The World Cup of Softball extensive worlwide reach has boosted World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) 2020 inclusion bid.

ESPN is broadcasting the tournament across its family of networks for coverage in more than 140 countries. 

Games which were not shown live on ESPN were available through web streaming. High school broadcast students were given the opportunity to run the production and work behind the scenes with ESPN allowing for youth to be gain value experience and exposure in international web and television coverage.

The tournament has also demonstrated the capacity of softball, like baseball, to create an electrifying atmosphere in the tournament venue, the Hall of Fame Stadium, while also generating strong interest in the sport across Oklahoma City, the host city, the state and insoftball communities across America and around the world.

Players, fans and supporters highlighted their passion for the Olympic Games by wearing special WBSC Olympic Playball2020 campaign tattoos, and displayed banners and brochures calling for softball and baseball to be included at the Games, while signage, screens other demonstrations of Olympic support were on display in the main competition venue and the other surrounding venues.

The WBSC Olympic 2020 bid brings the full power of gender equality to the Olympic programme, with Softball offering the Olympic Movement a new opportunity for more women to participate at the Olympic Games. Softball provides new pathways into sport for women from all cultures and religions, and is popular among Muslim girls because it is a non-contact team sport that can be adapted to local culture and conditions.

WBSC co-president Don Porter said: “Sport is good for women, and softball at the Olympic Games would inspire more young girls into sport. That’s what we’re fighting for – for young women and girls to have the opportunity to realise their dreams and to go to the Olympic Games.”

At the professional level, baseball and softball are a $20 billion business worldwide, and are among the leading professional sports. Baseball is broadcast into 200 countries and the sport and its audiences are continuing to globalise and grow in key regions of the world including India, Africa, Middle East, Europe, Caribbean, South America and China, and the sport now boasts 250 million fans worldwide.

With 65 million active players around the world at various levels, baseball and softball currently rank as the largest sport not on the Olympic programme, and with the full support and resources of the sports’ professional partners, the potential for baseball and softball to become the next great global game is very real.

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

Mark Parker, CEO and President of Nike has decided to change the name of the Joe Paterno Child Development Center, a child care facility at the company’s headquarters due to his association in the child sex scandal surrounding Penn State.

Joe Paterno, who was the head coach of Penn State college football for a period of 46 years, is closely affiliated with the child sex scandal that broke late last year.

“I have been deeply saddened by the news coming out of this investigation at Penn State. It is a terrible tragedy that children were unprotected from such abhorrent crimes.   With the findings released today, I have decided to change the name of our child care center at our World Headquarters. My thoughts are with the victims and the Penn State community,” said Parker.

Nike founder Phil Knight, who defended Paterno at the coach’s memorial service, says ”it appears Joe made missteps that led to heartbreaking consequences.”

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) is has announced the duathlon competition of the 2013 World Games in Cali, sick Colombia scheduled for 26-27 July will also double as 2013 ITU Duathlon World Championships for elite athletes, cialis pills replacing the previous host city Segovia.

The World Games, allergy first held in 1981, are a major international multi-sport event held every four years for sports that are not contested in the Olympic Games. The World Games are under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee and many sports included in previous World Games later achieved Olympic Games status including triathlon which was part of the 1993 edition held in The Hague, Netherlands.

“It is always a great thrill being accepted onto the programme of a major Games, especially for an emerging sport like duathlon that has great potential,” said Marisol Casado, ITU President and IOC Member. “We are excited the World Games has welcomed duathlon and we look forward to a wonderful Games in 2013.”

Duathlon appears in the World Games for the first time in 2013 with high hopes of remaining on the programme in the future.

As Segovia will no longer host the 2013 ITU Duathlon World Championships, a new venue is being explored for all non-elite categories, such as age-group sprint and standard, junior, Under23 and para-triathletes.

Bidders have been invited to register their interest in sponsoring some of the most iconic London 2012 venues.

The Olympic Stadium, prostate aquatics centre and the multi-use arena, allergist which will host the 2012 handball competition, are among the venues to have naming rights and other prominent sponsorship deals up for grabs.

It has been described as “a rare opportunity” to be linked to the future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, east London, by Olympic Park Legacy Committee (OPLC) chief executive Andrew Altman. The venues are expected to begin reopening from 2013.

Interested parties have until March 2 this year to submit their interest in sponsoring a venue, before they can then submit proposals. Sponsors are expected to be appointed by the OPLC in May.

OPLC figures show sponsors will get plenty of exposure for their money. The Olympic Stadium is going to host the World Athletics Championship in 2017, while the multi-use arena and the aquatics centre are expected to attract more than one million visitors a year when they re-open after the Olympics.

About 9.3 million visitors a year are forecast to visit the Olympic Park from 2016.

Altman said: “This is a rare opportunity to become part of one of the most exciting new places in the world. Billions of people will see these venues during the Games, and millions more will visit every year.

“We are looking for sponsors who share our vision to create an inclusive Park that promotes healthy living and offers sporting, training and employment opportunities to our local communities.

“The fact that we aim to appoint sponsors before the Games even start is another example of how London is further ahead in planning legacy than any previous host Olympic City.”

The OPLC is now running a bidding process for other sporting, commercial and cultural uses of the Olympic Stadium and aims to appoint the winning bidders in May. Some 16 bidders have declared an interest in using the stadium after the Games and must now submit full bids before March 23.

An operator to manage the stadium on a day-to-day basis is also sought by the OPLC. Last month, Greenwich Leisure Limited was named as the operator of the multi-use arena and aquatics centre.

London-based building and engineering company BAM Nuttall was awarded two contracts worth a combined total of £76m to work on the Olympic Park after the Games. The 18-month project will create about 500 temporary jobs.

FIFA has announced that it expects to almost double the revenue accrued from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa in Brazil in 2014.

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has predicted that the 2014 World Cup will generate profits of $1.2 billion for soccer’s world governing body.

“The 2014 World Cup should bring in $3.5 billion, and while expenditure should reach $2.3 billion in the same period. FIFA will thus achieve a positive result of $1.2 billion.”

Valcke was speaking in Rio de Janeiro at a local organising committee (LOC) board meeting ahead of the tournament.

He also explained FIFA’s 2010 – 2014 financial cycle.

“By contrast, sale cialis FIFA made a profit of $631 million over the four years leading up to South Africa’s World Cup, with 87% of its $4.19 billion turnover generated by the tournament itself. FIFA’s financial report for the period confirmed that expenditure over the four years was $3.56 billion, $105 million over budget due to additional investments in football development and a $31 million overspend on the 2010 World Cup”.

Valcke sought to “point out again that there have never been and there are no tensions between the [Brazilian] government and FIFA” after yesterday’s announcement on alcohol sale during the 2014 World Cup and emphasised that it is only the venue in Natal which is a stadium concern ahead of the tournament.

It is likely that the proposed 2014 World Cup Law, which will monitor commercial rights, alcohol sale and advertising rules, will be activated from March. There has been concern that FIFA will try and circumvent Brazilian law across the board but Brazilian Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo has expressed his confidence in the bill.

“In regards to the 2014 Bill, we are very optimistic that we will accomplish this mission in March. We had the presence of Vicente Candido and Renan Filho, the Presidential Special Commission, to discuss the last final points of the bill text. My optimism is based on the commitment of the special commission for the FIFA World Cup and the House of Representatives that they will vote on the bill in the beginning of March”.

Rebelo did concede that tickering remains as issue.

“The access [to tickets] is limited due to the capacities in the stadiums and as such it is important to ensure that all Brazilians will have a fair chance of access. We need to find adequate solutions and there is a lot of effort to find them from all parties”.

Glasgow 2014 has asked the worldwide Digital Media industry to develop a plan to support some of the organisation’s major programmes including ticketing, salve sponsorship, asthma volunteering and the Queen’s Baton Relay.

The opportunity will see the development of an innovative Digital Media Strategy in order to generate worldwide excitement and interest in the Games.

The plan will be fully aligned to Glasgow 2014’s communications and marketing strategy and reflect Glasgow 2014’s milestones and timescales. It will also explore the provision of digital media products and services.

Glasgow 2014’s Head of Marketing and Advertising, sale viagra Martin Reynolds, said:

“We have seen London 2012 use Digital Media in a way that no other Games has done before, so we’re looking to build on that success as we move onto Glasgow 2014.

“The Queen’s Baton Relay, for example, is a truly Commonwealth-wide initiative so we will be looking at how we can ensure everyone can get involved and feel part of the journey to Glasgow 2014. Social Media has become the catalyst for unrivalled audience engagement and we want our Digital Media Strategy to capitalise on this and deliver an outstanding online experience. We want our Digital Media strategy to be a benchmark for future Commonwealth Games Host Cities.”

Key areas for consideration by applicants include: the Glasgow 2014 website, supporting and enhancing the commercial programme, online marketing campaigns, mobile communication, social media and film content.

The contract award will be made at the end of August 2011 and will operate for an initial period of three months. The tender closes to applications on 3 August 2011.

Claims that this year’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand could be heading for a significant financial shortfall have been rubbished by event chief Martin Snedden.

Snedden, the CEO of Rugby NZ 2011 Ltd., stated that an investigation by the New Zealand Herald was “disingenuous and misleading” after it reported that the Rugby World Cup would cost NZ$1.2bn (US$962m) and generate just NZ$700m ($561m) in direct economic returns.

He stated that the Herald’s figures had “inexplicably” ignored almost NZ$270m ($216.5m) in revenue from ticket sales and incorrectly included stadium construction costs and upgrades to port and airport infrastructure.

Snedden added: “There are no ‘white elephants’. In most instances, Rugby World Cup 2011 has simply acted as a catalyst to accelerate improvements that would have occurred anyway, albeit possibly a little bit later. Future events such as the FIFA U-20 World Cup and Cricket World Cup 2015 will enjoy these benefits with no additional capital outlay.

“Then there is the potential for ongoing post-event economic benefits to New Zealand’s tourism and business sectors if leveraging initiatives during the tournament bear fruit down the track. Studies on other major events, including the Sydney Olympics (in 2000) show these can be considerable.”

In other news, Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) has granted MediaWorks Radio broadcast rights to Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand.

Under the deal MediaWorks Radio will provide listeners with match updates, expert opinion and analysis across its stable of stations broadcast to an audience in excess of 1.4 million.

The deal also enables a wide range of promotional opportunities for Rugby World Cup 2011 commercial partners to leverage their association with the Tournament throughout New Zealand.

RWCL Managing Director Mike Miller said: “We are delighted that MediaWorks Radio has joined the extensive family of Rugby World Cup 2011 broadcasters.

“Wall to wall coverage across New Zealand will give fans an unprecedented opportunity to engage with a Tournament that is firmly established as one of the world’s premier sporting events.”

MediaWorks Radio General Manager of Talk Jana Rangooni added: “We’re excited to be able to provide coverage of Rugby World Cup 2011 across RadioLIVE and LIVESport with Martin Devlin leading our coverage alongside an exceptional line up of dedicated sports journalists.”