The Executive Committee of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) have approved a proposal that ensures financial support based on the redistribution of revenues from the inaugural European Games in Baku in 2015 for participating National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and European Sport Federations. 

The first meeting of the year was held and opened at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Headquarters in Lausanne hosted by the IOC President, site Thomas Bach. 

The decision was met by a unanimous vote for the approval for a funding model proposed by Chairman of the EOC Coordination Commission for Baku 2015, sickness Spyros Capralos. 

This decision approves that all 49 EOC member NOCs will receive an equal share of 2.5 million Euros to assist them in preparing for the Games. 

Furthermore the EOC also agreed to support the participating European Federations with a participation fee based on the general standing of each sport within the Olympic Movement. 

EOC President Patrick Hickey, order who is also an IOC Executive Board Member, said: “It has been a very important and productive day for the European Olympic Committees. I am particularly grateful to President Bach for continuing the tradition of hosting the first EOC Executive Committee meeting of the year and joining us here at the IOC Headquarters.

Indian squash event, the Maharashtra State Open, has joined the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour.

The event, which is being held this week at the Bombay Gymkhana in Mumbai, is one of the oldest sporting institutions in the country which has been promoting sport since 1875.

“This is the second PSA event in the last three months in India,” said Ritwik Bhattacharya, the recently-appointed PSA South East Asia Representative. “Plans are on to try and do many more including a grand World Championship in 2014/15.

“The Maharashtra State PSA Open is the first long standing event to convert its Open tournament to a PSA 15k Challenger event and we are hoping this trend continues with other clubs also doing at least one PSA event a year in India,” added the five-time Indian champion.

“The SRFI (Squash Rackets Federation of India) has really helped the organisers put up the event and we are in a very exciting period with the 2020 Olympic bid around the corner. The Bombay Gymkhana is doing various promotions including a charity drive ‘squash a mile’ as well as a national junior event so that the whole squash community can come out and support our wonderful sport!”

IMG Sports Media, a division of IMG Worldwide, the sports, fashion and media company, is to move its sports production business to business park, Stockley Park, near Heathrow, from July this year.

As a result, mediahouse, the studios and post production arm of IMG Sports Media, is to be rebranded IMG Studios, which will also be the name of the 107,000 sq ft building.

The facilities include four studios – two will be 2,000 sq ft and the other two 1,000 sq ft – as well as 13 production galleries, 72 edit suites, four sound dubbing suites, five radio studios, five transmission suites and a Master Control Room. There will also be dedicated areas for graphics, streaming and encoding.

Graham Fry, global managing director of production, said: “We are all very excited about the move which, for the first time, will see our production and technical operations under the same roof. This has given us a fantastic opportunity to build a facility exactly to our own specifications and requirements to cater for our existing and potential new customers and clients.

“The result is a very modern and efficient state-of-the-art production facility that we will begin using this summer as we migrate the different productions and personnel over the course of this year and through to the beginning of the 2014/2015 football season, when Premier League Productions (PLP) will also have a new home.”

The heart of the building boasts one of the largest data centres built specifically for digital media and broadcast in recent times, containing over 160 racks supported by various redundancy systems. IMG’s private Media Cloud will also be hosted here.

With its own satellite farm and huge redundant connectivity, IMG Studios will become a key focus for sports and entertainment content distribution and will be directly connected to many of the leading sports stadia in this country.

IMG has commissioned broadcast systems experts TSL to handle the technical installation while refurbishment specialists Overbury will complete the offices and furniture fit-out.

Clients/productions that will be housed at Stockley Park include Premier League Productions ‘PLP’, European Tour Productions ‘ETP’, SNTV,  UEFA Champions League Magazine Show, FIFA Football Mundial, BBC Football League Show, Trans World Sport, Origin Digital and Rightster.

The relocation, which will be complete by the middle of next year, was made necessary by the lease on existing buildings at the Hogarth Business Park in Chiswick running out in 2014.

In addition to the global HQ in London, IMG Sports Media also has production centres in New York, Oslo, Singapore, Glasgow, Stockholm and Sydney.

Rugby League’s Salford City Reds may have a new owner by next week after business tycoon Dr Marvan Koukash revealed that he hopes to complete his takeover by this weekend.

The racehorse magnate is in advanced talks with Reds chairman John Wilkinson and Salford City Stadium owners Peel Holdings and Salford Council.

“I hope it can be done in a few hours, certainly no longer than a few days,” he said. “Hopefully by Monday we can announce the deal.”

Salford avoided a winding-up petition last week brought by HM Revenue and Customs and former players Vinnie Anderson and Luke Patten over around £400,000 in unpaid bills, but the club’s future now looks far brighter.

Koukash plans to invite Wilkinson to become the club’s president, and he vowed to give head coach Phil Veivers funding for new players, with recruitment being overseen by former Wigan and New Zealand coach Graham Lowe.

“The first thing I said to John was how grateful everybody was for the services he has provided and that, once I sign on the dotted line, he’s going to be my president for life because I think he deserves that role,” he added.

“He’s been extremely honest. He’s supported the club for the last 30 or 35 years and he’s a wonderful man.

“I’ve met Phil a couple of times and I would like to say that Graham Lowe is not replacing Phil.

“He will work with Phil to recruit the right players. They will work as a team. We have full confidence in Phil and I think he will do a wonderful job. Graham has had meetings with Phil and we’ve identified a number of players.

“Although we haven’t signed on the dotted line, we have been speaking to a number of players, players that will bring the crowds in and players who could win matches.”

For the eighth consecutive year, stuff UBS will be the title sponsor of the Hong Kong Open.

UBS, drugs the global financial service company, debuted as a sponsor of the Hong Kong Open in 2006, four years after the tournament became a part of the European Tour International Schedule.

Kathy Shih, Head of Asia Pacific Wealth Management for UBS, said: “UBS is delighted to continue its association with the Hong Kong Open and its role in establishing the tournament as one of the most prestigious championships in Asian golf.

“At the same time, the Hong Kong Open has played an integral part in UBS’ regional sponsorship strategy, and has been extremely successful in fulfilling the firm’s sponsorship objectives for the Hong Kong market. We look forward to supporting this year’s event which, I am confident, will be as competitive as ever.

Keith Waters, The European Tour’s Chief Operating Officer and Director of International Policy, said: “UBS has become synonymous with the recent, illustrious history of the Hong Kong Open, so we are delighted to see them renew their sponsorship of this prestigious tournament.

“In conjunction with our partners at the Asian Tour and the Hong Kong Golf Association, we are proud to co-sanction a tournament which has produced some eye-catching performances from some notable champions in recent seasons, and I have no doubt this year’s edition will continue in the same vein.”

Kyi Hla Han, the Asian Tour’s Executive Chairman, said: “On behalf of the Asian Tour, I would like to extend our fullest appreciation to UBS for its title sponsorship of the Hong Kong Open. UBS has been a great supporter of the Asian Tour over the years, and we look forward to another successful championship at the Hong Kong Golf Club.

“As one of the Asia’s premier events, the UBS Hong Kong Open holds a special place on the Asian Tour Schedule, and we are delighted to be co-sanctioning this tournament once again with The European Tour and the Hong Kong Golf Association. The Asian Tour stars always enjoy competing in Hong Kong, as the event is superbly staged at a great golf course in a vibrant city.”

Peter Aherne, President of the HKGA, said: “It gives us great pleasure to welcome UBS back as the title sponsors of the Hong Kong Open, a sporting institution which continues to flourish year on year.

“The manner of Rory McIlroy’s victory last year, when he holed his bunker shot on the 18th green, perfectly summed up the skill and excitement we have come to expect from the event down the years, and we look forward to another exciting edition in November.”

The 54th edition of Hong Kong’s longest-running sporting event begins on November 15, 2012.

FOX Sports Southwest and the Texas Rangers have teamed up on a unique promotional campaign featuring kids from the Lena Pope Home in Fort Worth who participated in the team’s annual Texas Rangers Summer Academy.

“The kids really enjoyed the experience of being in a commercial and learning how a spot is produced. Hopefully the activities we offer each year inspire the students to begin thinking about a career path and instill the confidence and determination needed to be successful in life.”

The kids will be featured in a promotional television spot that will begin running Monday (Aug. 13) on FOX Sports Southwest Texas Rangers telecasts.

For more than 12 years, here the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation has hosted a summer camp for Lena Pope Home students. As a longtime supporter of the team’s community initiatives, FOX Sports Southwest has been involved in the summer camp for the past seven years.

This year, more than 150 campers ages 9-17 were given the special opportunity to be featured in a television spot promoting Rangers games on FOX Sports Southwest. The spot was taped at the network’s studio, providing the students with a unique, “behind-the-scenes” television experience.

“FOX Sports Southwest and its staff continually raise the bar for children in the Summer Academy,” said Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation Executive Director Karin Morris. “This year the experience was a complete home run. The network provided a unique opportunity to see the production of a promotional spot from start to finish – including being the talent in the spot. For the children in this program, who are rarely given opportunities to shine, this was a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience. We are so fortunate to have a partner in FOX Sports Southwest that goes far beyond the broadcast of baseball games.”

In previous years, FOX Sports Southwest offered Lena Pope Home campers a tour of the network’s studio and a complimentary DVD of their “Sportscaster for a Day” segment taped with a FOX Sports anchor.

“We wanted to try something different this year,” said FOX Sports Southwest Senior Vice President/General Manager Jon Heidtke. “The kids really enjoyed the experience of being in a commercial and learning how a spot is produced. Hopefully the activities we offer each year inspire the students to begin thinking about a career path and instill the confidence and determination needed to be successful in life.”

Lena Pope Home Director of Development Marilyn Sammons, said: “The FOX Sports Southwest visit was especially memorable this year, as the students had the opportunity to go ‘behind-the-scenes’ and discover all aspects of a television broadcast. We were overwhelmed by the patience and generosity shown by everyone at FOX Sports Southwest. Their time invested in these kiddos is worth more than gold.”

Gerhard Gribkowsky, the former head of risk management at Bavarian bank BayernLB, is being charged with corruption, abuse of confidence and tax evasion, after overseeing the sale of BayernLB’s commercial rights stake to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners in early 2006.

Prosecutors claim that two Austrian companies set up by Gribkowsky received US$44 million in payments from Ecclestone and his holding company Bambino Trust.

A court must now decide whether Gribkowsky, who was arrested in January, will stand trial on the charges.

The companies, which used bogus consulting contracts, had addresses in Mauritius and the British Virgin Islands and did not pay German taxes.

Prosecutors claim that Gribkowsky later used BayernLB’s funds to pay the Formula One chief a commission of US$41.4 million and added a further agreement for US$25 million to Bambino Trust.

Ecclestone was questioned by state prosecutors last April as part of the probe into irregular payments made during the sale and is still under investigation, prosecutors spokeswoman Barbara Stockinger said.

It is understood that the state prosecutor’s office is waiting to see what happens to the corruption charges against Gribkowksy before making a decision on whether to indict Ecclestone, rather than risk the embarrassment of seeing what would be an extremely high-profile case fall apart.

The British billionaire, who is CEO and president of F1’s governing body, has denied corruption charges.

Euroleague Basketball has announced the city of Istanbul as the home of the 2012 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four.

The state-of-the-art Sinan Erdem Arena, sickness which opened in 2010 to host the FIBA World Championships final stages, will host European basketballs premier event in early May 2012.

Euroleague Basketball President and CEO Jordi Bertomeu stated: “I have to say that we are glad to announce that the 2012 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four will take place in the beautiful, amazing city of Istanbul at Sinan Erdem Arena in early May, as always, according to the Final Four tradition.

“Turkish basketball has dramatically improved in the last years. We are very happy about the way basketball has grown in Turkey, at both club and national team level.”

Turgay Demirel, the President of the Turkish Basketball Federation, added: “I am very proud to be able to finalize negotiations with the Euroleague to host the event in 2012 in Istanbul, the sport capital of Europe for the coming year. Istanbul has been a very good host for many sporting events and the arena is very good.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have announced that England women’s team have joined  the Professional Cricketers Association in a historic agreement.

The nation’s women’s team have risen to the forefront of women’s international cricket over the past decade, aided initially by lottery funding to allow the players to edge closer to being ‘full-time’ athletes, and latterly ECB training grants and England Women Coaching Ambassador contracts through The Cricket Foundation.

Greater off-pitch support for the players played a role in the team winning the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2009 and lifting the inaugural ICC Women’s World Twenty20 trophy later that year.

Clare Connor, Head of England Women’s Cricket for the ECB, said: “Joining the PCA takes the England Women’s game further towards a professional era. ECB do everything they can to support players to be the best they can on the pitch, and PCA membership will only help that process. Huge credit must go to PCA CEO Angus Porter, who has been tremendously supportive.”

Porter added: “The PCA looks after the interests of all professional cricketers. The England women are highly professional and very successful and it’s absolutely right that we should embrace them into our organisation.”

American National Football League (NFL) side, the St Louis Rams has a new official airline after Delta Air Lines signed a two-year deal to replace American Airline.

The deal between the previous partner, American Airlines has not been renewed after 20 routes between Lambert – St Louis International Airport were cut from their operations.

Delta will now be responsible for transporting the Rams players and staff to all away games in the NFL calendar. In return the airline will receive signage during the Rams home games as well as in the matchday programme and on the teams official website.

Bob Reif, the Rams’ executive vice president of sales and marketing stated, “We appreciate Delta’s commitment and growing presence in the St Louis market and look forward to a long partnership”.

Senior vice president and chief financial officer at Delta, Hank Halter added: “This partnership demonstrates Delta’s ongoing commitment to St Louis as we continue to invest in the market with new service and enhanced facilities for our customers.”