New Zealand

New Zealand Football (NZF) has agreed a multi-million-dollar, five-year sponsorship deal with the ASB bank described as the biggest in the history of the sport in the country.

New Zealand Cricket chairman Alan Isaac will be the next head of world cricket after Australia and New Zealand finally had their candidate for the vice-presidency of the International Cricket Council approved by the sport’s world governing body.

Discussions are taking place between the International Rugby Board, New Zealand pay-operator Sky Television and UK commercial broadcaster ITV to determine whether the 2011 Rugby World Cup will be broadcast in 3D.

New Zealand will set up a NZ$9.5 million (£4.5 million) lottery fund to support arts and entertainment for next year's rugby World Cup, organisers said yesterday.

Bank and asset manager Investec extended its sponsorship of the Tri Nations in New Zealand for a further five years and additionally took the New Zealand naming rights for SANZAR’s domestic rugby competition, the expanded Super Rugby 15 competition, from 2011.

Auckland, New Zealand will host the 2012 International Triathlon Union World Championship Series Grand Finals after beating bids from Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

Wine brand Brancott Estate will be an official sponsor of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) has appointed professional services provider KPMG as its Official Tournament Supplier of accounting and tax advisory services for Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand.

The Sri Lanka cricket board has said it will not support the nomination of John Howard, former Australian Prime Minister, for the vice-presidency of the International Cricket Council.

Jock Hobbs, the chairman of both New Zealand Rugby Union and Rugby New Zealand 2011 Ltd, has left both his posts after being diagnosed with a form of leukaemia.

New Zealand tourism companies should expect extra income from an estimated 85,000 visitors when the country hosts the Rugby World Cup next year, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

Twenty20 cricket comes to Florida next month when New Zealand takes on Sri Lanka in an international match.

Tour packages for the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand continue to sell at record levels as organisers of English travel packages report a 37 per cent increase in sales compared with the same stage of the 2007 tournament in France.

German sportswear company Puma will enter a team in the next Volvo Ocean Race, in 2011-12, after finishing second in the 2008-09 competition.

April 27 is the launch date for the 2011 Rugby World Cup ticket sales, when 750,000 seats at the group stage matches are opened up to fans.

John Howard, the former Australian prime minister, is on course to become president of the International Cricket Committee in 2012 after being jointly nominated by Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket.

HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, President of the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC), and Marisol Casado, President of the International Triathlon Union (ITU), were elected as members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at its 122nd General Assembly in Vancouver on Friday.

Corporate hospitality packages for next year’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand have totalled just under NZ$25 million (£11 million) in sales a week after launching, according to Rugby Travel & Hospitality NZ.