With the London Olympics opening ceremony just hours away a number of the most expensive tickets for the four-hour-long ceremony remain to be sold but organisers are confident there will be no empty seats for the extravaganza.

The 80,000-seat stadium in Stratford has top-end tickets worth £2,012 and £1,600 still available but should they not be sold today it is likely the seats will be distributed either through the Ticketshare scheme to young people or filled by off-duty members of the armed services. The seats will not be sold off at reduced prices despite speculation to the contrary yesterday. 

A spokesperson for Locog, the London organisers, said last night: “We are confident there will not be any empty seats tomorrow. Sebastian Coe did not say there would be price cuts. He said that we will always look at ways that we can get young people to the Games.”

The top-end prices have been criticised and the take-up of hospitality packages has been slow despite growing excitement over both the Games and the ceremony, which starts at 12 minutes past eight tonight. Two dress rehearsals for Danny Boyle’s extravaganza have been held this week in front of crowds of 60,000. Boyle himself spoke on both nights to ask the audience to “keep the surprise” and not disclose details of the £27m ceremony. Feedback to the organisers in the wake of the rehearsals has been overwhelmingly positive. The show seems certain to be well received. 

There is burgeoning expectation that Britain will enjoy a hugely successful Games with a third-place finish in the medal table not beyond reach. But Colin Moynihan, chairman of the BOA, yesterday sounded a note of caution. Moynihan insists Britain will have delivered an “absolutely stunning” Games if they can match the achievements of four years ago in Beijing. 

Target Entertainment Properties (TEP), drugs along with ProPlayerInsiders, have secured a partnership with Conduit, the largest network of web and mobile app publishers, to launch NFL Players Association-branded browser apps.

As part of the partnership, TEP is launching NFL Players Association-branded browser apps, mobile apps and toolbars to help keep fans engaged with their favorite players.

The initial launch of the NFL Players Lifestyle App (PLA’s) for Android devices, powered by Conduit, will feature veteran NFL Player Takeo Spikes, 14-year linebacker now with the San Diego Chargersand running back LeSean McCoy of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Players Lifestyle App will also be available on iOS in early 2012.

The NFL Players Lifestyle App (PLAs) represents an exclusive communication bridge, connecting superstar athletes to their roaring fan bases in one central place where they can interact and engage with buzzing, viral communities. Through these apps, fans can access information, statistics, news, videos, mini-games and photos of their favorite NFL players.

“I am very excited to participate in the initial launch of NFL Players Lifestyle Apps,” says Takeo Spikes, about the ability and flexibility to deliver a uniquely interactive social-mobile experience. “This new mobile app provides people with a one-stop destination for everything they’d want to know and share.”

“The explosive growth in social media content and audience engagement in the mobile entertainment space allows players the opportunity to expand their brand and increase the fan’s interactive experience with them,” explains TEP’s Head of Strategic Partnerships and Business Development, Vernon Lee, Jr. “Conduit was a perfect partner for this and on-going projects as they have an excellent understanding of what is needed and have helped us create these outstanding products for NFL Player’s fans.”

Conduit has over 260,000 members and their 250 million users and considered thelargest network of web and mobile app publishers.

“We are excited to partner with TEP for the NFLPA project. The market’s call for services like ours is too dire to ignore and we’re happy to be able to champion this shift toward mobile for all industry verticals, especially the NFLPA,” said Ori Lavie, VP of Mobile Strategy at Conduit.

Head of the Thailand Football Association (FAT) Worawi Makudi, one of the four FIFA Executive Committee members accused by Lord Triesman of asking for bribes to vote for England 2018 during its World Cup bid, has been told he is no president of the body.

The Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) has claimed that he forfeited his position by failing to hold elections by March 31 after he, and members of the FAT Executive Board, postponed an election due to be held last Friday, May 6, because he claimed that some member clubs were represented by more than one voter.

However, deputy SAT governor Somkid Pinthong has told Thailand’s Senate Committee on Sports that the postponement was unlawful because such a move must be endorsed by two-third of eligible voters who were present at the meeting.

Somkid claimed that Worawi is no longer FAT President because his term expired at the end of last year and under their own regulations he could be acting President for a maximum 90 days after that, adding: “This means an election for FAT President must have been completed by March 31.

“As an election was not held by that date, Worawi and his Executive Board members have lost their positions. In fact, they did not even have the authority to call the May 6 election.”

The SAT have now threatened to step in and organise the elections themselves, a controversial claim as FIFA demand the autonomy of its member associations.

Somkid added: “Under the law, at least one-third of member clubs can ask the SAT to call an election for FAT president within 21 days of their request. We do not want to organise such an election but we may have to do it.”

Former England 2018 bid chairman Lord Triesman claimed during a Parliamentary hearing earlier this week that Makudi wanted England to play a game with Thailand, and insisted that the money from the television rights for that game should go directly to him.

Triesman said that “he [Makudi] believed that was critical to making the arrangement a success”.

Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles, the head of IndyCar’s parent company, has confirmed two new hires to his leadership team and organization.

Connell J. (C.J.) O’Donnell, who has worked in key marketing positions for various brands within Ford Motor Company, will join Hulman Motorsports as chief marketing officer, and Jay Frye, a racing executive who successfully transformed two teams into NASCAR Sprint Cup contenders, is the new chief revenue officer.

“We’ve set a new strategic direction for our motorsports entities, and Jay and C.J. are both top performers who will help us take big leaps forward,” Miles said. “Among their immediate goals are to add sponsors for INDYCAR and IMS, improve our level of fan engagement and develop strategies to build alignment among our teams, drivers, venues and sponsors. Our team is in place, and there’s no offseason as we prepare for 2014.”

The appointments complete a reorganization that began earlier this year. This includes combining the commercial functions of INDYCAR and IMS, including sales, licensing, marketing and communications, into Hulman Motorsports, which O’Donnell and Frye will lead. In May, Derrick Walker was named as president of INDYCAR operations and competition. Other members of the Hulman leadership team include Jeff Belskus, president and chief financial officer of Hulman & Company; Gretchen Snelling, vice president and chief legal counsel; Robby Greene, president of IMS Productions; and Doug Boles, president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation.

O’Donnell recently served as Ford’s group marketing manager for electric vehicles in Detroit, where he was recognized for the launch of several hybrid vehicles and has orchestrated a record year for hybrid and electric vehicle sales. During his 20-year career with Ford, he also has led marketing for the Lincoln and Jaguar brands domestically and abroad and was a member of a small team that led the turnaround of the Mazda brand.

“There’s a lot of strength in the combined horsepower of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and INDYCAR,” O’Donnell said. “Initially, I’ll focus my energy on a common brand and clear message for our fans. This will include working together with our key stakeholders and ensuring marketing alignment among teams, drivers, sponsors and venues.”

O’Donnell will lead a combined team of INDYCAR and IMS marketing and communications staff.

Frye led the transformation of the Red Bull Racing Team in NASCAR Sprint Cup into a contender that earned a berth in the 2009 Chase for the Championship during his tenure as vice president and general manager from 2008-11. In addition, he spent 12 years at MB2 Motorsports, LLC, a NASCAR Sprint Cup team he helped build from the ground up into a multi-team operation. As the chief executive officer and general manager, he negotiated what was an industry-first – a sponsorship/ownership package with The Valvoline Company.

Frye also has other sales and marketing experience, including several years with Anheuser-Busch.

“INDYCAR’s value proposition for sponsors is second to none as it provides fans with a great racing product, and with IMS, we have incredible history and tradition,” Frye said. “For our teams and fans, we will work hard to bring sponsor/partners into the sport that will enhance the overall fan experience. It’s an exciting opportunity, and I look forward to being a part of the team.”

Frye will lead a combined team of INDYCAR and IMS sponsorship sales, licensing and account services staff. IMS suite and hospitality sales will remain an IMS function under Boles’ direction

Venezuela will bid to host the 2019 Pan American Games after a delegation was sent to inform the Pan American Organisation (PASO) in Mexico.

Sports Minister Hector Rodriguez Castro led the delegation and was received by Mario Vasquez Rana, asthma President of PASO.

Castro highlighted Venezuela’s intentions and said: “The intention of the Government has been projected to Venezuela as a sports power directing his plans to strengthen the structure for mass elite athletes.

“The proposal is the result of a collective effort of (different) levels of government to turn our country into an international marketplace event.”

Vasquez Rana added that it was “an honour and a pleasure” for the Venezuelan city, discount | Puerto Ordaz to be the second candidate to host the Games.

He added it was “a great alternative that meets all the terms and rules of Article VXIII Pan American Games.”

Castro also confirmed that Venezuela wanted to turn Puerto Ordaz into the Olympic city of Venezuela.

American corporation Procter & Gamble are expecting to make $500 million in additional sales through the London 2012 Olympics even though they issued a profit warning last month.

The London Olympics open on Friday and are the first Games sponsored by the world’s largest maker of household products after it signed a 10-year agreement in 2010.

They come at a tough time for the company. P&G is in the midst of a $10 billion restructuring programme and activist investor William Ackman has recently bought into the business, raising pressure on management to turn it around in the face of slowing demand in China, the United States and Western Europe.

Speaking during a visit to London for the Games, Marc Pritchard, the company’s global brand building officer said the Olympic campaign was money well spent by the 175-year-old company, the world’s largest advertiser.

“This is the largest and most ambitious campaign that we have ever done and it’s one of the highest returns on investment campaigns that we have done,” Pritchard told Reuters in a telephone interview.

He did not put a figure on the cost of the sponsorship and marketing around it but said much of it had come out of existing budgets.

“We took lower return spending, we shifted it over to higher return activities so there was very little that was extra,” he said. “That’s going to generate … an extra $500 million in extra sales over the course of the year.”

The Olympics are funded in part by 11 global sponsors who pay an average of around $100 million each for worldwide marketing rights over a four-year cycle, covering a Winter and Summer Games.

P&G, whose brands include washing powders Ariel and Tide, Pampers nappies and Gillette razors, spent $9.3 billion, more than 11 percent of sales, on advertising in its last financial year.

After London, the Games go to Sochi in Russia for the 2014 Winter Olympics before Rio hosts the 2016 Games. Brazil and Russia are among the developing economies where P&G is seeking to target growth.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has revealed goal-line technology could be in place for the 2012-13 season after two tested technology systems have proved themselves fast and accurate.

Testing of nine systems is currently taking place and Blatter said the Brazil 2014 World Cup would have goal-line technology that met all of FIFA’s demands. Blatter told German newspaper Bild a decision would be taken by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in March at a meeting in London.

He said: “There are now systems that combine precision, speed and are uncomplicated. We are now in the testing phase and the IFAB will vote in March 2012 in London over using this resource. If the final decision is made, it can be used from the 2012-13 season.”

He added in Spanish sports daily El Mundo Deportivo: “Brazil 2014 will have technology to avoid phantom goals. FIFA has two good systems that meet all the demands we set: reliability, immediacy and not being difficult to use.”

The systems that have been worked on for years by British firm Hawk-Eye and German company Cairos are likely to be the ones closest to passing the tests.

Blatter also re-stated his insistence that the 2022 World Cup will definitely take place in Qatar despite calls for last year’s vote to be investigated.

He said: “The 2022 World Cup will definitely take place in Qatar and with my full confidence. This has been firmly established by a democratic process.”

The 75-year-old also said he would not step down as president before 2015, the date he announced earlier this year for his retirement.

He added: “FIFA is a boat that we are piloting through autumn storms and I have to lead it into calm waters again. We have a lot of work to do and my father taught me to never quit. In our family, we carried on until we achieved our goals.

“By 2013 we can steer back into those calmer waters. Then I will have two years to hoist the sails in order to enjoy the sailing trip and then I can say ‘Goodbye’.”

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohamed Bin Hammam, sole challenger to current FIFA presidential incumbent Sepp Blatter, has denied that the organisation is corrupt following fresh bribery allegations involving four more Ex-co members, but conceded that it has battered its reputation.

Former English FA and England 2018 bid chairman David Triesman used a parliamentary inquiry into the failing of England’s World Cup bid on Tuesday, May 10, to allege that four FIFA Ex-co members demanded inducements in return for voting for England during its campaign.

The fresh allegations mean that a total of 8 of the 24 FIFA Ex-co members have been embroiled in the World Cup bid bribery scandal.

Bin Hammam used a blog post today to defend FIFA, saying something urgently needed to be done to improve its image, attacking his Swiss counterpart in the process.

The Qatari AFC chief wrote: “The name of our great sport and its leading institution have been dragged through the mud once more. I will happily and unreservedly restate that I firmly believe FIFA, as a decision-making body and as an organisation, is not corrupt.”

He claimed that much wonderful work was done by FIFA and “to label the entire organisation corrupt would be to tarnish the efforts of all those who operate tirelessly to bring all that is positively associated with our sport to people all over the globe”.

However, the 62-year-old admitted: “However, under the current status quo it is impossible to deny that the governing body’s reputation has been sullied beyond compare and it is time for that to change.”

Under Bin Hammam’s election manifesto, he promises to establish an independent anti-corruption unit, a plan which has been echoed by Blatter. If re-elected, Blatter pledges to form a “council of the wise”, which he has described as “a higher-level body to Congress that is intended to restore the credibility of FIFA in terms of corporate governance and compliance.”

Bin Hammam went on to criticise Blatter for donating US$20m to Interpol to tackle illegal betting and match-fixing without first getting the FIFA ruling body’s approval for the initiative, adding: “This decision was taken arbitrarily by the FIFA President and was not discussed with the Executive Committee.

“It is just another example of the current regime choosing to run football how it sees fit, rather than doing so in a manner that is consistent with the governing body’s proper procedures.

“How on earth can we convince people of FIFA’s innocence? A new atmosphere needs to descend upon FIFA; there needs to be an opportunity for new ideas to take hold and for the organisation to take a new direction.”