Chelsea FC are looking into the possibility of building a new stadium at at Battersea Power Station and have employed London’s leading developers to find out if they can do so.

The club, who still need to buy back the freehold of Stamford Bridge before they can move anywhere, are acting in order to ensure they would not miss out should the location emerge as their most viable option were they to choose to relocate from their current home.

The Blues have appointed Mike Hussey, chief executive of Almacantar, as their development partner and have hired architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox to draw up plans for the construction of a 55,000-60,000-seater stadium to the south-east of the Grade II listed power station site.

A Chelsea spokesman said: “In the past, we’ve talked to various people with interests in Battersea Power Station, but we haven’t had any substantive discussions with anyone regarding that site for several months.

“However, in light of current developments, we now think it prudent to look again at the feasibility and potential for the BPS site to be developed for a football stadium.

“We have made no decision to leave Stamford Bridge, and we continue to discuss with the local council any economically viable options to expand the the Bridge, but we will continue to investigate various options close to Stamford Bridge.”

Chelsea have still not given up hope of persuading the owners of Earls Court to give them permission to build there but the prospects of doing so are fading by the day.

There would also be complications involved in moving to Battersea Power Station, which has been empty for nearly two decades. Its owner Real Estate Opportunities, largely owned in turn by Treasury Holdings of Ireland, has been trying for a year to find an equity investor to fund a proposed £5.5billion ($8.5bn) redevelopment.

The site reportedly owes Lloyds Banking Group and the Irish National Asset Management Agency around £300million ($464.8m), a debt which can be called in at any time. A Malaysian investor, SP Setia, has offered to buy the senior debt for £255million ($395.3m) at 85p in the pound, according to reports.

That is the least of Chelsea’s concerns for now as they try to formulate a proposal to persuade Chelsea Pitch Owners to sell them the Stamford Bridge freehold after iSportconnect reported that the supporter-led company rejected last month’s offer. The club cannot move unless they are able to sell the land beneath their current home.

Emirates Airlines looks unlikely to extend its multi-million dollar sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup following the voting scandal that marred the 2018 and 2022 bidding process.

Boutros Boutros, sale divisional senior vice president of corporate communications and one of the Dubai-based airlines most senior executives, said it has had no contact with the organisation about the crisis and felt it had been “overlooked” by it despite being one of its largest benefactors.

Emirates has now commissioned research into its association with FIFA to see if there has been any long term damage to its brand.

On a visit to Australia to attend the Emirates sponsored Melbourne Cup yesterday, Boutros told B&T: “We are seriously thinking about not renewing our partnership with FIFA beyond 2014.”

In 2006 Emirates signed a record-breaking $195m deal with football’s world governing body to become its partner – the highest level of association a company can have with FIFA – from 2007 to 2014.

The agreement was the largest sponsorship association the airline has ever signed and followed its strategy of sponsoring football teams and major sporting events around the world.

Boutros commented: “We don’t get into politics but we believe the situation with FIFA went beyond an internal problem and became much bigger.

“As a sponsor you expect they will come and write to you in the middle of the issue or at the end of it. To them they act as if it’s nothing for sponsors. For us, in our history of sponsorship, it is the only event that when it happened our clients started writing to us saying ‘why do you support this organisation?’

“You’d expect at certain times that FIFA would send you some assurances so that we don’t read about it in the newspapers or press conferences when you are one of the main partners. We are considered a partner, but if you are a partner in the business I think once a year you owe him a report. And that’s why we felt we were overlooked by FIFA. At the end of the day they were probably too busy, but at the end of the day we haven’t seen any changes. There is nothing telling you these things will not happen again.”

Boutros said he hoped Emirates’ association with FIFA had not damaged the brand, but said it was waiting the results of research before a final decision on its commitment for 2018 and 2022 had to be made by June next year. He added: “With social media when you get negative reports from your passengers questioning why you are supporting FIFA, that has never happened to us before.”

Societe Generale has announced its sponsorship as Worldwide Partner of Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand and Rugby World Cup 2015 in England. A long-term partner of rugby in France, Societe Generale acquires a new dimension by building a long-term partnership with one of the world’s foremost sporting events.

Frédéric Oudéa, Societe Generale Group’s Chairman and CEO, says, “Societe Generale and rugby share strong values: team spirit, commitment and respect. Societe Generale has supported the development of rugby for many years, at both elite and amateur levels. Today our commitment, already deeply rooted in France, is acquiring a new dimension: being a Worldwide Partner of the next two Rugby World Cups will enable us to illustrate our Group’s international strategy and strengthen our ties with rugby around the world.”

In addition to being an official partner of the French national team and of the French rugby championship, Societe Generale also provides support to over 400 amateur clubs throughout France and strives to develop local initiatives with players of all levels. Since 1987, Societe Generale has gradually extended its involvement beyond France and now supports numerous national rugby federations in Asia, Europe and Africa.

Societe Generale first became a partner of Rugby World Cup in 1999, when the tournament was hosted in Wales, with a communication strategy limited to France. In 2007, Societe Generale was the first Worldwide Partner to be announced for Rugby World Cup held in France, that beat all records in terms of audience and attendance.

Bernard Lapasset, Chairman of the International Rugby Board (IRB), is very pleased with this renewed partnership, “We are delighted to be extending our partnership with Societe Generale, a strong supporter of Rugby around the world, across the next two Rugby World Cup tournaments.”

“The strength of the commercial programme is integral to the success of Rugby World Cup and the development of the Game worldwide and this ongoing relationship with one of the world’s leading banks is a massive boost for the Tournament. We look forward to working with Societe Generale over the next five years to further the promotion of the Game around the world.”

Mauricio Sulaiman was unanimously selected as the new president of the World Boxing Council replacing his father, Jose Sulaiman, who died last month following complications from heart surgery in early October. 

By a landslide, 26-0, Mauricio Suliaman, 44, was chosen by the Board of Governors to become the sixth president of the WBC in the wake of his 82-year-old patriarch’s nearly four-decade reign.

“It was a really emotional meeting and I am convinced that this is for my father. I will always be the son of Jose Sulaiman, and the WBC is a very solid, very strong organization with many, many people involved. All of the members of the Board of Governors, I have known since I was a kid,” said Sulaiman, former WBC secretary general, in an interview with RingTV.com.

“They’re honorable, they’re great, they have shared the values and principles of my father for many years, and I am sure that the WBC will continue with them being the leaders of the organization. As I have always said, I will always serve in any capacity, but the true power and the true force is with the Board of Governors.”

The International Cycling Union has announced today a new partnership for the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Louisville, herbal USA, capsule  with software company AFAS Software in Belgium. 

Under this new partnership, AFAS will provide assistance to the UCI to stage this event and in return will receive visibility along the world championships course. 

UCI Marketing and Events Director Gerrit Middag said that the latest deal demonstrated the enthusiasm for this spectacular event, which this year is breaking down traditional geographical boundaries. 

“The 2013 edition of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships will be historic in that it is being held outside Europe for the first time,” he said. “It is a bonus for us that an important company such as AFAS wishes to be part of this major event.” 

Among the software company’s principal markets are Belgium and the Netherlands which have a strong tradition of cyclo-cross. 

Robert Koelman, CEO of AFAS Belgium: “We are pleased to be able to support such a high-status event. In fact, AFAS has a lot in common with the Cyclo-cross racers. We’re also prepared to go to extremes to reach our goal, in our case to offer our customers the best possible business software. Nothing, not the proverbial rain, wind, mud or any obstacle can stop us from achieving our corporate mission and helping our customers.” 

The 2013 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships will be held in Louisville, Kentucky, on February 2 and 3.