The New York Mets have hired CRG Partners Group LLC to aid them in their financial crisis.

The firm assisted fellow MLB side the Texas Rangers in their bankruptcy proceedings in 2010.

The Queens based side would not be drawn on what the partnership means for their own fiscal position, pills and Mets Owner has Fred Wilpon reiterated his belief that the club will not be sold.

A statement read, “Mets Limited Partnership engaged CRG Partners to provide services in connection with financial reporting and budgeting processes

The Mets have debts in exces of $500 million, and owe $25 million to Major League Baseball and $40 million to Bank of America Corp, whilst Wilpon himself is currently being sued by the trustee for Bernard L. Madoff’s defunct firm.

The club lost $70 million last season and have taken the decision to offer minority stakes to raise capital. They may close of first of these sales by the end of the month.

CRG transformed the fortunes of Texas Rangers post bankruptcy under the guidance of one of the firm’s managing partners, William Snyder. He crucially pushed for an auction to increase the price of the sale of the club, and the Rangers have since reached the World Series in the past two years.

UEFA president Michel Platini’s tour of Ukraine has led him to believe that the country is on schedule to co-host Euro 2012 after completing a tour of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kiev and Lviv and receiving assurances from Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych. 

“There are no serious problems in preparing for Euro 2012, but there are many minor tasks and problems that need to be solved,” he said during the two-day tour.

He noted that Lviv’s stadium roof was not finished and Donetsk airport’s runway required upgrading. Further work was needed on transport improvements in Kharkiv and delivering more and better hotel accommodation in Donetsk, he pointed out.

Platini told a press conference in Kharkiv: “Two years ago we were still facing the issue, whether we can organize Euro 2012 in Ukraine. A year ago, we were deciding whether to leave four or two [host] cities and today we have four cities, and we need to efficiently use the remaining time to prepare for the championship.”

Platini offered praise for Kiev’s Olympic stadium, venue for the Euro 2012 final where construction problems have delayed completion.

The stadium has undergone a renovation costing an estimated $576 million. 

“I went out onto the grass of the stadium and kicked a goal. So I can say for sure that that stadium is ready,” quipped Platini in comment carried by DPA.

Kiev’s stadium is due to be officially opened on Oct. 8. 

The UEFA boss and his inspection team spoke with Yanukovych at the venue. 

Yanukovych insists Euro 2012 will leave Ukraine with huge legacy benefits when UEFA’s Euro 2012 circus leaves town.

“I’m confident that the infrastructure built in Ukraine will serve many generations,” he was quoted as saying by Interfax to reporters after his meeting with Platini. “This is a historic event in the life of our country,” he added.

Accompanying the UEFA delegation on the inspection tour were Deputy Prime Minister Borys Kolesnikov and Hryhory Surkis, head of Ukrainian FA.

Platini scheduled to inspect Poland’s Euro 2012 host cities – Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw, Wroclaw – from Oct. 11 to 13. 

Along with the Kiev stadium, Poland’s showpiece venue in Warsaw has also been beset by delays. Platini will be hoping to see significant progress when he visits in two weeks time. No date has yet been set for the Warsaw stadium opening.

African football power-broker, Issa Hayatou has been awarded the responsibility of running the football tournament at next year’s London Olympics by FIFA even though he is under investigation by the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Ethics Commission for corruption allegations.

In what will be viewed as a highly contentious choice in some circles, Hayatou has been appointed head of FIFA’s Organising Committee for Olympic football tournaments starting with London 2012. 

The 65-year-old from Cameroon, a member of the IOC since 2001, has also been appointed to take over FIFA’s GOAL project that supports development programmes in poorer nations.

Although Hayatou, President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), was boss of the Organising Committee at last year’s World Cup, he is still under investigation by the IOC following claims by a BBC television programme that he received a payment of 100,000 French francs in 1995 from the now defunct marketing company ISL.

Hayatou claimed his conscience was clear and that the money was given to the CAF to celebrate their 40th anniversary. 

But IOC President Jacques Rogge referred the allegations to the IOC Ethics Commission which still have to report their findings but could expel the 65-year-old as an IOC member if they find him guilty.

Six months after the Panorama programme, Hayatou again became embroiled in controversy when a British parliamentary inquiry into England’s failed 2018 World Cup was told that he  was allegedly  paid $1.5m each to vote for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid.

Qatar beat the United States by a landslide in the final round of voting for the right to host the 2022 tournament, the biggest ever upset in bidding history.

Hayatou described the corruption claim as “pure invention” while Qatar’s Football Association denounced the accusations as “serious and baseless” and said they would “remain unproven because they are false.”

An inquiry into the allegations, which first came to light in newspaper reports and were disclosed under Parliamentary privilege, later found there was no evidence whatsoever  to support them while serious allegations made by a whistle-blower regarding Qatar’s World Cup bid were subsequently withdrawn.

Public funding for Britain’s women’s indoor volleyball and men’s beach volleyball teams has been withdrawn.

The cut was announced earlier, but officially took effect on 1 October. The withdrawal of funds casts serious doubt over the teams’ participation at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Volleyball was one of eight sports to have its funding cut at the beginning of 2009 because of UK Sport’s £50 million (US$79.2 million) budget shortfall.

GB volleyball coach Audrey Cooper said: “This will have a massive impact on our preparations – without finance we can’t enter or put on events.

“In essence, after Friday [1 October] I shall have no full-time job. We are still working on a deal to try to ensure that I stay on in a part-time role, which will involve me trying to find new backers for the team.”

In August the women’s indoor team organised a 272-mile bike ride from Sheffield to London with the aim of raising £250,000 (US$396,000) to keep their Olympic dreams alive.

Cooper added: “We had some great publicity and made around £12,000, but the main disappointment was that no major backer came out of it and we are still looking for sponsorship.”

Next month’s Bledisloe Cup rugby Test between Australia and New Zealand in Hong Kong will go ahead despite reports the match may be moved because of poor ticket sales.

New Zealand television reports have said the match, which is due to take place on 30 October at Hong Kong Stadium, could be moved to England because fewer than 10,000 tickets have so far been sold for the 40,000-seat venue.

However, the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union has released a statement saying: “The match has definitely not been cancelled and will go ahead, as planned, at Hong Kong Stadium on 30 October, 2010.”

Australia Rugby Union boss, John O’Neill, added: “There are no plans to cancel the match, we’ve got to find ways and means of getting ticket sales back to what they should be.

“The arrangements around this match are a bit different to the ones two years ago in that we’ve left a lot of the organisation to the Hong Kong Rugby Union, for which they’re getting paid a fee, and I think it’s fair to say we need to be more hands on and work very hard to make sure that it is a success.”

Hong Kong hosted the first Bledisloe Cup game on a neutral ground in 2008, while the fourth match of the 2009 series took place at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium.

The Canadian Olympic Committee says it’s doubling its support to elite athletes over the next four years thanks to new and “unprecedented” support from the corporate sector.

The combination of ongoing government funding and this new corporate support “will guarantee … a bright and golden future for Canadian athletes, ailment ” COC president Marcel Aubut said on Wednesday.

There were few details provided about where the $100 million in corporate funding came from or which sports will benefit from it. The funding will be doled out to both summer and winter sports in four priority areas, arthritis Aubut said. Those include support for high-performance sport, Olympic preparation, national sport federation development and a specific envelope for Toronto’s 2015 Pan American Games team.

Those priorities have been endorsed by all the sporting communities, said Marie-Claire Rouleau, president of Speed Skating Canada. She was one of several heads of sport federations who welcomed the announcement saying it would support athletes’ Olympics dreams.

“Money makes it possible,” she said.

Many winter sport federations have struggled since the 2010 Vancouver Games to keep existing corporate sponsors and find new ones.

Online gambling company, bwin has signed a partnership with SPORTFIVE International to bring football fans free live streaming of 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

The two firms have unveiled ‘Qualifiers 2014 – Road to Brazil’, a new app that offers a digital multi-platform experience bringing live matches directly to football fans’ phones, tablets and PCs.

The initiative is part of bwin’s digital sponsorship strategy, which is focused on engaging with sports fans directly by offering premium content, closely integrated into online, mobile and social media platforms. 

This strategy is already being brought to life through bwin’s long-standing relationships with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, as well as its recently launched partnership with Manchester United.

The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) and IMG Worldwide Inc (IMG), the global sports, fashion and media company, have announced a strategic partnership on the inaugural AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

Under the terms of the agreement, IMG Events and Federations, a division of IMG, will utilize its 50 years of expertise in organizing and managing major sporting events around the globe, to consult and support event and game day operations for the AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

The game will be played at the Home Depot Center on the campus of California State University Dominguez Hills in Carson, CA on January 21, 2012 and is expected to be Southern California’s premier football event.

The inaugural AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will showcase the top draft eligible collegiate football players from across the country. In addition to developing a premier collegiate bowl game, the NFLPA is creating a unique opportunity to educate and prepare these college athletes for a successful transition into a career within the NFL.

Jay Ogden, Senior Vice President at IMG, said: “We are very excited to partner with the NFLPA on this inaugural event and to have the opportunity to support the NFLPA in their goal of creating a great event for both players and fans alike.”

Clark Gaines, Assistant Executive Director, NFLPA, added: “IMG will bring an elite management team and unparalleled sporting event expertise to the first-ever NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, ensuring a professional-level experience for its players, fans and sponsors.”