the World Cup events

The FINA World Cup Swimming Series has achieved a high in television exposure, reaching more than 100 countries across five continents.

WTCC LOOKS TO RSM TO DRIVE PROFILE - 02 Mar 2006

RSM is tasked with broadening the WTCC’s audience reach, particularly via lifestyle media, as the 10-round series moves into its second year.

The FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) has appointed marketing agency RSM to implement a PR and promotions campaign to raise its profile.

EBU CHAMPIONS NEW MEDIA - 13 Feb 2006

On top of more than 7,000 hours of TV coverage scheduled across the Eurovision territories, broadcasters and sub-licensees are providing both live and delayed moving images of the Winter Games over a

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) says it is committed to providing additional content access to sports fans around Europe following record levels of new media coverage for the Winter Olympics.

ITV AND BBC AGREE ON WORLD CUP COVERAGE - 07 Feb 2006

The pair have been in negotiations for several weeks over how to split the games, in particular coverage of England's matches.

UK free-to-air broadcasters ITV and the BBC have come to an agreement over joint coverage of the FIFA World Cup this summer.

SPORTACCORD GEARS UP FOR FULL HOUSE - 19 Jan 2006

Major exhibitors at the annual international sports convention include UK Trade & Investment, which is also a Silver Sponsor of the conference, the Seoul Olympic Sport Promotion Foundation, Comunidad

Regular exhibition stand space is sold out for the 4th SportAccord event at the Grand InterContinental Hotel in Seoul, South Korea on April 3-7, 2006.

IEC RETAINS ATP DEALS - 13 Dec 2005

The events include the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, the ABN AMRO World Tennis event in Rotterdam and the Stockholm Open.

IEC in Sports has agreed to extend four of its ATP Tour client contracts for worldwide television distribution outside the host country.

BROADCASTERS SCORE DEALS FOR EUROPEAN HANDBALL - 09 Dec 2005

TV2/Danmark A/S, TV2 AS Norway and TV4 AB Sweden have entered agreements with Infront Sports & Media, the exclusive commercial partner of the European Handball Federation (EHF), for their respective t

Deals have been signed with Scandinavian broadcasters for television rights to the men’s and women’s European Handball Championships in 2008 and 2010.

IEC DRINK TO STELLA - 21 Oct 2005

IEC has distributed the London ATP-tournament for television since 1997 and has built a worldwide television audience for the grass court event at Queen's Club.

IEC in Sports have signed up to distribute the Stella Artois Championships for a further four-year period from 2006-09.

ABU DHABI LATEST COUNTRY TO JOIN EUROPEAN TOUR - 12 Oct 2005

With prize money of $2,000,000 on offer, the Abu Dhabi Golf Club's National Course will play host to world-class players such as Denmark's Thomas BjC6rn, Sergio Garcia of Spain and Scotland's Colin Mo

The first ever Abu Dhabi Golf Championship will be part of next year's European Tour International Schedule.

NHL'S CZECH MATE - 22 Sep 2005

The new two-year deal regulates the amount of financial compensation due to clubs when players move to the lucrative US league and assures NHL players will take part in the Winter Olympic Games in 200

The Czech Republic has become the latest ice hockey federation to ratify a new transfer agreement between European teams and the NHL.

EARLY HELSINKI RATINGS - 08 Sep 2005

The total number of dedicated programmes increased by 16 per cent compared to the last championships staged in Paris in 2003

The IAAF says it is pleased with preliminary ratings for Helsinki's World Championship in Athletics .

SWEDISH SPONSORSHIP RESEARCH LAUNCH - 08 Sep 2005

TNSSPORTC-s mission will be to provide Swedish rights owners and sponsors with a comprehensive sports research package. Per Bostroem, managing director of TNS Gallup Sweden, said: C,The

TNS Gallup in Sweden has become the tenth market to launch a sports research and sponsorship evaluation service.

IIHF SETS DEADLINE FOR HOCKEY FEDERATIONS - 15 Aug 2005

Failure to reach an agreement could affect the availability of NHL players at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin next year.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has set a Monday deadline for officials from Russia and the Czech Republic to give a final reply to the proposed National Hockey League transfer agreement.

LEGENDS SET TO RACE INTO ACTION - 05 Aug 2005

The international cast of champions and other well-known drives will include Emerson Fittipaldi (Brazil), Alain Prost (France), Ricardo Patrese (Italy), Alan Jones (Australia), Stefan Johansson (Swede

The world's first Grand Prix Masters Series revs up next year featuring some of motorsport's most famous names from yesteryear.

SOCHI LAUNCHES WINTER GAMES BID - 27 Jul 2005

Nine other cities have said they will bid.

Sochi, the Russian Black Sea resort is to bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics just weeks after Moscow failed in its effort to attract the 2012 Summer Games.

SWEDEN REJECTS 2014 WINTER OLYMPICS BID - 29 Jun 2005

Swedish National Olympic Committee president Stefan Lindeberg said lengthy discussions with the government failed to convince officials to guarantee the Ostersund bid.

The Swedish government has rejected plans to bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

INFRONT TO MARKET SWEDISH ICE HOCKEY - 16 May 2005

The six-year contract starts on June 1 with an option to renew.

Infront Sweden AB has agreed a deal with the Swedish Ice Hockey Association (SIF) for marketing all its commercial rights, tournaments and national teams.

VIASAT LANDS SCANDINAVIAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RIGHTS - 04 May 2005

In Norway the programmes will be shown on TV3 and Viasat, in Denmark TV3+ and Viasat, and in Sweden ZTV and Viasat.

Scandinavian rights to the UEFA Champions League for the 2006 to 2009 seasons have been awarded to a combination of broadcasters on the Viasat platform, owned by the Modern Times Group (MTG).

SPEEDWAY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP REVS UP - 28 Apr 2005

Saturday sees the first round of the 2005 championship, the FIM Dominet Bank European Grand Prix, which takes place at the 40,000 capacity Olympic Stadium, Wroclaw, Poland.

A new-style FIM Speedway World Championship gets underway this weekend, featuring nine Grand Prix and 16 qualified riders rather than 24.

CHINA REVEALS ANTI-DOPING PLANS - 27 Apr 2005

The programme is operated by international doping control specialists IDTM and the Beijing International SOS clinic.

Anti-doping work in China is set to benefit from the launch of a new 24-hour doping control service in Beijing with an expanding number of doping control officers.

CHINA'S MAIDEN AMERICA'S CUP ENTRY - 30 Mar 2005

They will mount their challenge on an B85million (£58.5million) budget, reports The Guardian newspaper.

China Team has struck a deal with the cash-strapped French syndicate, Le Defi, which will see a Chinese entry in the America’s Cup for the first ever time.

FUJITSU SIEMENS PARTNERS WC QUALIFIERS - 22 Mar 2005

The logo of the leading European IT producer will be prominently displayed on stadium panels during the qualifying matches for the 2006 World Cup.

Fujitsu Siemens Computers has become an official partner of ‘Qualifiers 2006’.

DAVIS CUP RATINGS BOOST - 16 Mar 2005

The World Group feature tie, France versus Sweden, was broadcast live in 28 countries, including Australia, China, Singapore, Spain, USA and the Middle East.

The Davis Cup by BNP Paribas first round ties on March 4-6 delivered strong television ratings and market shares around the world.

SPORTEL ASIA REGISTRATION BOOST - 09 Mar 2005

To date, acquisitions executives have registered from 36 countries, including: Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland,

With less than a week to go before SPORTELAsia 2005, all floor space has been sold and more than 250 companies from 41 countries worldwide have registered for the market.

SPORTEL ASIA REGISTRATION BOOST - 09 Mar 2005

To date, acquisitions executives have registered from 36 countries, including: Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland,

With less than a week to go before SPORTELAsia 2005, all floor space has been sold and more than 250 companies from 41 countries worldwide have registered for the market.

DAVIS CUP SPREADS NET - 01 Mar 2005

Fifteen of the 16 countries participating in the World Group will enjoy dedicated live and full coverage, mainly through free-to-air terrestrial broadcasters.

This weekend’s World Group first round ties in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas are set for worldwide television exposure.

CPS TO PROMOTE WRC BRAND - 14 Feb 2005

CPS is to develop and market a brand extension programme for WRC through event sales, promotions, all licensed product categories and sponsor premiums.

International Sportsworld Communicators Ltd (ISC) has appointed Copyright Promotions Sport (CPS) as global licensing agency for the World Rally Championship (WRC).

VOLVO STOPOVERS NAMED - 14 Feb 2005

Councillor Mike Hancock said, "Portsmouth is delighted to have been chosen as the UK stopover port for the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06.

Rotterdam, Portsmouth and Gothenburg will be the last two stopover ports and the finish of the 31,250 nm Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06.

INFRONT BUY SWEDEVENT AB - 28 Jan 2005

Infront, responsible for global TV rights sales and production for the soccer World Cup, has acquired a 100 per cent shareholding in Swedevent.

Infront Sports & Media, the Swiss-based international sports marketing company, has purchased Swedevent AB, one of Sweden’s leading event marketing companies.

SALZBURG IS AUSTRIA'S 2014 BID - 24 Jan 2005

Innsbruck, host of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Games, was runner-up.

The Austrian Olympic Committee has selected Salzburg to bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

DANISH FASTTV LAUNCHED BY ESPN - 17 Jan 2005

From March 7 to 13, 2005, ESPN Classic Sport is scheduling a specialist strand of programming billed as ‘Nordic Nights’.

ESPN Classic Sport has today launched digital platform FastTV in Denmark, reflecting the channel’s growing popularity in Scandinavia.

PYEONGCHANG WINS KOREAN OLYMPIC VOTE - 04 Jan 2005

PyeongChang was the surprising runner-up to Vancouver in the race for 2010.

The South Korean winter sports resort of PyeongChang has been confirmed as the country’s candidate for the 2014 Winter Games.

PYEONGCHANG WINS KOREAN OLYMPIC VOTE - 04 Jan 2005

PyeongChang was the surprising runner-up to Vancouver in the race for 2010.

The South Korean winter sports resort of PyeongChang has been confirmed as the country’s candidate for the 2014 Winter Games.

SWEDISH BID FOR 2014 WINTER OLYMPICS - 09 Dec 2004

The Swedish Olympic Committee has approved initial plans for the bid from the towns, about 550km north of Stockholm in central Sweden, reports aroundtherings.com.

The Swedish towns of Ostersund and Are will apply to host the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

VIASAT WRESTLE SCANDINAVIAN TV DEAL - 06 Dec 2004

The Viasat platform - part of the international entertainment broadcasting group, Modern Times Group MTG - has acquired WWE RAW and SmackDown! for broadcast across Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

World Wrestling Entertainment has signed a new agreement with Viasat Broadcasting that will launch the WWE brand throughout Scandinavia on free-to-air television.

DEADLINES SET FOR 2014 OLYMPICS - 25 Nov 2004

It is the date by which cities bidding for those Games must submit initial applications to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and it comes just over three weeks after the decision in Singapore

The initial field for the 2014 Winter Olympics will be set on July 28, 2005.

STERNMARKER GIVEN NEW IMG ROLE - 23 Nov 2004

As part of the company’s global restructuring process, he will become senior vice-president, IMG and regional managing director of IMG Scandinavia, Russia, the CIS and Baltic States.

Lars Sternmarker, managing director of IMG Scandinavia, will take on responsibility for driving IMG's new strategy for Russia, the CIS and Baltic Statess.

OLSWANG LEGAL ALERT - 12 Nov 2004

The ECJ surprised many when delivering its judgment in the long-awaited joint cases concerning horse racing and football fixtures.

Following the decision in the British Horseracing Board (BHB)/William Hill case, specialist sports lawyers Olswang have put together this in-depth analysis of the case and its ramifications.

NORDIC WORLD CUP RIGHTS DEAL - 19 Oct 2004

The agreement covers live and delayed television and radio broadcast rights for the FIFA Confederations Cup 2005 in Germany, the FIFA World Youth Championship 2005 in the Netherlands and all 64 matche

Infront Sports & Media has reached an exclusive agreement with a group of leading Nordic broadcasters for a substantial package of rights to FIFA’s top events, including the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

ATHLETICS SPONSOR NAMED - 16 Sep 2004

“Efficient and reliable telecom and data communication services are essential for a successful event.

TeliaSonera will be a national sponsor of the European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 2006 and will also be supplying communications services during the event.

EBU up content access - 19 Aug 2004

On top of more than 12,000 hours of TV coverage scheduled across the Eurovision territories, broadcasters are providing both live and deferred moving images of the Games over broadband Internet and mo

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has revealed details of initiatives aimed at providing additional content access to sports fans around Europe.

Infront Nordic secure Finnish first - 16 Aug 2004

The Robe di Kappa Ladies European Tour (LET) has introduced the new tournament for the 2005 season.

Infront Nordic Oy, a subsidiary of Infront Sports & Media, has acquired the exclusive rights to organise the new Ladies Finnish Masters golf tournament.

Volvo drives new strategy - 27 May 2004

The European Tour and Volvo Event Management confirmed the new global golf strategy for Volvo which will extend, by a further three years, the partnership to a minimum of 20 years, enhance the commitm

Volvo has restructured its sponsorship of golf – extending his long-term commitment to the sport, but ending its naming rights deal of the PGA Championship at Wentworth.

NASN beams live hockey - 18 May 2004

The World Cup of Hockey sees the world’s top eight hockey nations compete from August 30 until September 14 and will signify NASN’s first live transmissions from Europe.

The North American Sports Network (NASN) is to broadcast exclusive coverage of this summer’s World Cup of Hockey in the UK and Ireland.

Canada set for Championships - 07 May 2004

The IIHF is set to announce the winning host later today. Canada has never held the event before, but if granted the tournament will stage games in Nova Scotia and Quebec City.

Canada is set to stroll to victory in the race to host ice hockey’s 2008 IIHF World Championships, after main rivals Germany and Sweden withdrew their bids.

Navigator steers EAA forward - 31 Mar 2004

Navigator – whose two key executives on the account will be the well known duo of Glen Kirton and Matthew Argenti - will work with the EAA in the marketing of the partnership packages which form par

UK sports marketing firm Navigator has signed a deal to become a major marketing partner of the European Athletic Association (EAA),

FA names Euro TV partners - 26 Mar 2004

The FA has concluded an agreement for ‘second party rights’ with Sportfive – just a week after the agency came under new ownership.

Sportfive has emerged as the major player after the English Football Association (FA) confirmed its new European TV partners for the 2004-5 to 2007-8 period.

BSI scoops top award - 11 Mar 2004

As reported earlier this week on sportbusiness.com

Benfield Sports International (BSI) has won a leading sponsorship award in Sweden.

BSI short-listed for award - 09 Mar 2004

BSI is in the running to win the prestigious Gyllene Hiulet (Golden Wheel) for the sponsorship of the Scandinavian Speedway Grand Prix last year by Miljopartiet de Grona – Sweden’s Green Party, an

Benfield Sports International (BSI) – rights holder of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix Series – has been nominated for a top sponsorship award in Sweden.

Solheim returns to Sweden - 17 Feb 2004

Sweden beat off rival bids Wales, Ireland and England to host the event. A venue for the matches will be confirmed later this year.

The Solheim Cup will return to Sweden in 2007, the Ladies European Tour (LET) has confirmed - and has already won new commercial support.

BSI gets chemical boost - 04 Feb 2004

As well as elite sponsors, VEIDEC will be title sponsor of the 2004 FIM Swedish Grand Prix with an option to take one title sponsorship in the following three seasons.

Benfield Sports International (BSI) has agreed a four-year deal with Swedish chemical products company VEIDEC to be elite sponsors of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix Series (SGP).

Reveillon takes up EBU job - 03 Feb 2004

Jean Reveillon succeeds Jean Stock who announced his retirement during the EBU General Assembly in Stockholm last summer.

The former head of sport for France 2 and France 3 has taken up his position as the new Secretary General of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

Women's World Cup final hits TV high - 21 Oct 2003

The host broadcasters for the two finalist teams - ARD in Germany and TV4 in Sweden - set audience records, not just for women's football but, in the case of TV4, for any kind of programming broadcast

The Women's World Cup soccer final between Germany and Sweden set TV ratings records in both countries.

Viasat renews US PGA Tour rights - 10 Oct 2003

The deal, brokered by Fox Sports International, will see Viasat Sport screen coverage of the US PGA Tour from 2004 to 2006.

Pan-regional broadcaster Viasat Sport has renewed its TV rights deal for coverage of the US PGA Tour.

Global Sportnet's new JV - 09 Oct 2003

The new company will focus on providing new and existing clients with strategic consulting, identification and purchase of sponsorship opportunities, activation and measurement expertise of sponsor ma

Sports marketing has a major new player after rights agency Global Sportnet and communications giant Mindshare joined forces to increase their presence within the sector through the formation of a new company.

Oki gets on board new sailing race - 15 Sep 2003

The Oki European Challenge claims to be Europe’s first democratic yacht race and will take place over three months during the summer of 2005.

Print communications firm Oki has unveiled its first ever pan-European sports sponsorship deal for a new sailing race - the Oki European Challenge 2005.

Sky Sports renews ladies golf deal - 10 Sep 2003

Under the new agreement Sky Sports will broadcast the next Solheim Cup matches at Crooked Stick, Indiana, in September 2005.

With the Solheim Cup about to tee off, UK pay-TV network Sky Sports has renewed its rights agreement with the Ladies European Tour for a further three years.

Ladbrokes bets on speedway - 04 Sep 2003

BSI, which owned the rights to the FIM Speedway Grand Prix Series, signed the deal for the race - which will be known as the FIM Ladbrokes Czech Republic Speedway Grand Prix - just days before it take

Gambling firm Ladbrokes has signed an agreement with Benfield Sports International (BSI) to be title sponsors of the forthcoming FIM Czech Republic Speedway Grand Prix.

Diack strolls to IAAF victory - 21 Aug 2003

He won after landing a 165-9 vote with four abstentions during day one of the two-day biennial IAAF congress in Paris.

Lamine Diack has been re-elected – unopposed – as president of the IAAF for another four-year term.

IIHF cancels champs due to SARS - 03 Jun 2003

The women's 2003 championships have now been cancelled after the tournament, due to be staged in China, was first postponed in April because of the SARS virus.

The Women's World Ice Hockey Championships is the latest event to be cancelled due to the spread of the SARS virus.

US lands Women's World Cup - 27 May 2003

The FIFA Emergency Committee confirmed the decision to relocate event to the US after the bidding process was reopened following the last minute decision to pull-out of China.

FIFA has confirmed the Women's World Cup Finals will be staged in the US after being pulled out of China due to the SARS virus - as predicted more than four weeks ago on sportbusiness.com.

Olsson is new UEFA CEO - 22 May 2003

Olsson, currently UEFA's director of professional football and marketing, joined UEFA in 2000 after serving as general secretary of the Swedish League and Swedish Football Association.

UEFA has confirmed Lars-Christer Olsson as its new chief executive - replacing Gerhard Aigner who retires at the end of the year.

ESPN widens Indy appeal - 19 May 2003

ESPN, which is the exclusive worldwide television representative of the IRL IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500, has negotiated numerous syndication agreements for broadcast in the UK, France, Ger

ESPN has signed a number of major new European TV deals for the Indy Racing League, just prior to its calendar highlight, the Indianapolis 500 this weekend.

US versus Sweden for Finals - 19 May 2003

The finals - initially due to be staged in China - were pulled out of the region following the SARS epidemic.

FIFA has confirmed it will be a straight shoot-out between the US and Sweden to host the rescheduled Women's World Cup finals.

Blatter: 'US set for World Cup' - 15 May 2003

Speaking to the media after delivering a key-note speech at SportAccord in Madrid, Blatter said the US was the preferred choice to host the event, despite interest shown from Australia, Sweden and Ita

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has confirmed the commonly held belief that the US is hot favourite to host the rescheduled Women's World Cup, after the event was pulled out of China because of the SARS epidemic.

Deadline looms for host bids - 13 May 2003

The US has already sent a delegation to Switzerland to meet with FIFA officials over holding the tournament, but are expected to face opposition from Australia, Italy and Sweden, all of which have exp

The US is firm favourite to land the short-notice right to host the FIFA Women's World Cup soccer tournament as the deadline looms later this week for bids to be submitted, following the decision to pull the event out of China because of the SARS epidemic.

Final sponsor named for Solheim Cup - 09 Apr 2003

The Evian Ladies European Tour has finalised a sponsorship agreement with JMS Mediasystem Sweden to be the eighth and final official partner to The Solheim Cup 2003.

The eighth and final sponsorship partner for this year's Solheim Cup has been announced.

Germany to host CL final 2004 - 26 Mar 2003

At the UEFA Executive Committee meeting, Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden was also handed the right to stage the 2004 UEFA Cup final.

The Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany will host the 2004 UEFA Champions League final it has been confirmed.

SVT signs speedway - 21 Mar 2003

For the first time in Sweden, SVT's digital platform SVT Extra will transmit live coverage of the FIM Speedway World Cup and for the second year, live broadcasts from all of the Speedway Grand Prix ro

National Swedish broadcaster SVT has extended its speedway coverage after signing a new deal with Benfield Sports International (BSI).

The Golf Channel secures Solheim Cup - 20 Mar 2003

The three-day event, to be held September 12-14 at BarsebC$ck Golf and Country Club in Malmo, Sweden, is scheduled to be broadcast live on The Golf Channel in the United States in its entirety - a fir

Pay-TV network The Golf Channel has secured a broadcast rights deal for coverage of this year's Solheim Cup - the biennial women's golf tournament between Europe and the US.

Danish TV rights deal for F1 - 05 Mar 2003

The agreement between MTG and rights holders Formula 1 Management will see each of the 16 races in the 2003 Championship broadcast live on the Viasat 3+ free-to-air channel.

Media giant Modern Times Group (MTG) has acquired the exclusive TV rights in Denmark to the 2003 Formula One season for its Viasat Broadcasting subsidiary.

UEFA's artificial move - 28 Jan 2003

The four venues are the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow, which already has an artificial turf pitch; the new Salzburg stadium in the Austrian city of the same name; the Eyravallen stadium in Crebro, Swede

UEFA has selected four European stadiums for further research into the possible future use of artificial turf playing fields for UEFA competition matches.

Europeans going to extremes - 20 Jan 2003

An agreement has been reached with Canal Digital, the leading digital pay-TV network in the Nordic countries, to provide the Extreme Sports

The Extreme Sports Channel has reached new TV carriage agreements in Scandinavia, Finland and the Netherlands, increasing its distribution reach in the regions significantly.

dupe - 16 Dec 2002

Bids from Greece/Turkey, Russia, Hungary and a joint proposal from Bosnia and Croatia failed to muster enough support from UEFA officials and have been eliminated from the procedure.

Four of the seven candidates to host the 2008 European Championships have been rejected by UEFA following today's vote in Geneva.

Austria/Swiss win Euro 2008 - 16 Dec 2002

The joint bid from the two countries secured the highest number of votes from UEFA in the final ballot, beating off rival proposals from Hungary and Greece/Turkey for the right to host the soccer tour

Austria and Switzerland will jointly host the 2008 European Championships following a vote of UEFA members.

'Try again' says UEFA chief - 13 Dec 2002

Speaking as he announced Austria and Switzerland's successful joint bid to host the UEFA European Championship in 2008, Johansson offered hope to the six unsuccessful candidates as he encouraged them

UEFA president Lennary Johansson has told the failed bidders for the Euro 2008 soccer tournament to try again and fight for the 2012 finals.

Euro 2008 race at last hurdle - 11 Dec 2002

In what is perceived as a close race, the seven candidates - Austria/Switzerland, Sweden/Denmark/Norway/ Finland, Scotland/Ireland, Hungary, Greece/Turkey, Russia, and Bosnia/Croatia - are making a 15

The bidding cities hoping to host UEFA's Euro 2008 tournament are making their final presentations to European soccer's governing body today, ahead of tomorrow's final decision.

UEFA denies bid claims - 26 Nov 2002

Said UEFA president, Lennart Johansson (pictured): “Contrary to recent media reports, all bids for the hosting of Euro 2008 will be treated equally and fairly and will have the same chance of succes

UEFA has refuted claims the bid from Russia and the joint bid from Greece/Turkey to host Euro 2008 stood less chance than the other bidders.