A league source has revealed that as of April 11 – 30 days after owners locked out the players – National Football League (NFL) side the Arizona Cardinals coaches and front-office members under contract will lose 35 per cent of their bi-weekly salaries.

Cardinals ownership has the right to refund the money if no games are missed though, if so much as one game is canceled, the club are under no obligation to refund any of the money.

According to the source, there is also consideration within the team’s organisation of having one week of unpaid furloughs for employees in May.

NFL teams have varied in establishing employee plans during the work stoppage with some teams having announced pay cuts, while others are having staff take unpaid furloughs.

NFL Coaches Association executive director Larry Kennan told USA Today on Wednesday, March 16, that at least 13 teams have immediately cut or have language in their contracts to reduce salaries for assistant coaches by 25 to 50 per cent.

Among the sides to have already formally announced that employees will take a pay cut during the labor dispute are the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs.

After losing out in attempts to gain preferred bidder status for the Olympic Stadium, a crucial step in the process of the venue’s award, English Premier League soccer club Tottenham Hotspur are pursuing legal action against rival bidders West Ham, to ensure their proposals are upheld.

A vital impact on the decision to award West Ham with the Olympic Park Legacy Comapny’s (OPLC) backing, was that the club had promised to ensure the athletics legacy, and in turn the running track, was kept at the stadium.

Tottenham’s joint bid with AEG consistently refuted that these plans would work and opted to offer a solution of ensuring an Olympic athletics legacy elsewhere, and the club are reportedly seeking assurances that theri rivals will not do away with their proposals to leave the track intact.

A statement from Tottenham read: “The Olympic Stadium site is an essential element in the creation of a viable Olympic Park and we know that, together with AEG, we provided a first class proposal to support the sustainability of the whole project.”

The statement added: “It was never an option, however, that we would retain the running track as we believe this to be unacceptable for our supporters and therefore wholly unviable in the long term…Much has been made of the promise to keep the athletics track within the Olympic Stadium and, therefore, we should all expect to see the retention of this track firmly embedded and legally guaranteed by those entrusted with this legacy commitment, today and in the future.”

The statement continued: “The OPLC’s decision has still to be approved by two Government departments and the Mayor’s Office. We shall continue to monitor the bid process over the coming weeks up until its final determination, whilst reviewing our position and holding discussions with our advisors. We shall spend time assessing our situation in respect of a new stadium and when we have any further information we shall update our supporters.”

The financial services company IFD Kapital Group has become an official partner of Russia’s 2018 World Cup bid.

The company chairman, Leonid Fedun, is on of the richest men in the world and joins fellow oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov in supporting the Russian bid.

Consulting group BDO, law firm YUST and charity organisation Art and Sport are already partners of the bid.

Bid chief executive, Alexey Sorokin, said: “I am very pleased to welcome IFD Kapital to our expanding group of partners, who are vivid proof of the interest and sympathy Russia’s bid for the FIFA World Cup is enjoying at home.

“IFD Kapital is an investor active in a number of business areas and in particular in companies that are expected to be on the market’s high tomorrow. Their expertise will further help us to make a case for holding the FIFA World Cup in Russia – an opportunity which would allow football to tap into a huge market.”

Mr Fedun added: “Russia’s bid to host the FIFA World Cup is a matter of pride for our country. Football is the most popular sport in Russia. If we win the right to host the World Cup, the largest celebration of world football will take place in Russia, a huge honour for our country.”

Hamane Niang of Mali has been elected as the new President of FIBA Africa at the zone’s 16th Congress, which took place on Thursday 31 July-Friday 1 August in the capital of Madagascar.

Mr Niang will replace the outgoing Dieudonne Eseka Mabusa and head FIBA Africa for the 2014-2019 term, representing the continent at FIBA’s Central Board meetings.

The 62-year-old becomes the eighth person to preside over the zone since its creation in 1961.

He previously headed FIBA Africa’s Financial Council from 2001 to 2014. He also served as President of Mali’s Basketball Federation from 1999 to 2007.

The two-day event also saw the elections of the presidents of FIBA Africa’s zones.

Omar El-Barshushi (Lybia), Juvenal Lufuma (Democratic Republic of Congo), Anibal Manave (Mozambique) were all re-elected to head Zones 1, 4, 6 and 7 respectively.

The newly-elected presidents are: Samuel Ahmedu (Nigeria), a former member of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) and previously President of FIBA Africa Marketing, was appointed to oversee Zone 3; Egypt’s Hesham El-Hariri will be in charge of Zone 5; Rokhaya Pouye (Senegal), who had been in charge of the board of Zone 2 for two years following the death of President Alioune Badara Diagne, was elected for a term in his own right.

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) have announced today a new partnership with global video distribution and monetisation company, doctor  Rightster. 

As part of their agreement with the ITTF, illness Rightster will collaborate closely with the ITTF to develop its YouTube channel (YouTube.com/ITTFChannel), and help maximise its exposure and revenue from the channel. 

The ITTF will be learning from Rightster’s advanced audience development knowledge to increase reach, audience and revenues. By joining the Rightster sports network, the ITTF will benefit from cross-promotion with Rightster’s extensive stable of existing International sports governing bodies, which will drive further audience engagement for the organisation.

In addition, Rightster’s media sales team will apply their expertise to increasing revenue through cross-platform advertising and sponsorship on behalf of the ITTF. 

ITTF Marketing Director Steve Dainton stated: “With a company that has great experience in assisting channels grow and commercialise, especially in the sporting digital environment, we felt it was only natural to start a relationship with Rightster for our ever growing YouTube channel. We hope Rightster can now use their expertise to take our channel to the next level.” 

Charlie Muirhead, Founder & CEO Rightster, added: ”The effective monetisation and distribution of sports content is an established area of focus for Rightster. We are therefore delighted to partner with the ITTF and support their YouTube presence and growth. As the need for targeted, engaged audiences continues to be paramount, we are looking forward to driving larger scaled, relevant audiences for the ITTF.”

Europe’s soccer governing body UEFA has unveiled the format for the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with matches spread more than ever in an attempt to “ensure a better visibility” of the competition.

The qualifying competition will involve 53 UEFA members, including Gibraltar, the tiny British Overseas Territory at the foot of the Iberian peninsula.

The teams will be split into nine groups of five or six, with the top two in each section qualifying automatically for the finals, along with hosts France.

They will be joined by the best third-placed team, while the eight remaining third-placed teams will contest play-offs to determine the last four qualifiers.

The 2016 finals will see the number of competing teams increase from 16 to 24. That controversial move should ensure greater television revenues for UEFA, and European football’s governing body are determined to extract maximum exposure from the qualifying tournament too.

To that end, international weeks will extend from Thursday to Tuesday, with games being played every day in what has been dubbed the ‘Week of Football’ concept.

On double-header match-weeks, teams will play on Thursday/Sunday, Friday/Monday or Saturday/Tuesday.

“The fact we spread the European Qualifiers over several days as opposed to all teams playing on the same day will ensure a better visibility for the competition,” UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino said.

“Each day of the ‘Week of Football’ will have eight to ten matches as opposed to 20-30 matches on the same day.”

The qualifying draw, for which sides will be seeded according to the UEFA national team coefficient rankings, will take place in Nice on February 23, 2014.

The draw for the final tournament will be held in Paris on December 12, 2015, with the finals running from June 10 to July 10, 2016.

Bangkok in Thailand will host Snooker’s Players Championship Grand Finals for the first time.

The tournament will run from March 25 to 29, 2014, and will feature 32 of the world’s leading players competing for total prize money of £300,000, with the winner to receive £100,000. 

The field will comprise 24 players from the European Tour Order of Merit plus eight more from the Asian Tour Order of Merit, based on events which have run throughout the season. 

The Grand Finals were staged in Ireland last season, with Ding Junhui taking the top prize by beating Neil Robertson 4-3 in a dramatic final. 

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: “We are delighted to be taking this tournament to Thailand for the first time. It’s a country with a rich snooker history, having produced great players and hosted many fantastic events. Bangkok has staged the Six-Red World Championship for the past two years which has been a tremendous success. 

“There is wonderful support for snooker in Thailand and the fans will have another chance to see the world’s leading stars. And the opportunity to play in Thailand gives an extra incentive for the players striving to climb the Order of Merit, as we approach the final qualifying event in both Europe and Asia. It’s already looking like a superb field. 

“My thanks go to the promoter  of the event BEC-Tero for their support, and to Sindhu Pulsirivong and his team at the Billiards and Snooker Association of Thailand for their hard work in developing the growth of snooker in Asia.” 

BEC-Tero Managing Director Brian L. Marcar said: “It is with great delight that we welcome the Players Championship to Thailand. We look forward to staging an amazing event featuring the world’s top snooker stars.”