As one of the UK’s leading sports communications consultancies with a wealth of experience delivering high-profile campaigns for sponsors, rights holders, governing bodies and major international sports events such as London 2012, Pitch will work in collaboration with the communications and marketing team at Glasgow 2014.

Pitch will play a key role in sharing the rich diversity of stories and opportunities offered by the world-class sporting platform that is next year’s Commonwealth Games.

Core campaigns in the run-up to the Games will include supporting Glasgow 2014’s Ticketing Programme which kicks off with the publication of the ticketing brochure on July 23 which is exactly One Year to Go until the Opening Ceremony. The formal application phase for tickets launches on August 19, 2013.

Gordon Arthur, Chief Communications Officer, Glasgow 2014 said:

“We are delighted to have Pitch as part of Glasgow 2014’s marketing communications team.

Pitch brings considerable experience from their work on a range of leading UK and international sporting events and we look forward to working with them to maximise all the opportunities presented by the world-class festival of sport and culture which will takes place in Glasgow and Scotland next year.”

Henry Chappell, Chief Executive, Pitch said: 

“Glasgow 2014 will be one of the highlights of the sporting calendar next year, and we’re thrilled to be handed a major role in helping to deliver what looks set to be the best ever Commonwealth Games.”

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It is the first time in more than 20 years that weekly live matches from the Barclays Premier League will be free to watch.

More than 100 media from across the sport, business and technology sectors were joined by representatives from leading sport governing bodies, including the Premier League and Dorna, for the launch which was hosted by BT Sport presenters Jake Humphrey and Clare Balding.

Following the press conference and media interviews, guests were also given the opportunity to view the brand new BT Sport studio which is under construction and due for completion in July.

Winning formula
Speaking during the launch, Ian Livingston, BT chief executive, said: “UK Sports fans have had a rough deal for too long. Many have been priced out of the market but we will change this by giving away BT Sport for free with our broadband. Sports fans are the winners today.”

The three channels – BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN – will be packed with world class sport. There will be 38 live and exclusive football matches from the Barclays Premier League – including 18 ‘first pick’ matches. There will also be live football from several other top leagues around the world including Germany, France, Italy and Brazil plus FA Cup ties, the UEFA Europa League and Scottish Premier League.

Stellar line-up
Jake Humphrey will be the anchor of BT Sport’s live Barclays Premier League football matches and will be joined by Manchester United superstar Rio Ferdinand as an interviewer, programme-maker and football expert. Also joining the BT Sport squad are football commentators Ian Darke and Darren Fletcher who will be joined in a co-commentary capacity by Michael Owen. Owen Hargreaves, David James and Steve McManaman join as pundits while Gareth Bale, Robin van Persie, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Daniel Sturridge and Maroune Fellani have all signed up to be ambassadors.

BT Sport will also show exclusive coverage of up to 69 live rugby union games from the Aviva Premiership. Coverage will be presented by established broadcaster Craig Doyle who will be joined by former England captain and lead rugby expert Lawrence Dallaglio.

BT Sport has also signed a deal with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) to show matches from 21 global tournaments, including the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships. WTA coverage will be presented by TV and radio personality Lynsey Hipgrave and she will be joined by the greatest female tennis player of all time Martina Navratilova.

The full BT Sport line up is here.

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Following ASICS’ annual Go To Market meeting in Amsterdam last week, Alistair Cameron – CEO of ASICS Europe – rounded off a big week for the company with a whistle stop tour of the UK’s key business media to discuss how marathons, and the running sector as whole, has become a multi-billion pound industry and a market which continues to grow.

Ahead of the London Marathon on Sunday 21^st April – where around half of all runners taking part would be wearing ASICS footwear – Alistair Cameron flew into Manchester for a live interview on the BBC Breakfast sofa with business presenter Dominic Laurie. The pair covered a range of topics; including why the science and technology behind ASICS’ trainers means loyal customers keep coming back resulting in year-on-year growth for the performance sportswear brand.

With his live interview – broadcast to 1.8million breakfast viewers – successfully completed, Alistair headed to the ASICS’ flagship store on Oxford Street. This was the venue for two pre-recorded interviews with key business broadcasters.

Broadcast newswire Reuters and international broadcasting giant CNN both interviewed Alistair in-store as they looked to discover just how important the marathon business is for ASICS. Reuters distributed the footage to their 600+ broadcast and online clients resulting in further coverage across international broadcasters as well as online coverage with the likes of MSN and AOL.

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Channel 4 won over critics last summer with its informative and credible coverage of the Paralympic Games, clearing its schedules to air a record 500 hours of action. The channel introduced a new graphics system to demystify the complicated Paralympic classification system for viewers and achieved the biggest UK TV audience for the Opening Ceremony in Paralympic history.

Clare Balding, who fronted both the Olympic and Paralympic Games coverage, picked up the award for Best Presenter for her work on London 2012 to the delight of the crowd who gave her a standing ovation.

She said: “I’m particularly proud as a sports presenter to be nominated alongside an artists and an arts broadcaster because I think it’s easy to think of sports being just about sweaty jockstraps and balls.”

“Sport is about so much more than that. It is art, it is history, it is science, it is finance, it is news, it is drama and above all it is entertainment. I’m bloody proud to be a sports presenter.”

The awards were held at London’s Grosvenor Hotel and hosted by comic Jo Brand.

Channel 4 also swept the board at February’s Royal Television Society television awards, with six gongs including daily news programme of the year and presenter of the year for Jon Snow.

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The event saw the top four British FIFA 13’ players go head-to-head in the hunt to become FIWC 2013 UK champion and qualify for the Grand Final in Madrid. Walker (pictured), not used to watching on from the sidelines also got involved in the action as he suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the newly crowned UK champion George Tsirita.

The FIWC is the world’s largest online gaming tournament, organised by FIFA in association with Presenting Partners EA SPORTS ™ and PlayStation®. Beginning in October, over 200,000 players across Britain have competed against one another online in the FIFA Interactive World Cup to secure a place in the UK Territory Showdown.

With over 1,600,000 players already registered around the world, George from London becomes only the 13^th player to book his place in May’s Grand Final in Madrid after he beat defending UK champion Ty Walton. George will now go on to compete for the chance to become the FIFA Interactive World Cup Champion, $20,000 cash and the unbelievable money can’t buy prize of an invite to the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or.

After clinching the UK championship with a 3-1 victory George was then challenged to a game by a confident Kyle Walker, who fancied himself to cause an upset. The match up saw Spurs v Spurs as Kyle held his own until the 38^th minute when he took the lead through the man of the moment Gareth Bale. Despite a spirited effort in the second half the gap in quality proved too much as George sealed the victory with a second goal wonder goal from yes you guessed it, Gareth Bale.

George commented, “It’s still sinking in that I’ve actually won, there were some great players here today so I’m delighted to have made it through. The standard will be even higher at the final in Madrid, so I’ll be sure to keep practicing. To top it all I actually got to play against Kyle Walker too, he’s definitely not as good at FIFA 13’ as he is at football though!”

Walker praised George saying, “I’ve really enjoyed the event and it’s great to see how passionate the lads are. Some of the Spurs boys really fancy themselves on FIFA 13’ but I’ll be telling them at training that they are nowhere near as good as these guys. George is unbelievable and I wish him well in the Grand Final”.

Contestants can still participate and compete in this year’s FIWC through the online tournament played on the PLAYSTATION®Network, by registering ‘in-game’ in FIFA ’13 on their PS3. For more information on the FIWC, go to: www.fifa.com/fiwc

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Lawrence, 40, is the first signing to be announced for BT Sport’s exclusive coverage of up to 69 live matches a season from the Aviva Premiership. He will feature both as a co-commentator for some live matches and studio pundit for other live clashes, when BT Sport launches in the summer.

The England and Wasps hero, who was an integral part of the national team that triumphed in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, will also be a headline figure for BT Sport and will feature prominently in TV ads. He will also become a BT Ambassador, following in the footsteps of London 2012 heroes, such as the Brownlee brothers and Jonnie Peacock.

BT will be the home of rugby for four years from the start of the 2013/14 season, having secured up to 69 live matches a season from the Aviva Premiership, as well as the JP Morgan Asset Management Sevens and live matches from the French Top 14.

Lawrence, who was awarded an OBE in 2008, joins a list of high profile sporting figures who have joined BT Sport. Jake Humphrey will front the new channels’ 38 live football games from the Barclays Premier League, while Clare Balding will host a sports magazine show for BT Sport.

Lawrence said: “I am genuinely thrilled to be joining BT Sport as its rugby expert. BT has huge ambitions for rugby union and I am delighted to be involved with that from the beginning. I hope that we can make BT Sport the place to watch rugby and I know it has some great new ideas to really put the viewer at the heart of the action.”

Simon Green, head of BT Sport, said: “Lawrence is a giant of rugby union and we are thrilled that he has agreed to play such a pivotal role across our rugby coverage. The insight and analysis he offers, gained through captaining his country and winning 85 caps, will be absolutely invaluable to BT Sport.

“We saw an opportunity to make BT Sport the home of rugby union, offering live games from the Aviva Premiership, the rugby sevens, top flight French rugby and top European matches in the future. We believe that Lawrence’s standing in the game and his ability as a broadcaster will help us to achieve that aim.”

Since retiring in 2008, Lawrence has worked tirelessly to raise millions for charity through the Dallaglio Foundation. Two big Cycle Slam events have raised over £3m for charities such as Sport Relief and Cancer Research UK, with other sportsmen like ex-Arsenal footballer Lee Dixon joining Lawrence to cycle over 2500km.  The Dallaglio Foundation now has its own Rugby Programme which helps young people to make the right life choices.

The BT Sport channels will be based at the iCITY development at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. A pre-registration site for customers to register their interest in BT Sport is available at www.btsport.com

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The free four-day football celebration, featuring a series of family-friendly activities, will be the first major event to come to the home of the 2012 London Olympics since last summer, taking place on The International Quarter close to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

UEFA is inviting fans and families to visit the festival and take part in a series of free activities including the opportunity to have photos taken with the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Women’s Champions League trophies.

Festival attendees will also have the chance to visit the UEFA Champions League museum to experience all the memories of past tournaments with children able to take part in a variety of skills clinics and coaching courses put on by professional coaches throughout the week.

Festival ambassadors, including former England players Faye White and Steve McManaman, will be on hand to meet and greet the fans who will also be invited to participate in an exciting schedule of entertainment hosted by UEFA Champions League partners.

The festival will open on Thursday 23 May running through to Sunday 26 May following the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 25. The festival will include one of the most popular events of the week, the Ultimate Champions Match which will feature a number of UEFA Champions League greats of years gone by.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “We are delighted that the UEFA Champions Festival is returning to London and especially that it will take place on the International Quarter close to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the scene of our biggest sporting moment. It will provide a fantastic week-long family event and will revive the spirit of community and celebration that made last year’s Olympic Games so special.”

UEFA Champions League final ambassador Steve McManaman said: “Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the Stratford area came alive in the summer for London 2012 and UEFA is very proud to bring the annual UEFA Champions Festival to such a fantastic facility and offer an event that gives both parents and children the opportunity to celebrate football in a truly spectacular venue with free admission for all. We expect everyone will be blown away by the amazing multi-event entertainment programme on offer.”

Mark Dickinson, managing director of development at Lend Lease, said: “The International Quarter will become a vibrant new commercial hub for London. We are looking to attract early investment in the form of exhibitions and events this year and are delighted to work with organisations such as UEFA to ensure benefits from these events spread beyond their boundaries to communities in the surrounding areas.”

Further details regarding the exciting events on offer to fans during the week of the festival will be released in the coming weeks.

For further information please visit www.uefa.com

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Click here to see all of this year’s nominees.

The post News in brief: Sport Industry Awards 2013 appeared first on Pitch.

The biggest event in European women’s club football returns to London for the second time in three years after Fulham FC’s Craven Cottage hosted the 2011 final.

UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino said: “The UEFA Women’s Champions League final is the  pinnacle of the European women’s club football season. UEFA is proud to stage the prestigious event in London and at Stamford Bridge, giving fans the opportunity to watch and celebrate first-class football in a family-friendly atmosphere.”

Kelly Simmons, director of national game and women’s football for the Football Association (FA), said: “After a wonderful 2012 for women’s football, we are looking forward to another massive year for the game. It’s a hugely exciting time ahead with season three of the WSL, the England women’s senior team taking part in UEFA Women’s EURO in Sweden and welcoming the UEFA Women’s Champions League final back to London. Stamford Bridge is a fantastic setting for this year’s final, and will provide fans with a great opportunity to watch top-level European football in England.”

The 2013 UEFA Women’s Champions League final ambassador Faye White said: “Women’s football is growing in popularity at an impressive rate. The UEFA Women’s Champions League final is a fantastic opportunity for fans to come together to see top-quality football played in a prestigious stadium. I hope that it will help inspire a new generation of female footballers in England.”

Ron Gourlay, Chief Executive of Chelsea Football Club, said: “Having witnessed the final in Munich last year, when Lyon won it  for the second year in a row in front of over 50,000 fans, it was quite an event.  It’s great to have it here at Stamford Bridge, it’s a fantastic showcase for us and women’s football and it’s a real highlight for the game in the UK.”

White was joined at Stamford Bridge by Chelsea FC ambassador Graeme Le Saux to mark the start of the ticket sales. The UEFA Women’s Champions League final will kick off at 19.30 UK time (20.30CET) and the affordable ticket price structure ensures all football fans, including families, will be able to attend.

The prices are:

Adults: £10
Juniors (under 18): £5
Seniors (over 65): £5

The ticket packages for disabled supporters include a free seat for an accompanying person.

Tickets can be purchased at www.chelseafc.com/uefawomensfinal from 15.00 UK time (16.00CET).

For more information, please visit www.UEFA.com/womenschampionsleague.

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Earlier this week it was announced Sky Sports will show the game exclusively live this month as part of a new agreement for live games throughout the current season

Sky’s coverage of the sold-out fixture on 17 January will be the first NBA game in the UK to be available on Sky Sports 1 HD and 3D, and will be made available live on mobile and tablet devices through Sky Go. The NBA clash between the Knicks and Pistons is to be followed by live Sunday night games for the remaining fixtures of the regular season, as well as the NBA Playoff games, the entire Eastern Conference Finals and every game of the NBA Finals, taking Sky’s coverage right up until June.

Dan Markham, NBA vice president of media distribution and emerging markets, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Sky Sports and make extensive NBA coverage – including Sunday double-headers in primetime – accessible to fans on television and across a range of devices.  We look forward to bringing more exciting moments from the NBA season to fans in the UK on Sky Sports.”

The NBA and adidas have also expanded their relationship to make the league’s official global uniform and apparel provider the presenting partner of NBA London Live 2013.

As presenting partner, adidas will have a significant presence around the game. adidas will have significant branding in-arena including two logos prominently featured on the court, and will also conduct on court fan competitions and a comprehensive social media campaign around the game. Both teams will also wear commemorative NBA London Live 2013 presented by adidas shooting shirts to mark the occasion, with additional Knicks and Pistons merchandise available in-arena and at retail outlets including the adidas Store on London’s Oxford Street.

Also as part of the partnership, adidas will connect with NBA fans globally through the league’s international broadcast partners and digital platforms including NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS International, Facebook and NBA All-Access fan e-newsletters.  adidas will also be presenting partner of the NBA London Live 2013 Party that will see guests and celebrities entertained in an exclusive central London location on the eve of the game.

“The world watched Europe’s passion for basketball during last summer’s games, and we’re excited to partner with the NBA to continue that momentum and grow the game through great fan experiences and products,” said Lawrence Norman, adidas vice president of global basketball.

“We are delighted to expand our long-standing global partnership and have adidas serve as the presenting partner of this historic NBA event,” said Benjamin Morel, Senior Vice President, NBA Europe.  “NBA London Live 2013 presented by adidas is a great showcase of our game and provides adidas with an excellent opportunity to connect with NBA fans in the UK and across Europe through a range of exciting in-arena, media and retail promotions.”

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Alfonso stormed to victory at the FIWC ’12 in Dubai beating former champion Bruce Grannec in a tense penalty shoot-out on the way to the $20,000 prize and invitation to the FIFA Ballon d’Or as a FIFA world champion.

Real Madrid met Barcelona at the FIFA Ballon d’Or as Real Madrid fan Alfonso took on Barca ace Gerard Piqué. In the virtual El Classico it was Alfonso’s Madrid who came out on top, beating Piqué’s Barcelona 3-1 as Ronaldo bagged two goals. The encounter lived up to the drama, surprise and controversy expected of one of the World’s greatest football clashes.

As the game approached halftime Alfonso’s Real Madrid led Piqué’s Barcelona 1-0, thanks to Ronaldo’s first of the match. But in a moment of madness that was tinged with irony, Pique made a rash challenge and saw himself sent off and Barcelona go down to 10 men as they went in for halftime.

Prior to the match Alfonso benefitted from speaking with football legends Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi, who gave him some advice on how to deal with big game pressure and get results against their compatriot Piqué.

Commenting on the match Alfonso said, “Winning the FIWC and getting the chance to attend the FIFA Ballon d’Or really is a dream come true. For any football fan this is without question one of the greatest experiences you can have. Meeting my heroes an getting the chance to play FIFA 13 against Pique is something I will never forget.”

Despite his loss, Piqué was full of praise for Alfonso, “Alfonso is the best player I have played against for sure. I don’t play FIFA as much as I’d like to, but I’m usually in the final against Leo (Messi) when we play at Barcelona so I’m not bad, but against Alfonso every player seems bad!”

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Jones’ victory narrowly edged out Mo Farah’s second gold in the 5,000 metres in the Olympic Stadium and Super Saturday – when Jess Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah all won gold – to take top spot.

People voted on Twitter and through the BT website in the national BT Moments poll.

The campaign was launched by Paralympic champion and BT ambassador Oscar Pistorius in front of guests at the BT British Olympic Ball, including Olympians, Paralympians, London 2012 stakeholders and media.  Pistorius’ victory in the T44 400 metres in the Paralympic Games featured in the top 10.

During the voting process, the BT Moments campaign received support from top Olympians and sporting superstars, including footballer Fabrice Muamba, Olympic bronze medallist Tom Daley and Olympic legends Sir Steve Redgrave and Denise Lewis.

The ultimate top 10 moments, as voted for by the British public, are:

1.    Jade Jones winning gold in taekwondo and throwing her head guard in the air.  The 19-year-old was the first ever British taekwondo athlete to win Olympic gold.

2.       Mo Farah winning his second gold in the 5,000m in the Olympic Stadium.

3.       Super Saturday – Jess Ennis, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford all winning gold in the space of 40 minutes on Saturday 4th August.

4.       GB women’s football team beating tournament favourites Brazil 1-0 in front of 70,000 people at Wembley, the biggest ever crowd for a women’s game in Britain.

5.       GB women’s hockey team winning bronze at the Riverbank Arena, the first GB medal in women’s hockey at the Olympics for 20 years.

6.       Beth Tweddle winning bronze in the uneven bars.

7.       Anthony Ogogo winning bronze in the middleweight boxing.

8.       The London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.

9.       Gemma Gibbons mouthing “I love you, mum” after winning her judo semi-final bout.

10.   = Oscar Pistorius taking gold in the T44 400 metres and Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins winning Olympic gold in the double sculls.

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