FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, have announced Horacio Muratore will succeed Yvan Mainini as the new president of the organisation.

The decision, made at the FIBA World Congress on Thursday, was confirmed by delegates from the 116 national federations in attendance. FIBA elected 13 of the potential 29 members that will make up the Central Board for the 2014-2019 term of office.

Muratore will be joined on the Central Board by the following elected members:
– Anibal Manave (MOZ) and Clotaire Celestine Adjanohoun (BEN) of FIBA Africa
– Jim Tooley (USA), Michelle O’Keefe (CAN) and Marcelo Bedoya (PAR) of FIBA Americas
– Tian Xiao (CHN) of FIBA Asia
– Jose Luis-Saez (ESP), Cyriel Coomans (BEL), Lena Wallin-Kantzy (SWE) and Jean-Pierre Siutat (FRA) of FIBA Europe
– Scott Derwin (AUS) and Deborah K Shoniber (MIS) of FIBA Oceania

They join the presidents of FIBA’s five continental zone: Hamane Niang (MLI) of Africa, Usie Richards (USV) of the Americas, Sheikh Saud Bin Ali Al-Thani (QAT) of Asia, Turgay Demirel (TUR) of Europe and Burton Shipley (NZL) of Oceania.

Ingo Weiss will take over as FIBA Treasurer from the outgoing Manfred Stroher, who retires after more than 40 years of loyal service to FIBA.

The newly-appointed Central Board will meet for the first time on Saturday 13 September in Madrid, on the occasion of the final weekend of the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

One of the main items on the agenda will be to appoint the NBA representative and players representative. The Board may also co-opt six additional members.

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The National Football League (NFL) announced today that it will install Zebra Technologies’ real-time location system (RTLS) for sports in 17 stadiums during the 2014 NFL season. 

This innovative technology will track players and officials, allergist providing location based data known as “Next Gen Stats” to fans.

Zebra receivers installed throughout the stadium will communicate with radio-frequency identification (RFID) transmitters placed inside the shoulder pads of each player to capture precise location measurements, in real-time, during the game.  Zebra’s technology will collect data such as position, speed, and distance that will be registered and compiled into a database.  This data can then be outputted to generate new experiences built around this additional data.

For the first time, this technology enables the NFL to accurately capture real-time player tracking statistics, such as acceleration and total distance run.  The real-time nature of these statistics enables end-users to gain immediate insight into the action on the field.

“Working with Zebra will give fans, teams, coaches and players a deeper look into the game they love,” said Vishal Shah, NFL Vice President of Media Strategy. “Zebra’s tracking technology will help teams to evolve training, scouting and evaluation through increased knowledge of player performance, as well as provide ways for our teams and partners to enhance the fan experience.”

“Zebra’s legacy of providing visibility solutions to a variety of industries gives us extensive knowledge in how to collect important real-time data that helps organizations make smarter decisions – we call this enterprise asset intelligence,” said Anders Gustafsson, chief executive officer of Zebra Technologies. “It’s exciting to partner with an innovator like the NFL, where we will provide real-time data and information to coaches, broadcasters and fans to enrich the game experience.”

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Football’s world governing body FIFA has reiterated their committment to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The ongoing conflict between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukraine government has led to calls for a boycott which FIFA believes would not reduce the tension. The tension was triggered last week after a Malaysian Airlines passenger plane was reportedly shot down, leading to the deaths of 298 people.

Moscow denies supporting the separatists, but following the disaster senior German lawmakers raised the possibility of stripping Russia of the hosting rights to the World Cup.

The Dutch football association said it wanted to postpone discussion over participation in the next World Cup until after a national day of mourning to remember the victims, two-thirds of whom were from the Netherlands.

“As a world governing body of football FIFA takes its responsibility in governing football seriously and we support any peaceful and democratic debate,” the Zurich-based organization said in a statement.

“FIFA deplores any form of violence and will continue to use its tournaments to promote dialogue, understanding and peace among peoples.

“History has shown so far that boycotting sport events or a policy of isolation or confrontation are not the most effective ways to solve problems.”

FIFA said the World Cup could be a “powerful catalyst for constructive dialogue between people and governments”, uniting teams and nations.

“FIFA is convinced that, through football, particularly the FIFA World Cup and its international spotlight, we can achieve positive change in the world, but football cannot be seen as a solution for all issues, particularly those related to world politics,” the ruling body added.

“We have seen that the FIFA World Cup can be a force for good and FIFA believes this will be the case for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.”

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More than one billion people worldwide tuned in to see the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony last night in Celtic Park.

An estimated one billion people across the 71 Commonwealth nations and territories tuned into the Opening Ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games last night.

For the BBC, try a peak audience of more than 9 million viewers watched the opening to the Games in Glasgow on BBC1.

The spectacle had an average of 7.6 million viewers (41.1%) between 8pm and 11.40pm on Wednesday with a five-minute high of 9.4 million at 9.30pm. 

It topped the peak of 8.9 million viewers who tuned into the opening ceremony the last time the games were held in the UK, in Manchester in 2002, but could not match its average audience of 8.2 million. 

The Glasgow opener, did however, beat the last two Commonwealth Games, held in Delhi in 2010, when the opening ceremony was watched by an average of 3 million viewers and a peak of 3.8 million, and Melbourne in 2006, which had an average of 1.3 million and peak of 2.2 million.

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The 2014 Men’s World Squash Championship will be held in Qatar, asthma the Professional Squash Association (PSA) has announced today. 

It will be the fourth time the Middle Eastern nation has hosted the most prestigious event in the squash calendar, allergy having begun their association with the World Championship in 1998 with further events following in 2004 and 2012.

“We are delighted to be taking the 2014 World Championship back to Qatar, mind a country which has shown a true desire in recent years to be at the forefront of displaying world class squash,” said PSA CEO Alex Gough.

“The Qatar Squash Federation have been one of the sport’s strongest supporters since first hosting the World Championship in 1998 and they have a proven record of delivering top class events and we look forward to working with them over the coming months to prepare for the 2014 Championship.

“The 2013 World Championship in Manchester was a huge success for the sport and has set a standard that all other events are striving to emulate but I feel confident that Qatar will be up to the task of building on that legacy in 2014.”

Nabeel Ali Bin Ali, President of the Qatar Squash Federation said: “World Class squash and Qatar have become synonymous with each other in recent years and we are pleased to be able to continue our long association with the World Championships in 2014.

“We look forward to working with the PSA and all players throughout the coming months to help us put on the best show possible and ensure that the 2014 World Squash Championship is one that delivers on all expectations.”

The 2014 World Squash Championship will take place at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, Doha, from November 14 – 21, 2014.

Fuse, patient a leading sport and entertainment agency and subsidiary of Omnicom Media Group, has been appointed by HTC to work across its sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

This appointment will run across the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons, following successful project work during the end of season 2012/13. 

Based in Taiwan, HTC is one of the leading global manufacturers of smartphones.  It became a partner of UEFA during the 2012/13 season, securing a three year agreement as an official supplier company for the UEFA Champions League and an official partner of the UEFA Europa League.  The agreement runs through to the end of the 2014/15 season. 

As part of the project Fuse has been managing all creative approvals relating to the sponsorship as well as advising on rights clearance and usage.  The team is also consulting on sponsorship strategy providing advice centrally and locally to over 30 global markets. 

In addition, Fuse’s specialist guest experience team has been running a hospitality and ticket management programme for HTC. For the project Fuse is using bespoke online tools and systems which have been developed over years of work with blue chip clients across many hospitality platforms. 

Karina Pereira, Global Head of Partnership Activations at HTC said: “Fuse impressed us from the start of the sponsorship with the work on our guest experience programme.  The agency has responded to our complex brief in a way which was not only innovative but also realistic and achievable. We have been very impressed by the personnel involved and the creativity and experience that they have brought to the sponsorship, which will enable us to significantly develop our involvement over the next two years.”

Mark Bullingham, Managing Director of Fuse EMEA said: “It’s great to be working with HTC, as a cutting edge brand with a fantastic portfolio. Their innovative approach to global football is refreshing, with some exciting plans for the future.”

Fuse has significantly expanded lately. The agency, which specialises in sports and entertainment, has grown from 4 to 50 people in the UK and to more than 120 throughout Europe over the past four years. Along the way it has established a portfolio of high-profile clients, including Standard Chartered, Gatorade, McDonald’s, Nissan, Renault, Carlsberg, Intel, Virgin Media, Waitrose, John Lewis, Starbucks, Pepsi, Specsavers and Visa.

The National Football League’s (NFL) Jacksonville Jaguars today announced the team has agreed to terms with the City of Jacksonville to undertake approximately $63 million in major enhancements to EverBank Field, including two new end zone video scoreboards that will be the largest of their kind in the world.

The plan also calls for a major renovation of the north end zone to introduce a world-class entertainment and viewing area for fans that will position EverBank Field as a destination on NFL game days and help attract and keep premier events in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars first unveiled the goal of new scoreboards and EverBank Field renovations during a state of the franchise address on Feb. 5.  The team has since worked closely with Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown and the Jacksonville City Council to explore and agree on funding sources and models.

“Our determination to see this concept brought to reality was matched by Mayor Brown, and his impressive work on this project is why we’re able to move so quickly,” said Shahid Khan, owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars.  “This is what can happen when two parties are committed to a common goal.

“We support Mayor Brown’s initiatives to bring new energy to Downtown Jacksonville and the city’s urban core, and the enhancements to EverBank Field that we are announcing today will help position Jacksonville as a home and destination for major events, now and in the future.  This is indeed great news for Jacksonville.”

“This is about vision,” Mayor Brown said.  “We’re seeing a great example of Shad Khan’s leadership and the Jaguars’ dedication to creating the best, second-to-none fan experience right here in Jacksonville.

“Enhancing our stadium is a positive step toward the strategic goal of Downtown revitalization, as well, and it’s an opportunity to play to our strengths as a destination for sports and entertainment.   Beyond theJaguars games, we can expect the stadium enhancements to engage the thousands of fans who come to Jacksonville for the Florida-Georgia game, the Gator Bowl and other major events at EverBank Field.”

Construction of the platform will result in the removal of approximately 7,000 seats, though temporary seating can be installed for major events that will require a larger stadium capacity.

“Jaguars fans are going to fall in love with the new EverBank Field,” said team president Mark Lamping.  “We do not take for granted the emotional and financial investment of Jaguars fans.  In return, we’re doing everything we can to produce a winner on the field, but in the areas we control – like the in-stadium experience at EverBank Field – we owe our fans nothing less than the very best, and that’s what they can expect soon at EverBank Field.”

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