Ron Walker has revealed he will step down as Australian Grand Prix chairman.

Walker, a stalwart of the almost twenty-year-old Albert Park race and a close friend and political ally of Bernie Ecclestone, will retire after the 2015 event.

“I’m 75 this year and it’s good governance to let someone fresh take the reins,” he told News Limited publications in Australia.

Walker, a former Melbourne lord mayor and a multimillionaire businessman, selected his own replacement, current cricket world cup chairman John Harnden.

“It’s not public knowledge,” said Walker. “We haven’t made the announcements, because we wanted to continue to do what we do without any fanfare.”

The fact that Harnden will only take over for the 2016 race is a clear sign that Melbourne wants to keep the grand prix beyond its 2015 contract.

Walker, who was recently battling lung cancer, revealed last week that he has negotiated a basic new deal with Ecclestone.

“I think the foreplay is over so to speak and it’s now a case of talking to the government about whether it is worth it or not,” he is quoted by the AFP news agency.

“I think everyone in the government wants the race. The assessment is going to be made over the price,” Walker added.

He told News Limited: “We are asking for three extra years. We are not like the Arab states and some other countries — we have to be very careful the way we spend taxpayers’ money.”

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) have opened its first dedicated national baseball and softball venue in Britain as it continues it campaign to be included in the 2020 Olympic Games. 

The facility, which features a full size international standard baseball field and three softball/youthbaseball fields, has been designed to encourage young people and women and girls into the sports from Britain’s vibrant multicultural communities.

The demand for the new facility also highlights the increasing popularity of the two sports amongst women and young people from a wide variety of backgrounds, in the United Kingdom and across Europe, which has seen rapid growth in softball and baseball over recent years in these important, non-traditional new territories and markets.

The opening ceremony for the venue on Saturday at Farnham Park, in Slough, near London, was the culmination of planning by BaseballSoftballUK, and funding from Sport England, the UK Government’s sports development body.

The state of the art facility was also jointly financed by the Baseball Tomorrow Fund of Major League Baseball (MLB) which, along with other professional leagues around the world, is providing important support and backing for the WBSC campaign for inclusion in the 2020 Olympic Games.

“The Baseball Tomorrow Fund is thrilled to award BaseballSoftballUK this grant that assisted in the creation of a new facility at Farnham Park Sports Ground,” said Cathy Bradley, Executive Director of the Baseball Tomorrow Fund. “It is exciting to have a new complex in the United Kingdom and our hope is that a facility such as this will continue to introduce kids to the pastime and grow the games of baseball and softball.”

The new facility will also support the creation of a new after-school program in the community and a girls fast-pitch softball league. The complex will be considered the “home” of Britishbaseball and softball and will host local, regional and national tournaments and training for more than 1,000 youth, ages 8-16, year-round.

“This is a momentous achievement that will further attract athletes to our sport in the UK and underpin baseball and softball’s continued rise in Europe and worldwide emergence,” said WBSC co-Presidents Riccardo Fraccari and Don Porter.

“We fully support the single baseball/softball venue concept, as WBSC is proposing a streamlined shared venue for the 2020 Olympic Games. The forward-thinking Farnham Park project highlights the significant benefits and realities of baseball and softball’s partnership and long-term sustainability,” the co-Presidents added.

A similar modern concept baseball and softball venue is set to be completed in March 2014 at “Park 21” in the Amsterdam metropolitan region, while in May 2012, the first international standard ballpark in France was inaugurated just south of Paris in Senart.

If included, softball and baseball would be unlike any other sport at the 2020 Olympic Games, bringing new and unique sporting skills and qualities to Olympic fans and viewers as the only bat and ball sport at the Games, helping to balance and diversify the Olympic programme and Olympic Games experience.

“The World Baseball Softball Confederation regards the Olympic Games as the highest honour and greatest goal for every athlete and sport, and we will place our full global resources and passion for the Games at the service of the Olympic Movement,” WBSC co-presidents Fraccari and Porter said.

American gymnast Jordyn Wieber has joined the Wasserman Media Group to help her in her pursuit of multiple Olympic medals at London 2012.

Wieber had chosen not to sign with an agency for most of the run-up to the Games. She leaned on her parents and USA Gymnastics for support in negotiating her current agreements with AT&T, medical Kellogg’s and Procter & Gamble. All three of those companies sponsor USA Gymnastics.

Dan Levy, Wasserman vice president of action sports and Olympics, will work on Wieber’s business opportunities. Tasha Schwikert, a former Olympic gymnast who won bronze in the 2000 Sydney Games, also will work with Wieber. 

“We’d been recruiting her and the family for a while,” Levy said. “With it being an Olympic year, it was one of our priorities. What was attractive to her and them was that we’d never been in the space before. We’re a player in Olympic marketing but we’ve never had a gymnast before.”

The agency also will work with Wieber’s mother, Rita, who is being outfitted by White House Black Market in London and has a book coming out soon called “Gym Mom.” 

Wasserman’s other top Olympians include swimmer Rebecca Soni and the Lopez family, which competes in taekwondo. The company recently reorganized its action sports and Olympic divisions to make them a single group with offices in Los Angeles, Carlsbad, Calif.; Raleigh, N.C.; New York; and London.

Abu Dhabi has been announced the host of two prestigious world tenpin bowling championships.

The capital of the United Arab Emirates is to stage the 2014 World Tenpin Bowling Association (WTBA) World Men’s Championship and the 2015 WTBA World Women’s Championship.

Abu Dhabi last hosted the WTBA World Championships in 1999 which are the pinnacle for professional tenpin bowlers from all over the globe. 

The 2014 and 2015 events will take place in late August or early September at the Khalifa International Bowling Centre in Zayed Sports City.

“We are very pleased to announce that Abu Dhabi will host back-to-back world championships,” said WTBA President Kevin Dornberger.

“A lot of people have fond memories of the UAE hosting the world championships in 1999, and we look forward to two more great events.”

The announcement is the latest achievement for Zayed Sports City which also hosted football’s FIFA Club World Cup for two years. The facility is managed by Global Spectrum. 

“We are very honoured and excited to have been selected as the host city for these fantastic championships which have global appeal,” said Barry Bremner, executive member of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the championships.

“Bowling is one of the most popular sports in Abu Dhabi and the Khalifa International Bowling Centre at Zayed Sports City is the perfect place to host world championships.

“With 40 international standard lanes and 1,000 retractable seats this is a world-class bowling facility.”

With the announcement of the 2014 and 2015 events, the schedule for the next four World Championships is set. Later this year, the WTBA world championships will make a debut in Cyprus, while the 2013 WTBA Men’s and Women’s World Championships will be conducted in Henderson, Nev.

The WTBA, which is made up of 115 bowling federations, governs the sport throughout the world.

NFL’s Minnesota Vikings new stadium plans may be set after reaching a preliminary agreement with Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota on a new stadium, according to a report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

The report, citing multiple sources who spoke Friday on condition of anonymity, said the sides agreed on the division of costs for a $975 million stadium on a site at or near the Metrodome, the Vikings’ home since 1982.

Sources told the Star Tribune the city would pay $150 million in construction costs and roughly $180 million in operating costs over the next 30 years, while the state would pay $398 million and the Vikings would pay $427 million.

The sources said other details, including cost overruns, still had to be ironed out, but that an announcement was expected next week.

Earlier Friday, Gov. Mark Dayton and representatives of Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and the Vikings said an agreement had not been reached.

Dayton said on Twin Cities Public Television’s “Almanac” that he hopes a tentative agreement will emerge that can be taken to the Minneapolis City Council and the state Legislature.

Rybak spokesman John Stiles said the city, the state and the team will be negotiating through the weekend.

The Vikings have sought a replacement to the Metrodome for nearly a decade. The Vikings’ request has taken on new urgency in recent months because their lease has expired.

by Ismail Uddin

UEFA is contemplating banning players from the Champions League whose transfer rights are owned by third parties, the organisation has confirmed.

Gianni Infantino, the general secretary of European football’s governing body, said the practice – which is already outlawed in the Premier League and France’s Ligue 1 – could not be allowed to continue.

“This kind of player ownership is a growing threat,” he toldBloomberg. “We will ourselves look into this matter because it cannot continue in this manner.”

Third-party ownership is allowed in Spain, Italy, Germany and Portugal.

Officials from England and France have already complained to UEFA that clubs could use such investments to circumvent Financial Fair Play regulations.

Infantino said he would “certainly look into” the possibility of banning third party-owned players from the Champions League and Europa League.

FIFA rules do not prohibit investors buying stakes in players, providing they have no control over when they can play or when they are bought and sold.

The Premier League is opposed to third-party ownership because they say “it threatens the integrity of competitions, reduces the flow of transfer revenue contained within the game and has the potential to exert external influences on players’ transfer decisions”.

They banned the practice in 2007 following the controversy over the transfers of Carlos Tevez andJ avier Mascherano from Corinthians to West Ham.

British telecom giant Vodafone are doing a new promotional activity titled ‘Vodafone Race to Fame’ in the build-up to the inaugural Indian Grand Prix scheduled to be held in October.

This initiative involvess two different challenges ‘Vodafone Race to Fame- Life in the fast lane’ and ‘Vodafone Drive into the Big League’.

‘Vodafone Race to Fame’ offer four winners – two consumers and two global enterprise customers a once in a lifetime opportunity, to spend the weekend with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes (VMM) team during the motor racing event scheduled to be held at Noida on the 28-30 October 2011.

The ‘Vodafone Drive into the Big League’ extends opportunity to Small and Medium sized businesses (SME’s) to have their logo on the VMM cars that will race at the motor racing event in India. The SME’s will be finalised based on the growth they registered in the last three years and the role technology in that growth.

The call for entries for ‘Vodafone Race to Fame – life in the fast lane’ will start from third week of August. Vodafone customers and Global enterprise customers can register themselves on vodafone.in/race-to-fame.

Shortlisted contestants will compete at Go-Karting tracks at select six cities in India. Participants will be tested on their intellectual and physical caliber basis various competitive activities. The winners will get a chance to be a part of the VMM team & meet VMM drivers.

Speaking on the launch, Vodafone Essar CMO Kumar Ramanathan said, “Vodafone is the title sponsor and official mobile partner for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. Leveraging our global association, we are extremely delighted to offer our Indian customers an exhilarating experience by giving them a chance to get up close & personal with the VMM team.

“This will be the primary campaign,” Ramanathan said about the campaign adding, “We have covered as much the enterprise business involved, there is a huge consumer campaign which is obviously lead partnership with a channel, we will have people to register which appplies to all the customers.

‘Vodafone Drive into the Big League’ gives small & medium enterprises with a turnover greater than INR 100 million and less than INR 2.5 billion & a total employee base of less than 1000 are eligible to participate.

Shortlisted finalists will present their cases to an esteemed panel of experts where they will debate on a live television show for the coveted top spot. Participants can register themselves on vodafone.in/bigleague.

“Vodafone Drive into the big league extends our commitment to support and recognize the small and medium business community towards an easier path to growth. We are very excited about this initiative and encourage all SME’s to participate in this never before opportunity to add their logo on the cars of one of the best performing racing teams.” commented Naveen Chopra Vodafone Essar Director –Enterprise & Carrier Business.

Vodafone has also planned a host of other activities like Hot Laps with the VMM drivers and road shows with VMM car among many other initiatives gearing up for the grand finale in Delhi.

It has been revealed today, June 10, that chief executive of England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) John Steele has left his post due to criticism aimed at him regarding the recruitment of a new performance director.

The decision followed an emergency board meeting last night, June 9, to debate the botched process that led to former national team World Cup winning coach Sir Clive Woodward walking away from the job after the job description was changed twice in two days.

Steele has only been in the post since last September when he replaced Francis Baron as chief executive but his departure from the body has been confirmed today.

Meanwhile, the 12-year partnership between Investec and England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) will come to an end in August after the specialist bank announced that it would not be renewing its relationship.

The asset manager’s final match as a sponsor of the England team will take place on August 6, when Wales visits Twickenham Stadium in London, the 35th England fixture that Investec will have sponsored.

Raymond van Niekerk, Investec’s head of global marketing, stated: “The Investec brand was almost unknown in the UK before that first match against the ‘Boks (South Africa) in 1998. Our sponsorship of the autumn internationals really helped establish us in the UK and it also helped the Investec brand in Australia and South Africa.

“The association with England Rugby has been an important part of our brand building over the last 12 years and it has been a great success for us.”

Investec will retain significant exposure southern hemisphere rugby as the lead sponsor of the SuperRugby competition in New Zealand and the TriNations tournament between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

RFU business operations director Paul Vaughan added: “Investec’s support over the past 12 years has enabled the RFU to invest in all levels of the game from grassroots to the elite over a number of years. They have been an outstanding partner that always looked for a creative way to sponsor England’s autumn internationals.”

Rugby Football League (RFL) Commercial Director James Mercer is set to depart his role to join the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) in a similar role.

James has been at his position Rugby Football League (RFL) where for the last two years he has driven revenues across the sport’s major properties including the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, advice First Utility Super League, Tetley’s Challenge Cup and the England team.

Speaking about his appointment, James said: “I am very excited to be joining the LTA. British tennis is well poised in its development cycle with success at elite level which inspires us all. It’s a wonderful time to work closely with the current family of LTA partners and build on the strong foundations that are in place to drive new revenue streams, and maximise the commercial potential for the sport in this country.”

James began his career at ProServ/SFX in 1995, where he managed their roster of tennis clients which included Stefan Edberg, Janko Tipsarevic and Greg Rusedski. He then joined the International Tennis Federation (ITF) as Commercial Manager from 2000-2006, before joining North One Sport from 2006-2012 as Sponsorship Director and then Commercial & Media Director.

LTA Chief Executive Michael Downey welcomed the appointment: “We are delighted to welcome James to the LTA as our new Commercial Director. James combines a proven track record in corporate partnership sales and service, and relevant tennis experience which means he will get off the mark fast, adding real value to tennis in Britain and to our corporate partners.”