The Marussia F1 Team have announced that Luca Colajanni has been appointed Partnership Director.

Luca, impotent who joins the Team from Scuderia Ferrari, site will be part of the Executive Management Team and will contribute to defining Marussia’s development strategy, as well as advising on its relationship with its Technical and Commercial Partners, including its powertrain partnership with Scuderia Ferrari.

Graeme Lowdon, President & Sporting Director, Marussia F1 Team, commented on the appointment: “We are very pleased that Luca is joining us at this stage in our development. He has a substantial depth of Formula 1 experience from his role with Scuderia Ferrari. I know that Luca will make a significant contribution to our Team, as he helps to develop the many relationships we now have with our Partners.” 

Colajanni added: “I am happy to be joining the Marussia F1 Team because, although it has been in Formula 1 for a relatively short time, the people behind it have an amazing motor sport history and a passion for racing is at the heart of everything they do. It was this enthusiasm that prompted me to accept a new challenge and leave a company with whom I have worked for over twenty years. I would like to thank Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo for having given me the chance of working for an amazing company like Ferrari and I am pleased that my new role with Marussia will continue to see us working together to a great extent.”

Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) president John Coates has revealed sporting managers need to catch up with athletes in the race for excellence or face losing a part of their funding.

In the wake of recent sporting scandals, major Olympic sports have been warned they risk losing one-fifth of their funding if they don’t meet new governance standards.

The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) says swimming, cycling, athletics, sailing, rowing, hockey and basketball will be the first sports to face new governance standards because they get the most government funding.

“The ASC believes that the Australian public has the right to expect that sports receiving significant taxpayer funding will be well run,” ASC chairman John Wylie said in a statement on Tuesday.

AOC president Coates said the approach was overdue.

“The threatened penalties for sports who do not comply may appear harsh but I urge those sports to adopt these reforms as soon as possible,” Coates said in a statement.

“Taxpayers deserve to know they are getting bang for their buck when it comes to funding sport.”

The move comes in the wake of controversies in swimming and cycling, and follows Australia’s slide to 10th on the medal tally at last year’s London Olympics.

After the London Games, Coates blamed some sporting administrators for failing to take ownership of the Olympic campaign, thereby contributing to the slip.

Swimming Australia last month released a damning report which found flaws in the sport’s governance, separate from another report which was critical of the swim team’s culture and leadership.

Cycling’s Wood review, released in January, also recommended fixing governance shortcomings in that sport.

Swimming Australia president Barclay Nettlefold said the organisation had committed to meeting the new standards.

“As a sport we must aim for best practice governance and administration, and that will lead to creating the best environment for our elite athletes and coaches to succeed,” he said in a statement.

News Corporation and ESPN announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which a unit of News Corporation will buy ESPN’s 50 percent equity interest in ESPN STAR Sports (ESS).

The transaction will allow News Corporation units to own and operate all of the ESS businesses while providing ESPN more independence and flexibility in future support of The Walt Disney Company’s overall efforts in Asia.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and ESS will continue to be jointly managed by the two companies until the transaction closes.

“News Corporation’s acquisition of the interest of ESS that we did not already own continues the program of simplifying our operating model, consolidating our affiliate ownership structures, and furthers our commitment to delivering incredible sports programming to consumers across the globe, and particularly enhancing our position in sports programming in emerging markets,” said James Murdoch, Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Chairman & CEO International, News Corporation.

“After 16 years jointly managing ESS, we have decided to independently pursue future opportunities in Asia,” said John Skipper, President of ESPN and Co-Chairman, Disney Media Networks. “We are extremely proud of our role in building ESS into what it is today, and now with the growing digital landscape in Asia, we look forward to continuing to serve Asian sports fans through ESPN-branded digital businesses like ESPNCricinfo, the leading digital cricket brand in the world, ESPNFC and ESPN Mobile.”

News Corporation and ESPN also announced that Manu Sawhney, Managing Director of ESS, who has led ESS through significant growth over the last 16 years, will transition his role of Managing Director to Peter Hutton, currently SVP of Sports for FOX International Channels (FIC). Hutton will report to the ESS Board. Sawhney will be staying with the Company until August 31 to work with Hutton on a smooth transition.

Sawhney joined ESS’s marketing department in India in 1996 and went on to head its India business for four years, before shifting to Singapore as Head of Programming, Acquisition and Marketing. He was promoted to Managing Director in 2007. During his career at ESS, he has been responsible for various functions across the Company, including sales, distribution, programming, acquisition, marketing and network presentation.

“In his 16 years with the Company, Manu has been a key architect of ESS’s growth, and his contributions since its inception have helped ESS become a leading sports media Company in Asia, bringing world class events — from the ICC Cricket World Cup to the London 2012 Olympic Games — to fans across the region. He led ESS’s expansion to 24 countries across multiple platforms and networks, including launching STAR Cricket, ESPN HD, STAR Cricket HD, ESPNEWS and ESPN Player. We are very grateful to him for his significant contributions to the Company during his time in India and Singapore,” said Jan Koeppen, COO Europe and Asia, News Corporation and Russell Wolff, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, ESPN International.

They added, “Peter is a very talented sports media executive, and we believe his extensive experience in sports rights and production will serve ESS well as the business enters into a new phase of development.”

Sawhney said, “It has been a privilege to serve News Corporation and ESPN at ESS for 16 exciting years. I have had an opportunity to grow with the Company and work with an amazing group of people during my tenure, expanding our business to 28 networks across television, online, broadband and mobile. As the organization begins a new chapter under new ownership, I have decided to move on after the transition and I am looking forward to the next exciting phase of my career.”

“I am excited to take on this new role,” Hutton said. “I look forward to working with the ESS team to consolidate ESS’s leadership position in sports broadcasting in Asia, and to continue the Company’s record of broadcasting excellence in serving sports fans.”

Hutton joined FOX International Channels Sports in 2011 after 20 years in the international sports television business. He previously worked at Broad Reach Media, a media consultancy firm. Prior to that, Hutton was at Ten Sports in Dubai from 2002-2009, where he eventually served as Chief Operating Officer. From 1993-2002, he ran TWI, the television division of IMG, running their Indian business as well as television production for Asia. He was a radio and television journalist, commentator and presenter from 1982-1993. Hutton earned a Bachelor’s degree from the Cambridge University and will be relocating to Singapore with his family.

English Conference North team Worcester City Football Club have had their plans to build a new stadium approved by the city council.

St Modwen Properties is developing the 3, anabolics 000-seat stadium, anabolics which will include a hotel, restaurant and office, near junction 7 of the M5.

The new stadium is to be built in three phases, with the bulk of the work being planned for the first phase.

Communities secretary Eric Pickles must now make the final decision on the plan, because the development is contrary to local planning policy but a decision is not expected for up to five months.

Director of the club Anthony Hampson said: “These things don’t happen overnight, plans will be phased in over time – the club will not want to run before it can walk.

“We were near bankruptcy at one stage but we’ve managed to swing the situation round and make the club break even and invest in the playing squad as well.”

The club has to leave current home St George’s Lane by June 2013, as it has already sold the ground to clear its debts and help pay for the new stadium.

The project includes 700 parking spaces, office buildings, a hotel, restaurant and car and motorcycle showroom, along with room to expand the capacity of the stadium.

Birmingham-based Glancy Nicholls Architects designed the project.

The Final Report of the Special Investigation Committee looking into claims made by BBC journalists last September of corruption involving the London 2012 Olympic Games has been welcomed Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu, President of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) as it has exonerated the organisation.

The committee, chaired by the chairman of AIBA’s disciplinary committee, has declared the BBC report – which claimed an Azeri businessman bankrolled AIBA’s World Series of Boxing in return for two guaranteed Azeri medals at London 2012, to be “groundless and unsupported by any credible evidence.”

However the BBC have hit back, insisting they stand by the claims made in the programme, and declaring their intention to continue to co-operate with an independent investigation by the International Olympic Committee Ethics Commission.

The special investigations committee’s statement added: “We have conducted an exhaustive investigation over the past two months and we have concluded that the allegations…were completely without merit.”

The committee accepted that an investment was made by an Azeri businessman, Hamid Hamidov, but said the investment was purely for “commercial purposes” and “the subject of medals had never come up in any discussions or agreements.”

The AIBA President met on Tuesday morning with Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to deliver a copy of the Final Report.

The main finding of the inquiry was that the allegations made by BBC journalists in a TV programme of money supposedly having been paid by Azerbaijan’s government in exchange for promises of Olympic gold medals were “groundless and not supported by any credible evidence.”

“We are pleased that after a lengthy investigation, the full facts have emerged and the air has been cleared,” Dr. Wu said in a statement Tuesday. “We welcome the findings of this important process, and are pleased that our procedures and our integrity have stood up to the scrutiny of an independent inquiry.”

The AIBA President also said he has “full confidence” in Ivan Khodabakhsh, the Chief Operating Officer of World Series of Boxing and is “pleased that he has been fully exonerated by the Special Investigation Committee.”

He noted the Final Report had detailed how Mr. Khodabakhsh, whom the BBC claimed had made promises of gold medals, had never actually met the investor, had no role in the negotiations for the investment, and in any case has no role in boxing competition at the London Olympic Games.

Dr. Wu added that within 24 hours of receiving the independent inquiry’s findings, he had presented a copy of the Final Report to the IOC President.

“I wanted to share the full report of the Special Investigation Committee with President Rogge as soon as I received it as this is appropriate,” Dr Wu said.

In a statement to Press Association Sport, the BBC said: “Newsnight is aware of AIBA’s position and we stand by our investigation.

“While we anticipate AIBA making all the evidence they reviewed public, we are continuing to co-operate with the ongoing independent investigation by the International Olympic Committee Ethics Commission.”

The Special Investigation Committee was appointed on 23 September 2011, as soon as a BBC programme, made its allegations.

International sports marketing agency MP & Silva has been appointed by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) as its exclusive media advisor in a multi-year deal.

The five-year partnership will see IBAF and MP & Silva collaborate on worldwide distribution of all of the federation’s international team portfolio, including the Men’s and Women’s Baseball World Cup.

IBAF and MP & Silva will work together to expand IBAF’s sponsorship portfolio and MP & Silva will provide strategic marketing consultancy and support services to further the sport’s exposure in the USA and the key Asian markets of Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Andrea Radrizzani, group chief executive, MP & Silva, stated: “We are extremely honoured to be given this opportunity by IBAF to help extend the reach and popularity of baseball around the globe. The prospects for growth are very promising, in Central America and particularly in Asia and, in a strategic partnership with IBAF, we aim to develop a wider international base for this exciting sport and to engage baseball fans in Asia and other key markets more directly.”

Riccardo Fraccari, president, International Baseball Federation, added: “We are pleased to announce our co-operation with MP & Silva and look forward to expanding the distribution and exposure for the sport together. We have millions of fans far and wide and with MP & Silva as our media advisor, we hope to share and foster this global passion for baseball with even more fans around the world.”