Tokyo, 14 December 2018 – The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) today welcomed Aggreko Events Services Japan Ltd. (Aggreko) as a Tokyo 2020 Official Supporter, the third domestic tier of the Tokyo 2020 Sponsorship Programme.
The company has been attributed the category “Temporary Electricity Generation.” Its addition bringsthe total number of Tokyo 2020 domestic partners to 58*, including 15 Gold Partners, 30 Official Partners, and 13 Official Supporters (including one Official Supporter which sponsors only the Paralympic Games), all of whom will play vital roles in the successful delivery of the Games.
Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori welcomed the announcement, commenting, “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Aggreko as a Tokyo 2020 Official Supporter. A reliable, secure and resilient power supply is essential to the success of the Tokyo 2020 Games, supporting all Games Operations, and we are delighted that we will be able to count on the support of Aggreko, as a company with extensive experience in successfully delivering temporary power services.”

Invited players to showcase their talents in front of all 24 MLS clubs in Orlando

NEW YORK – Major League Soccer today announced the initial 60 college players invited to participate in the 2019 adidas MLS Player Combine. Top collegiate players from across the country will showcase their talents in front of representatives from all 24 MLS clubs in Orlando, Fla. from Jan. 3-9, 2018. All invited players will be eligible for selection in the 2019 SuperDraft presented by adidas which will take place at 12 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 11 in Chicago’s McCormick Place in conjunction with the United Soccer Coaches Convention.
A committee of MLS coaches and NCAA Division I coaches from every conference selected the invitees, all of whom completed their college eligibility this season. Further invitees including Generation adidas signings, non-collegiate players, and additional college seniors will be announced in the coming weeks. 

The IOC is adapting its management structure. After 26 years as Director of NOC Relations and of Olympic Solidarity, Pere Miró will henceforth focus exclusively on his role as Deputy Director General for Relations with the Olympic Movement. Mr Miró will continue to work with the senior IOC leadership to coordinate the resolution of critical political issues that affect the Olympic Movement. He has held this responsibility for the past three years in addition to his role as Director of NOC Relations and of Olympic Solidarity. As part of his role of Deputy Director General, Mr Miró will maintain an oversight over the two departments that he has managed in the past. He joined the IOC in 1992, right after the Olympic Games in his hometown of Barcelona for which he worked first as the sub-director for sports and then as sub-director general for operations.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) today welcomed South African Breweries on board through its Castle Lager brand as the headline sponsor of the forthcoming Test series in which the Standard Bank Proteas will be playing five matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The agreement is for the current season only and will be reviewed by both parties at the end of the season.
“SA Breweries and its Castle Lager brand have been both commercial partners and friends of CSA throughout the unity period,” commented CSA Chief Executive Thabang Moroe, “and we are delighted to have them on board again. Both the Proteas and Castle Lager are truly proud South African brands that are world-class products.
“The Proteas will be looking to build on the excellent home series they had against two powerhouses of the game, India and Australia, last season and we are expecting equally tough challenges in the Castle Lager Test Series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Jamaican sprinting icon Usain Bolt has signed a deal to become a brand ambassador for Xoom, the international money transfer service acquired by PayPal in 2015.
Bolt, who won eight Olympic gold medals, has partnered with Xoom as the financial services company expands into Canada, where its customers will be able to send money, reload phones and pay bills in more than 130 countries globally.
Xoom are set to launch an international marketing campaign called ‘Money Go Xoom’ in both Canada and the US, which Bolt is set to front, with the aim of highlighting Xoom’s ability as a fast and secure platform. Bolt’s partnership with Xoom is set to run through 2020.
Julian King, vice president and general manager at Xoom said: “We’re deeply committed to delivering the fastest possible money transfer experience to our customers.

What started off as a day of appreciation amongst 4 golf enthusiasts in 2012, The Dj Anda Golf Day has since increased its participants in the last year.
The event has increased in both popularity and interest amongst young, affluent and successful professionals around not only East London, but also in other provinces like Gauteng and Western Cape.

Morocco will not enter the race to host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), despite being tipped to stage the event after Cameroon was stripped of the hosting rights.
After the Confederation of African Football (Caf) moved the tournament last week over doubts to do with Cameroon’s delivery of infrastructure and security fears, Morocco and South Africa were installed as early favourites to play emergency host.
Magdi Abdelghani, board member of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), even suggested that Morocco would have the backing of Caf to step in, but now it appears that the North African country does not wish to host the biennial soccer tournament.
“Morocco did not intend to run for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and will not do so,” Rachid Talbi Alami, Moroccan Minister of Youth and Sport, told AFP.

The first federations have started their promotional campaigns on the road towards The World Games 2021. In November the International Powerlifting Federation, during their World Championships in Halmstad, Sweden, organised a kick-off event for their Road to Birmingham campaign. Besides having posters at the arenas, they appointed a first ambassador for the campaign – and who would be more suitable for the role than the incredible 4-time The World Games champion, Larysa Soloviova from Ukraine! Soloviova has won The World Games titles in 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017 – and it seems that she is aiming for a fifth gold at the Games in 2021 in Birmingham, Alabama.

The journey towards the coronation of best performers for the CAF Awards 2018 gathers momentum with the announcement of the shortlists for the various categories today.

The shortlisted nominees were decided by votes from the members of the CAF Technical & Development Committee.

The final phase will involve votes from CAF Media Experts, Legends, Coaches of the quarter-finalists of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup, and Coaches & Captains of the 54 Member Associations.

New York, NY — An international sport veteran with more than 20 years of experience designing and directing strategic communications, brand and broadcast programs in the Olympic Movement is joining the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) as Chief Brand and Communications Officer.
 
FIL Chief Executive Officer Jim Scherr announced today that Darryl Seibel will begin his new role with FIL in mid-January 2019.  Seibel will be responsible for working with the FIL Board of Directors, led by President Sue Redfern, Scherr and stakeholders throughout the sport to develop and implement strategies that support the continued growth of lacrosse worldwide, including the introduction of a new brand platform for FIL.
 
The Federation of International Lacrosse is the international governing body for men’s and women’s lacrosse, representing 62 member-nations worldwide.  FIL is responsible for the governance of lacrosse and provides support to the overall development of the sport worldwide.

The UN Climate Change Secretariat launched the new Sports for Climate Action Framework that was developed with the sports sector. The aim of the new framework is to gather sports organisations, teams, athletes, and fans in a concerted effort to raise awareness and action to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement for climate protection.
“Our commitment to protecting our climate remains unwavering. We recognise the critical need for everyone to help implement the Paris Agreement and accelerate the change needed to reach greenhouse gas emission neutrality in the second half of the twenty-first century. FIFA welcomes the UN’s development of the Sports for Climate Action Framework, and I am pleased to confirm that FIFA will support the vision outlined in the new framework”, said FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura.

CAF, BSWW and the National Championships hold a meeting to discuss future strategies and measures to foster the growth of the sport in the region

With the focus on the future of beach soccer in Africa, a round table meeting was held yesterday in Sharm El Sheikh, involving CAF, Beach Soccer Worldwide and representatives from the eight National sides. 

Samson Adamu, Director of Competitions, Josep Ponset, Beach Soccer Worldwide Director of Competitions and Ahmed Salem, CAF Beach Soccer Event Manager, sat down with the eight Team Managers of the Nations involved in the current edition of the CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations to discuss what the future of beach soccer looks like in the continent, and what are the necessary steps to take in order to help it grow and achieve its potential. ​

Nigeria became the first country to book their place at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Paraguay 2019 after beating Egypt 7-6 and qualifying for the final of the CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations 2019 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
It was a memorable day for Abu Azeez, not only because he scored four goals in Nigeria's victory, but also because he scored his 100th goal for his country in the process.
This will be the Super Eagles' sixth Beach Soccer World Cup participation, In their previous appearance at Bahamas 2017, they failed to progress past the group stage.

German soccer outfit Bayern Munich have partnered with ecommerce giant Amazon in a deal that will see the Bundesliga champions launch their official shop on the site.
The agreement, which comes with pre-Christmas shopping in full swing, will initially only be available by customers in Germany. It becomes the club’s third official online shopping platform, alongside their website store and Tmall Global – the Chinese platform, which began collaborating with Bayern in 2015.
In partnering with Amazon to extend their digital sale options, Bayern have become the fourth soccer team to do so, and the first in Germany. Previously, Serie A outfit Napoli and La Liga sides Real Betis and Espanyol have launched online stores with Amazon.

SA rider, Willie Smit, donated three bicycles and kit worth over R60,000 on behalf of his sponsor, Alpecin, to the Velokhaya Life Cycling Academy, urging the country to get behind development cycling.
Smit, the 2017 African Continental Champion, has just signed for a second year on the UCI’s Pro World Tour with Team Katusha Alpecin and visited Velokhaya in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, with sponsor Alpecin Caffeine Shampoo which fights hair loss.*
Alpecin, which has a history with cycling dating back several decades, identified a need for bicycles at Velokhaya and joined Smit in a presentation and donation to children and staff at the academy on Wednesday.
Smit shared his rise from a difficult childhood to the pinnacle of global cycling, encouraging the youth not to give up hope and to fight to achieve their dreams.

It has been a sporting year to remember and to celebrate SuperSport will roll out a special Showcase channel from mid-December.
To run for two weeks (December 17-January 4), the channel will remind viewers of many of the year’s most spectacular highlights, from France’s dramatic World Cup triumph in Russia and the Springboks’ famous win in Wellington to the best of cricket, golf, tennis and so much more.
Several top sport documentaries will be weaved into the offering, including “Fire in Babylon”, “Forged in Fire”, “Being Serena” and “Strokes of Genius”.
“The Immortals”, a series of soccer documentaries, will feature luminaries like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Pele, Johan Cruyff, Thierry Henry and many more.

he Laureus Sport for Good Foundation South Africa and the Ignition Group, have announced their newly finalised technology partnership with a Sport for Good activation at LIV Village, followed by a cocktail function at the Ignition Group offices in Umhlanga.
The Ignition Group is one of Africa’s largest providers of technology, media, telecommunication and financial services, built around a powerful purpose – to make life better through innovative technology. They approach markets that are traditionally complex and contested, simplifying them, making life easier for their customers, businesses and partners.
Their strategy to ‘make life better’ aligns perfectly with the driving ethos of Laureus, who strive to ‘make lives better’ through sport.
The partnership will see a strong strategic alignment, being implemented in both the technology, and community assistance spaces.
As a key technology partner, Ignition Group will be pivotal in providing hardware, such as tablets and smartphones, as well as telecommunication access, in the form of data and airtime.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced a five-year agreement with Royal Stag. The partnership, which runs through 2023, confirms Royal Stag as official sponsors of cricket's international events, including the upcoming big-ticket calendar events – the ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC T20 World Cup and ICC World Test Championship.
 
Cricket has always been central to Royal Stag’s brand communication. Over the years, the brand’s continuous association with the world’s top cricketers has bolstered its engagement with cricket lovers across the country.
 
Commenting on the agreement, David Richardson, Chief Executive, International Cricket Council, said: "The ICC is pleased to welcome Royal Stag on board as our proud partner. We look forward to working together for the next five years in delivering a meaningful experience to the one billion plus adult cricket fans across ICC global events.”

Tokyo, 12 December 2018 – The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
(Tokyo 2020) today has opened voting to determine the names of the Tokyo 2020 staff and city volunteer
teams. The applicants of these two programmes will be able to cast their ballot from today until 20 January,
2019, with the chosen names announced at the end of January 2019.
The final four sets of candidate names for the Tokyo 2020 Games staff and city volunteer teams are as
follows (Tokyo 2020 Games staff on the left, city volunteers on the right): ​

FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) are pleased to announce the signing of Burjeel Hospital as a National Supporter of the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2018. The competition is due to be held in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain from 12 to 22 December 2018.
Based in Abu Dhabi, Burjeel is one of the leading hospitals across the Middle East. By supporting the tournament, Burjeel Hospital is reinforcing their commitment to the sport. As part of their sponsorship agreement, the company will provide extensive medical backing during the tournament, including services for the participating teams and supporters. 

Thousands of toddlers, teenagers, parents and pensioners from all walks of life joyfully descended on the Union Buildings in Tshwane this past weekend for the fifth Mandela Remembrance Walk and Run (MRWR).
Starting and ending at the country’s official seat of Government and with Madiba’s giant statue looking on to welcome the participants, the event was a fantastic celebration of the legacy and contribution of South Africa’s first democratic President.
The fifth edition of the event also paid tribute to struggle stalwart and activist, Ma Albertina Sisulu, and Margaret Gaso, one of those who spearheaded the historic Women’s March on the Union Buildings in 1956.
The country’s political elite, among them Minister of Sport and Recreation Tokozile Xasa, Gauteng Premier David Makhura, Tshwane Mayor Solly Msimanga and Gauteng MEC for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation Faith Mazibuko, mingled with the country’s sporting elite and South Africans of all ages for the event through the streets of Tshwane.
Among the sports stars who participated were South Africa’s road running rock star Stephen Mokoka, former Comrades Marathon winners Ludwick Mamabolo and Charne Bosman, US Open wheelchair tennis semi-finalist Kgothatso Montjane, as well as football legends such as Shaun Bartlett, Kalusha Bwalya and Jabulani Mendu.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has agreed a multiyear partnership with Chinese digital content producer Migu to deliver extensive content to fans in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
The deal is the telecommunications company’s first with a North American sports league and makes Migu, which is owned by China Mobile, the NBA’s official telecom carrier immersion platform in China.
Migu will also become the official marketing partner of the NBA China Games, and will design and sell NBA and Migu co-branded lifestyle merchandise to China Mobile customers as part of the agreement.
“We are thrilled to start our relationship with China Mobile, Migu and their various media platforms,” said NBA China chief executive Derek Chang.
“This new partnership provides us with the opportunity to tap into Migu and China Mobile’s expansive reach and help us continue to grow the game of basketball in China.”

The power of sport to unite was brightly and boldly in evidence once again with bumper crowds celebrating in joyous harmony at the fourth edition of the HSBC Cape Town Sevens over the past weekend.
Mr Mark Alexander, president of the South African Rugby Union, thanked all stakeholders for their part in producing another explosion of colour and fun at the Cape Town Stadium.
“The players and the fans are the key participants at the HSBC Cape Town Sevens and I’d like to thank them for the contribution they make on the field or in the stands to another memorable and highly enjoyable event,” he said.
“People from different cultural, social, economic and political backgrounds come together in harmony at the HSBC Cape Town Sevens to enjoy brilliant Sevens, promoting social cohesion in a most tangible and real way.
“The Mother City rugby audience and visitors from around South Africa and the world help create a unique atmosphere and occasion for two days every December. Our commercial partners add their muscle and enthusiasm to the event to allow us to put on the high-octane show around the rugby that sets this event apart, we believe.