Italy

The decisive final day of dramatic racing at the America's Cup (AC) World Series World Series in Newport will be shown coast to coast in the USA on NBC on July 1, signalling the return of live AC racing to network television in the United States for the first time in 20 years.

The Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA (National Basketball Association), and top Euroleague Basketball teams Alba Berlin from Germany, EA7 Emporio Armani from Italy, and Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul from Turkey will play a series of pre-season games this October as part of NBA Europe Live 2012 presented by BBVA.

The official UEFA EURO 2012 app has hit the number one spot in four European territories with over 4.5 million downloads.

The Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) has announced that the Zebras franchise will replace Aironi in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup competitions in the 2012-13 season.

One of the key objectives of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s broadcast strategy is “to ensure the long-term financial future of the Olympic Movement and the Olympic Games.”

Juventus has announced a three-year shirt sponsorship deal with American automobile marque Jeep worth Eur35 million.

The RaboDirect PRO12 rugby union league has lost one of its two Italian clubs, with Aironi’s licence having been revoked by the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) due to ongoing financial pressures.

Italian football lost a total of Eur428 million last season, with the findings of a new report painting a worrying picture of the domestic game.

American-owned Serie A club AS Roma has made its first serious effort to tap into the US market by striking a major six-year agreement with Disney for its ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.

The International University Sports Federation (FISU) has announced that Trentino in Italy will be the new host of the 2013 Winter Universiade after the organisation stripped the event from Maribor.

Puma has agreed an extension to its partnership with the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), with the agreement set to break new ground by positioning the company as the global rights-holder of the FIGC’s entire licensing portfolio.

Mario Pescante resigned from his role as International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president on Tuesday after admitting he was “embarrassed” by Rome’s early exit from the race to host the 2020 Olympic Games.

The runners and riders in the race to host the 2020 Olympic Games were reduced to five on Tuesday as Rome was forced to drop its bid after having failed to secure the support of the Italian government.

Puma has enhanced its ties with Italian football by agreeing a “long-term” kit deal with Serie A club Palermo.

Serie A giant Internazionale has agreed a deal for Oknoplast to become the club’s fifth ‘top sponsor’.

Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett is poised to become the latest National Basketball Association (NBA) star to invest in a leading football club by acquiring a minority stake in AS Roma.