The Australian Football League (AFL), the biggest competition for Aussie rules football, is set to trial Hawk-Eye technology this weekend as it seeks to improve its controversial goal review system.

The technology, which has been flown in from the UK, will be in place at all three round 15 MCG matches, starting with the Friday night clash between Collingwood and Carlton.

However, it will be used on a test basis only, and will not yet be adopted as part of the review system.

Although it is from the same company, the technology is not the same as that used at the Australian Open and international cricket, which tracks the path of the ball.
Rather, it is designed only to allow the video umpire greater control over the vision at his disposal.

AFL football operations manager Mark Evans said he hoped the technology could improve the review process.

“It is a piece of technology that allows the person reviewing goal scores to manipulate the vision themselves,” Evans told radio 3AW’s Sports Today program on Wednesday night.

“So all the vision comes up on the one screen, and you can exit some and just focus on one or two.

“And basically, that vision runs in synch, so you can pause one and see exactly where it is from another angle.

“The whole idea is, can we make the decision quicker and more accurate?”

The goal review system was introduced at the start of last season, using only broadcasters’ footage to analyse referred decisions.

It has been the subject of constant debate, due to the frequently inconclusive nature of the available footage.

The AFL has conceded the system is not perfect, but believes it has gone some way to eliminating obvious mistakes.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) today announced, ampoule that for the first time, it will bring WWE World Tour to Egypt for three nights from Thursday, October 18 through Saturday, October 20, 2012 at the Cairo Stadium Complex.

With its debut in Egypt, WWE continues to expand the reach of its business, including live events in six new countries in 2012.

This Egyptian tour comes on the heels of a successful WWE Raw World Tour in Abu Dhabi this past February, where more than 16,000 fans packed the International Tennis Complex within the Zayed Sports City. The WWE World Tour will bring some of WWE’s biggest Superstars to fans in Egypt, including Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Zack Ryder, Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler.

WWE will be working with Egyptian live events promoter, Creative Design, to bring WWE World Tour to local fans. Creative Design previously brought WWE to Doha, Qatar last year.

“WWE is one of the largest names in family entertainment, and it’s a great honor to hold such an enormous event in a wonderful country like Egypt,” said Assem Al Sheikh, Chairman of Creative Design.

“We’re thrilled to announce this three-day, live event tour in Egypt,” said Ed Wells, Managing Director and Senior Vice President of WWE International. “These shows in Cairo are further testament to the strength and popularity of the WWE brand throughout the MENA region and build on our efforts to expand our business internationally.”

Brazil will not deal with FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke following his comments saying the country needed a “kick up the backside” to be ready in time to host the 2014 World Cup.

Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo told a news conference on Saturday that Valcke’s words a day earlier were “offensive” and “unacceptable.”

“The government will no longer accept…(Valcke) as an interlocutor, salve ” Rebelo said.

“The FIFA secretary’s declarations … make it difficult to have an environment of cooperation and understanding.”

Brazil’s decision was a further escalation of a dispute with FIFA that has simmered for years as several Brazilian stadiums, medicine hotels, ambulance roads and other basic infrastructure for the 2014 Cup run badly behind schedule.

Valcke, who was due to visit Brazil in coming days, said on Friday that “not a lot is moving” in the country’s preparations.

“The concern is nothing is made or prepared to receive so many people. I am sorry to say but things are not working in Brazil,” Valcke told reporters in England where he was attending the annual meeting of FIFA’s International Football Association Board.

“You expect more support,” added Valcke. “You have to push yourself, get a kick up the backside and just deliver this World Cup.”

by Ismail Uddin

Do you think Brazil will be ready to host the World Cup? Have your say here >>

In a move to raise money to upgrade the stadium, the Green Bay Packers have secured $67 million in the past six weeks by selling shares of stock for $250 a piece.

The stock has no cash value, but it does grant shareholders the official privilege of calling themselves owners of the NFL’s only publicly owned team.

When the Packers decided to upgrade Lambeau Field a $143 million effort to add 6,700 additional seats, high-definition video screens and a new entrance by next year they resolved not to ask for a single taxpayer dime.

Instead, they reverted back to the same strategy that has helped keep the Packers afloat several times in team history — a stock sale. The latest offering wrapped up Wednesday. More than 268,000 shares were sold, bringing in millions.

“I was really pleased with the way our fans responded,” Mark Murphy, the team’s president and CEO, said Thursday. “I was a little surprised, to be honest, but on the other hand I’m never surprised by the passion and loyalty of our fans.”

The Packers added more than 250,000 new shareholders and now has more than 360,000 part-owners.

Fans have said spending $250 on a stock share isn’t much different from spending hundreds on team jerseys or other paraphernalia. Others love that they’re helping their team stay strong in the league’s smallest market.

The Packers initially offered 250,000 shares for sale starting Dec. 6. But the allotment went quickly, with 185,000 shares alone sold within the first 48 hours. So the team made another 30,000 available.

About half the sales came from Wisconsin. Sales were also brisk in the home states of two of the team’s top rivals, the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings.

Packers stock isn’t like regular stock. Its value doesn’t increase, there are no dividends, it has virtually no re-sale value and it doesn’t give buyers any advantage over the 93,000 people on the waiting list for season tickets.

What buyers do get is a piece of paper declaring them a team owner and conferring rights to attend and vote at the annual stockholder meeting, which is held at Lambeau Field each summer before training camp. They also get access to a special line of shareholder apparel.

Murphy said the ability to buy shares over the Internet, coupled with the team’s 13-0 start last season, helped drive the avalanche of sales.

With all of the new owners, shareholders will be asked to RSVP an invitation to the next shareholders meeting so the team can arrange to accommodate all the additional attendees, Murphy said.

About 50 percent of the new shareholders were from Wisconsin. Illinois and California tied for second, each accounting for about 8.5 percent of sales. Minnesota and Texas were next with 5 percent each.

Murphy said he wasn’t surprised by the geographic distribution of sales, especially in California. He recalled that when the Packers played in San Diego last season, there were so many noisy Green Bay fans that the Chargers had to use a silent count at home.

“I’ve never seen that happen before,” he said.

He also noted that fans across the country often tell him the Packers are their second favorite team.

“I was in Dallas and people would say, ‘I’m a huge Cowboys fan but I really like the idea of the Packers — a small-market team, community-owned.’ I think that appeals to a lot of people,” he said.

Stock sales were initially limited to U.S. residents. The team eventually resolved Canadian regulatory requirements earlier this month, giving fans there nine days to buy. The team says about 2,000 shares were sold north of the border.

The team has had four other stock offerings. Sales in 1923, 1935 and 1950 helped keep the Packers afloat at a time when other small-market teams were struggling to survive. A fourth sale was held in 1997.

by Ismail Uddin

English Rugby Union club London Wasps owner Steve Hayes is to begin a search for a new owner for one of Europe’s most recognisable and attractive rugby club brands.

Hayes, sole owner of the two-time European Cup Champions, is looking to release his investment and seek new owners to take the club forward, recognising that new drive from a new owner may be the best way to build on the groundwork and opportunities he has laid down for Wasps for an exciting and wider future.

Hayes took full ownership of the club in 2008 and in the past three seasons has piloted a number of innovative ideas in the sport introducing an annual St George’s Day Game at Twickenham which has attracted over 100,000 supporters over two seasons, and taking the first ever competitive domestic fixture overseas, showcasing the game to a global audience in Abu Dhabi.

Plans for a new Sporting Village in High Wycombe for both London Wasps and Wycombe Wanderers were also far advanced however Wycombe District Council subsequently withdrew its initial support this summer. This project had included a new 17,500 capacity stadium with community leisure facilities, retail space and a hotel and conference facilities.

Hayes believes that the Sporting Village plans, as they were developed, remain a sustainable option for London Wasps as a standalone club and any new owners will be encouraged to take these plans forward.

Hayes said: “I remain disappointed that Wycombe District Council withdrew its support for the Sporting Village project earlier this year and since that time I have been working with the London Wasps board to evaluate the best steps forward for the club. I fully believe that a new stadium for Wasps is essential in the coming years as we have always said that Adams Park was unsustainable as a long term option. I will work with any potential owners to develop the Sporting Village model we had already come up with at an alternative location.”

Hayes has appointed Baker Tilly to take the investment process forward.

World Cup winner and former Wasps captain, Lawrence Dallaglio OBE, who remains on the club’s board added: “Steve’s passion and vision over the past number of years has helped bring the club to new audiences around the world and any new owners will take on a club in a healthy position in terms of the direction it is heading on and off the pitch.”

Jim Clifford, Corporate Finance partner at Baker Tilly commented: “London Wasps is a club which needs the highest quality facilities to ensure sustained success and a commercially viable business and there are plans here for a world-class stadium which remains completely viable for this club under new ownership.  Many great brands with great potential for relevance to a wider community remain underexploited. Wasps needs not be one of them.”

The next step of the process will see club owner Hayes and Baker Tilly begin a worldwide search for new owners for the club.

London 2017 bid organisers have hired Pitch PR to handle its ambassador programme and work on public relations around its bid to bring the World Athletics Championship here for the first time.

They have also appointed Navy Blue to prepare its bid book, the document which will deal with the technical aspects of its candidature as well as try to convey the emotional arguments that London are sure to use.

Pitch did a similar role for England during its unsuccessful 2018 World Cup bid but was influential in persuading a string of high-profile personalities to back the bid, one of the biggest successes of the campaign.

Their other clients include former England captain Rio Ferdinand and the NBA.

They are also working with Channel 4 on promoting their broadcast of the London 2012 Paralympics and with Japanese shoe manufacturer Ascis on the build-up to next year’s Olympics. 

Navy Blue worked on the bid book for London 2012, which helped contribute to the stunning upset of the British bid beating the hot favourites Paris.

The company, which has offices in London, Edinburgh and Muscat, was also recently appointed by Hambantota to devise and create the communications strategy and bid identity for its campaign to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Pitch and Navy Blue will be building on the work carried out already by Jon Tibbs Associates (JTA), who have worked on the narrative and story of London’s bid, whose only rivals are Doha.

JTA are best known for their work on Sochi’s successful bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics and have also in the past carried out work for European Athletics.

Ed Warner, the chairman of UK Athletics, said: “The partnership behind the London 2017 bid brings a substantial amount of expertise to the table and we will be complementing this with some external support. Jon Tibbs and his team have done a great job working with us to shape the story of London and Navy Blue will now work with us on turning that into a bid book. 

“Pitch PR will use their considerable experience in the bidding arena to tell our story to the wider public and build our ambassador programme globally. 

“The IAAF World Athletics Championships is one of the biggest sporting events in the world and the bid team is determined to demonstrate to the athletics family how London is ready to host the event in front of passionate home fans in the Olympic Stadium and these agencies will support our ambition.”

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) are due to choose the host city at a meeting of its ruling Council in Monte Carlo on November 11.

The Renault Formula One team has announced that Eric Boullier, medstore Team Principal since 5 January 2010, anesthetist will take over the role of Managing Director with immediate effect following the departure of Bob Bell.

Gérard Lopez, patient Chairman of the Renault F1 Team, said: “We would like to thank Bob Bell for his contribution to the performance of the team and for helping see us through a period of transition since Genii Capital became a shareholder in the Renault F1 Team.

“We are entrusting the post of Managing Director to Eric Boullier and we have every confidence that, under his leadership, we will achieve our racing objectives. Throughout the 2010 season, we have been assessing what is required to continue improving our level of competitiveness and we believe we are well positioned for the challenges ahead.”

Eric Boullier, Team Principal and Managing Director, added: “Since the beginning of the season, the Renault F1 Team has demonstrated its ability to react to a need for change.

“The results of the tremendous efforts made have been immediately apparent on the race track. Today, we have a competitive car and an incredibly motivated team. I am proud of the trust being placed in me to continue this good work, and I will make every effort to ensure the Renault F1 Team returns to the front of the grid as soon as possible.”

India’s wrestling federation has announced its plan to launch the Indian Wrestling League (IWL) early next year.

The new league has been jointly created by the Wrestling Federation of India and Leisure Sports Management.

The IWL is based on the format of the successful Indian Premier League and will start with six city-based franchises. IWL Commissioner and Chair G.S. Mander said: “The IWL will be held in January and February next year.”

The franchises are reportedly likely to be based at Sonepat, Pune, Ludhiana/Patiala, Delhi, Nandini Nagar (Gonda, U.P.) and Patna.

Each team will include star wrestlers from India and abroad and will play 10 home-and-away matches.

Mander said: “There will be seven weight categories in male and female wrestling. Each team will have seven male and female wrestlers. Two from each section will be foreigners.”{jcomments on}

 

MLS team, Seattle Sounders FC has hired CAA Sports to explore opportunities in the marketplace for their jersey partnership, beginning with the 2014 MLS season, the club announced.

CAA Sports will use its expertise and business partnerships to assist Sounders FC in securing the most suitable partner. One year currently remains in the five-year jersey agreement between Sounders FC and Xbox.

Since entering the league in 2009, Seattle has cemented itself among the elite on the pitch, holding the second-best record in Major League Soccer (MLS) with a 54-29-33 record. Sounders FC is the only expansion team in league history to earn a trip to the postseason each of its first three seasons.

Seattle set an MLS record for attendance with an average of 30,897 during their inaugural season in 2009, only to surpass that mark in 2010 with an average of 36,173 and again in 2011 with an average of 38,498. This season, Sounders FC has continued to set the standard by averaging 41,480. Seattle’s current mark would rank fourth in Italian Serie A, and fifth in Spanish La Liga, sixth in the English Premier League, 13th in German Bundesliga.

Seattle’s 2012 attendance average would also currently rank fifth in MLB and first in the NBA and NHL. Last season, Sounders FC drew 654,431 fans for MLS matches and is on pace for more than 700,000 fans this season.

Sounders FC television ratings have raised the bar for MLS, ranking first in the league, and would rank in the top third in the NHL and top half in the NBA, according to CAA.

Sounders FC has set the bench mark off the field as well. Seattle has led MLS in merchandise sales each of its first three full seasons. The team’s website, SoundersFC.com, is the most visited club website in MLS with more than 48 million page views and six million visitors since the club’s launch in 2009. The team has nearly 270,000 likes on Facebook and has more than 50,000 followers on twitter.

CAA Sports is a division of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the world’s leading entertainment and sports agency. CAA Sports has extensive presence in the soccer marketplace, as the agency represents top European clubs Chelsea Football Club and FC Barcelona and also owns and operates the Herbalife World Football Challenge, an annual North American tour of friendly matches between top international teams, which this year included the Sounders FC vs. Chelsea on July 18 at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field.

CAA Sports clientele includes Yankee Stadium, Madison Square Garden and the San Francisco 49ers’ new stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., set to open in 2014.
CAA Sports represents more than 650 of the world’s best athletes in such sports as baseball, football, hockey, basketball, soccer, tennis, and golf, in addition to coaches, on-air broadcasters, and sports personalities.