Brazil 2014 World Cup preparations moved up a gear after they invested 200 million reais ($118 million) to ensure that all host cities have access to fast mobile internet connections.

The system also needs to be able to handle the demand for the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The country’s President Dilma Rousseff said that she has authorised huge investments to ensure that the technology is in place for both events.

“This is a legacy which will remain to the Brazilian population after the World Cup and Olympic Games,” she said. We want to reach at least 40 million households with access to broadband internet, which is very important to our country’s development. Internet is present at everything: economy, education, shopping, personal relations and public services.”

Rousseff also said that 4G phones will also be available for the 2014 World Cup competition, and broadband services are planned to be offered for half the typical market price.

The plans include moves to ensure free internet access is available to public schools and internet centres.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has spoken to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, claiming to have over 100 votes secured already in his presidential battle with Mohamed Bin Hammam, with just 208 available at the June 1 elections.

Blatter stated: “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.”

When asked if rejecting an increase in World Cup places for CONCACAF would cost him votes he claimed: “It could cost votes but I look into the future with confidence.”

The current Swiss incumbent went on to claim that his presidential challenger was aiming to “turn the entire world of football on its head”, adding that this is something which cannot be done and that he has “trust in the traditional values of our game and its pyramid organisation.”

Blatter claimed that a presidential term of at least 8 years is paramount to any candidates success, saying that any incumbent should then be permitted to bid for an additional 4-year term, saying: “Eight years is a mandate where you can say you can achieve something. You can then extend it by another four years.”

In putting himself forward for re-election, Blatter is aiming for a record fourth term, spanning his presidency over 16 years. Despite claiming that 12 years should be “enough”, the 75-year-old added: “You can’t count my first four years in charge because there were people who wanted to drive me out of the centre of FIFA. I didn’t have time to focus on my mission, on the essentials.

Blatter also promised to be more open and transparent in the wake of recent corruption scandals if he wins a fourth term as head of soccer’s world governing body, admitting that negative perceptions towards FIFA are down to poor communication as well as improper conduct by a minority of those in authority.

Blatter wrote in his column for insideworldfootball: “The results of communicative ineptitude can be devastating for all those in an organisation who are decent and hard working. It is always a few who destroy lives and the image and reputation of many.”

He added that he is willing to address the allegations of financial corruption within the body by publishing FIFA’s annual figures in even more detail, adding: “I am proud to state that it was under my leadership as FIFA President that we started to publish our figures for the world to see in 2003 for the first time – and have adhered to that policy ever since, and in ever more detail.”

Leading stadium specialist AEG has reportedly offered to make lease payments for use of city land as part of a financing deal for Farmers Field, cough the planned NFL-ready stadium in downtown L.A.

AEG lists rent from a proposed ground lease as “part of the revenues that would be used to repay” the $325-350m in city bonds that would be issued for the project.

AEG submitted a three-page document to city negotiators on Wednesday, prescription February 16, but according to the LA Times, this “does not indicate how much would be derived from a long-term lease”.

Salt Lake City, Utah are “ready, willing and able” to host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, according to Governor Gary Herbert.

Herbert said: “I’m excited and optimistic for the great state of Utah and Salt Lake City, and the people of Utah to once again say we are ready, willing and able to host the Winter Games here in the great state of Utah.”

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker said he “wholeheartedly” endorses the idea of taking on the Games again.

Both Becker and Herbert say the state is well positioned financially and otherwise to host the Games.

An Olympic Exploratory Committee was formed in February to assess considerations such as public opinion, transportation availability, hotel accommodation and sporting venues. The committee unanimously recommended in October that Salt Lake City go for the event.

According to officials, the committee, made up of business, government, sports and community leaders, received no negative comments about trying for a repeat of the 2002 Winter Games during months of meetings. According to Gov. Herbert, 74 per cent of Utahns polled support a return of the Winter Games to the state.

In a 36-page report, the committee stated, “Utah’s Olympic legacy is strong and vibrant and ready to provide the foundation for a future Olympic Games”.

The committee says that Salt Lake City has the infrastructure in place following the 2002 Winter Olympics and that the financial benefits are too good to pass up, recommending that Salt Lake City bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic.

The report pegs the cost of a bid at less than $1 million at the USOC level and between $25 million and $30 million to compete internationally. All of the bid costs would be paid privately, said the report.

The proposed budget to host the 2026 Games is $1.67 billion, about $300 million more than the price for the 2002 Games. The costs aren’t as high as they might be for another city due to projected savings on planning costs and venue construction.

The only cost to taxpayers identified in the budget is $85 million to upgrade the bobsled, luge and skeleton track, speed skating oval, and other Olympic facilities. The budget calls for the money to be repaid from Olympic revenues, and another $75 million to be set aside for post-Games operating expenses.

Steve Price, with the Utah Olympic Exploratory Committee, said Salt Lake City is more prepared than other potential cities because of the improvements being made to the Salt Lake City International Airport and the state’s highways.

He said: “There was no burden on the taxpayers for the last Olympics, so the money that was borrowed from the state of Utah was all paid back, 100 per cent of it. For future Olympics, we are more well prepared, for example, than other potential cities because we have facilities that are in place.”

The report said the 2026 Games could be expected to produce a $5 billion economic impact, provide the equivalent of more than 30,000 jobs that last a year, and generate more than $75 million in revenues to state and local governments.

Meanwhile the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) still hasn’t decided whether to field an American city to bid for 2026. 

The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) has granted final approval of the all-weather footing that will be used at Greenwich Park during the equestrian events at the 2012 Olympic Games.

“With support from the FEI, cheap the contractors and our own team have done a great job to get the make-up of the surface right, and we now believe this will be a world class surface for the equestrian athletes in a stunning Olympic venue,” said Debbie Jevans, London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) director of sport.

The final assessment took place on the main arena and involved two high-level competition horses working and jumping fences on the surface. The surface mixture of sand and fiber has been further improved by the addition of a binder. Approximately 8,500 tons will be used at Greenwich Park.

Also attending as FEI representatives were Technical Advisor Leopoldo Palacios, Jumping Technical Delegate Frank Rothenberger, and footing experts Oliver Hoberg and Bart Poels. Olympic jumping course designer Bob Ellis was also present. All were unanimous in their view that the footing that has been produced is of a quality that would be expected of an Olympic Games and performs consistently across the full extent of the arena, as well as on the training and warm-up areas.

The conclusions of those present following the assessment were supported by the scientific work carried out on the surface by Lars Roepstorff, DVM, PhD, professor of equine functional anatomy at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Roepstorff carried out research on the properties of equestrian surfaces around the world as part of a long-term scientific footing study for the FEI. He measured properties including surface firmness, elasticity, the dampening capacity of the footing, and grip. He considers the London 2012 footing to be amongst the best and particularly the most consistent that he has worked on.

“A lot of work has been done on this footing with the involvement of many experts and we are really happy with the final result,” said FEI Secretary General Ingmar de Vos, who was also present at the assessment. “It is the first time that there has been such a scientific approach to footing and hopefully this will be part of the long-term legacy as it helps us to determine the parameters that can be used in the future to establish scientifically approved criteria for optimal footing.

Meanwhile, de Vos said that despite persistent and heavy rainfall that has caused dozens of three-day events to be canceled this year in the U.K., the Olympic cross-country course appears ready for action: “Tim Hadaway (LOCOG sport competition manager for the equestrian events) showed me around the cross-country and we were happy to see that the footing is in very good shape and ready for the competition, and that the recent adverse weather conditions have had no negative effects.”

Mohamed Bin Hammam, presidential challenger to current FIFA incumbent Sepp Blatter, was left a frustrated after being denied a visa to attend the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Congress in Miami today, May 3, leading the Swiss to take a major step towards re-election as head of world soccer’s governing body for a record breaking fourth term.

The Qatari president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) was expected to go head to head with Blatter in an attempt to secure the all-important support of CONCACAF’S 35 member nations. However, in a blog on his website, the challenger revealed that he was unable to attend the Congress “due to issues beyond my control”.

It has since been learned that he was not able get a visa in time even though other members of his campaign team were successful in doing so. Sources stated that Bin Hammam had expected to travel to Miami straight from Paraguay where he attended yesterday’s CONMEBOL congress without any problems. Instead, Bin Hammam flew to Paris on his way home to his native Qatar.

Bin Hammam’s non-appearance in Miami will give Blatter a free run in the lobbying stakes and is set to seriously weaken his chances of unseating the 75-year-old Swiss in Zurich on June 1.

It has now been reported that Sepp Blatter it set to move a big step closer to re-election as FIFA boss when CONCACAF’s 35 member associations rubber-stamp a plan to vote as a bloc in support of the current president in elections on June 1.

A CONCACAF spokesman told worldfootballinsider: “It is very probable based on everything that has happened… it’s very likely an official announcement will be made that this is the case,” adding that confederation president Jack Warner had indicated such a decision would be made in recent days.

Warner, one of the FIFA ExCo members involved in recent ticketing scandals in recent years, will today be re-elected unopposed for a sixth term as president of the CONCACAF, and has floated the plan for his confederation to vote as a bloc for months. CONCACAF has tended to vote as a bloc in FIFA presidential elections though the plan to back Blatter must still win the support of the 35 FAs at today’s meeting.

The first London 2012 venue at the Olympic Park has been opened, with the Olympic Velodrome ready for riders ahead of next year’s event and Sir Chris Hoy declared he “can’t wait” for the Olympics after riding on the finished London 2012 cycle track for the first time.

Scotsman and four-time Olympic champion Hoy, was joined by fellow Beijing winners Victoria Pendleton and Jason Kenny plus a team of British sprint stars who are all aiming for London 2012 success. The cycling icon provided a much-needed cyclist’s viewpoint to the designers and architects about what is needed for the venue in Stratford, east London.

He stated: “Having been involved in a very small way in the design process in the early stages, it’s amazing to see the velodrome finally completed, and to be able to have ridden on it gives me a feel for what it’s going to be like in a year and a half’s time. I can’t wait!”

The VeloPark is expected to come in on budget at around £93m (US$150.3m). The facility is a 6,000-seat velodrome, complete with its sweeping roof designed to reflect the curve of the cycling track.

Building work began on in March 2009 and the development has now been handed over from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to the London 2012 organisers with tasks now ahead to install the temporary facilities, such as lighting and scoring, needed to turn it into a world class Olympic and Paralympic venue.

London 2012 chairman Lord Coe described it as “a stunning venue built for champions”.

The construction took a team of 26 carpenters eight weeks to install the track and more than 350,000 nails were used to on its 56km of timber surface with organisers billing it as the world’s fastest cycling track, thanks to a range of tailored features including the track geometry plus the temperature and environmental conditions.

ODA chairman John Armitt added: “In delivering the velodrome on time and to budget we have completed our first Olympic Park venue and our biggest milestone to date.

“The striking architecture of the velodrome and the medal prospects of our world-leading cyclists mean the venue will become one of the defining images from the Games, and a landmark new building for future generations to enjoy.”

After the Games, the velodrome will be used by elite athletes and the local community and will include a cafe, bike hire and cycle workshop facilities.

Squash is looking to boost it’s 2024 inclusion bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the Hong Kong Open.

Alex Gough, chief executive of the Professional Squash Association, told BBC Sport: “This is a lot more of a winnable race than it has been before. When you look at the list of criteria that all the sports in the race have to meet, I think we are now in a position where we pretty much tick all of those boxes.”

Seven sports are in the running for inclusion in the Games in eight years. They include squash, climbing, karate, roller sports, baseball/softball, wakeboard and wushu.

Following the IOC’s feedback in 2009 after failing to make it to the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games, squash now has redesigned its glass court for improved spectator viewing, added under-court lighting, arena music, video reviews for referees, introduced HawkEye, in-play statistics, more televised matches, and there are now iconic locations for matches including the Egyptian pyramids and Grand Central Station.

Gough said: “We have had a lot of messages from the IOC about making the sport more commercial, improving it for television, and so on. A key thing is that presentation. Look at the ATP Finals at the O2 – that is a classic example, with all that lighting and making it a really excellent spectator experience for the paying public. Those are the sorts of lessons we are trying to pick up all the time as a sport that’s trying to be innovative and learn from bigger sports.

“We have really improved the sport for TV over the last two or three years. It has been a big push forward, and we are trying to improve it week after week”.

Gough added, “At the core of squash is that the athletes are among the fittest on the planet. They can play two-hour matches with pulse rates of 180 beats per minute for the whole time.

“Squash hasn’t been great at showcasing its athletes, until now. We have always had the players but they haven’t been placed in the professional-looking events that they deserve. The sport has caught up”.

Squash is to submit it’s bid presentation on December 19 and the sport added to the Olympic program in 2020 will be announced September 2013.