George Cohen, head of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, who last year brokered an eleventh-hour deal between Major League Soccer and its players, said last week that “very strong differences remain” between the two sides.

Federal judge David Doty in Minneapolis earlier this week ruled that the NFL improperly negotiated television contracts to receive $4 billion in revenue if a work stoppage leads to games being cancelled next season.

A report from Forbes states that the NFL owners want players to finance a $16bn increase in aggregate value for the league’s 32 teams in a new collective bargaining agreement, or an average of $510 million per team, 50% more than the average NFL franchise is currently worth.

The owners want to reduce the amount of league revenue that can go towards player salaries from $8bn to $7bn.

The Australian V8 Ute Racing Series board has added Andrew “Fishtail” Fisher as Director, see representing the Ford’s shareholder’s interests following the resignation of long term Director Ben Dunn.

Andrew Eglinton was also re-elected for a further term to represent the Holden Shareholders alongside Kim Jane.

Fisher will bring with him a wealth of experience, not just as a driver but also with vast background in business management and consulting. Andrew has also been a shareholder and racer in the Series since 2007 in the Jesus Racing Ford, and is looking forward to contributing to the Series at Board level.

“I’m looking forward to being a part of the Board, obviously I’ve been a part of the Ute Series for a long time and it’s great to be a part of the planning process, especially with the evolUTEion 2016 ute coming and all of the excitement and anticipation towards that. It will be great to be on the board working with the other guys looking at where we can take what’s already a great series to an even greater height,” explained Fisher.

Eglinton will represent the Holden camp alongside Kim Jane. He was first elected into the role in late 2005 and stepped down for re-election last month, so Holden shareholders would have the opportunity for change if desired. The Senior Account Executive of Engineering and Technical Recruitment Company Adecco, is ready to assume the role once again.

“I’m looking forward to continuing in the role as Holden Shareholder Director and providing ongoing support for the category. It’s an exciting time in the Series moving into the evolUTEion platform and it will be fantastic to be continually involved in the progression,” said Eglinton.

Independent Chairman of the Board Peter Henry welcomes both Eglinton and Fisher on-board.

“Congratulations to Andrew on his reappointment to the Board but also it’s fantastic to have Andrew Fisher on board. His depth and business experience will add great value and we’re looking forward to the exciting couple of years that we have coming up as the evolUTEion continues,” says Henry.

The Board also renewed the contract of Event Management / Marketing Company SPHERIX, on a multi-year contract, to continue running the Australian V8 Ute Racing Series and partner Bill West is looking forward to the opportunity.

“We’ve be involved for a long time now and to see the Series move into its next phase is really exciting. My business partner Craig Denyer and I have had 8 great years with the Ute family and we are looking forward to taking the series to a new and exciting level. We have seen Craig Dontas go through puberty, Jack Elsegood get engaged, David Sieders become a father, David White move into management level in V8 Supercars, Ryal Harris win back to back titles plus Chris Pither, Warren Luff, Marcus Zukanovic, James Moffat, George Miedecke and Jesse Dixon all go on to race V8 Supercars, so it’s been a great ride,” said West.

Sussex County Cricket Club have hired 4Sight Sport & Leisure as their official Customer Relationship Management (CRM) & Data Agency partner to support their customer engagement strategy.

4Sight will manage the various Sussex Cricket data flows into the central Data Warehouse and CRM system providing that all important single customer view. They will also provide a range of data analysis, allergist customer segmentation and insight led campaign management services focused on all relevant communication channels.

4Sight will work closely with Sussex CCC’s digital agency partner, health Pleece & Co, cheap to specifically focus to improve the overall digital experience for all fans and customers.

Zac Toumazi, Chief Executive of Sussex Cricket commented, “Improving our understanding of fans and customers is a crucial part of our strategy to deliver world class fan engagement strategies. This involves a combination of data management, targeted communications and a continued focus on an improved customer experience. We are excited to be moving forward in these areas using 4Sight’s unique combination of systems and services alongside Pleece & Co’s digital expertise.”

Garry Adamson, Managing Director at 4Sight Sport & Leisure, added, “Data driven fan engagement strategies are now seen as a crucial method for sports rights holders to achieve their commercial aims. Sussex CCC is leading the way in this area and has a fantastic reputation as a fan friendly venue. We are delighted to assist a top first-class county like Sussex with their forward thinking plans in this area.”

Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield has been announced as the host of the qualifying rounds of snooker’s biggest tournament, the World Championship, from April 8 to 16, 2014.

It will be the first time Ponds Forge will host the event which has hosted a number of national and international sporting events.

Ponds Forge stages a range of national and international sporting events every year and will host snooker for the first time with the World Championship qualifiers from April 8 to 16, 2014. 

All players seeded outside the top 16 will be battling for places in the final stages at the Crucible Theatre. 

Steve Davis, Jimmy White, Ken Doherty and rising stars like Jack Lisowksi and Michael White are likely to be among those striving for a coveted spot at the Crucible. The 16 qualifiers will then be drawn at random against the top 16 seeds. 

A spokesman for World Snooker said: “We’re thrilled to be staging the qualifying rounds of our biggest event at Ponds Forge for the first time. It’s a fantastic venue and it’s just a stone’s throw from the Crucible so the players and fans will have a keen sense of what is at stake. 

“Sheffield has proved an outstanding location for staging our qualifiers in recent years. It’s a very popular city among the players, as well as the hundreds of fans who come to see so many famous names in action. 

“Our calendar is so packed this season that we have moved the qualifiers closer to the main event, so a player could win his final round match on April 16th and be playing at the Crucible on the 19th! This will only add to the drama and intensity. 

“Tickets details will be announced in due course and hopefully fans will take the chance to see the qualifying rounds unfold.”  

Lorenzo Clark, director of operations for Sheffield International Venues (SIV), which operates Ponds Forge, said: “We are extremely proud to be playing host to the qualifying rounds of snooker’s biggest tournament. 

“Ponds Forge regularly stages high profile sporting events from the FINA World Diving Series to the ETTA National Table Tennis Championships but this will the first time a major snooker event is contested at the venue. 

“We are looking forward to welcoming the world’s top players to our world-class facility for nine days of exciting action ahead of the World Championship at the Crucible.”

At a Federation International de Ski (FIS) Council meeting Infront Sports and Media was awarded the television and marketing rights for the FIS World Ski Championships in the Alpine and Nordic Events for 2019 and 2021.

The Switzerland-based sports marketing company represents six Winter Olympic sport federations, ailment several summer sport organisations and manages the media rights for the FIS World Cup events.

The agreement between the federation and the international sports marketing company includes the distribution of worldwide media rights across all platforms and territories. It also covers the complete spectrum of marketing rights, story including title sponsorship, presenting sponsorship and hospitality packages. Furthermore, Infront will handle media production of the four events, transmitting an HD signal to broadcasters around the world. 

Gian Franco Kasper, FIS President, stated: “The FIS World Championships in the Alpine and Nordic Events have demonstrated their status amongst the most important winter sports events. We are confident that the new partnership between FIS and Infront to market and produce the Championships in 2019 and 2021 can develop them even further and especially on a global basis.” 

Bruno Marty, Executive Director Winter Sports at Infront, commented: “Covering two global event highlights, the agreement marks a milestone in the continuous enhancement of Infront’s top-level winter sports portfolio. We thank the FIS for its trust in our expertise and are proud to provide it with the full spectrum of commercial support out of one hand. We will greatly contribute our experience from marketing a majority of FIS World Cup events to further strengthen the FIS Alpine and Nordic World Championships.” 

The hosts for the 2019 and 2021 FIS Alpine and Nordic World Ski Championships are not yet determined. Bids for the 2019 Alpine event have been submitted by Are (Sweden) and Cortina d’Ampezzo (ITA). Candidates for the 2019 Nordic event include Almaty (Kazakhstan), Oberstdorf (Germany), Planica (Slovenia) and Seefeld (Austria).

Australian Rugby League (ARL) Commission chariman John Grant believes rugby league clubs can look forward to a promising future, following the annual meeting with CEOs.

The Commission and club chiefs met for their annual conference in Sydney on Thursday where details of the 2012 financial report were tabled and details of the annual grant for 2013 and beyond outlined.

Figures showed the ARLC made $176 million in revenue for 2012 and have projected a rise of 13 per cent to $284m this year, increasing to $323m by 2017.

Clubs will receive $7.1m this year – a million dollars more than the salary cap signed off by the Rugby League Players Association last week.

But Grant explained the structure of the grant will be changed over the next five years, with a means-tested style of funding to clubs.

The structure will be put in place by June 30 and Grant said while it was important clubs are able stand on their own two feet, those who are not as financially successful as others shouldn’t be punished.

“The game has been used to a fixed grant where all clubs get the same,” Grant said.

“But all clubs are not the same. Some need more help than others.

“We will start to give variable grants and that will depend on a number of factors.

‘If you look at the 16 clubs, it’s fair to say some have better access to revenue generation.

“We would look at it and say ‘why would we fund a club that can do this the same as one that can’t?’

“We’re moving away from grants and subsidies but we will not cut funding to clubs that need it.”

The ARLC has a bank balance of $43m, due to the $40m paid up front by the Nine Network as part of the new broadcast deal agreed late last year.

Grant said this will increase dramatically over the next five years and said the appointment of new chief executive Dave Smith is key to driving revenue streams.

The PGA of Australia has announced their partnership in the ‘Grow the Game of Golf’ project.

The project managed by the European Golf Course Owners Association has engaged the support of a range of prominent golf organizations such as the PGAs of Europe, clinic European Tour, medstore European Golf Industry Association, Federation of European Golf Greenkeepers Associations, Club Managers Association of Europe, Golf Environment Organization & the European Institute of Golf Course Architects.

The Grow the Game of Golf website has been developed over the last couple of years into an invaluable online resource for golf course owners, managers and golfers alike. The website contains an in depth catalog of various initiatives to encourage golf participation and up to date statistic on the development of the game.

PGA’s of Europe Chief Executive Ian Randell believes the PGA of Australia can add significant value to the project by providing an international perspective in one of the World’s fastest growing industries.

He said “The PGA of Australia, with over 100 years of experience, are an influential and respected body within golf not only in their own country but also across Australia and within the PGA World Alliance. They have been party to many significant grow the game activities and as such we look forward to hearing further of the initiatives which are working in their region and sharing those in Europe with them.”

The PGA of Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Brian Thorburn said: “The PGA of Australia is delighted to become an official partner of the Grow the Game project. The EGCOA has done a fantastic job of establishing a website which focuses specifically on growth initiatives and we certainly hope, with the assistance of our members, that we can contribute to the wide range of strategies which have global relevance in terms of their application.”

The ‘Grow the Game of Golf’ website provides participation data from a range of European countries and is focused on encouraging and inspiring golf clubs and other golf organisations to develop the game, particularly at grass roots level.  The PGA of Australia’s contribution is initially expected to be related to the provision of best practices within the industry, with feedback from some of its leading experts in golf and game development.

“Ideally, we would like to contribute to the sustainability of the sport in terms of interest, participation and overall growth,” Thorburn said.