According to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO), Britain’s spending watchdog, construction of all the main London 2012 Olympic venues is on track, but the deadlines for the Aquatics Centre and part of the Athletes’ Village are becoming tight.

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is currently on track to meet its budget and construction targets, with all 24 main infrastructure and venue projects due to be handed over to London 2012 for testing on or ahead of schedule.

5 of the 24 have already been finished, though construction on the Zaha Hadid-designed aquatics centre has slipped by two months to June 2011 because of complications with its wave-shaped roof. Additionally, two of the 11 residential blocks in the athletes’ village have taken 15 weeks longer than planned.

Despite the construction progress being on track, the NAO continued to express concern about London 2012 finances with question marks still surround funding for some projects.

The overall cost to the public purse of security during the Games has increased well over US$1bn from $967.85m to $1.22bn. 

This is mainly because the Government has now agreed to provide $454.9m from the $15bn Public Sector Funding Package for work to secure the perimeter of the Olympic Park and venues during the Games, offset by expenditure on wider security and policing which is now forecast to be $201.6m less than it was in March 2007, the report said.

Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, stated: “Good progress is being made in the preparations for the 2012 London Games which will begin in 17 months.

“All construction and infrastructure projects are forecast to be completed on time, albeit in two cases with little room to spare before the deadline for handover to LOCOG, the Games organiser, and operational planning has improved.

“However, the final cost of the Games to the taxpayer is inherently uncertain and as the Games near there will be less flexibility to make savings in response to any unforeseen financial pressures.”

Michael Wilde has revealed he failed in his takeover of English League club Tranmere Rovers.

Wirral native Michael Wilde, vcialis 40mg now based in Jersey, was hoping to broker a deal with current Rovers owner Peter Johnson, but it has fallen through.

A statement from Wilde said: “Following recent speculation in the media that I was interested in acquiring Tranmere Rovers, I feel that now is the right time to clarify the situation.

“Alongside my excellent bid team, which included Jeremy Butler and Albert Ferrer, I have worked extremely hard over the past six months trying to negotiate a deal with the Tranmere Rovers board.

“I had exciting plans in place, including the appointment of Albert as head coach, aimed at creating a new and successful culture at Prenton Park.

“Unfortunately, however, following long and protracted talks with Peter Johnson, and despite agreement in respect of many areas, we have been unable to conclude a final agreement.

“Having committed substantial time and resources to the project I am deeply disappointed that I will not now have the opportunity to become the custodian of the club I have supported since my childhood on the Wirral.

“As a Tranmere supporter since attending my first league game at the age of 11, it is extremely saddening that a transaction could not be concluded, particularly at this difficult time for the club.

“Consequently, and after much consideration, I have now decided to withdraw from the process and I wish Tranmere Rovers every success in the future.”

Tranmere currently sit in 18th spot in the League One table, three points above the relegation zone.

London have confirmed they have submitted a bid to host the 2017 Paralympic World Championships for Athletics.

On the back of the successful 2012 Games, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson opened talks with the International Paralympic Committee, UK Athletics and UK Sport over holding the championships in the Olympic Stadium.

If London wins the race for hosting, it would be a double triumph for the city after it beat rival bidder Doha a year ago to host the IAAF World Athletic Championship – to be hosted in August 2017.

Johnson said: “The huge appetite for tickets to the 2012 Games this summer shows the level of excitement Paralympic sport can generate, and forever changed the way we think about disabled sport.

“The 2017 IPC World Championships present a fantastic opportunity for us to build on that phenomenal surge of enthusiasm, and welcome back some of the world’s greatest sportsmen and women to the Olympic Stadium.

“Securing the Championships would not only reinforce London’s reputation as the world’s leading sporting city, it would bring a vital multi-million pound boost to the capital’s economy, creating jobs and driving growth in east London.”

Two months ago ParalympicsGB bagged 120 medals, including 34 golds, and were third in the medal table behind China and Russia.

UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner added: “I’m delighted that the city has decided to build on the success of the Paralympics.”

Yahoo!, the technology powered media company, will bring together consumers and advertisers from around the world to celebrate the London Summer Games with some of the most comprehensive, social, interactive, and personal experiences to date, across every screen.

Anchored with Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo!’s “Beyond Gold” coverage will provide its 700 million global users, in dozens of languages and regions, with original video programs, breaking news, photos, expert analysis from gold medal Olympians and award-winning Yahoo! Sports writers, unique editorial series, fantasy games and engaging second screen experiences.

“Yahoo! has been the No. 1 online destination for Olympics coverage since 2006, proving to be the place for users to gather and follow the biggest events,” said Ken Fuchs, VP of Global Media for Yahoo! & Head of Yahoo! Sports, Men’s and Games. “London 2012 will be a showcase for 24/7 reporting, across all screens, and Yahoo! is investing to deliver powerful experiences for our users and advertisers. Our unique storytelling combined with innovative new products will help establish new memorable moments as they happen for 700 million fans around the world.”

Yahoo! previously announced its Summer Games programming efforts across the Yahoo! Media Network, on the Yahoo! hub dedicated to coverage of the Games, and on Yahoo! Sports, the No. 1 global sports destination online with over 96 million unique visitors a month.

Yahoo!’s coverage includes original video programs, expert analysis from gold medal Olympians Dan O’Brien (track and field), Summer Sanders (swimming), Shannon Miller (gymnastics), the award-winning team of writers from Yahoo! Sports, social integration programs, and for the first time Yahoo!’s Memorable Moments editorial series to celebrate the most iconic moments from the history of the Summer Games filmed across continents featuring amazing stories – from the glories of emotional wins to the tragedy of Munich through the lens of dozens of gold medal winning athletes and those that were there.

Since the Turin Games in 2006, Yahoo! Sports has been the No. 1 online destination for coverage of the Games. In Vancouver, Yahoo! Sports was No. 1 across all major categories with 32 million unique visitors, delivering significantly more engagement as well than other network coverage.** During the 2008 Beijing Games, Yahoo! Sports reached 38.5 million unique visitors, again setting the bar for both time spent and overall users – with more than 12 million more users than its nearest competitor.

The Yahoo! “Beyond Gold” editorial and marketing efforts will drive deeper engagement and traffic to the Yahoo! Media Network across multiple platforms. The range of digital platforms also provides Yahoo! advertisers with an array of custom and unique opportunities to communicate with fans . As a result of Yahoo!’s media leadership, scale and reach, a significant number of high profile brands have created campaigns around the London Summer Games across Yahoo!’s four screens, in various cases with global activation.

Goal-line technology could be used in the English Premier League as early as the start of the 2012-13 season.

The law-making International Football Association Board will rule in March 2012 on whether to approve the system.

If it gets the green light then FIFA boss Sepp Blatter says leagues can use it from the start of the 2012-13 season, if “accurate and affordable”.

Premier League boss Richard Scudamore has insisted that the Premier League will adopt the technology as soon as permission is given to do so.

Blatter added that goal-line technology could also be used at the 2014 World Cup, despite his previous dislike of the technology, an opinion which changed after Frank Lampard’s ‘goal’ against Germany in the 2010 World Cup.

Private trials of different systems of goal-line technology are taking place this year, with the international board to make its decision in March 2012.

If the body approves a system, it will then be brought into law on 1 July 2012.

After the latest cash-for-votes scandal that tainted the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid race damaged his credibility, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has pledged to shake-up the voting system for future World Cup hosts.

Blatter was quick to defend the system by which Russia and Qatar were elected as 2018 and 2022 hosts in which the 22 members of the FIFA Executive Committee made the decision amid rumours of vote-buying following the suspension from the vote of two Ex-Co members after bribery investigations.

However, the Swiss incumbent has revealed that he has had a rethink and now believes all FIFA’s 208 member associations should be allowed to vote on World Cup hosts.

The members will choose between Blatter and his rival, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohamed Bin Hammam, at the FIFA presidential election in Zurich on June 1, with Blatter telling German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine: “That’s a project I have at the back of my mind. I’d like to adopt the example of the International Olympic Committee to avoid a repeat of what’s happened in future.

“The Executive Committee receives ten or twelve bids, looks at them, recommends the best ones and then lets the plenary meeting vote. That would be a positive solution for FIFA. In view of the uncomfortable experience I had here in Zürich on 2 December it’s an idea worth considering.”

When asked as to what had happened to his friendship with Bin Hammam since the Qatari supported his successful re-election bid in 1998, he said: “I don’t know why Bin Hammam suddenly became so aggressive. 

“On the Executive Committee he repeatedly said he’d never stand against me, but that’s what’s happened.”

Blatter was confident he would easily overcome his challenger when asked about his projected total of votes, adding: “I imagine I have half the votes in Asia and Africa and a big majority in the rest of the world. At least over a hundred.”

Following their victory over Premier League rivals Tottenham to obtain preferred bidder status for the Olympic Stadium from the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), West Ham have reportedly already begun discussing turning the US$836m venue into a soccer and athletics ground with the stadium’s designer, Populous.

A spokesman for West Ham told Building Design that Populous had been brought in to help the club work up proposals for the initial bidding phase of the work, adding: “In getting through the bid stage we engaged the services of Westfield, which was leading a team that includes Populous.”

Populous is understood to be developing plans to install retractable seating at the venue ahead of the soccer club’s first game there, which isn’t expected to be due until the start of the 2014-2015 season.

One expert told the magazine: “Populous has done retractable seating before such as Stadium Australia [for the 2000 Olympics] so it can be done.”

West Ham is expected to shortly issue an OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) notice for its $153m plan to rework the facility, including modifying the roof, and installing permanent toilets, concession outlets and executive boxes.

Populous are expected to among the frontrunners to be awarded the contract, having worked on the redevelopment of Wembley Stadium and Arsenal’s new Emirates stadium. 

Architect Peter Cook, who helped Populous with its original design for the stadium, welcomed the decision to keep it and said Populous should bid for the work once it is advertised, stating: “[Tearing it down] would have been a waste of time and money. I think they [Populous] should give it a go. They have the experience in this whole thing to follow it through.”

Scottish League One club Rangers have announced they have borrowed £1.5million from football board chairman Sandy Easdale and investment group Laxey Partners.

Rangers are reportedly losing £1m a month – they lost £14.4m in the 13 months up to last June – and a bid to persuade the playing squad to take a 15 per cent pay cut failed.

Easdale has lent the club £500,000 on a no-fee and no-interest basis, while Laxey Partners will lend the club £1m. Both sums are secured against the Edmiston House and Albion car park facilities near to Ibrox.

The loans are repayable by September 1, while Laxey Partners, the club’s single-biggest shareholder with an 11.64 per cent stake, will make a £150,000 profit on their part of the deal.

A club statement said: “The board of Rangers is pleased to announce that it has entered into two secured short-term credit facilities for an aggregate of up to £1.5m. The credit facilities are being provided by Alexander Easdale, a shareholder in the company and director of The Rangers Football Club Limited, the wholly owned subsidiary of RIFC, and Laxey Partners Ltd (‘Laxey’), a substantial shareholder in the company.

“These credit facilities will be used by the company for general working capital purposes over the next few months.

“Alexander Easdale will make available to the company up to £500,000 on a fee and interest-free basis (the ‘Easdale Facility’).

“Laxey will make available to the company up to £1 million, with a premium payment equal to 15 percent of the nominal amount of the facility (the ‘Laxey Facility’).

“The Easdale Facility and the Laxey Facility (together the ‘Facilities’) are both secured against the company’s Edmiston House and Albion car park properties. The principal amounts of the Facilities are repayable no later than 1 September 2014 from a variety of potential sources.

“The premium on the Laxey Facility is payable in cash or, at Laxey’s discretion, in ordinary shares of 1p each, at any point between the date of the facility agreement and the first anniversary of the date of the facility agreement.”