The FEI Bureau has this week withdrawn Guadalajara, buy Mexico as hosts of the FEI World Cup Jumping and Dressage Finals in 2015.

The organisers have been unable to meet in full the requirements imposed by the FEI Bureau when the Finals were allocated to Guadalajara at its meeting in June of last year.

“The FEI truly appreciates the efforts that the Guadalajara organisers put in to try and meet all the requirements,” FEI Secretary General Ingmar De Vos said, “but as they were unable to fulfil them within the agreed timeline, the FEI Bureau was left with no choice but to withdraw the Finals. In spite of this set-back, we hope that the Mexican Federation will consider hosting a major FEI event in the future, as we are very keen to see a world class equestrian event organised in the region.”

Guadalajara and Las Vegas (USA) both put in bids to host the 2015 Finals, but although Guadalajara is no longer involved, hosting rights will not automatically be transferred to the American city.

The international governing body of equestrian said in a statement: “The FEI has contacted the Las Vegas organisers to see if they are still interested in staging the double Final in 2015 and, if they confirm their continued interest, allocation of the Finals to Las Vegas will be dependent on the organisers fulfilling all the requirements. Following receipt of this information from Las Vegas, the ultimate decision on allocation of the Finals will be made by the FEI Bureau.”

IMG College, the nation’s leading collegiate marketing firm, has agreed a12-year extension with TCU college.

The agreement, effective through the 2023-24 academic year, includes IMG College’s representation and management of game broadcasts and coaches’ shows for radio and television, publications, Internet sales, corporate partnerships, stadium and venue signage, game promotions and hospitality.

“IMG College is a leader in collegiate athletics and we are extremely proud of our relationship,” TCU director of intercollegiate athletics Chris Del Conte said. “IMG represents the same values as TCU and has been a great partner. We are very excited to have IMG synonymous with us during this historic time for our athletics program and university. Rudy Klancnik, general manager of TCU IMG Sports Marketing, and his team have done an excellent job representing us in the community with our corporate partners.”

Through IMG College’s representation, TCU has benefitted by the support of large national brands as well as new and enhanced relationships with many local companies. By consolidating schools’ media rights coast to coast, IMG formed the first national collegiate marketing platform giving companies easy access to the largest, wealthiest and best-educated fan base in sports. With TCU involvement in this groundbreaking platform, major sponsors including UPS and Lowe’s are now providing support to TCU Athletics. Additionally, IMG College has helped TCU forge foundational local sponsorship deals with brands such as Albertson’s, Pepsi and Muscle Milk.

“Our relationship with TCU has been a true, successful, mutually beneficial partnership, which we are very gratified to extend for another 12 years,” Klancnik said. “IMG College is honored to serve one of the country’s finest universities and athletic programs.”

Each year on the TCU IMG Sports Network, more than 200 hours of Horned Frogs sports programming is produced and distributed, including play by play and pre- and post-game shows for TCU football and basketball games.

Die neue Organisationsstruktur der DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH tritt, sale wie vom Aufsichtsrat im vergangenen März beschlossen, zum 1. September 2012 in Kraft. Das Organigramm sieht demnach nur noch zwei statt wie bisher drei Geschäftsbereiche vor. Der Verantwortungsbereich des Vorsitzenden der Geschäftsführung umfasst neben den Aufgabenfeldern “Finanzen, IT & Organisation”, “Recht” und “Kommunikation & Werbung” auch die neuen Direktionen “Strategisches Marketing & Produktmanagement” sowie “Public Affairs & Internationale Beziehungen”. Der zweite Geschäftsführungsbereich umfasst wie bisher die Direktionen “Spielbetrieb” und “Lizenzierung” sowie die Arbeitsgebiete “Spielplanung” und “Fan-Angelegenheiten”.

Die DFL wird sich damit verstärkt auf ihre satzungsgemäßen Aufgaben wie die Organisation des Spielbetriebes und die strategische Positionierung und Vermarktung der Liga konzentrieren. Gleichzeitig geht das Deutsche Fußball Archiv (DFA) in der neugegründeten DFL Digital Sports GmbH auf. Das Tochterunternehmen mit Sitz in Köln wird die Erstellung und technische Bereitstellung von medialen Inhalten zur Aufgabe haben, um die nationale und insbesondere internationale Präsentation sowie Vermarktung des Wettbewerbs in allen Facetten elektronischer Medien optimal zu unterstützen. Wie schon bei den DFL-Töchtern Sportcast GmbH und DFL Sports Enterprises GmbH werden so zusätzliches Know-how und Synergien geschaffen, von denen Clubs und Liga profitieren.

PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games committee have announced their plans to improve the venues that will stage the games.

PyeongChang 2018 President Jin Sun Kim said, clinic “in the past year the PyeongChang Organizing Committee has been established, a special act was approved to support preparation works, the ground for the Wonju-PyeongChang-Gangneung high-speed rail link was broken, and the designing of the competition venues has begun”.

A review by the organising committee revealed adjustments had to be made to improve the experience.

He added: “the adjustments are inevitable in order to deliver the athlete-and Games-oriented concept that we had promised in the bid”.

Improvements include changes in location of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, the speed skating and ice hockey II venues, as well as the Olympic Station. The sties for the downhill events, ice hockey I and snowboarding have been confirmed after detailed reviews.

One of the key changes is to the site of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The new proposed site will be in Hoenggae, two km from Alpensia and where the national team trains regularly. It will be converted into a festive hub during Games time.

Measuring 80,000 sq. m., the hub will feature a temporary 50,000-seat stadium, a medal plaza, an Olympic exhibition hall, traditional food markets and other attractions expected to be popular with athletes and tourists.

Future plans include 13 competition venues, seven of which already exist and six to be newly constructed. A budget of 19.8 billion Korean Won ($17.3 million) has been set aside this year for design works, which have already started. Construction should be completed by October 2016.

Meanwhile construction and upgrading of the transportation infrastructure has started. A budget of 4.7 trillion Korean Won ($4.1 billion) has been a allocated for 14 transportation infrastructure projects, including the upgrading of the rail link between the Incheon International Airport and Gangneung.

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The IRB Council has approved the application from the American Samoa Rugby Football Union (ASRFU) to become a full member after it successfully fulfilled the criteria to be upgraded from associate membership.

The Union, which is part of the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU), has 18 affiliated clubs and runs senior men’s, senior women’s and junior competitions under its auspices.

IRB Council was in agreement with an IRB Executive Committee recommendation to approve the application subject to a review being conducted within 24 months to ascertain ASRFU’s continued progression to make sure the Union is worthy of retaining that new status.

“The IRB is delighted to welcome American Samoa as the latest Full Member,” said IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset.

“The ASRFU is a structured organisation that has demonstrated strong governance principles and a robust administration. It has demonstrated a determination to grow the Game within the country. The IRB is committed to developing Rugby around the world and this is yet another step along that path,” said Lapasset.

American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States and a meeting took place at the 10th IRB General Assembly in 2011 with the IRB, ASRFU and USA Rugby all being represented with matters of eligibility being set. ASRFU is recognised by the American Samoa National Olympic Committee.

The IRB Council also approved an application from the United Arab Emirates Rugby Association (UAERA) for Associate Membership. The Union had previously become an associate member of the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) in 2009 and a full member in 2011. The Union was created with a view to replacing the Arabian Gulf RFU, which ceased to be a member of the IRB on December 31, 2011, so that Rugby in the Region would continue to grow and develop within antonomous states. UAERA is recognised by its National Olympic Committee.

Furthermore, the IRB Council has approved a recommendation from IRB Executive Committee that UAERA be approved as a Full Member of the IRB within 12 months subject to positive progress and reports from ARFU and the IRB’s regional staff.

As an active Union, UAERA fully meets the IRB membership criteria for Associate Membership and has been a driving force behind rapid participation increased within the country.

It is a structured organisation with full-time administrators. It has 1,300 adult registered players and a further 4,600 youth players. UAERA runs a seven-team annual domestic 15-a-side premiership league and an eight-team conference competition. The national 15-a-side team played in the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Top 5 tournament finishing third in 2011 and the Union continues to host successful tournaments.

This decision is subject to a review being conducted within 24 months of the award of full member status to confirm that the Union has progressed and is worthy of retaining that status. Following these admissions, the IRB is now made up of 98 Full Members and 20 Associate Members.

The International Triathlon Union (ITU), in collaboration with its global marketing partner Upsolut Sports, have announced it has rebranded its World Championship Series and modified the sponsorship structure and will now be known as the ITU World Triathlon Series.

Much like the IOC’s TOP sponsorship programme, the ITU World Triathlon Series will feature two main sponsors, Dextro Energy and Samsung, and four category sponsors including Suunto and SKINS.

Marisol Casado, ITU President and IOC Member, said: “This new structure not only gives our premier series a cleaner image, it also gives us greater flexibility to raise the profile of the series and increase its commercial success.”

The 2012 ITU World Triathlon Series kicks off in April in Sydney, Australia.  With eight events in eight different countries, the 2012 ITU World Champions will be crowned at the Grand Final in Auckland, New Zealand.

In 2011 the series doubled its media figures compared to 2010. The total TV broadcast time was 917 hours; the coverage reached an audience of 207-million worldwide and made 4,592-billion FASPO contacts.The events had more than 1-million spectators while 27,500 participants competed in the age-group races.

Christian Toetzke, CEO of Upsolut Sports said: “The popularity of the ITU World Triathlon Series gets bigger and bigger and we’re sure there’s still huge growth potential. Everybody who ever tried triathlon will do it again.”

The ITU World Triathlon Series was launched in 2009, expanding the former single-day World Championship race.  Points are accrued throughout the season and athletes who win the overall series are crowned the ITU World Champions.

Australian Rugby Union Chairman Michael Hawker AM has become a Director of the Rugby World Cup Board, Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL), the wholly owned subsidiary of the International Rugby Board, announced today. 

Hawker’s appointment follows unanimous approval by the IRB Executive Committee. He joins IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset, IRB Vice-Chairman Oregan Hoskins, WRU Chairman David Pickering and IRB Chief Executive Brett Gosper on the Board, which is responsible for all Rugby World Cup properties.

A member of the IRB Council and Executive Committee and a former Australia international, Hawker brings to the Board a wealth of knowledge and experience gained over a long and successful career in the banking and insurance industries, in both executive and non-executive roles in Europe, Asia and Australia with Aviva plc and the Macquarie Group Ltd.

Lapasset said: “I am delighted to be welcoming Michael Hawker to the Rugby World Cup Board. With a strong blend of major business and Rugby administration experience, Michael is perfectly suited to our mission to further strengthen Rugby World Cup as one of the great sporting brands and drive Rugby’s growth around the world.”

“Michael joins the Board at an exciting time for Rugby World Cup with preparations on track to deliver an exceptional 2015 tournament in England and the solid foundations in place for the first Rugby World Cup in Asia when Japan hosts the 2019 tournament.”

Hawker, who also sits on the IRB Executive Committee and the IRB’s Audit and Risk Committee, will serve as a Director until at least the end of the current Board mandate in 2016.

Hawker said: “I am delighted and honoured to be joining the Rugby World Cup Board at such an exciting time for the sport and for Rugby World Cup. Working within a strong and visionary Rugby World Cup Board, I look forward to playing a full role in furthering the Rugby World Cup brand within the global sporting marketplace.”

Hawker replaces John O’Neill on the Board after the Australian stepped down from his position earlier this year.

This weekend’s semi-finals and finals of the ATCO PSA & WSA World Series Squash Finals may offer a potential worldwide audience of more than 300 million the opportunity to watch live televised squash for the first time.

The flagship World Series event – featuring the world’s top eight players from both the Professional Squash Association and Women’s Squash Association World Series events in 2012 – is taking place at The Queen’s Club in London.

The live broadcasters include Sky Sports, Eurosport, Astro, PCCW, Starhub, SkyNet, Ten Sports, Orbit Showtime Network and One World Sport – the welcome newcomer being Eurosport 2, the Pan European operation which is distributed across 47 countries and more than 60 million households.

“Last January’s live coverage of the Finals on Sky Sports in the UK was a breakthrough for SquashTV, and was extremely well-received,” said PSA CEO Alex Gough. “Adding in Eurosport 2 is another big step for squash.

“In our bid to become an Olympic sport, PSA has been investing heavily in TV coverage of the sport and to now have the confidence of such a significant list of broadcasters around the world airing our sport live is a big plus,” added the former world number five.

Sports agency, The Sports Partnership has agreed a deal to manage two-time Olympic Gold medal winning cyclist, Ed Clancy.

The five-time World Champion is one of Team GB’s most talented track riders, as well as competing for Rapha Condor on the road. Ed was recently named in the Great Britain team for this month’s Track World Cup. The 27-year-old will join Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes in the three-lap team sprint event in Glasgow. 

Clancy’s unique combination of speed and endurance helped him to achieve both Gold in the Team Pursuit and Bronze in the individual Omnium at London 2012. 

Ed commented: “I’m excited to be joining The Sports Partnership and, having seen how they’ve successfully worked with other athletes, I feel confident that I have the right team to support my cycling ambitions leading into the Olympics in 2016.”

James Williamson at The Sports Partnership added: “Having the chance to work with someone of Ed’s calibre is an absolute privilege. Watching Ed and the rest of the GB track team perform at London 2012 was utterly awe-inspiring and we’re excited to be a part of his journey to Rio 2016.”

Formula One racer Jenson Button and his management team, Richard Goddard and James Williamson launched the sports agency earlier this year offering management and PR services to professional athletes and key figures in the world of sport.