Prince Tunku Imran of Malaysia has announced that he is to stand for election to be President of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), claiming to already have the backing of Asia.

Prince Tunku is currently the vice-president and hopes to succeed the current incumbent of the position, Jamaica’s Mike Fennell.

Tunku, an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, hopes to replace Fennell who has led the CGF since being elected at Victoria in 1994. The Jamaican is yet to declare publicly whether he plans to stand again at this year’s elections, due to be held at the CGF’s meeting at St Kitts and Nevis from November 11 to 13.

Datuk Sieh Kok Chi, the secretary of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), stated: “Fennell had voiced his intention to step down after the New Delhi Commonwealth Games last year, after holding the post for 17 years.

“If Tunku Imran wins, he will become the first International Olympic Committee (IOC) member elected as the CGF president, which will give a new height to the Federation.”

Prince Tunku, 63, is a former Malaysian squash champion and was President of the International Squash Rackets Federation from 1989 to 1996. A graduate of Nottingham University, he is a qualified barrister and he has been President of the OCM since 1998.

The launch of Prince Tunku’s candidature is due to be formally announced during the CGF’s Executive Board meeting in Kuala Lumpur next month and Chi added: “We hope that the federation, made up of 71 members of the former British empire, will unanimously support Tuanku Imran.”

Opta, sale ed a specialist in the collection and distribution of detailed performance data for soccer matches throughout Europe, has broaden its portfolio after agreeing a multi-year partnership with Major League Soccer (MLS).

Opta has become the official competition-related statistics partner of league, allowing MLS to introduce Opta’s sports information to the MLSsoccer.com website, participating broadcasters and other media outlets.

Opta are the official data provider to the German Bundesliga, providing in-depth live and historical data to the league’s official website, and also work with a number of major broadcasters, publishers, sponsors, governing bodies and professional clubs.

Chris Schlosser, director of digital strategy for MLS, said: “For many years we have heard a desire from our fans for more in-depth statistics. We are very excited to partner with Opta to bring this critical information to our passionate fans. This deal will allow for deeper analysis of all MLS matches and ensure that MLS is at the cutting edge of data technologies in 2011 and beyond.”

MLS and Opta are planning to build a new North American data collection hub in MLS’ digital headquarters in New York, where hundreds of MLS and other North American soccer games will be analysed.

Aidan Cooney, chief executive of Opta, added: “This is a very exciting new step for our business. Our pioneering technology creates digital blueprints of each match, enabling rich statistical and graphical insights into the game’s tactics and strategies. This is an opportunity to take soccer to a new, but statistics hungry, audience in the United States.”

Former England captain Andrew Strauss has suggested he will not put himself forward to replace Hugh Morris as managing director of the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Strauss was thought to be the firm favourite for the role, but he is believed to have withdrawn his name from an ECB shortlist of possible successors.

Strauss enjoyed his first summer as part of the Sky Sports commentary team, and he feels the time may not be right for him to take up a place on the ECB board.

“I think it is a great job, an important job, one that needs to be done properly,” Strauss told the Daily Telegraph.

“But is it the right time for me? I’m still close to the players. And there are a lot of other things I would like to pursue.”

Strauss has followed fellow former England captains Michael Vaughan, Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton into the commentary box rather than take up a role as a coach or an administrator.

But the 36-year-old insists they are helping to introduce a wider audience to the game, although he did not rule out a job within the game in the future.

“Having spent the summer in the commentary box it became clear how passionate those guys are about the game of cricket,” Strauss said. “They want it to grow, reach new audiences.

“And they’ve chosen that medium as a way of helping it do just that. I definitely feel I want to make a difference to the game.

“That probably means I don’t just want to be an observer forever. But I enjoy the balance I have at the moment.”

Japanese Olympic Committee head Tsunekazu Takeda is adamant Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara resignation will not affect Tokyo’s bid for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

On Thursday Ishihara resigned his post to concentrate on setting up his own political party.

Takeda said: “To be honest, I never thought (Ishihara) would resign. I don’t think this will have major impact (on the bid).

“Governor Ishihara has demonstrated strong leadership for Tokyo’s Olympic and Paralympic aspirations ever since Tokyo’s race for the 2016 Games, and he has been a fervent supporter of Tokyo’s efforts to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games as well.

“Tokyo’s bid is supported by every different level of the Japanese society, from local and national governments, to the sport community and across all business sectors.

“We are confident that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will continue providing support for the bid and that Governor Ishihara’s resignation will have no impact on our campaign. With his enthusiasm remaining with us, Tokyo 2020’s bid effort remains focused on providing the best possible stage for athletes. Over the next 11 months, we will continue to work closely with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to win the right to host the 2020 Games.”

Kyodo News reports that Ishihara hoped that Vice Gov. Naoki Inose, a reform-minded journalist, will succeed him as Tokyo leader. But if a new governor is sceptical of the bid, it could be jeopardized, reports Kyodo.

Takeda said, “we will tell the next governor of the necessity of the bid and continue our activities”.

Tokyo 2020 will be inspected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) March 4-7, 2013, and the host city of the 2020 Games will be elected September 7.

Madrid and Istanbul are competing with Tokyo for the 2020 Games.

did not think it would affect Tokyo’s bid for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. He said, “to be honest, I never thought (Ishihara) would resign. I don’t think this will have major impact (on the bid)”.

Takeda added, “Governor Ishihara has demonstrated strong leadership for Tokyo’s Olympic and Paralympic aspirations ever since Tokyo’s race for the 2016 Games, and he has been a fervent supporter of Tokyo’s efforts to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games as well.

“Tokyo’s bid is supported by every different level of the Japanese society, from local and national governments, to the sport community and across all business sectors.

“We are confident that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will continue providing support for the bid and that Governor Ishihara’s resignation will have no impact on our campaign. With his enthusiasm remaining with us, Tokyo 2020’s bid effort remains focused on providing the best possible stage for athletes. Over the next 11 months, we will continue to work closely with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to win the right to host the 2020 Games”.

Kyodo News reports that Ishihara hoped that Vice Gov. Naoki Inose, a reform-minded journalist, will succeed him as Tokyo leader. But if a new governor is sceptical of the bid, it could be jeopardized, reports Kyodo.

Takeda said, “we will tell the next governor of the necessity of the bid and continue our activities”.

Tokyo 2020 will be inspected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) March 4-7, 2013, and the host city of the 2020 Games will be elected September 7.

Madrid and Istanbul are competing with Tokyo for the 2020 Games.

London Bus workers have been offered new Olympics working pay deal as companies try to avert the threat of any more strikes in the run-up to the Games.

Members of the Unite union staged a 24-hour walkout last month over a claim for a £500 bonus for working during the Olympics.

Another planned strike last week was called off to allow further talks between the union and bus companies at conciliation service Acas, site but the threat of a new walkout just three days before the start of the Games remained.

John Woods, Acas deputy chief conciliator, said: “Following six days of negotiations, talks between the London bus companies and Unite have reached a conclusion. An offer has been made, the details of which Unite will be reporting back to its representatives. The details of the offer remain confidential.”

Switzerland’s Hansjorg Wirz was re-elected as President of European Athletics after he beat Norway’s Sven Arne Hansen by 28 votes to 22.

Hirz stated: “Our member federations have shown their appreciation for what I have done in the last four years and have shown confidence that the future of our sport on the continent is going in the right direction. We now look ahead towards more hard work so we can live up to the expectations of our members.”

Meanwhile, Niels de Vos, chief executive of UK Athletics, claims that Britain will retain its influence on the sport despite its humiliating snub in the European Athletics elections on Saturday, April 16.

With UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner failing in his attempt to succeed former triple jump champion Jonathan Edwards, who stepped down after a four-year term, Britain were left without representation on European Athletics’ ruling Council for the first time since the organisation was formed in 1932.

De Vos was also overlooked for the Development Committee while Cherry Alexander failed to gain election to the Competitions Committee, while all of three of the officials that Ireland put forward were elected, including Liam Hennessy to the Council.

He was joined by 2000 Sydney Olympic champions, Estonian decathlete Eriki Nool and Romanian 5,000 metres runner Gabriela Szabo.

De Vos claimed that the decision to overlook all of Britain’s candidates, despite the fact they were asked to stand, did not mean anything – even though the snub comes just a year before London is due to host the Olympics. 

He stated: “I don’t feel any great sense of frustration or anything else.

“All the feedback we’ve had is very positive about what we’ve done and what we are doing and, where it really matters is at competition level, and we are very much still at the heart of that.

“We are still very much at the centre of the big issues. 

“I’m very confident that our voice will not be any quieter or any less well received as a result of today.”

De Vos revealed that UK Athletics’ priority at this Congress had been to promote its bid to host the 2013 European Team Championships at Gateshead and the 2017 World Championships at the Olympic Stadium in London, adding: “The feedback from that everybody has been outstanding.

“The important thing has been to get support behind those two bids and that’s been pretty comprehensive from everybody.

“I think the quality of the event we have put on here has certainly helped that.

“We know where we need to influence and we are confident that we still can.”

In other news, Jose Luis de Carlos of Spain, Karel Pilny of the Czech Republic and Jean Gracia of France were also voted in as vice-presidents of European Athletics.

English Premier League soccer club Everton has become the first of team in the division to launch an Ovi application for fans with Nokia handsets.

The new application means fans can now access official news, information and live match updates direct to their Nokia device, additional to those who have club apps which are available on the iPhone, Blackberry and via Android.

Everton’s range of mobile products is now unparalleled by any other Premier League team and the club’s Head of Media and Communications, Mark Rowan stated: “Through our digital platforms the Club’s communications strategy is to engage with as many Evertonians as possible. Launching in the Ovi Store means we are able to stretch our services even further.

“The new app now gives our fans an opportunity to interact with the Club whether they are on the traditional internet or the vast majority of the mobile internet devices.

“Our aim is to be platform agnostic and ultimately converge all digital services. This we see as a step in the right direction.”

Developed in association with InfoMedia Services, the new app will allow even more fans to interact with the Club, helping to achieve key business objectives.

Tim Satchell, Commercial Director at InfoMedia Services, added: “We are excited to partner with Everton and Nokia to deliver the first official Premier League club app on Ovi.

“We have partnered with Everton for several years now on mobile internet, alerts and downloads, so we’re delighted to expand our partnership to Ovi where we’re looking forward to building on Everton’s mobile audience worldwide.”

The British Racing Drivers’ Club have elected John Grant as their new chairman replacing Stuart Rolt it was revealed at the Club’s Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Having served the maximum nine-year term for a director, impotent including two three-year stints as Chairman, sale viagra Stuart Rolt has stepped down from his role on the board.

John is known within motor sport for his previous role as Chairman of the MSA, medstore which led to him becoming the UK member of the FIA World Motor Sports Council. He was also a board member of the RAC.

His professional background includes 25 years with Ford, where he became head of corporate strategy in the US, and then No. 2 at Jaguar after it was purchased by Ford in 1990. John later joined Lucas as CFO, before becoming CEO of a £300m quoted conglomerate. This gradually evolved into a portfolio of non-executive directorships in a wide range of businesses.

Derek Warwick, President of the BRDC, said: “I am delighted that John has been elected as BRDC Chairman. He has considerable experience and enthusiasm for our sport, which will be key as the BRDC reverts to being the most prestigious racing drivers’ Club in the world, nurturing future British motor racing talent.”

Derek also paid tribute to Stuart Rolt and the support that both he and the BRDC board received at the Club’s AGM: “I cannot speak highly enough of Stuart and his commitment to the Club during his time as BRDC Chairman. The focus during his second term has been the search for investment, to help realise the full potential of Silverstone. We owe him an immense debt of gratitude for the time and energy he has put into this.

“It is a shame that his nine years as a director ends before we are able to announce details of a second investor in Silverstone. We have, however, asked Stuart to remain involved in the investment process, acting as an advisor to the board while the second deal is completed. He should feel proud of everything that he and the BRDC board have achieved over the last three years. The overwhelming support for both Stuart and the board at the recent AGM is testament to how united the Club is and how pleased we are with what he and the board have achieved.”

Existing director, Jonathan Baker, was re-elected to the BRDC board at the AGM.