February/March 2011 edition


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World figure Skating Championships in Tokyo has been cancelled. Vettel starts as he ended in the last F1 season with a win (in Australia) as the 2011/2012 action kicks off.  Tiger Woods has racked up a 17 match no-win run. Brazilian footballer, Ronaldo will hang up his football boots at the age of 34 years.  Australian Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe is back in the game of swimming after early retirement.  He is now joined in the pool by fellow Australian Michael Klim who is also coming out of retirement, as the two of them attempt to qualify for the London 2012 Olympics.   Since West Ham FC was awarded the Olympic Stadium venue post Games, the value of the club has rocketed to almost double the price; however, with Leyton FC - the existing 'local club' taking West Ham to court for 'invading its patch', the future of the proposed multi-purpose venue is still on hold.   Tiger Woods has apologized for spitting during the Dubai Desert Classic.   It is very unlikely that the 2012 Athletics British Trials will be held at the Olympic Stadium.  The wife of the Kenyan Olympic Marathon Champion, Samuel Wanjiru has withdrawn her accusation against him for attempted murder. Gareth Thomas is the first rugby professional to go public that he is gay.   Italian cyclist, Riccardo Ricco has been sacked by his Vacansoleil team after his lone attempt to give himself a blood transfusion which left him spending 12 days in hospital with a heart infection.  He is also facing anti-doping proceedings from Italy's anti-doping body.   Rogue agents are using Facebook to lure 'under-age talent'.  David Beckham's US$25 million has been thrown out of the US courts on a techicality.  He was accused by an American showbiz magazine of cheating on his wife Victoria.   When Birmingham played Everton and Peter Walton the referee forgot his yellow (and red?) cards he effectively gave a 'mime' version which was just as effectively accepted by the player!   Ticket touts selling illegal tickets for the Olympic and Paralympic Games will receive fines equal to US$34,000.  A serious disincentive!  A "blue monster' storm caused havoc in Miami at the outset of the WGC Cadillac Championship.  F1 driver, Mark Webber has tipped Ferrari as the team to beat in the upcoming Formula One season.  Robin Soderling took the ATP Open 13 title in Marseille with a win over Marin Cillic.  He has now won 17 of the 18 matches he has played in 2011.  Volunteers who have put their name down for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games may get a trial run during this year's Royal Wedding. Formula One race team Williams are planning an IPO with a listing on the Frankfurt stock exchange.  Sir Frank Williams will retain his stock; while co-founder, Patrick Head will net as much as US$80 million as he disposes of the majority of his stake.  The Cheltenham Festival will for the first time be shown in high-def on Channel Four following Racing Media's investment of US$12 million on a fleet of HD broadcast trucks. Runners and riders will be looking their Cheltenham Festival best for the occasion! Brit David Haye is scheduled to fight Ukrainian Wladmir Klitschko on July 2, 2011 in Germany.  Long awaited! Uefa, soccer's European governing body, has launched a tender for broadcast rights in France for Euro 2012 and Euro 2016, the sport's European Championships.   The Omega London2012 Countdown 500days clock clocked off after just a few hours - much to the embarrassment of the Organizing Committee!  Online ticket purchases for London 2012 can only be paid for with a VISA card - but if the expiry date is imminent your card will not be able to complete the transaction!

spotlight on: a bitter dispute?

The British Olympic Association has made a surprise decision to refer a long-running dispute over its funding in the run-up to next year's Olympic Games in London to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been asked to settle a row over money between the British Olympic Association (BOA) and organizers of the London 2012 Games.

The BOA, which is facing a £10 million funding gap ahead of the Olympics, has claimed it did not get a fair deal when an agreement over sponsorship income was struck with the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) in 2005.

Specifically, the two parties have been unable to agree on whether net costs involved in the staging of the Paralympic Games should be separated from any operating profit generated by the Olympics. The BOA is due to receive 20% of any surplus, but its belief that the costs should be separate is at odds with LOCOG.

Critics of the BOA say they have embarked on an unnecessary spending spree, with accounts showing that the body’s overall salary bill has more than doubled from £2 million to £5 million since 2005. However, a statement from the BOA read: “As the National Olympic Committee, our principal responsibility is to safeguard future opportunities for Olympic athletes and sport throughout the United Kingdom.”

The statement added: “We are engaged in a formal process to ensure that any surplus resulting from the London 2012 Olympic Games is used for precisely those purposes. Quite simply, our objective is this: to guarantee that the London 2012 Olympic Games deliver a meaningful post-Games legacy that is beneficial to Olympic sport and athletes, present and future, throughout the UK.”

LOCOG responded with a statement that read: “The vision for London 2012, created by the BOA, Government and the Mayor of London and set out in the bid book is for one festival of sport, with an integrated Olympic and Paralympic Games, underpinned by a single budget. It is sad that this vision is now disputed by the new leadership of the BOA. We are grateful that the IOC is helping to resolve the issue.”

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The real cost of the London 2012 Olympic Games is £2.7 billion more than the UK government has stated, according to UK newspaper the Telegraph.

The newspaper said the announced sum of £9.3 billion of public Olympic spending “substantially understates” the true position which is at least £12 billion.

It also said much of the extra spending is “hidden” or has been “buried in obscure documents and reports”.

A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "We were always clear that there would be additional spending by other public bodies in addition to the main £9.3 billion allocation. The Olympics will leave lasting benefits for the whole country. It is an investment in our future, not some sort of burden."

The extra £2.7 billion reportedly includes £1.15 billion spent by London Mayor Boris Johnson's London Development Agency to buy and clean up the Olympic site and £269 million in interest payments and £90 million in Olympic grants.

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hot spot: test events at London 2012 venues

The 2012 Olympic Stadium in London will stage the British Universities Championships (BUCS) as one of the test events ahead of the Games.

The list of planned test events has been revealed, with the BUCS event set to be staged at the 80,000-seat venue from May 4-7 next year, less than three months before the opening ceremony.

The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) will sell tickets for the Championships and other test events, including an invitational marathon in May this year.

“Our approach to operational delivery is similar to that of an athlete,” said LOCOG chair Lord Coe. “You do not want to face any conditions at competition time that you have not prepared for. When the world's greatest Olympic and Paralympic athletes come to London in the summer of 2012, every aspect of our delivery needs to be the best it can be.”

The Olympic Velodrome will host a leg of the Track Cycling World Cup in February 2012 and the BMX circuit will stage part of the 2011 BMX Supercross World Cup. The International Swimming Federation (FINA) Diving World Cup will also take place at the Games’ Aquatics Centre in February next year before the British Swimming Championships is held at the venue the following month.

Basketball will be the first sport to be tested at the Olympic Park while the Badminton World Championships will take place at Wembley Arena. The London ExCel Arena will also hold test events for boxing, judo, table tennis, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling.

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And the legacy of the Paris 2012 bid to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic has just bore fruit as The French Open will stay at Roland Garros after the country’s tennis federation (FFT) gave the go-ahead for a major revamp of the Paris complex.

Three other projects had been bidding to host the event from 2016, but Paris took 70% of the votes over Marne-la-Vallee in the final round after Gonesse and Versailles were eliminated. The upgrade will cost Eur273 million and FFT president Jean Gachassin insisted he was happy with the final decision.

“By enlarging, modernizing and completely rethinking the historic site of Roland Garros at Porte d’Auteuil, the FFT has chosen a magnificent and unique project, which will continue to distinguish us from other major tournaments,” said Gachassin.

Roland Garros has staged the tournament since 1928, but in recent years the 21-acre site – the smallest of all four tennis grand slam events – has struggled to cope with the increasing demand from fans.

The upgraded Roland Garros will cover almost 35 acres and include 35 outside courts, a new 5,000-seat stadium and a new press centre. The main Philippe Chatrier court will be redesigned and feature a retractable roof.

This will put the venue on a par with Wimbledon!

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hot shot: own goal? the latest Fifa financials and schedule updates:

FIFA's latest financial report confirmed that expenditure was $3.56 billion, $105 million over budget due of additional investments in football development and a $31 million overspend on the 2010 World Cup.

FIFA's annual profits have grown steadily from $49 million in 2007 to $202 million in 2010, while the ruling body's reserves have reached $1.28 billion:

“FIFA is financially strong and dependent on the World Cup,” said director of finance Markus Kattner. “This illustrates the necessity for FIFA to build up and have sufficient reserves to decrease its dependency on the World Cup.”

In addition, FIFA confirmed that the berths for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil will remain the same as in 2010. Under that format, Europe is guaranteed 13 spots, Africa will have five, Asia will have four and Central and North America will have three.
South America – in addition to Brazil qualifying automatically as host – will have four spots. South America, Asia, Central and North America and Oceania were also given a half-berth, meaning one country from each region will qualify for a two-legged playoff series for an opportunity to advance as one of the final two qualifiers. The play-off series will be decided by an open draw in future, rather than pre-arranged pairings.

The FIFA Executive Committee also announced that the 2015 Women’s World Cup and 2014 Under-20 Women’s World Cup will be staged by Canada, the 2013 Under-20 World Cup will be hosted by Turkey and the 2015 Under-20 World Cup will take place in New Zealand. It was also decided that the 2013 Under-17 World Cup will be held in the United Arab Emirates, the 2015 Under-17 World Cup will take place in Chile, the 2012 Women’s Under-20 World Cup will be staged in Uzbekistan and the 2014 Under-17 Women’s World Cup will be hosted by Costa Rica.


sidelines: no meeting of minds on both of sides

Early March 2011 highlighted the protracted disussions between The NFL Players’ Association and the League.  After sixteen days of discussion, and having greed to a 24-hour extension in labour talks on as a deadline to reach a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and avoid a potential lockout closed in, the NFL players' union decertified - the league's first work stoppage since 1987 a near certainty.

Decertifying, clears the way for individual players to file antitrust lawsuits against the NFL, which opted out of the CBA in 2008. It renounced its right to represent the players in contract bargaining.
All is set for a lengthy court fight that could potentially threaten the 2011 season. The last work stoppage came when the players struck 24 years ago, leading to games with replacement players.

The players' union immediately shut down its websites — NFLPA.org and NFLPlayers.com. A search for NFLPA.org yielded this message: "Error 404: Football Not Found. Please be patient as we work on resolving this. We are sorry for the inconvenience."

Back shortsandsports stories:

Talks over how to divide the NFL's US$9 billion annual revenues had reached stalemate. Other key issues include the expansion of the regular season to an 18-game schedule, a rookie wage scale and pensions for former players. The announcement of an extension came just hours after US President Barack Obama urged the warring sides to reach a deal without the need for political intervention.

“We've got owners, most of whom are worth close to a billion dollars,” Obama told a press conference at the White House. “You've got players who are making millions of dollars. My working assumption at a time when people are having to cut back, compromise and worry about making the mortgage and pay for their kids' college education is that the two parties should be able to work it out without the President of the United States intervening.”

The League’s owners currently take $1 billion out of the $9 billion annual turnover to cover their costs before dividing the rest, with the players taking around 60% of the remaining US$8 billion.

National Football League (NFL)  owners and players keep trying to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to replace the current agreement which expires on March 4, 2011 but things are not looking good. Relations between the League and the NFL Players' Association continues to be put under scrutiny as the union upped the ante by filing a collusion claim against NFL owners.

   While a lockout next season is looking more probably as each day goes by, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has called for “commitment”.

The union and sport’s richest league remain worlds apart on a number of issues, including the players' share of revenues; a projected 18-game regular season; and a rookie wage scale.

Jeff Pash, the League's chief negotiator, said that no substantial negotiations have taken place since Thanksgiving, and added that talks since then had been "not nearly at the pace and not nearly with the focus that is necessary to make real progress".

The union has taken the debate public by launching a "Let Us Play" campaign via social media to allow the fans to dictate the business end of this high-profile dispute.   But with both sides entrenched public opinion may also be polarized.

 

fashion icon..... New York- home of sport and entertainment

Madison Square Garden, which is in the midst of rebuilding the company's namesake arena, announced increases in ticket prices for Knicks and Rangers games for the coming season. Knicks' average prices will increase by 49 percent with the most expensive at a mouth-watering US$3,600; and the cost of New York Rangers tickets will increase by 23 percent with these seats topping out at a mere US$1,200. Cheapest Knicks seats will continue to cost US$10; and the price of Rangers' cheapest tickets will go up two dollars to US$39.

Forty-eight percent (8,623 Knicks seats) will increase by 15 percent or less; whilst around 11,800 Rangers tickets will cost a maximum additional ten percent.

The much needed modernization and expansion of the Garden, will be completed in stages over the next two years.  It will include wider concourses, improved sightlines, more comfortable seating and new suites, clubs and amenities. Expected cost: between US$775 million and US$850 million - close to the cost of a new build!

The process will involve keeping the venue open and capitalizing on the resident teams upping their game.

home and away: warming up for the world cup

Brazilian football is spreading its wings as it now goes head-to-head with the Premier League and fans in the UK.  Available Globo TV Sports and Premier Sports TV, on Sky channel 433, the deal includes coverage of the 2011 São Paulo and Brazilian championships. Two games per week will broadcast along with the 30 minute weekly highlights show ‘Footbrazil’.

A Premier Sports spokesperson commented ‘This is great news for football fans in the UK who will now have the chance to watch one of the best leagues in the world every week. We really are the home of South American Football in the UK with the Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, Argentine Primera division and now the Brazilian leagues.’

Premier Sports TV operates on the Sky platform on channel 433 in the UK. On top of great South American football they also broadcast the National Football league (NRL) from Australia, the Blue Square Bet Premier, NASCAR Sprint Cup and monthly live boxing from around the globe.

Globo TV Sports was launched in 2005, taking to the world all the excitement of Brazilian football, beach volleyball, motorsports and marathons held in Brazil. Present on five continents, the distributor reaches millions of football fans in regions such as Africa, North and South America, Europe and China. Under the “Brazilian Magic Football” brand, the best championships from Brazil are transmitted live with commentary, narration and statistics in English. Globo´s portfolio also includes the weekly “Footbrazil” program which goes behind the scenes, the training sessions and presents player profiles. The electronic magazine is transmitted via satellite in English to the whole world.

sport culture: olympic aspirations

The second edition of the International Forum on Sport, Peace and Development will take place at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in Geneva from 10 to 11 May 2011.

  Jointly organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOU) and the Office of the Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General on Sport for Development and Peace, the event will review policies and practices, strengthen cooperation, assess the successes and challenges of using sport as a tool for human development and peace promotion, and pave the way for future action in this field.

The themes will address issues such as how is sport used as a catalyst for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Is sport delivering on legacy?
Developing a culture of peace: sporting diplomacy
Conflict prevention and resolution: giving peace a sporting chance
Next steps
As reflected by the themes, strong focus will be placed on how sport is contributing to the MDGs - goals that have been identified by the UN as some of the world’s most pressing issues and require the support of everyone.

IOC President Jacques Rogge and Wilfried Lemke, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, will chair the Forum, which will include participants from the Olympic family, governments, the UN system, NGOs and the academic world.

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starting blocks: betting on horse racing?

In an unprecedented move, 26 of Britain's racecourses are to open their doors for a whole month, giving the public the chance to watch horse racing free of charge. The Lovetheraces.com venture follows on from the success of last year's 'free racing week' when an additional 40,000 visitors filed through the turnstiles.

Doncaster Racecourse has given away its full allocation of 18,500 free tickets for the Royal Wedding day fixture on April 29 while almost 10,000 tickets have been claimed at Ascot for the meeting on April 27. There are still free tickets available for 20 of the 29 fixtures covered by the initiative.
"This is a tremendously encouraging start," said Racing for Change chief executive Rod Street. "The public really has taken to the idea of the free racing month, so we hope not only to attract many new customers but also to reward existing followers of the sport."

Street added: "The aim is to appeal to people who have been infrequent visitors to horse racing in the past or who have never been to a racecourse."

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Hopefully this will redress the balance of public opinion after a tragic accident took place at Newbury race-course when two horses were electrocuted in the paddock just before the start of the race.  The meeting was subsequently cancelled and an investigation into the incident follows.

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life after: winning and the inevitable horrors of political instability and natural disasters

Organizers of the postponed Bahrain Formula One grand prix have been given until May 1 to decide whether or not they will be able to stage the race later in the 2011 calendar.

The season-opening race was originally scheduled to take place this coming early March, but the Kingdom of Bahrain withdrew from hosting the opening round due to the instability caused by a political uprising in the country. The opening race of the campaign will now take place on March 27 in Melbourne, Australia.

Following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) in Paris on Tuesday, motorsport’s governing body, the FIA, released a statement to confirm that the Bahrain Motor Federation has been instructed “to communicate by May 1 at the latest if the Bahrain Grand Prix can be organized in 2011”.

Formula One Management (FOM) chief executive officer Bernie Ecclestone has previously indicated his willingness to seek a new date for the Bahrain race, and last week he said: “If they want the race then we want to be able to supply it for them. If there is peace in Bahrain, we will be there.”

A release on the FOM website stated: “On May 1 Bahrain’s Crown Prince – HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa – is expected to inform the FIA about the possibility of hosting a race in the country, and then together with Formula One Management, the FIA will make a final decision about a new slot for the race during the 2011 season.”

The statement added: “Formula One group CEO Bernie Ecclestone had hoped a new date could be settled on before the season got underway, but given the circumstances, it was mutually agreed that a final decision would be made in May.”

Bahrain will not have to forfeit its US$40 million staging fee after calling off the opening Formula One grand prix of the season, according to Bernie Ecclestone.

F1 supremo Ecclestone clarified the situation after reports suggested that Bahrain would still have to foot the bill after a wave of anti-government protests led to Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa announcing on Monday that the country would not be able to host the race on March 13.

“The fee that is normally being paid for the event is not being paid,” Ecclestone told the Daily Telegraph. “I am not charging them for a race they are not getting.”

Ecclestone added: “Whether they are covered by their insurers for loss of revenues, ticket sales etc., I am not sure. But if anything is force majeure then that (the political unrest) is. It is similar to if an earthquake had struck – no one could have foreseen that a month ago.”

Ecclestone is still hopeful of finding a place for Bahrain on the 2011 calendar, although it will be a tough task as 19 races are scheduled, starting with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 27.

“If and when it is rescheduled they will pay their usual fee,” he said, confirming that the $40?million figure widely quoted was “close” to the mark. “If everything is peaceful, which we hope it will be, then we will try our best to fit it in.”

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Christchurch’s hopes of hosting Rugby World Cup matches later this year have faded after the New Zealand government revealed that the city’s AMI Stadium has suffered significant damage.

It was initially reported that the venue, which is due to stage seven games during the tournament in September and October, had escaped major damage after a devastating earthquake shattered the city on February 22, 2011.

However, Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully painted a bleak picture in an interview with the New Zealand Herald, and admitted that the final decision on Christchurch’s involvement would rest with the International Rugby Board (IRB).

“There is a serious liquefaction issue on the ground itself,” said McCully. “There are parts of the ground where there is bulge in the playing surface of some significance. I'm told there are some structural issues with the stadium itself, but obviously we aren't going to rely on my assessment. We'll wait for the engineers' reports to come through.”

He added: “We're operating on the basis that, if it can happen, we'll make it happen. We're waiting to see if the stadium is able to be made ready for the hosting of the games, and then we'll look at the other issues associated with Christchurch's capacity to accommodate people and provide the appropriate infrastructure. (But) none of this works without a stadium.”

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