David Bernstein, chairman of the English Football Association, has written to FIFA President Sepp Blatter to reassure him that they want to continue working with the world governing body, despite protesting at some of the comments made by senior officials, including Argentina’s Julio Grondona and Spain’s Angel Maria Villar-Llona.

An albeit unsuccessful attempt to get the controversial election at the FIFA Congress in Zurich last Wednesday, June 1, postponed, saw the FA praised and criticised in equal measure, demonstrating how isolated English soccer has become in the international arena.

Blatter promised after his re-election that England would not be punished for their intervention and that he wanted to continue to work with the FA and Bernstein has responded in kind.

The FA chairman wrote, in an article published in The Mail on Sunday: “Some advised against doing so [trying to get the election postponed] but I would have not been true to English football if I had ducked the issue.

“The various allegations of corruption and poor governance are highly damaging to the game and I am convinced our views have been a catalyst for change.

“I’ve since written to Sepp Blatter and restated our desire and support for reform and that England wants to continue working with FIFA.

“This is hugely important and the calls for us to remove ourselves completely are made without considering any impact this will have – no England teams, no European club football, foreign players moving or risking worldwide bans.”

However, Bernstein remains unhappy about the conduct of Grondona and Villar-Llona, both members of FIFA’s ruling Executive Committee, who were publicly highly critical of England during the Congress. 

“The lack of respect shown to England by some FIFA representatives for us speaking out was unacceptable – particularly the accusation of lies – and I have made reference to this in my letter to Mr Blatter,” said Bernstein.

Bernstein revealed that he has also written to UEFA President Michel Platini, who is tipped to succeed Blatter when he steps down in 2015, adding: “I’ve written to Michel Platini to set out how important this is to the FA.

“Last weekend was great for UEFA in England and I know how much Michel enjoyed his time in London and the superb Champions League Final [between Barcelona and Manchester United] at Wembley. We have to play a serious role in UEFA, to best represent English football.”

Bernstein went on to acknowledge that the FA has too look at its own structures as well, adding: “While we are right to advocate reform at FIFA, we are not blind to the need for necessary reform at home.

“We cannot call others into question without addressing the concerns around the governance of the FA and English football.

“There is a need for greater independence and expertise at the top of the FA and tomorrow I will begin my own consultation programme to instigate this.

“I have asked both the Premier and Football Leagues to work together with the FA to review the way the game is currently regulated and identify where improvements might be needed, to ensure greater transparency and accountability.

“We have to press forward with this as an absolute priority.

“So many people are looking for leadership from the FA. We cannot ease up on our pursuit of independence, good governance and transparency.

“If we want respect from fans, clubs, players and leagues we have to earn it. With my board members, I am determined we will provide the leadership required.”

Die ZDF-Berichterstattung von den Olympischen Spielen in London stößt nach wie vor auf großes Zuschauerinteresse. Der vorläufige Höhepunkt der Wettbewerbe, cough das 100-Meter-Finale der Männer, arthritis erreichte am späten Sonntagabend, discount 5. August 2012, einen außerordentlich hohen Zuspruch bei den ZDF-Zuschauern: 8,81 Millionen Leichtathletik-Freunde verfolgten am Bildschirm den erneuten Olympiasieg von Superstar Usain Bolt aus Jamaika. Sogar 8,83 Millionen wollten kurz zuvor das 400-Meter-Rennen mit dem südafrikanischen Prothesen-Läufer Oscar Pistorius sehen. Damit erzielten diese beiden Rennen den bisher höchsten Zuschauerwert bei Olympia 2012.

Die abendlichen Leichtathletikübertragungen im ZDF erreichten Marktanteile von bis zu 31,8 Prozent.

ZDF-Olympia-Teamchef Dieter Gruschwitz: “Die Zuschauer nehmen unser Programmangebot mit einer Mischung aus Livebildern und aufgezeichneten Wettbewerben dankbar an. Dabei liegt der Liveanteil regelmäßig zwischen 80 und 90 Prozent.”

Der Durchschnittswert aller bisherigen Olympia-Übertragungen an den ZDF-Tagen, die jeweils vom frühen Morgen bis spät in die Nacht reichen, beträgt 3,58 Millionen Zuschauer. Das entspricht einem Marktanteil von 24,5 Prozent.

Twitter and ESPN have agreed a partnership looking to cash in on the sky-high volume of tweets about sports on TV by creating custom campaigns for brands around events like the World Series and the Super Bowl.

The two companies are announcing the first program, called GameFace, at ESPN’s upfront Tuesday morning. GameFace will center around the NBA Finals and be promoted on Twitter with the #GameFace hashtag. The social-TV dimension calls for the hashtag and program to be promoted on-screen during ABC’s live broadcasts of the NBA Finals, as well as on ESPN’s “NBA Tonight” show.

The goal of this initial campaign is to get fans to tweet photos of their best “game face” accompanied by the dedicated hashtag. At the end of each game of the finals, “NBA Tonight” studio analysts will display some of the top contest photographs on air. Some photos will also get exposure at ESPN.com/NBA.

Twitter and ESPN will be co-selling the campaign — which includes promoted tweets and trends, as well as plugs on ESPN, ABC and ESPN.com — as a single package for each potential sponsor. It’s the first time Twitter has collaborated with a TV network to build custom sponsorship packages around major events.

Twitter and ESPN said it is too early to describe exactly how a brand will be integrated, since they have not sold the first deal. At a minimum, the GameFace sponsor’s brand will displayed within the onscreen promotion of the contest on ABC, most likely within a lower-third graphic. The sponsor’s brand is also expected to be tied into the Twitter page housing the GameFace photo entries. The companies declined to discuss pricing.

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) confirmed yesterday, June 9, that the 12,000 capacity London 2012 Basketball Arena has become the fourth venue on the Olympic Park to be completed and one of the quickest to finish construction.

The arena will be one of the largest temporary venues ever used for an Olympic and Paralympic Games and will be dismantled after the Games to be reused elsewhere in other parts of the UK and overseas.

It’s completion has come ahead of schedule and on budget after initial works on the site began in October 2009, with work to erect the 1,000-tonne steel frame starting in March 2010.

ODA chief executive Dennis Hone said: “Completing construction on the Basketball Arena delivers another striking Games-time venue for the Olympic Park and an innovative structure that can be reused elsewhere after 2012.

“As the fourth Olympic Park venue completed and one of the quickest to finish construction, the Basketball Arena is another milestone for the Olympic Park Big Build and a tribute to the companies from across the UK involved in its delivery.”

During London 2012 the arena will stage preliminary matches and women’s quarter finals for the Games’ basketball tournament, in addition to the handball men’s quarter finals, all semi-finals and all medal matches. It will also host wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby during the Paralympic Games.

London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe said: “Basketball is one of the most popular Olympic sports and spectators will be able to see the game played out in spectacular surroundings.

“It is a superb venue which will be the centre of some of the best team action during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, added: “Basketball is one of the most atmospheric competitions of the Games and this has been captured by the artistic design of the arena.

“The speed with which this venue has been constructed is a tribute to the ODA and the architect whose design means this facility can be reused after the Games.”

Henry Kissinger, 88-year-old former US Secretary of State, has confirmed he is considering FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s offer to take up a role with the governing body’s new anti-corruption committee.

Kissinger told BBC Radio 5 Live yesterday, June 5, that he had been approached by the re-elected president after he stood unopposed last week for a further four-year term. One of Blatter’s pledges was to create a ‘Solutions Committee’ to deal with corruption investigations.

Kissinger stated: “He’s not been specific, except to say he wants to create a group of wise men to deal with issues which may arise. If it can help, I’d be willing to participate but we need to know other participants and terms of reference.”

Kissinger, who won the Nobel Peace prize in 1973 and was a major figure in the Richard Nixon administration, was a member of the reform panel set up by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after the scandal over Salt Lake City’s winning bid to host the 2002 Winter Olympics.

He is also a keen follower of soccer and was part of the bid team that secured the 1994 FIFA World Cup for the United States.

The city of St. Louis is returning to the professional soccer fold after USL Pro, order the third tier of US Soccer, anabolics announced announced on Thursday that it has awarded an expansion franchise for the 2015 season to the Missouri soccer hotbed.

The new, ed as-yet-unnamed club will be operated by longtime St. Louis business executive and former professional player Jim Kavanaugh in partnership with St. Louis Scott Gallagher, a tradition-rich youth club with a list of alumni that includes former and current MLS stars Taylor Twellman, Steve Ralston, Chris Klein, Brad Davis and Jack Jewsbury.

“We are thrilled to welcome St. Louis into USL PRO,” USL CEO Alec Papadakis said in a statement. “St. Louis, more than any other US city, has significantly contributed to the development and growth of American soccer on all levels – youth, collegiate and professional.

“Through the years, St. Louis players, coaches and soccer executives have greatly impacted not only the game of soccer, but the history of American soccer itself.”

The St. Louis USL PRO franchise will compete at the 5,000-seat Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo., and will be led by head coach Dale Schilly, who has nearly 30 years of coaching experience at every level.

“The St. Louis area has waited patiently for the return of professional outdoor soccer,” Schilly said.  “It has been gratifying to watch the professional game blossom across the country, yet frustrating for the St. Louis soccer community to not be a part of the growth on the professional level.

“With the new agreement in place between the MLS and USL PRO, there could not be a better time for St. Louis to be a part of the enthusiasm and passion that comes with this great sport.”

St. Louis last hosted a pro team in 2010, when AC St. Louis competed in the NASL Conference of the USSF D2 Pro League, a US Soccer-managed second-division league, before shutting down due to financial issues the following year.