Martin Ward has become the latest boxer to sign a promotional deal with Matchroom Sport. 

The exciting Team GB podium star will make his debut in September and is expected to begin life in the paid ranks at lightweight before moving up through the divisions. 

“I’m really happy to be teaming up with Eddie Hearn and MatchroomSport,” said Ward. “I’m going to be working incredibly hard to impress and I know that Eddie wants me to fight seven times in my first year so I’m really excited.”

Decorated as an amateur, Ward, 20, will be trained by Tony Sims alongside fellow Matchroom Sport stars Darren Barker, Lee Purdy and John Ryder. “It’s a fantastic place to begin your career,” said Ward. “Darren has fought for a World title and is a class act, Lee is as tough and tenacious as they come and John has clearly learnt from being in the gym so I can’t wait to get going.” 

Ward joins fellow GB teammates Scotty Cardle and Kal Yafai in Eddie Hearn’s burgeoning squad of hot young British talent, and the promoter is delighted to have secured his signature. “I’ve known Martin for a few years now and every time I’ve seen him in the gym he has left me mesmerised,” said Hearn. 

“At 20 years of age, Martin already had bags of experience and is in my opinion one of the most exceptional talents this country has ever produced. Martin will be out a minimum of seven times a year and we will be putting all our resources into ensuring he reaches his full potential.”

The World Open, one of Snooker’s prestigious ranking events will be held in the Chinese city of Haikou for the next five years, World Snooker has announced.

The world ranking tournament, details of which were confirmed at a press conference in China today, will be known as the Haikou World Open.

World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn said: “We are delighted to announce the staging of the World Open in Haikou for the next five years.

“The popularity of snooker in China continues to grow at a phenomenal rate and we have capitalised on that by establishing a third full ranking event, alongside the China Open and Shanghai Masters.

“We expect to make more announcements about events in China in the coming weeks.”

The 2012 tournament runs from February 27 to March 4 and features the world’s top 16 players.

They will be joined by 16 qualifiers and eight wild cards at the final venue.

All matches up to and including the quarter-finals will be best-of-nine frames.

The World Open has previously been known as the Grand Prix and LG Cup, and adopted its current identity in 2010, when Neil Robertson took the title in Glasgow.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) is considering boycotting the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards after the BBC failed to include one female nominee in the prestigiuos ceremony

The ten-man shortlist, arthritis compiled by national newspaper and magazine sports editors, impotent is entirely made up of male contenders this year. The list features golfers Luke Donald, drugs Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy, cyclist Mark Cavendish, boxer Amir Khan, tennis star Andy Murray, cricket representatives Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, and athletes Mo Farah and Dai Greene.

The BOA is angry that female stars have been overlooked, with the likes of Rebecca Adlington left out despite winning gold and silver at the World Aquatics Championships this year.

BOA chairman Lord Moynihan and chief executive Andy Hunt are now widely reported to be considering a boycott of the awards night. However, such a move would mean turning their backs on Athletes, Farah and Greene.

A statement from the BOA read: “The Sports Personality of the Year is a prestigious honour and, typically, the BBC does a fantastic job recognising truly deserving sports men and women. This year, however, there were some glaring omissions from the list.

“Whether we attend this year is less important than what happens with the award in the future. To that end, we are encouraged to see that the BBC will review the process by which the finalists and winners are chosen in subsequent years.

“With next year being an Olympic year – and such an important year for British sport – this review is timely and will no doubt lead to an even better process going forward.”

Momentum Worldwide has announced the launch of sports marketing company Momentum Sports in Brazil.

The agency’s capabilities will include sponsorship evaluation and negotiation, endorsements, licensing, merchandising, sponsorship activation, event marketing, brand communication, promotions and results analysis and measurement.

Momentum Sports will be built on four pillars of expertise including brand knowledge, passion for sports, local market reputation in Brazil and global support from Momentum Worldwide and McCann Worldgroup offices around the world.

Momentum Worldwide CMO and Momentum Sports Co-Chairman Kevin McNulty stated: “The fans of today experience sports in a dramatically different way than they did years ago. And a new breed of fan deserves a new kind of agency. This is a new world and fans must come first and be approached with a completely tailored multi-channeled marketing program that connects them to the game, athletes and brands in both the physical and digital worlds.”

Momentum Brazil’s President and Momentum Sports Co-Chairman Marcos Lacerda added: “In 2016, two monumental events will take place: the city of Rio de Janeiro will stage the Olympics and the first generation of “digital natives” will turn 18. It is the perfect storm and Momentum Sports will tap into its research capabilities to launch understand how these passionate fans want to connect to the game. Our first research findings on fan behavior and interests will break in August. It will bring a new truth to how sports drives purchase behavior.”

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.