At the World Curling Federation’s (WCF) Annual General Assembly on Monday, members approved a new constitutional structure for the WCF which will see the Executive Board reformed to include a president, three zonal vice-presidents and four directors from the WCF’s Americas, European and Pacific-Asia zones.

It was also announced that the World Women’s Curling Championship in 2015 has been awarded to the city of Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido in Japan.

Federation members also voted to accept three new provisional Member Associations: Israel, Georgia and Ukraine.

Bulgaria was re-instated as a member, with the WCF now recognising the Bulgarian Curling Federation. Armenia remains suspended.

The 3rd Annual World Curling Congress will take place at the Peppermill Resort, Reno, Nevada, USA from 4-8 September 2014. The 2014 WCF Annual General Assembly will be on the 7 September.

The support of the Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the Sports Minister Senator The Hon Kate Lundy for Moya Dodd’s candidacy to become the first Australian elected to the Executive Committee of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has been hailed by Football Federation Australia (FFA).

If successful, Dodd would also be the first woman elected to world football’s governing body.

The Prime Minister said: “I am delighted to provide an endorsement, on behalf of the Australian Government, for your nomination to the FIFA Executive Committee. Football unites people all over the world and Australia is no exception.

“To be elected to this role would be a great honour for you personally, but also for the many millions of football players and fans across Australia, Asia and the world, particularly among women.”

FFA CEO David Gallop added:“We welcome the recognition by the Australian Government of Moya’s strong candidacy for the FIFA Executive Committee. Moya is an experienced and respected board member of FFA and the AFC, and FFA supports the AFC’s nomination of her for the FIFA Executive Committee.”

Senator Lundy commented: “Moya has been a dedicated and passionate contributor to football, both internationally and in Australia. I believe that she would be an outstanding global advocate for the game.”

Dodd, a former Matildas vice-captain, said, “I am honoured to receive the endorsement of the Australian Government. I am looking forward to the opportunity, if elected on 31 May, to support football’s growth and popularity, particularly women’s football, in our region and around the world.”

The World Olympians Association (WOA), symptoms the member organisation established to help support Olympians around the world and promote Olympism in the community, cough has launched a tender process to recruit a digital agency partner.

The successful digital consultancy will be tasked to re-design and modernise the organisation’s online platforms, including creating a new website and integrating social media tools. The appointed agency will also have a broad range of responsibilities to develop and manage the WOA’s online content such as a new Online Olympic Reunion Center, the President’s Blog and the WOA Twitter and Facebook presence. Seven agencies have been invited to pitch for the business.

Developing the WOA’s global brand and profile, including its digital and online presence, is a major priority for the organisation and the intention is to set this out in greater detail at the forthcoming SportAccord International Convention in St. Petersburg, Russia in May. New WOA projects will also include the inaugural World Olympians Forum, scheduled to take place later in 2013.

Mike Miller, Chief Executive of the WOA, said: “The WOA will play a vital role at the heart of the Olympic Movement so it is crucial to have a digital content management partner with the right international experience to help us implement our new programmes and ensure the work of the WOA resonates with the most important people to us – the global network of Olympians, the Olympic family and fans of the Olympic movement.

“By recruiting a digital agency partner, the WOA will now be in a better position to capitalise on the latest online platforms and channels to promote our new initiatives to Olympians worldwide and help us engage with them effectively.”

English Premier League team, Wigan Athletic have announced redevelopment plans for their Christopher Park training ground to turn it into a high quality academy facility.

Chairman Dave Whelan, acting head of the academy Matt Jackson and chief executive Jonathan Jackson discussed plans with local residents on Tuesday night.

The Wigan first team currently train at Christopher Park but will move to a purpose-built site out of town with the existing facilities redeveloped to focus solely on the club’s young players.

“Our continuing development both at first-team level and as a community club relies on our ability to attract and retain good quality professional players, develop young talent through our academy and the football club being a focal point of the community,” the chief executive has said.

“These exciting new plans are the first part of a major new development aimed at creating a Category 1 Football Academy at Wigan Athletic.

“With this facility we intend to attract and develop young players into the next Leighton Baines,someone who came through the ranks at Wigan and now regularly represents England at full international level.

“Our dream is for the club to become synonymous with excellence on and off the pitch and this first stage of our development is a huge step in the right direction to make that dream come true.”

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) have reached a new four-year England Elite Player Squad agreement with the Rugby Players’ Association and Premiership Rugby.

The EPS agreement covers England senior, Saxons and Under 20 squads until June 30, 2016 and includes confirmation of squad and match fees and performance bonuses.

Together with the existing eight-year Heads of Agreement between the RFU and Premiership Rugby, it ensures a stable future for club and country beyond the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

RFU Chief Executive Ian Ritchie said: “This agreement is another major step forward for the RFU, players and the clubs, and I would like to thank the RPA and Premiership Rugby for their cooperation and for reinforcing the partnership we enjoy.

“One of the strengths of the English game is that we have enshrined in contract the release of players from their clubs which gives Stuart Lancaster and his coaches confidence in their availability.

“Now this new agreement has been reached, we have stability and everyone pulling in the right direction through to the Rugby World Cup in 2015 and beyond.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the clubs for allowing us to add an additional player to the senior EPS for the forthcoming RBS 6 Nations.” 

RPA Chief Executive Damian Hopley said: “In agreeing this new four-year deal on behalf of the EPS, all parties wanted to ensure that we built on the foundations and progress made by Stuart Lancaster and the squad in the last 12 months.

“The new contract duly recognises the efforts made by all 33 of the Senior EPS as well as the increasing overall value of the players to the RFU and their partners.

“We look forward to working collaboratively with the England squad and the RFU to deliver these rights, and I would like to thank the England Players Committee for their invaluable and professional input throughout these good natured negotiations.”

Agenda Online B.V. has joined forces with the European Golf Course Owners Association as a business partner to further expand the reach of their successful online golf lesson management system “iGolfinstructor”.

Agenda Online B.V. was started in the Netherland sin 2006 by entrepreneur Tom Mulder & has fast become the recognised system used by over 50% of Dutch golf professionals. The successful launch in the Dutch market led to significant interest throughout Europewith the system now being sold in 22 countries.

iGolfinstructor allows golf professionals the ability to manage all their lesson bookings on and off the course with the use of an application. The system is also interactive, case golf professionals can now upload their lesson summaries, order videos and comments directly to the account of each student which can then be accessed and review at any time.

“We are delighted to welcome Agenda Online B.V. to the EGCOA community” says Lodewijk Klootwijk, viagra EGCOA director.” Technology plays a key role now in the efficient running of modern day golf facilities. iGolfinstructor is a fantastic advance in the area of online lesson reservations and is a great asset for any golf professional or club.”

Tom Mulder founder and CEO of Agenda Online B.V. commented: “What started as a simple online lesson booking platform has now developed into a complete interactive tool for golf professionals and their students. Working with iGolfinstructor allows you to communicate 24/7 with your students. The system is a valuable resource for golf professionals and a great tool for developing golfers allowing online access to all lesson materials. He added “We are looking forward to working together with the EGCOA in the coming years, we aim to share our experience and to educate their extensive network of members in the benefits of the iGolfinstructor system.”

In order to get much needed sponsorship interest, English League club Yeovil Town players posed for their annual team photo without a shirt in an attempt to secure a backer.

The League One outfit have failed to secure a shirt sponsor for this season after the previous backers DR Jones pulled out.

Boss Gary Johnson hopes the stunt will encourage one of the parties in discussion with the club to become shirt sponsor next season to do the deal.

Johnson added: “I couldn’t see the point of a team shot without a sponsor. So, somewhat tongue in cheek, we decided we should go topless.

“Being part of the main team picture is a major part of the sponsorship package and I didn’t think it was fair to whoever does agree a deal for the team to wear shirts.

“We don’t want to give away any part of the sponsorship package lightly.

“We are hoping when potential sponsors see the interest that this picture creates, that the companies that are vying to be on our shirts will realise what a great publicity opportunity being shirt sponsor to Yeovil Town represents.”

The Dakar Rally in 2013 will start in Peru for the first time and end in Chile after crossing the Andes into Argentina, organisers said.

It will be the fifth year in a row that the Dakar, a gruelling event that started out as a race from Paris across the Sahara desert to the Senegalese capital Dakar, has been held in South America.

The event, which has claimed numerous lives over the years and will be in its 35th edition next year, was switched from Africa to Argentina in 2009 for security reasons.

The 2013 rally will start in Lima – the finish of this year’s edition – on Jan. 5 and end in Santiago on Jan. 20, with a rest day in San Miguel de Tucuman in Argentina.

“Peru, Argentina and Chile, explored on a north to south journey, will offer the Dakar a different angle of attack on the Pacific Coast, the Atacama’s dunes and the Andes Mountains,” said Dakar director Etienne Lavigne in a statement.

by Ismail Uddin

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted he would be interested in regaining ownership of Formula One, the world’s leading motorsport championship.

Ecclestone sold F1 to private equity firm CVC Partners for US$1.7bn in 2005, a deal whereby the 80-year-old retained the series’ commercial rights, negotiating contracts with circuits and broadcasters.

There has been takeover speculation linking Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation and Italian investment firm Exor with a possible acquisition of F1 so far this year.

When asked whether he would be interested in buying back F1, Ecclestone said: “Yes, absolutely. I wouldn’t buy at the price that I think CVC would sell it. But I would certainly buy at the price they (News Corporation and Exor) want to pay.”

Ecclestone said that even if he does not end up acquiring F1, he is keen to ensure the championship is purchased by the right owner, saying, “I care that people that own the company want to own it and run it in the correct manner.

“(There is) a little bit of a problem with Murdoch because they (News Corp) are more or less on pay-TV…and we have to be, according to the European Union, on free-to-air television. Our agreement with them was that we are everywhere on free-to-air television.”“

He added: “The other people (Exor) own Fiat, and the teams don’t seem that excited about another team having big control over the regulations, or whatever. So there is a bit of a conflict there.”

Ecclestone also denied speculation that talks over a new Concorde Agreement – the commercial deal between the teams, rights-holders and the International Motorsport Federation – could be affected by takeover speculation.

The latest Concorde Agreement is due to come into force in 2013, but Ecclestone said: “It certainly won’t make any difference. The bottom line is simple. If there is no Concorde Agreement it doesn’t make that much difference.”

Derek Fisher, president of the National Basketball Association (NBA) players’ union, has claimed that the league owners latest offer of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is still unacceptable.

The former offer to the players was made last week by the NBA after its initial proposal sought a reduction of nearly US$800m in salaries for the 2011-12 season. NBA commissioner David Stern said last month that the league is projecting a $300 million loss for the campaign, meaning players wages from this season of $2.1bn would need to be reduced

In an interview with ESPN, Fisher stated: “Unfortunately, the proposal is very similar to the proposal the league submitted over a year ago. This last proposal doesn’t look close to what we were expecting.

“We are taking a close look at each piece of the proposal, and I along with my players and executive committee will be determining what next steps best move this process forward. I continue to work on this daily, take this very seriously, and have a responsibility to my players to try and get a deal done.”

The current agreement sees the players receive a 57 per cent cut of basketball-related income but is set to expire on June 30. If a new deal is not reached, the NBA is likely to follow in the footsteps of the National Football League (NFL) and become the second US major league this year to enter a lockout.

The NBA’s only work stoppage in its history came in 1998, and Fisher has pledged to work towards salvaging the situation, adding: “I will continue to urge our players to be prepared in the event of a lockout, but will remain steadfast in my efforts to drive this process forward.”