BEIJING (Reuters) – Yingli Green Energy, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of solar panels, was unveiled as the first Chinese company to sponsor the FIFA World Cup on Wednesday.

Also the first renewable energy company to back soccer’s showpiece event, Yingli becomes the seventh event-specific sponsor of South Africa 2010, which takes place from June 11 to July 11 this year.

“The announcement of Yingli Green Energy as the first Chinese company to be a global sponsor of the World Cup marks a historical moment,” FIFA President Sepp Blatter said in a video message to a news conference in Beijing.

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KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s national cycling federation (MNCF) plan to enter a team in International Cycling
Union (UCI) tours from 2011 in a bid to improve the country’s flagging road racers.

“I see the setting up of the continental team as very important for road cyclists because they are lagging far behind track cyclists, who are already world class,” MNCF President Abu Samah Wahab told the national news agency Bernama on
Tuesday.

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MUMBAI – Indian Premier League (IPL) team  and SRK owned Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have signed a double wammy deal with Goa based energy drink manufacture Triple X and Lux Hosiery owned by Ashok Todi.

In additon to KKR sponsorship SRK will also endorse Lux Hosiery.

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CHICAGO (Reuters) – CBS Corp has sold all the advertising spots for the television broadcast of the National Football League’s Super Bowl championship game this coming Sunday, the television network said on Monday.

CBS has come under fire in recent weeks from various groups for allowing a conservative Christian group to air an anti-abortion ad, and for barring a commercial from a dating site for gay men as inappropriate for prime time.

In early December, CBS had sold about 90 percent of the available commercial time for the Super Bowl, with prices for a 30-second spot running close to $3 million. The game typically includes 50 to 60 spots.

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Soccer World Cup sponsor Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Budweiser will give up some of its rights at fan parks as part of a strategic decision to focus its beer presence in stadiums at this year’s finals in South Africa.

The decision will allow other brewers to sell beer at fan parks — venues in public areas where supporters can watch games on big screens — during the tournament.

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NEW YORK -(BUSINESS WIRE) Tiger Woods, LeBron James, and Phil Mickelson top the Bloomberg BusinessWeek 2010 Power 100 ranking of the most powerful athletes in sports. To determine who the 100 most powerful athletes are on- and off-the-field, Bloomberg BusinessWeek teamed with CSE, formerly known as Career Sports & Entertainment, an integrated sports and entertainment company that connects brands with fans, as well as host of The $ports Take and BusinessWeek.com columnist Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek, both of Horrow Sports Ventures and co-authors of the soon-to-be-released book, Beyond the Box Score, to create the 2010 version of the Power 100.

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SINGAPORE – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd committed its sponsorship with the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (Singapore 2010) as a Worldwide Partner and Presenting Partner of the Digital Concierge (DC) for Singapore 2010. Under the sponsorship, Samsung will provide over 5,000 sets of Samsung OmniaLITE (B7300) mobile phones to athletes and key team officials. The cutting edge Samsung smart phone will be preloaded with the “Digital Concierge for Singapore 2010″ application that will enable users to obtain Singapore 2010-related content and services anytime, anywhere.

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SINGAPORE – -The Singapore Slingers have announced that the world’s largest package delivery company UPS has become the title sponsor of the Singapore Slingers 2009/2010 playoff series: “Slingers ABL Playoff Series 2010 brought to you by UPS”

The sponsorship is effective immediately with signage and sponsor benefits to be in place for the Slingers first home game during the inaugural ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) Finals. Special items in place would be a “Best Delivery presented by UPS” where Slinger fans can vote for the best Singapore Slingers play of the season. UPS will also present the UPS Community award to a professional player of the Singapore Slingers who contributed his time and effort to Singapore community involvement.

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LONDON (Reuters) – The Premier League has lifted the transfer embargo it imposed on Portsmouth in October but has limited the club’s dealing to loans and free signings until the window closes next week.

In a statement on the club’s website (www.portsmouthfc.co.uk) on Tuesday, chief executive Peter Storrie said: “We are delighted the transfer embargo for player registrations has been lifted by the Premier League.

“(Manager) Avram Grant will now be trying to bring in players to strengthen the squad in loan and free deals.”

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