Aston Villa are looking into the possibility of a safe-standing area at Villa Park in a bid to boost attendances and improve the atmosphere.

Chief executive Paul Faulkner broached the subject with fans at a supporters’ consultation group before their 1-1 home draw with Everton on Saturday and was encouraged by the reaction.

Villa’s interest comes after the Scottish Premier League confirmed after a general meeting of the league’s 12 clubs at end of last year that they will consider requests for pilot safe-standing schemes.

Scotland is not bound by the legislation that banned standing areas in top-flight football in England, sales which came in to force after the Taylor Report into the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.

Based on similar models in Germany, the Football Supporters’ Federation has reasoned for the introduction of safe-standing areas and Safe Standing Campaign co-ordinator, Peter Daykin, believes it could be a possibility for Villa and other English clubs.

“We’re delighted that the SPL has engaged with its supporters and reacted to fan demand for standing in this way. The setting up of pilot schemes is the next logical step in the debate and we will keenly watch developments in Scotland,” said Daykin.

“We can only expect to see the clamour for safe standing in England to grow yet further.

“If the Scottish experiment proves to be successful, the Premier League and Football League could join our call for the legislation to be reviewed.”

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Is a return to standing a step forward or a step back? Have your say in our community discussion here

The FIA has terminated North One Sport’s (NOS) contract as promoter of the World Rally Championship, after the firm could give no assurances that it would receive the investment required to continue in its role.

The agreement was torn up on Friday evening, despite NOS believing it had an investor ready to buy the company and safeguard its future. The FIA insists no such offer to purchase NOS was presented to it.

An FIA statement said: “The FIA sought urgent unequivocal assurances from NOS that it could fulfil its contractual obligations and deliver the promotion of the upcoming Rally Monte Carlo and the Championship for 2012 and for the future. It is with regret and disappointment that no such assurance has been given to the FIA, and therefore today the FIA has been driven to terminate its contract with NOS. NOS has conspicuously failed to deliver its contractual obligations and is in fundamental breach of contract.

“The FIA has fully supported and co-operated with both NOS and the administrators of the parent company CSI [Convers Sports Initiatives, now in administration] in their efforts to secure a purchaser. Contrary to press speculation however, no firm offer to purchase NOS has been presented to the FIA during this period but only numerous non-binding expressions of interest subject to due diligence. The FIA has been notified of at least seven expressions of interest, but none have come to fruition.”

The statement adds that the FIA is confident of delivering the opening round of the WRC, Rally Monte-Carlo, which begins in 10 days.

“The FIA has given time and support to all the parties concerned to find the right solutions,” it said. “Regrettably however, not only has NOS failed to perform in accordance with its contract, it has also been unable to secure the essential investment required to enable it to deliver the Championship.

“This has placed the FIA in an unprecedented situation just 10 days before Rally Monte Carlo in that the FIA will now have to take urgent action to secure the staging of the Championship. The Federation is now working tirelessly to ensure the WRC goes ahead as fully as planned to mitigate the consequences of the breach of NOS.

“The FIA has now launched urgent top level discussions with several partners and suppliers to guarantee the key organisational and promotional components of the Championships, including timing and tracking, TV production and distribution, as well as sponsorship servicing are put in place.”

North One Sport staff members will attend a redundancy meeting in London tomorrow morning. Eurosport is expected to step in to the WRC promoter role in North One’s place.

Partners of the Rugby World Cup 2011 to be held in New Zealand have confirmed today, March 16, that a decision has been made, reluctantly stating that Christchurch will be unable to host the seven matches scheduled to be played at Stadium Christchurch.

A press statement revealed that the quarter finals set to be played in the nation’s second largest city will be relocated to Eden Park, while all other group matches will be rescheduled to be played at other venues in New Zealand.

The conclusion was a unanimous decision supported by Tournament owners the International Rugby Board (IRB), the New Zealand Government, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) and Tournament organiser Rugby New Zealand 2011 (RNZ 2011).

This follows a detailed review of reports assessing damage to key Tournament facilities and infrastructure caused by the devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the city on February 22 and advice from the stadium operator, Vbase, that it could not be certain that all necessary remedial work could be completed in time for RWC 2011.

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset travelled to Christchurch for the announcement and stated: “Yesterday we were informed by Stadium Christchurch operator Vbase that it could not guarantee that the extensive repairs required could be completed in time. That information, coupled with a thorough review of every aspect of hosting RWC 2011 in the city, means that Tournament partners have been left with no choice but to make the difficult decision to reallocate the seven matches due to be played in Christchurch.

“This has been a hard decision for all involved, given the place of Canterbury in New Zealand Rugby and the tremendous enthusiasm and support that the people of Christchurch have displayed for RWC 2011. The thoughts of the global Rugby family continue to be with the people of Christchurch and everyone affected as they focus on the city’s rebuilding process and repair of key public services and facilities.”

Ticket holders for all Christchurch matches will be offered the option of a refund or the opportunity to secure tickets to the reallocated matches. RNZ 2011 has confirmed there will be sufficient availability of tickets for those wanting to take up that option.

Stadium operator Vbase confirmed that repair time-frames were so tight, there would be no leeway for work delays or for any risks that would impact time-lines. The company also identified a number of risks including;

• Ongoing investigation required that might reveal the need for further work in relation to structures and playing surface
• Complexity of a work programme that includes superficial and structural repairs and full replacement of the playing surface
• Availability of resources (labour, material and equipment) and timeliness of securing consents
• Aftershocks that might impact on the work programme

RNZ 2011 Chairman Brian Roche said: “We know Cantabrians are passionate about Rugby and we know that many wanted the matches to remain as a way to unite and heal their shattered city.

“However, we needed to weigh up the risks of continuing with matches in Christchurch with just 25 weeks until the world’s third largest sporting event kicks off. Sadly, we collectively agreed the risks were too great. The time-frames for repairs were too tight, the uncertainty too much.”

NZRU CEO and RNZ 2011 director Steve Tew added: “Our hearts go out to Canterbury fans today given the inevitable disappointment this decision will cause for many.”

“Tournament partners are looking into a number of initiatives that will give Cantabrians a chance to be part of our Stadium of Four Million. We still want them to play a part in hosting a successful Tournament and to share in the excitement of this event.”

Eden Park was confirmed as the venue for the quarter finals of October 8 and 9 and a decision regarding where the five Pool matches will now be played will be taken jointly by the Tournament’s partners as soon as feasibly possible, likely before the end of March.

RNZ 2011 CEO Martin Snedden stated: “Eden Park was the only logical alternative to stage two of the Tournament’s premier matches given the ground capacity and visitor accommodation demands associated with these quarter final matches.

“We are working hard to ensure as many pool matches as reasonably possible remain in the South Island. A key consideration in all of this is to reschedule matches in a way that minimises the impact on other matches and therefore causes the least disruption to existing arrangements for teams and travelling.”

Snedden added: “We appreciate this is a time of great uncertainty for fans which is why we are trying to resolve all issues as quickly as possible. We expect to be in a position to announce where the five matches will be played within two weeks.

“We are enormously grateful for the support of all our partners in New Zealand during this difficult process and the cooperation that has been shown as we work together to resolve this situation.”

USA Triathlon have elected five candidates to the USA Triathlon Board of Directors.

Three incumbents were re-elected: Susan Haag (Jacksonville, order Fla.), viagra cheap who represents the Florida Region; Mike Wein (Marietta, drug Ga.), from the Southeast Region; and Steve Sexton (Pilot Hill, Calif.) as an Elite/Pro Athlete Representative. Haag and Wein will both serve four-year terms, while Sexton will serve a two-year term.

Two newly elected members of the USA Triathlon Board of Directors were also announced and will serve four-year terms: Kevin Haas (Berkeley, Calif.) will join as the Southwest Region Representative, and David Kuendig (Lexington, Ky.) as the Mideast Region Representative, having previously served on the Board as an Athlete Representative.

Also, two seats on the Athlete Advisory Council (AAC) were newly filled by Gwen Jorgensen (St. Paul, Minn.) and Joel Rosinbum (Austin, Texas). Sexton retains his seat on the AAC by virtue of his election to the Board as Elite/Pro Athlete Representative. They will all serve two-year terms.

Additionally, nine USA Triathlon Regions elected members to their respective Regional Councils, while two national bylaw proposals and one resolution were approved.

A potential joint San Diego-Tijuana bid will not be considered for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games as it doesn’t fall in line with the International Olympic Committee’s charter, it was revealed today.

Vince Mudd, a member of the new San Diego Olympic Host Committee said: “The International Olympic Committee put its foot down and said it will not change its charter.”

IOC rules don’t allow two countries to host an Olympic Games together.

Former San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, now the President of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce said: “I thought a bi-national approach would be great but that doesn’t mean we can’t do it on our own.”

San Diego are also looking at plans to bid for the games on their own with Sanders suggesting they have analysed 2024, 2028 and 2033 for potential bids.

Any potential bid San Diego will cost in the upwards of $70 million followed by an international bid at a price of $250 million and an operations cost of $3 billion, not including construction costs, Mudd said.

The USA TODAY Sports Media Group announced the formation of USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties.

This division brings together the BNQT action sports properties and several recent acquisitions, including MMAjunkie.com and its associated UFC and mixed-martial arts properties, and the Big Lead Sports mainstream sports properties. The result is one unified collection of premium sports inventory that allows advertisers to reach sports enthusiasts at scale while providing unique and extensive targeting opportunities.

As part of USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties’ formation, longtime digital industry executive Chris Pirrone has been named General Manager, overseeing operations.

“USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties is designed to strategically integrate our premium sports properties to create compelling content for sports fans,” said Tom Beusse, President of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group. “Chris brings the digital marketing expertise necessary to lead this team, which we believe will make USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties a one-stop shop for fans, and for brand advertisers seeking to engage sports fans in meaningful and unique ways.”

“As one of the most-visited sports properties online, our audience reach and scale is immense,” said Pirrone. “USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties is in a truly unique and enviable position to help agencies and advertisers drive sales and build brand awareness by engaging an enthusiastic audience of mainstream and action sports fans with custom executions across premium TV, print, display, mobile, video and social channels.”

Pirrone has more than ten years of experience in the digital marketing space. He joins the USA TODAY Sports Media Group from Traffic Marketplace where he served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Premium Display, Mobile and Video Digital Advertising. Prior to that, he served as Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel at Connexus Corporation and Associate General Counsel at ValueClick, Inc. A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Pirrone earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., and a J.D. from The University of Akron School of Law.

The USA TODAY Sports Media Group is currently the fourth-largest digital sports audience with nearly 23 million unique monthly users, according to the May comScore report. USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties is comprised of national, local and enthusiast sport audiences; 11 directly owned and operated digital sports properties; 500 exclusive representative and partner sites; and 15 sports channels dedicated to reaching vertical sports enthusiasts.

Liverpool Football Club have taken the decision to stay with its original Stanley Park stadium plan over a futuristic design redeveloping Anfield proposed by former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr., according to The Telegraph.

The new owners, Fenway Sports Group, have been working with an architect firm to design a stadium in Stanley Park, which was the intention dating as far back as 2000. Those plans were abandoned for a futuristic-looking stadium when Hicks and Gillett took over the team in 2006, but the former owners could not adequately finance the project.

Fenway Sports Group decided to move forward with the move to Stanley Park after a year of unsuccessfully trying to redevelop the team’s current home, Anfield.

The plan to move to Stanley Park still needs its own financing to proceed, but now that the course of action has been officially decided, there will be less obstacles, according to The Telegraph.

In August last year, housing minister Grant Shapps sparked a row by writing to the club, urging it to make a decision on whether to begin work on expanding and redeveloping the existing stadium on Anfield Road or to build a new one in Stanley Park.

He said: “In the interests of the wider community, the club needs to make a swift decision on whether they plan to build a new stadium or stay where they are – either way the residents around Anfield need to know.

“The delay is causing unnecessary uncertainty for the community. Local residents are living in limbo.”

But the club’s managing director Ian Ayre criticised Shapps for not understanding the complexity of the decision-making process.

He said: “It is extremely disappointing that Mr Shapps should publicly point the finger at Liverpool FC and claim that they alone are delaying the regeneration of the local area, when he is fully aware of the impact of central government cutbacks on the whole city.

“In particular, the demise of the Housing Market Renewal Initiative seven years into a 15 year programme in Anfield has created huge uncertainty for the local community which dwarfs the effect any delay on a stadium has had.”

Have your say in Liverpool’s stadium decision, join our discussion here

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has spoken of his reservations about Sepp Blatter remaining at the helm of FIFA.

Hoeness has asserted that the president of football’s governing body should be replaced if he fails to cleanse the game of the various ills that befell it in 2011.

He stated in an interview with German daily paper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, “Blatter must clearly explain in the next 12 months how he wants to dry out this swamp, and if he doesn’t do that, one must create possibilities to depose him.

“Every week something new comes up. We have been quiet for a while because we had the feeling that it was sorting itself out. But now we will once again put the matter on the boil”.

His comments echo the words of the German footballing giant’s CEO, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who lampooned the “daily corruption process at FIFA” in a speech in his role as Chair of the European Club Association in 2011.

Blatter was re-elected as FIFA president for the fourth time last year in spite of an annus horribilis for the 75-year-old which featured bribery and corruption scandals, as well as the racism furore.