Asia

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has continued its overhaul of the domestic game by introducing a revamped one-day tournament, entitled the Pakistan Cup, to the calendar.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced that China, Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea have all expressed an interest in hosting the 2023 edition of its showpiece Asian Cup national team tournament.

Active lifestyle company Tough Mudder has teamed up with the IMG agency and market entry specialist Seroja Partners to expand the mass participation obstacle course series into Asia and the Middle East.

Authorities in China have unveiled a new strategy to establish the country as one of the world’s strongest footballing nations by 2050.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has secured its latest investment in sport by reaching a 10-year deal media rights and development deal with World Rugby, the global governing body of rugby union.

Morinari Watanabe, secretary general of the Japan Gymnastics Association (JGA), has become the second candidate to formally launch a bid to become the next president of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

The World Series of Fighting – Global Championship (WSOF-GC) has secured two new strategic partnerships that will enable the mixed martial arts (MMA) series to expand into the UK and Costa Rica, while rival series One Championship has agreed a deal with the Asia-Pacific arm of the ESP Properties agency.

The Alisports arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has entered into a partnership with the CSM Sport & Entertainment division of marketing services group Chime Communications to develop and run a range of global sport properties and mass participation events across China.

Vietnam has confirmed it will host the 2021 Southeast Asian Games, with Hanoi lined up to be the main hub for the multi-sport event.

IMG-Reliance, the joint venture between the IMG agency and Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, has broadened its remit by entering into the athlete representation business.

World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset writes exclusively for SportBusiness International about the future of rugby union as he prepares to step down from the helm of the governing body.

Singapore-based social networking company YuuZoo has signed an agreement with Chinese conglomerate Alibaba to launch and operate e-sports competitions in China.

The National Basketball Association has said it will mark the 10th edition of its NBA Global Games China series by staging two preseason games in the country later this year.

Tokyo 2020 has announced a change in strategy for its gymnastics venue, with the planned temporary arena set to be converted to a permanent facility for the Olympic Games by 2019.

Fina, the global governing body of aquatic sports, has underlined its “particularly robust approach” to anti-doping procedures in relation to Russia after allegations emerged of systemic doping in the country.

The Malaysia FA Cup (Piala FA Malaysia) is a national knock–out football competition organised by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership with supervisional help from the Football Association of Malaysia.