Chelsea FC’s Stamford Bridge has been announced as the host venue for the UEFA Women’s Champions League final on Thursday 23 May 2013.

It means the biggest event in European women’s club football returns to London for the second time in three years after Fulham FC’s Craven Cottage hosted the 2011 showpiece.

The final of the women’s competition will be held two days prior to the men’s UEFA Champions League final, which takes place at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 25 May.

UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino said: “The UEFA Women’s Champions League final showcases the best women’s club football in Europe and Stamford Bridge, home of the men’s 2012 UEFA Champions League winners, is the ideal venue to host this prestigious event. UEFA is pleased to be bringing the UEFA Women’s Champions League final back to London for what will be another successful event.”

Chelsea FC chief executive Ron Gourlay said: “It is an honour for Chelsea FC that UEFA has chosen to bring the showpiece match of this prestigious women’s football competition to our stadium. Stamford Bridge has played host to many great football events and we are looking forward to adding the UEFA Women’s Champions League final to that list.”

England women’s coach Hope Powell said: “To host the UEFA Women’s Champions League final in a stadium with the history and reputation of Stamford Bridge is fantastic and shows the prestige of this game. The fan base for Chelsea Ladies is ever increasing and this is a great opportunity to further raise the profile of the sport and for fans to see some of the best female footballers in Europe in action. I’m sure every player in the competition will be desperate to make it to the final and showcase their skills at such a great stadium.”

 

cheap Helvetica, viagra sans-serif; line-height: 11.85pt;” class=”MsoNormal”>For the second year running, Rugby Expo is pleased to announce it is partnering with iSportconnect for the two-day event at Twickenham Stadium on November 14th and 15th.

The partnership sees Rugby Expo make full use of iSportconnect’s pre-conference Networking Tool, allowing delegates to keep up-to-date with the latest news, see who else is attending and arrange meetings with each other.

The platform will act as a virtual meeting room, so that Rugby Expo participants can interact before, during and after the event in a secure way, thanks to the site’s strict door policy.

Following a successful 2011 event, a debut at the home of English rugby, which saw more than 1,000 attendees through the door and a sold out exhibition floor, the 2012 event will again take place at the world-famous Twickenham Stadium.

Rugby Expo 2012 will consist of conferences and workshops, with day one focusing on topics relating to the professional game and the second day concentrating on issues at grass roots level. The event includes astellar line-up of influential figures involved in leading sports organisations and clubs from both from union and league.

For more information about Rugby Expo 2012, please visit www.rugbyexpo.com

 

Bradford Bulls Super League fate has been resolved with the rugby league team remaining in League, at least for the next 12 months.

The Bulls effectively forfeited their three-year Super League licence, which was awarded just over 12 months ago, by going into administration on June 26. 

Bradford’s future was secured a fortnight ago when local restaurant owner Omar Khan agreed a deal to buy the club from the administrators and they were granted a probationary 12-month licence to stay in the top flight.

RFL chief executive Nigel Wood said: “A probationary licence allows us to closely monitor the performance of Bradford Bulls next season and develop a view on what direction we take in future years.”

The announcement, which came three days after Khan’s takeover was ratified by the RFL, will enable the new administrators to make plans to take the club forward, although they will do so without head coach Mick Potter after he confirmed he would be returning to Australia.

Although Bradford’s membership of the RFL was restored earlier this week, there were fears the club would have to undergo a mini-round of licensing in order to allow leading the Championship clubs to press their case for promotion over the Bulls.

But Khan and honorary chairman Gerry Sutcliffe were given news of the licence this afternoon, along with the other Super League clubs, who had earlier agreed to stick with 14 teams for 2013.

Wood added: “This is a very positive development which provides stability for all the clubs in Super League and the Championship and allows the sport to approach next season with even greater confidence.

“The board deliberated long and hard and took into consideration the many views of the sport’s various constituents before reaching a decision which we believe is in the best interests of the whole game.

“The new owners of Bradford Bulls are to be congratulated on their foresight in purchasing a club which we always knew was a very attractive proposition.

“Their investment in Bradford Bulls is a vote of confidence in Super League.

“A probationary licence allows us to closely monitor the performance of Bradford Bulls next season and develop a view on what direction we take in future years.

“That direction will be framed by the ongoing strategic policy review that we expect to present to clubs in the first half of 2013.

“The probationary licence also precludes the need for a mini-licensing round, which the overwhelming majority of clubs accept was impractical given the timeframes involved.

“The RFL board and executive will continue to work with all member clubs to build on the terrific progress we have experienced in 2012.”

The Hertz Corporation, the world’s largest general use car rental brand and the official transport provider for The Championships, Wimbledon, will be giving fans unique access to the world’s leading tennis stars through exclusive daily interviews during the tournament.

Every day one player or official will be interviewed as part of the new “Driving The Championships” video series with Hertz and The All England Lawn Tennis Club’s Live @ Wimbledon initiative. The interviews will be filmed in the Hertz cars as the players make their way to The Championships. The footage will be uploaded daily to Wimbledon’s website, the new Live @ Wimbledon channel, and will be available via links from the Hertz website as well as the Hertz Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Michel Taride, President, Hertz International, and Executive Vice President, Hertz Corporation, said: “It has always been a great honor to support The Championships by transporting players and officials to and from the world’s greatest tennis event. For the first time ever their journeys to The Championships will be recorded – providing fans with an exclusive insight into players’ thoughts, expectations and ambitions for the tournament – as we celebrate 18 years as the official transport provider.”

Footage of the journeys will be captured throughout The Championships (25 June – 8 July 2012) until the winners are crowned. Tennis stars from both the ladies’ and gentlemen’s draws will all be transported in Hertz vehicles while competing in the premier lawn tennis tournament on the professional circuit. The “Driving The Championships” video diaries will be filmed in a Ford Galaxy Zetec brought in by Hertz specifically for the purpose.

Hertz is the official transport supplier for Wimbledon for the 18th year in a row. Over the two weeks of the world-renowned tournament, Hertz is providing rides to tennis stars, coaches and officials in livery featuring the strap-line “Driving The Championships.”

A fleet of 164 Ford vehicles, made up of the Galaxy and SMax, as well as two coaches and luggage vans, will be used to transport more than 32,000 passengers. A partner of Hertz for over 20 years, Ford has supplied vehicles for The Championships since Hertz became the official transport provider in 1996. A team of 296 drivers and 40 supervisors will be operating the Hertz fleet which in 2011 completed 17,000 journeys, carrying more than 32,000 passengers and covering just under 250,000 miles. During the first four days of The Championships, Hertz will carry out more than 1,000 journeys per day.

Hertz has been working with a number of its partners offer customers across the globe chances to win tickets to Wimbledonand other travel prizes. These partners include: Aegean Airlines, Aer Lingus, Etihad, Flying Blue (Air France/KLM), Lufthansa Miles & More, SAS EuroBonus, Virgin Atlantic, AA and Saga, ADAC (Germany), ARC Show Your Card, and Nectar.

Graeme Lowdon, sporting director of Formula One’s Virgin Racing told the BBC he is against Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation buying the sport as it would most likely be taken off free-to-air television.

After reports emerged earlier in the month claiming that Murdoch, together with Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man, is putting together a bid to take over Formula One.

Despite F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone have initially rubbished the rumours, he later admitted to the possibility of selling the sport and stepping down, though not everyone is in favour of Murdoch taking control.

Lowdon stated: “My view is that the sport is served much better in the world of free-to-air for all the reasons you mention.

“F1 is an incredibly popular sport. It’s talked about by people. It’s the ultimate team game and the drivers are the heroes. If you remove the majority of the public, it removes a lot of the spirit of what F1 is about, as well as the ability for the teams to stand on our own two feet without reliance on the commercial rights holder.

“It’s more important that we have an agenda that grows the popularity of the sport than one that gazes inwardly.

“F1 is way bigger than pay-per-view and deserves its place on the global stage with the viewing figures it gets. We would be concerned if the sport was heading towards a pay-per-view only model.

“The attraction of free-to-air is it gives you more opportunity to diversify your revenue streams. If we go pay-per-view and find people use other (TV) channels, then we’re at risk. At least if you have underlying popularity, you can get your revenue.

“I’d be surprised if a race headlong into pay-per-view would provide F1 with the defences (it needs). Free-to-air provides you with so much flexibility – it means the business is less at risk than if you put all your eggs in one basket.”

A new three-year deal has been agreed between Bridgestone and Dorna Sports that will see the Japanese manufacturer continue as the Official Tyre Supplier to the premier class of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) MotoGP World Championship from 2012-2014.

Bridgestone will continue to provide tyres and technical support to every team and rider on the premier class grid as the championship enters the new era of increased engine capacity, up from 800cc to 1000cc.

In 2009 Bridgestone was named the championship’s first Official Tyre Supplier, after just seven seasons of competition. As of the end of the 2010 season, four World Championship Titles, 70 Grand Prix victories and 197 podiums have been scored in the premier class using Bridgestone tyres.

Mikio Masunaga; Vice-President and Member of the Board, Bridgestone Corporation, stated: “I am both proud and excited that we are able to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to MotoGP by extending our participation as Official Tyre Supplier to the premier class with a new three-year deal. Bridgestone has a very rich heritage in the leading motorsport categories across the world, and MotoGP represents a significant part of this history.”.

“I am happy that we can continue what has been a very successful relationship with the premier class of motorcycle road racing over the past nine years. I would like to thank the riders, the FIM, Dorna, the MSMA and IRTA for their support of us, in particular over the last two years as Official Tyre Supplier. MotoGP is a key global platform for Bridgestone in carrying our brand and messages to an international audience and in enabling us to develop and prove our products and technical expertise on the world stage. I believe our involvement in MotoGP will enable us to continually improve the safety and performance of our consumer tyres.”

Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta added: “I am very please that we can continue to work closely with Bridgestone for another three years after this season, and I would like to thank them for their continued commitment to MotoGP. Bridgestone has a great track record in all forms of motorsport, in particular MotoGP, and has done a great job since they were appointed the championship’s first ever Official Tyre Supplier so we all know they are up to the task this season and over the following three years.

“Their ongoing commitment at these early point is important in allowing us to plan for the future, especially for the teams as they are already underway with their development plans for next year and the new 1000cc era, and I believe it also demonstrates the value of MotoGP as a business platform”.

Introducing lie detectors into the game of sport is a radical suggestion to have been made in an attempt to beat corruption after a damaging year for cricket.

The Marylebone Cricket Club’s (MCC) World Cricket Committee, which includes former players such as Steve Waugh and Courtney Walsh, will put forward the proposals to the MCC Laws sub-committee for consideration in February. The recommendations will then be forwarded to the International Cricket Council (ICC) for approval.

The suggestion is just one of a number of ideas to have been generated including legalising and regulating betting markets in India, the inclusion of anti-corruption clauses in playing contracts, and the non-selection of so-called “tainted” players.

“The MCC World Cricket Committee has recommended that the laws of cricket be amended specifically to forbid the corruption or attempted corruption of any aspect of a match,” read a statement from the MCC.

The measures have been discussed in the wake of a scandal involving Pakistan trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif. The three players were suspended under the ICC anti-corruption code in September over allegations of spot-fixing.

The MCC statement continued: “The Committee is concerned at the scale of the problem, and the detrimental effect it has placed on the integrity of the game. The education of players should not be a meaningless formality; the message should be pressed home with regularity by figures known and respected by the players.”

The International Ski Federation through their newly elected council have appointed four new vice-presidents. 

The four vice-presidents include; Janez Kocijancic (SLO), search Sverre Seeberg (NOR), search Sung Won Lee (KOR) and Dexter Paine (USA)

Additionally, the Council assigned the following responsibilities:

FIS Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Commission: Sverre Seeberg (NOR)
Chairman of the FIS Doping Panel: Patrick Smith (CAN)
FIS Development Programme Working Group: Alfons Hoermann (GER)

The Council nominated the chairs and members of more than 50 FIS Committees, Sub-Committees and working groups, which included the following new Chairpersons:

Legal Committee: Chris Moore (CAN)
Committee Advertising Matters: Klaus Leistner (AUT)
Committee for Grass Skiing: Heidi Pfister-Berger (SUI)
Committee for Speed Skiing: Valentin Münzer (AUT)
Committee for European Questions: Miho Glavic (CRO)

Sub-Committees:

for Alpine World Cup: Niklas Carlsson (SWE)
for Alpine Courses: Elena Gaja (ITA)
for Alpine European Cup: Herbert Mandl (AUT)
for Masters Racing: Stefano Arnhold (BRA)
for Rollerskiing: Martins Niklass (LAT)

The 2017 FIBT Bob & Skeleton World Championships will be held in Sochi in Russia it was announced today.

The decision was made at the 84th congress of the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation FIBT (Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing) in Gdynia (POL).

The host of the 2014 Winter Olympics held off other bidding cities from Altenberg (GER), capsule Lake Placid (USA) and the Canadian track in Whistler.

It will be the first FIBT World Championships on a Russian track.