Bundesliga officials will decide in March whether to introduce goal-line technology in the country’s top two divisions.

Bundesliga president Reinhard Rauball says the clubs will make a “fundamental decision” in March after taking into consideration how the technology works at the Club World Cup in Morocco.

The Bundesliga has resistedimplementing the system, saying the margin of error remains too great.

Rauball said Bundesliga management will provide the clubs with the pros and cons of technology.

If the 36 clubs decide to accept it, they will choose from various providers of the goal-line aids and not necessarily pick the German company chosen by FIFA.

World Snooker is set to undergo a number of important changes with an increase in prize-money being a major part of it, Chairman Barry Hearn has announced.

Total purses for the 2013-14 season will rise to £8m from £6.4m with the world champion earning a record £300,000.

Hearn wrote to all tour players on Monday to confirm the structure of the season and confirmed that in nine of the 12 ranking events, all players will take part in the first round.

The World Championship will remain seeded for the top 16 – members of which will also be invited to the Masters – but Hearn said the time had come for them not to be receiving guaranteed money from tournaments in which they were seeded into the last-32.

Hearn’s letter read: “As the prize money increases, the seeding system currently in place becomes increasingly inequitable.

“It is simply wrong to allow for one player seeded above another to receive guaranteed income at the levels now on offer just for showing up.

“I firmly believe that to be the best you have to perform like the best and I am more than happy to reward winners handsomely.

“It is therefore my intention to have all 128 players start at in the first round for ALL Main Tour ranking events over time. Certain commercial constraints do not allow this to happen at all events for this season however, going forward, all new Main Tour ranking events will adopt this structure.”

Modern Times Group MTG AB (MTG), unhealthy the international entertainment broadcasting group, adiposity today announced that it has completed the acquisition of the remaining 49% of the shares in the Danish joint venture company TV 2 Sport A/S from TV 2 DANMARK A/S .

The completion follows the receipt of regulatory approval from the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority. The payment for the shares comprises an undisclosed cash consideration and the transfer of the exclusive Danish broadcasting rights to the European Handball Championships for 2016 and 2018 from MTG to TV 2 Denmark.

TV 2 Sport was launched in April 2007 by MTG and TV 2 Denmark as a joint venture company and has to date been operated independently of both MTG and TV 2 Denmark. The company broadcasts the TV 2 Sport and TV 2 Sport HD channels, as well as the TV 2 Sport Premier League channel in SD and HD. The channels have together offered a wide range of premium sports content including football from Superligaen, the Barclays (English) Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and the FIFA World Cup qualifiers; NFL American football; the Danish men’s and women’s Handball championships; ice hockey from the NHL and the Danish league; as well as coverage of tennis, cycling, golf and other sports events. The channels are available, alongside the Viasat Golf channels (SD and HD), on the Viasat satellite pay-TV platform, as well as on third party cable, IPTV and terrestrial networks. The TV 2 Sport channels have a Danish TV household penetration of up to approximately 50%.

The Group will now assume full management and operational control of TV 2 Sport and fully consolidate the results of the business in its accounts with effect from 1 January 2013. The results for TV 2 Sport have previously been included on a proportional basis in the ‘Central operations, eliminations & other businesses’ reporting line within the Viasat Broadcasting business area in the Group’s segmental reporting matrix, net of internal sales and cost eliminations, and will from 1 January 2013 be fully consolidated and included in the ‘Pay-TV Nordic’ reporting line, net of internal sales and cost eliminations, within the Viasat Broadcasting business area in the matrix, with prior periods reported as before on a proportional basis but within the ‘Pay-TV Nordic’ reporting line.

TV 2 Sport reported total revenues of DKK 347.7 million for the full year 2011 and DKK 256.3 million for the first nine months of 2012, with total operating profits (EBIT) of DKK 16.8 million and DKK 22.6 million for the two respective periods. 

Jørgen Madsen, President and CEO of MTG, commented: “This acquisition reflects the success of the TV 2 Sport operation and further enhances our market leading SD and HD sports coverage. It is clear that our pay-TV sports channel and content offering, when also combined with the sports coverage on our free-TV channels including TV3+, is the most comprehensive in the market and is available to subscribers on multiple TV distribution platforms.”

“This consolidation is not included in our previously provided full year 2013 earnings outlook statement for our Nordic pay-TV operations and will increase segment sales in 2013. It does not however alter the previously provided full year 2013 segment operating profit (EBIT) margin expectations.”

Soccer’s governing body, FIFA has pledged a £315,000 grant for St George’s Park on a visit to the new national football centre.

The Goal project funding for the sports science and medical centre in Burton was revealed by FIFA President Sepp Blatter on a tour of the FA’s flagship coaching and training facility.

FA chairman David Bernstein unsuccessfully called for the unopposed election of Blatter to be postponed in 2011 to allow further time for another candidate to come forward.

There has also been ill feeling in England since the failure of the 2018 World Cup bid which attracted only one FIFA vote apart from the FA’s own but Bernstein was keen to emphasise the improving relationship between FIFA and the FA.

“This is fantastic news and reflects FIFA’s commitment to raising standards within the game around the world and to our improving relationship with FIFA,” he said.

Blatter declared himself pleased to be able to provide financial assistance to St George’s Park.

“Protecting the health of players is one of our key objectives and I am therefore very pleased that this project will be dedicated to a sports science and medical centre at such an emblematic location at St George’s Park,” he said.

The FA also announced it will fund bursaries for nine international coaches to study for the FA International Licence course under a new scheme.

QPR have appointed world-renowned sports architects Populous to design a state-of-the-art training facility and community sports hub at the Warren Farm site in Ealing.

Populous have designed some of the most iconic buildings for professional sports around the world, ampoule including Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, Wembley Stadium and Olympic Stadia for London 2012. 

QPR CEO Philip Beard said “It is fantastic to have Populous on board; they have great experience in this field and are the perfect fit for us.

“We are working very closely with Ealing Council and we are very excited about what we can create.  It is our intention to have a fully operational training facility in place ahead of the 2014/15 season.”

Christopher Lee, Senior Principal at Populous, said: “We are excited to be designing the new training complex for QPR.

“The new QPR training complex draws on our experience of designing elite athlete training facilities around the world, to create an unparalleled centre of excellence for QPR’s first team and academy, set alongside local community sports.”

Rugby Sevens is gaining international recognition from broadcasters following new figures released by the International Rugby Board (IRB).

The broadcast report on the 2011/12 HSBC Sevens World Series, published by the IRB’s television distribution partner Pro-Active Television, confirms another record global audience switched on to Sevens, with particular advances made in the number of live hours shown. 

The grand prix-style nine-round World Series, which is set to expand to 10 for 2012/13, accumulated a record 4,283 hours of total airtime – a 17 per cent increase on the previous season – with a dramatic uplift in live coverage, which rose 35 per cent to 1,565 hours. 

Television broadcast coverage reached a total of 152 territories across six continents, with 31 broadcasters showing action from the Series. 

Programming from the season of Sevens was carried in 16 languages and reached 374 million homes, with an estimated potential audience of 850 million people. 

Only seven years ago, the total airtime for the World Series stood at just 300 hours, underlining the considerable advances Rugby Sevens has made in the eyes of international broadcasters and the global sporting public. 

Major advances were made in Asia, particularly the Indian sub-continent, and in Eastern Europe, while women’s Sevens and the IRB Challenge Cup events gained a major broadcast platform. 

In addition, the official highlights programme ‘IRB Sevens World’ was taken by 17 broadcasters, while bespoke online videos attracted almost 1.5 million views on the official website,irbsevens.com, and Youtube. 

Over the same season online interest in the Series grew by 70%. The official website attracted over 7.5 million page views from a user base spanning 214 countries, with 21% of that traffic coming from mobile devices. Enhanced social media platforms added an interactive element for fans around the world. 

IRB Chairman, Bernard Lapasset said: “The HSBC Sevens World Series is now firmly established as one of the world’s major sporting attractions and these latest record broadcast and online figures reflect a sport that is attracting new fans all around the world with its winning blend of skill, speed, global participation, highly competitive matches and unique festival atmosphere. 

“The 2012/13 Series is set to be even better in what promises to be a stellar year for Sevens that will see Argentina join the Series as a host, the inception of a first-ever IRB Women’s Sevens Series and Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013 in Moscow as the grand finale. 

“Add to the mix that we will also be at the beginning of a new Olympic cycle, a cycle that will culminate in Rugby Sevens making its debut at Rio 2016, and it is clear that these are exceptionally exciting times for Rugby Sevens and the development of our sport around the world.” 

Giles Morgan, Group Head of Sponsorship & Events at HSBC added: “As we now look forward to our third season as title sponsor, HSBC is delighted that more and more sports fans around the world are enjoying this world class competition. Over 540,000 fans attended tournaments last season, 10% more than the year before, and with the growth in 2012/13 to include Argentina on the calendar, the Series clearly is going from strength to strength. 

“Along with some very encouraging advances in digital and social media allowing fans to connect and interact with other fans of Sevens internationally, these impressive broadcast figures show how exciting and engaging the HSBC Sevens World Series is, and also underlines its potential for further growth.” 

The 2011/12 HSBC Sevens World Series comprised nine tournaments in Australia (Gold Coast), Dubai, South Africa (Port Elizabeth), New Zealand (Wellington), USA (Las Vegas), Hong Kong, Japan (Tokyo), Scotland (Glasgow), England (London).

UK cloud computing and managed hosting services provider iomart Hosting has recruited two Scotland footballers, Charlie Mulgrew and Emma Fernon, to launch its latest community campaign.

‘Host Your Kit‘ is an initiative by the Scottish Digital IT Company of the Year to give away top quality football kits to youth teams in England, Scotland and Wales, who for various reasons either can’t afford their own kit or desperately need a new one.  The company is giving away the latest adidas strip to 30 teams who send in the best video or email explaining why their side deserves a new kit. The adidas kits, which will consist of 14 outfield players’ and one goalkeeper’s strip, are being provided by Greaves Sports, the official retail partner of the Scottish Football Association.

Phil Worms, Director of Marketing for iomart Hosting, said: “I know that many of our customers and employees have sons and daughters who play football for their local teams and that getting new kits season after season is a real challenge for many of the parents involved. With 2012 being called the Year of Sport, this is the perfect opportunity for us to get involved with a campaign that combines our hosting expertise with the promotion of sport in the community. As a leading managed and cloud hosting company we’ve built a great reputation for the hosting of physical server kit and count many sporting organisations as clients, so now we’re hoping to make our mark in the hosting of football kits!”

Scotland and Celtic star Charlie Mulgrew and Scotland and Glasgow City Ladies player Emma Fernon took part in a photo-shoot to promote the campaign.

Charlie, who has just been voted SPL Player of the Month, said: “I’m delighted to be supporting this great campaign by iomart Hosting. I remember as a young boy how much of a confidence boost it gave me when I ran out on the pitch wearing a proper kit.  Thanks to iomart Hosting’s Host Your Kit campaign, teams across Britain will be able to kick off their next league campaign with that extra bit of pride.”

Emma Fernon said: “I’m really proud to be supporting this great community campaign by iomart Hosting. It was a real struggle for clubs when I was young. Parents and coaches had to beg money from local businesses to buy kits so it’s great that iomart Hosting is offering a helping hand to teams.”

The company is giving away the latest adidas strip to 30 teams who send in the best video or email explaining why their side deserves a new kit. The adidas kits, which will consist of 14 outfield players’ and one goalkeeper’s strip, are being provided by Greaves Sports, the official retail partner of the Scottish Football Association.

Angus MacSween, CEO of iomart Group plc, the parent company of iomart Hosting, said: “We’re delighted to be launching this campaign. I hope everyone in the UK web hosting world who has children who play football gets involved with Host Your Kit.”

Sandy Greaves, Managing Director of Greaves Sports, said: “This is a fabulous initiative by iomart Hosting and one we’re delighted to be involved in. Hopefully sharing the same kit brand as great teams like Spain, Argentina, Germany, will inspire these young teams to bigger and better things.”

Host Your Kit is open to able-bodied and disabled boys’ and girls’ football teams who play in a recognised youth league in the Under11 (2001s) to Under 16s (1996s) age categories in England,Scotland or Wales.

by Ismail Uddin

With concerns over the viability of professional golf tournaments in England mounting, the 2011 English Open at St Mellion has been cancelled after organisers were unable to raise the £2m (US$3.2m) sponsorship needed to hold the event in August.

As a result of the cancellation, the PGA and the Open Championship will now be the only professional events held in England in 2011.

The English Open was set to be reinstated on the European Tour at St Mellion in 2009 having not been played since 2002, but was postponed for two years after developers suffered financial difficulties.

However, problems raising money have struck once again, as Stephen Towers, resort director at St Mellion told BBC Radio Cornwall: “We’d need a headline sponsor to bring in over £1m ($1.6m) to stage this event.

“So going out there and finding sponsorship we’re looking at the high-end blue-chip companies, but a lot are involved in Olympic sponsorship and many others are curtailing their spending back with the current economic times.”

However, BBC Sport’s Golf correspondent Iain Carter believes sponsors are unwilling to take the initial step, despite the potential rewards, stating: “It’s no great surprise the tournament has been cancelled.

“It’s a reflection of the trend that we’re seeing in European golf at the moment in that the sponsors are to be found the other side of the world, not in Europe, not in Great Britain and certainly not in England.

“There are economic benefits to be had but what you need is for companies to put their hands in their pockets to put the sponsorship money up first and foremost. They’re prepared to do that in the growing markets in the Far East and so many European Tour events take place in Asia now.

“It’s only going to turn around when companies recognise that golf can provide them with the impetus through sponsorship to grow their company.”