Eighth time major winner, discount  Tom Watson told reporters Tuesday at the Australian Open that golf shouldn’t be in the 2016 Olympics and that competing for a gold medal will only “dilute” the four major championships.

“I don’t want to pour cold water on it but I don’t think it should be in the Olympic Games,” Watson, 63, said. “I still think of Olympics as track and field and not golf, to be honest with you. We have our most important championships (the four majors). You have golf in the Olympics, you have diluted the importance, in a sense, of the four major championships.”

Golf is returning to the Olympics, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, for the first time since 1904.

The German Touring Car Championship (DTM) and the Japanese Super GT have signed a cooperation contract that allows new manufacturers to enter the two racing series.

The new contract, which starts in 2014 and runs through 2017, allows Japanese brands Honda, Nissan and Toyota to join the DTM and German brands Audi, BMW and Mercedes to join the Super GT.

A DTM spokesperson said: “it is not clear yet, if a Japanese manufacture takes advantage of this opportunity and joins the DTM in 2014.”

Mercedes Motorsports Dir Norbert Haug said, “It is a positive development that there is interest in other countries. Whoever wants to join the DTM is welcome.”

The DTM’s technical regulations are the same as those of the Super GT. {jcomments on}

 

Following his appointment as Formula One chairman, businessman Peter Brabeck, said the motor racing series had not made a decision on whether to proceed with a much discussed $10 billion listing on the stock market in Singapore.

Speaking to Reuters over a trackside lunch with Formula One commercial chief Bernie Ecclestone also in attendance, Brabeck said the business had a plan in hand to replace the octogenarian Ecclestone but hoped it would not be needed for a number of years yet.

“He has a fantastic motivation. He has very good health,” said Brabeck, who is chairman of Swiss food group Nestle and was confirmed in the Formula One role at a board meeting in Monaco on Friday.

“As Bernie has said, you can’t replace Frank Sinatra but you can find another singer. One day we are going to find another singer and he or she will be different. The show will go on,” added Brabeck, an Austrian.

Ecclestone has built up the Formula One business over the past 40 years, turning the current 20-race series into a money-spinner that is expected to produce revenues of $2 billion this year.

Life after the billionaire Ecclestone was seen as one of the risk factors for investors in any flotation. The appointment of heavyweight figures like Brabeck, who has had a small stake in the business for the last couple of years, to high profile roles was seen as underpinning its status.

Formula One has been given the green light to list in Singapore, with speculation of a market debut next month. However, market uncertainties and the turmoil surrounding the Facebook IPO are making its owners weigh their words carefully.

“It was the first time that the board had a report on the preparation, there was pre-valuation of the whole process. I think we made a step forwards but no decision has been taken,” Brabeck said.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Switzerland’s UBS have been hired to lead the IPO. The two U.S. houses have both faced a backlash over their role in the messy Facebook flotation.

viagra buy helvetica, prostate sans-serif;”>NFL owners have approved a resolution to continue playing regular-season games in the United Kingdom through the 2016 season.

The vote, which came at the league’s fall business meeting in Houston, authorizes the league to schedule regular-season games in the U.K. in each of the next five years (2012-2016), including to determine the number of games per season, the venues, and the competing teams.

The resolution will allow teams to volunteer to play at least one regular-season game per year as a home team in the U.K. for up to five years. This will enable the league to determine the appropriate number of U.K. games per season, based on the popularity of the sport in the market and the number of teams that volunteer to play as a home team.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, said: “The response to NFL games being played in the U.K. continues to be exceptional. Because of the outstanding support of our British fans, we are confident that hosting additional games in the U.K. will be well received and support our goal of bringing football to more fans in the U.K. and beyond.”

Chris Parsons, NFL Vice President of International, added: “When the initial resolution was approved in 2006, the thinking at the time was that we would have two new teams every year. As the series evolved, we felt as though having a team return to the U.K. on a regular basis would certainly increase the fan base for that particular team, which in turn would drive fan growth for the entire league.  We think there is a tremendous benefit for a team to return to the U.K. on an annual basis.”

The international series of regular-season games to date has contributed to increased NFL fan interest in the U.K., with a current fan base of 11 million, including more than 2 million avid fans, a 32% increase in the past two years.

Television ratings have also shown tremendous growth – with Sunday viewership of NFL games up 91% and the Super Bowl audience increased 74% since 2006 – while the league has developed new and stronger business partnerships.

NFL owners approved a resolution in 2006 to present up to two international regular-season games per season from 2007-2011.  The new resolution is U.K.-focused and permits the NFL the flexibility to decide the number of U.K. games from year to year.

This year’s game on October 23 between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears will be the fifth NFL regular-season game played at London’s Wembley Stadium and is the final one as part of the initial resolution.

FIFA has made a historic contribution to INTERPOL in its long-term fight against match-fixing in soccer after donating the largest grant in the company’s history from a private institution to create an unprecedented ten-year programme worth millions of euros a year at a dedicated FIFA Anti-Corruption Training Wing within the INTERPOL Global Complex (IGC) in Singapore.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter and INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald Noble made the announcement at a press conference held at the Home of FIFA in Zurich yesterday, May 9. Under the agreement, INTERPOL will receive EUR 4m (US$5.73m) in each of the first two years, followed by EUR 1.5m ($2.15m) in each of the following eight years, to create a total grant of EUR 20m ($28.67m).

INTERPOL’s longest-ever funded initiative will target illegal and irregular betting and match-fixing, the scale of which has been highlighted by recent fixing allegations and the involvement of Asian gambling syndicates in global match-fixing – with estimates by INTERPOL’s global law enforcement network that illegal soccer gambling is worth up to hundreds of millions of US dollars in Asia alone each year.

Blatter stated: “The threat of match-fixing in sport is a major one, and we are committed to doing everything in our power to tackle this threat. In the fight against illegal betting and match-fixing, the preventive measures that can be taken and the protection of the players and the integrity of the game are of the utmost importance. Joint work with the authorities and with INTERPOL is crucial for success, and for this reason we are very pleased to announce this contribution today, which will further enhance our cooperation.”

During the press conference, FIFA also announced the creation of an internal Betting Integrity Investigation Task Force, which will comprise members of FIFA’s Legal Division and Security Department, as well as the Early Warning System GmbH.

The FIFA President added: “Match-fixing shakes the very foundations of sport, namely fair play, respect and discipline. That’s why FIFA employs a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to any infringement of these values.”

INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald Noble said: “By funding a long-term corruption prevention training programme to be designed and implemented by INTERPOL – the world’s largest international police institution with 188 member countries – to counter transnational organised crime’s attempts to corrupt the sport and its players, officials and administrators, FIFA has taken a significant step towards ensuring the integrity of football worldwide.

“As INTERPOL and FIFA look to the future, basing this anti-corruption initiative at INTERPOL’s upcoming Global Complex in Singapore while delivering training programmes from INTERPOL Regional Bureaus and offices all over the world will help both INTERPOL and FIFA achieve their common goal of keeping the world’s most popular sport free of the corrupt influences of transnational organised crime syndicates.

“Illicit betting and match-fixing rings have demonstrated their global reach to fundamentally undermine football from one continent to another by corrupting administrators, officials and players and they require a global response.”

Secretary General Noble outlined how links had been established between match-fixing, illegal betting and organised crime at international level and how organised criminals frequently engage in loan-sharking and use intimidation and violence to collect debts, forcing their desperate, indebted victims into drug smuggling and their family members into prostitution. 

“Today’s agreement between INTERPOL and FIFA therefore provides a unique opportunity to challenge corruption both on and off the pitch,” concluded the head of INTERPOL.

The shortlist for the European Sponsorship Awards, bronchi organised by the European Sponsorship Association (ESA), symptoms has been announced.

The shortlist is selected by a panel of nine experts from across the continent and includes a range of global brands like Allianz, Barclays, Guiness, Philips and Sportingbet.

The winners of the awards will be announced on 24 November during the Awards Ceremony at the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam.

The Awards Ceremony will be part of the two-day European sponsorship conference, Future Sponsorship, held on 24 and 25 November.

English Premier League side Everton has signed a two-year deal with 188Bet to become the offical betting partner of the team.

The deal signals a sixth partnership in the top flight of English football for the online gaming company. Chelsea, Aston Villa and Liverpool were signed up last season, after Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic had agreed deals before that.

The sponsorship will be activated by a fan competition to win seats at a question-and-answer session with Everton manager, David Moyes.

188Bet chief executive Andy Scott said: “Everton FC is another fantastic addition to our valuable portfolio of partnerships with Premier League football clubs.

“It is a club steeped with tradition and history and shares many of the same brand values as 188Bet. We look forward to working with Everton’s passionate supporters as the club continues its exciting progress under David Moyes, making this a fabulous opportunity for Everton FC and 188Bet alike.”

Everton CEO Robert Elstone added: “188Bet demonstrated last season from their investment in the Premier League that football was key to their business and it is important that Everton partner with organisations who have a vested interest in our game.

“118Bet have a fantastic range of products that we will be able to offer Everton supporters including what we believe is the best online gaming sites the marketplace that will benefit our supporters and visitors to Goodison will also enjoy an brand new state of the art matchday betting serivice.”

Canadian Football League (CFL) commissioner Mark Cohon has revealed he will step down from his role at the end of his second term next Spring.

“When I started eight seasons ago, ampoule it was my goal to work closely with the Board of Governors to transform the CFL. Together, anesthetist we have accomplished our goals and much more,” Cohon said.

“From our transformative TV deal with Bell Media, to the renaissance in new and remodeled stadiums across the country, to the reintroduction of CFL football in our nation’s capital, to the first comprehensive drug policy in CFL history, to a well-structured new CBA with our players, we have achieved so much,” he added.

“With the positive work we have done, the time is approaching for me to tackle new opportunities and new ventures, and I have informed our Board of Governors of my decision.”

Jim Lawson, Chairman of the Canadian Football League’s Board of Governors, said the league has made tremendous strides during Cohon’s tenure.

“Mark has vastly improved the league’s business model and brought innovation to our game, while at the same time connecting deeply with our broad and growing fan base,” Lawson said. “He will always be known as the fans’ Commissioner.”

Cohon thanked several groups for their contributions to the CFL. 

“Football is the ultimate team sport, and all of the league’s accomplishments are the product of the vision and work of many people: committed franchise owners and chairs, team presidents and staff, and of course our players, who are elite athletes and even better people,” Cohon said.

“But the credit for everything and anything we do ultimately belongs to the people who make everything in the CFL possible: our fans.”

The 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup, set to be held in France next month, has signed a partnership with SuperBru to create a predictor game for this year’s tournament.

Rugby fans can predict winners and winning margins for each fixture in a round, and will win points according to how close they come to the actual result.

Tournament Director Philippe Bourdarias said: “Working with SuperBru has been a great boost for our tournaments, with 30,000 people signing up to take part in this year’s IRB Junior World Championship.”

“It’s easy to sign up to SuperBru, so make sure you get involved to add even more excitement to this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup.”