Sir Craig Reedie, Britain’s International Olympic Committee Executive Board member, is ecstatic after the race for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics Games is no longer a one horse race.

The Italian capital of Rome was for a long period the only confirmed contender to host the event, leading to speculation that the battle to host the 2020 Games would be done and dusted.

However, in recent months, Rome has been officially joined in the 2020 race by Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo, while there may also be bids from the Qatari capital Doha and the South African city of Durban before the IOC deadline is reached on September 1.

Sir Craig played a crucial role in bringing the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to London at the IOC Session in Singapore in 2005 when he was then chairman of the British Olympic Association (BOA).

The race for 2012 saw London up against Moscow, Madrid, New York and favourites Paris, with the capital overhauling their French rivals to claim a dramatic victory, and Sir Craig believes the race for 2020 could now emulate that famous battle that saw London unexpectedly triumph.

“I’m delighted to see that the race for the 2020 Games will feature several different candidates from different parts of the world,” said Sir Craig to insidethegames.

“The race for 2012 is without a doubt the best race for the Olympics and Paralympics the IOC have ever had.

“There was such excitement as we had five major players with Moscow, Madrid, New York, Paris and obviously London.

“The 2016 race was also very distinguished with Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio all involved.

“There was a momentary concern when we had one candidate competing for 2020 when only Rome had declared an interest.

“Rome is an amazing city and could undoubtedly host a superb Olympics in 2020 but there are clear problems if there is only one city involved in a bid race.

“But now it looks like a real competition between at least four very strong contenders.

“We have Madrid back again, who are presumably thinking along the Pyeongchang 2018 lines of third time lucky.

“We also have Tokyo back after a fantastic bid last time out and they are popular after they ran the Games wonderfully well in 1964.

“We also have Istanbul there who are one of the new and coming cities in the world complete with ancient traditions.

“So I think the race for 2020 is now shaping up very nicely indeed and the IOC is delighted to have such a fantastic combination of different bids.

“Hopefully we could see something like we saw in Singapore in 2005 when London won that amazing race to be able to host 2012.”

Around 1.8 million applicants for London 2012 Olympic Games tickets are being reminded payments are being taken from their accounts from today, May 16, with 6.6 million available tickets being awarded from over 20 million applications.

A London 2012 spokesman said: “People should make sure they have sufficient funds available from this date.”

Successful bidders will be notified of the tickets they have won by 24 June, meaning that in some cases, money will be taken out of people’s accounts before they know which tickets they have been able to buy.

Refunds are not available but London 2012 will launch its official resale platform early next year, through which people can offer their tickets for resale at face value – although there is no guarantee they will be bought.

Any tickets unsold by organisers are expected to be made available in further ballots, along with the possibility of additional tickets for higher-profile events being released as venues are tested and capacities finalised.

The opening and closing ceremonies were unsurprisingly over-subscribed, as well as big athletics events, swimming nights, track cycling and some of the cheaper tickets, with oversubscribed events being decided by a ballot.

Ticket allocation is completely random, so some unlucky applicants might end up without any, while others may be allocated all the tickets they applied for.

New figures have been released by Sports Marketing Surveys revealing the significance of Barclays sponsorship of the ATP World Tour Finals.

Latest sponsorship awareness research from IFM Sports Marketing Surveys shows that Barclays’ investment is reaping the reward of increased media coverage and free-to-air broadcasting on BBC with awareness increasing 80% on 2009 amongst the general public in London and 60% amongst avid tennis fans in the UK.

These latest findings come from IFM Sports Marketing Surveys’ brand impact tracker, ambulance Sponsatrak.

The success of this summer’s FIFA World Cup in South Africa has led the president of the African Athletics Confederation to announce the continent is considering a bid for the IAAF World Athletics Championships in 2017.

Hamad Kalkaba Malboum said: “We are encouraged by the recent FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Morocco is most likely to bid for the 2017 World Championships and, if they do, we think they can win.

“Besides Morocco, we know that South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria and Egypt can all stage a successful World Championships but because Morocco tried the bid for 2015 we think they stand a good chance in 2017.”

The 2011 World Championships will be held in Daegu, South Korea, while the 2013 event will be in Moscow, Russia. London and Beijing have announced bids for the 2015 Championships. The event had never been held in Africa.

The England and Wales Cricket Board have announced today the appointment of Tom Harrison as its new Chief Executive Officer.

A former professional cricketer for Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, anesthetist Tom joins the ECB from the leading international sports marketing agency, IMG, where he was Head of Cricket and responsible for the IMG Media business in the UK and Ireland across all sports and all platforms.

During his time at IMG, Tom managed all IMG’s broadcaster relationships, their UK based federation relationships and has worked with cricket boards around the world overseeing global media rights sales for Cricket Australia, Cricket South Africa and the IPL.

Tom has significant relationships in Asia having worked for IMG’s media business in the Indian sub-continent for two years and for ESPN Star Sports in Singapore for four years prior to that. Tom will be returning to the ECB having worked for nearly four years for the organisation between January 2003 and December 2006 in various roles, latterly as Head of Marketing.

Chairman, Giles Clarke commented, “Tom has come through a rigorous recruitment process which included us meeting with candidates in leadership positions from cricket, other sports and from outside of the industry. He was the unanimous choice of the interview panel who were impressed with his energy, passion for the game and his positive, bold, creative and ambitious vision for the future of cricket in England and Wales.

“Tom has a proven track record of success in his career to date and a wealth of relevant experience both in the UK and internationally. His knowledge of both the professional and recreational game as a former first class cricketer and as a Premier League club captain of Teddington CC has provided him with great insight into the challenges and opportunities facing the game domestically. Finally, it was important to the panel that we chose a leader who would inspire all those connected with the game and in Tom, we believe we have found a leader with the charisma and vision to achieve this.”

Tom Harrison commented, “As a lifelong cricket fan, I feel extremely honoured and privileged to have been offered this opportunity to lead the ECB as its new Chief Executive Officer. I am a passionate supporter of the game across all formats, at all levels and I am genuinely excited by the substantial opportunities that the game has moving forward in this country.”

Tom will be fulfilling his contractual responsibilities at IMG and unavailable for further media comment until he officially begins his role with the ECB in mid-January.

League 13, an association of professional rugby league players within Super League, has revealed its concern for the fresh financial difficulties to hit the Bradford Bulls.

The club endured a difficult 2012 and just when it looked like things might finally be looking up for the fallen giants a new crisis has emerged.

The Bulls’ new owners said last week that £400,000 needs to be saved in order to rescue the Super League club once again, much to the dismay of supporters.

“League 13 is saddened to hear of the new financial difficulties that the Bradford Bulls are experiencing at the current time,” read a statement. “Although the club have already conducted meetings with the playing staff, League 13 has not been invited to take part in those meetings and, as a consequence, we have not been able to advise the players at this time.

“Following contact from our members at Bradford, we have now made contact with the club and the RFL this weekend and we hope to receive answers to a number of questions as a matter of urgency. Once these answers have been received, we will be in a position to advise the players fully and seek a resolution to this situation that benefits all parties.

“Like all those concerned with the game of rugby league, we had hoped that the difficulties experienced by the Bradford club in 2012 were a thing of the past. During the administration of the club at that time, League 13 helped to build a bridge between the players, the RFL and the club. We are determined to do so again.

“Nevertheless, the problems being experienced by Bradford only serve to highlight the paucity of money in Super League, despite the excellent product on the field.

“Following the success of the World Cup, the domestic game now needs a new direction to take advantage of the commercial opportunities available to it, so that financial trouble for clubs becomes a thing of the past and the players are properly rewarded for their outstanding skill, passion and bravery.”

Global motorsport marketing agency Just Marketing International (JMI) has announced it has sealed contracts with Sir Jackie Stewart, symptoms  OBE, and Niki Lauda to represent the Formula 1 legends.

Both these three-time world champions hold key positions in Formula One and have chosen JMI to represent their commercial interests, which will be provided by JMI’s international office in London.

Sir Jackie Stewart moves to JMI after a long association with IMG Worldwide that lasted more than 20 years. As well as winning the Formula One Drivers’ World Championship in 1969, 1971 and 1973, Sir Jackie was also a key figure in the implementation of many safety measures that are now taken for granted in motorsport.

Sir Jackie became a respected broadcaster on American television and was a consultant and spokesperson for the Ford Motor Company before returning to Formula 1 as the owner of the Stewart Grand Prix team. After selling his team to Ford in 2000, Sir Jackie took on more ambassadorial roles including HSBC and The Royal Bank of Scotland. Sir Jackie has also retained relationships with Rolex and Moët-Hennessy for 45 and 44 years respectively.

“I am very excited about joining JMI as they are deeply involved in motorsport at the highest level and for me, particularly in Formula One,” said Sir Jackie. “I had a very enjoyable and productive relationship with IMG for 45 years, but they are no longer in Formula One and therefore, my joining JMI is a very logical and practical engagement. I am looking forward to working with Zak Brown and David Webb, who I have known for many years, and their experience and relationships with Formula One are exactly what is required at this stage in my career.”

Niki Lauda won the Formula One Drivers’ World Championship in 1975, 1977, and 1984. He nearly won the title in 1976 following an epic duel with James Hunt, which was recently dramatised in the movie RUSH.

In addition to an illustrious racing career, Niki founded and ran two airlines, has written five books and acted as a consultant for Scuderia Ferrari, as well as team principal for Jaguar Racing. He is the non-executive chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team and works for German television network, RTL.

“I am delighted to be joining JMI,” said Niki. “I have long been aware of their work in Formula One and I am looking forward to being involved with some of their exciting projects.”

“Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda are legendary global figures within motorsport, so supporting them with their business endeavours is something everyone at JMI is really looking forward to,” said Zak Brown, CEO of JMI.