International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and Confederation of African Football (CAF) chief Issa Hayatou yesterday, May 11, denied corruption allegations made against him by a British Parliamentary Committee.

Hayatou claimed allegations that he was paid for vote for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid were “pure invention” and reserved the right to sue “those propagating this campaign of denigration,” according to a statement on the CAF website.

The statement revealed that Hayatou would cooperate with any investigation by FIFA which wants a swift resolution to the latest spate of corruption claims involving six of its Executive Committee.

According to evidence submitted by newspaper the Sunday Times to a UK parliamentary inquiry this week, Hayatou and fellow FIFA Executive Committee member Jacques Anouma of the Ivory Coast were allegedly paid US$1.5m to vote for Qatar.

The CAF stated: “The President of the Confederation of African Football Issa Hayatou has categorically denied allegations of corruption brought against him before Parliament in Britain.

“This kind of reporting to create and propagate false information to destroy his reputation, leadership and integrity will not succeed.

“The President of CAF said all these accusations brought against him are pure invention and an attempt to discredit him.”

The statement added that Hayatou was “anxiously waiting for the so-called proof” from paper, with Qatar having beaten 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 and the first World Cup to be staged in the Middle East.

Qatar’s Football Association has also denied the allegations that Hayatou and Anouma were paid money, calling them “serious and baseless”, claiming they would “remain unproven because they are false.”

The Parliamentary Committee identified a man working for Hayatou and the Qataris as Amadou Diallo, though Mike Lee, the former communications director of London 2012 who helped mastermind Qatar’s victory, told the Committee he had never heard of Diallo.

There have nevertheless been strong links between African soccer’s heirarchy and Qatar for some time after Qatar used a clever but perfectly legal marketing loophole last year, to exclusively sponsor the CAF Congress, paying $1.8m for the right, preventing any of its rivals for 2022 from officially addressing delegates.

The CAF statement added: “In return, [the] Qatar 2022 Bid Committee was given the exclusive rights to address the general assembly and make presentations to members. 

“This sponsorship was approved by the Executive Committee of CAF…an agreement was signed between the two parties.”

Former England cricketer David Lloyd has been appointed as president of the Professional Cricketers’ Association.

The Lancastrian replaces former England opener Chris Broad, whose two-year tenure in the role has come to an end.

Former England coach Lloyd said: “I was the Lancashire PCA representative back in the 1970s and little thought I would one day be asked to take on the role of president – a role I am delighted to accept.

“The PCA has grown immeasurably since my time as a player in the range and quality of services it offers and I am delighted to be able to play a part as it continues to prosper.”

PCA chief executive Angus Porter added: “Chris Broad has been a wonderful advocate for the PCA in his time as president, and we are grateful for the intelligence and diligence he has brought to the role.

“In David Lloyd, we have found the perfect successor.”

Glasgow’s Bid to host the 2018 Youth Olympic Games has been enhanced after the city won the right to host the world renowned Turner Prize in 2015 in recognition of its global cultural status.

The prestigious arts prize will be held at the Tramway arts venue after Glasgow saw off rival bids from across the UK. This will be first time the Turner Prize will be held in Scotland after organisers recently decided to hold the event outside London every second year.

Due to its position as one of the most vibrant and internationally recognised contemporary arts spaces in Europe, Tramway has been chosen by the 2018 Bid Team as a venue for the 2018 Culture and Education Programme (CEP), which runs alongside the sporting events at the Youth Olympic Games.

The venue would host artistic workshops for both the young athletes and local young people as part of Glasgow’s plans to use its international cultural status to promote the Olympic Values through a CEP with global reach.

Over the past 20 years Glasgow has gained international recognition as a centre of excellence for visual arts, standing only second to London and Berlin on the world stage with three of the last four winners of the Turner Prize either coming from the city or having trained at the world-famous Glasgow School of Art.

The venue is also an integral part of the community with a wide range of outreach projects for young people and families on offer designed to increase their interest and participation in contemporary arts and fulfil Glasgow’s commitment to using culture and sport to transform the lives of its young people and the wider economy.

Glasgow 2018 Bid Director, Paul Bush, said: “Glasgow now enjoys an international cultural reputation and we are delighted that the hard work of the city and all its partners to achieve this status has been rewarded with the announcement it is to host this prestigious arts prize in 2015.

“This is a boost to our Bid to host the Youth Olympic Games in 2018. We believe we can use the power of Glasgow’s cultural status and the city’s proven commitment to inspiring and mobilising communities, especially young people, through the arts to partner with the Olympic Movement to promote its values across the globe.

“Coupled with the fact the Tramway and several of our other world-class cultural venues have been chosen to deliver an exemplary Culture and Education Programme, we believe we can inspire young people to be champions in their lives through the power of sport, education and culture.”

Sponsorship experts Havas Sports & Entertainment (HS&E) have revealed that interest in the London Olympics has risen significantly over the past three months with sponsors playing a pivotal role.

In the past three months, generic there has been a 20% increase in the UK public rating their interest in the Games at ’10 out of 10.’

The research found that there was an average 76% jump in awareness across TOP Olympic sponsors and Tier One London 2012 sponsors, pilule as a result of marketing campaigns being ramped-up.

Significantly for sponsors, the positive attitude towards the Games is truly national, with 53% of people living outside London agreeing with the statement, ‘hosting the Olympic Games is a great thing for the country as a whole.’ This compares to 60% in London.

Alastair Macdonald, Sponsorship Insights Director, HS&E said: “Britain is a nation of sports lovers, as can be seen by how enthusiastically people were looking forward to the Games as early as March 2011 when over half of those surveyed rated their interest in the Games as at least 7 out of 10.

“The build-up to the Games in the media and from sponsors over the past three months has helped raise the excitement to fever pitch.

“What’s really encouraging for the organisers, sponsors and the media is the whole nation feels involved, and proud that the Games are coming to our shores – this is being seen very much as Britain’s Games, not just for London.”

Lucien Boyer, President and Global CEO at HS&E added: “We’ve seen from our global work with ten London 2012 sponsors that at its best, Olympic sponsorship creates a virtuous cycle.

“The public is becoming increasingly enthusiastic about the Games as they approach, and the official sponsors are running more and more highly visible supporting activities.

“Our study shows that these forces have combined to produce ever-growing levels of recognition for sponsor associations, and increasingly effective marketing investments.”

The study was commissioned by HS&E in March 2011 to identify the effects of Olympic Games’ sponsorship on sponsor brands and to track public attitudes towards the Games.

Source Interlink Media (SIM) has joined Yahoo! as an official launch partner for the launch of application Livestand from Yahoo!, allergy featuring a variety of premium Automotive and Action Sports content.

Livestand provides an effortless way for SIM to broaden the reach and engagement of its content to its loyal enthusiasts through rich, here immersive, personalized experiences on an innovative new digital platform.

Greg Morrow, Vice President, Digital for GrindMedia, said: “We couldn’t be more excited to continue providing great content to a partner, Yahoo!, who has continually exceeded our expectations in building products and services that provide both reach and an exceptional user experience to our loyal followers. With Livestand we are able to bring live, up-to-date information to our various action sports enthusiasts who are passionate for their sport and the happiness it brings into their lives. We couldn’t do that without successful partnerships like those with Yahoo!,”

Initially available as a free iPad app available for download in the App Store today, Livestand from Yahoo! is a personalized digital newsstand app that combines visually stunning design with personalized content from leading third-party publishers, like Source Interlink Media, and Yahoo!’s global media network.

At launch, many of the Source Interlink Media brands will be available, including Surfer, Snowboarder, Powder, Canoe & Kayak, Bike, Import Tuner, Truckin’, Low Rider, Super Street, Motorcyclist, Diesel Power, Honda Power, Honda Tuning, and Motorcycle Cruiser. Many more brands will be added as SIM continues to create new opportunities for publishing its content as well as creative marketing opportunities for its advertisers.

Tom Furukawa, Senior Vice President Automotive Digital Media at SIM, stated: “We have an extensive fan base that connects with a variety of SIM brands based on their hobbies and interests. I have been looking for a scalable, tablet product that offers an experience that rivals the more expensive digital magazine (iMag) products. Livestand from Yahoo! allows us to give consumers a very rich digital magazine experience that is both customized and scales for our expansive customer base.”

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has announced a licensing agreement with PR Nutrition to create and sell Team USA performance nutrition bars for London 2012 in a deal running through until Rio 2016.

Sales of the bars will support the training of US Olympic and Paralympic athletes, and will mark the first time that USOC sports dietitians will be consulting with a nutrition bar company in playing a key role in the creation of the bars.

The bars will be available to purchase from mid-2011 and USOC chief marketing officer Lisa Baird said: “We are thrilled to welcome PR Bar into the US Olympic Family of licensees.

“Our athletes work hard each and every day to be at their peak performance, and having easy access to Team USA performance nutrition bars will help them power their bodies for training and competition.

“In addition, fans who purchase PR Bars will also be helping to support America’s athletes by financially contributing to their Olympic and Paralympic journeys.”

The bars will be available to Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls from the US from the Olympic Training Centres in Colorado Springs, Chula Vista and Lake Placid, as well as at the Games in London.

Bill Logue, the co-founder and chief executive of PR nutrition, added: “It’s an incredible honor to be part of the US Olympic and Paralympic Family, and we look forward to introducing our new line of Team USA performance bars.

“Moreover, we are happy that the Team USA bars, as well as our PR Bar family of products, will provide proceeds to support US Olympic and Paralympic athletes.”