Lviv, Ukraine may be the next destination of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games after Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Borys Kolesnikov endorsed a bid for the competition.

Kolesnikov said he is confident of the city’s chances. Interfax quotes Kolesnikov as saying that it would be “advantageous for Lviv to compete for the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics” at a meeting with cabinet ministers earlier this week.

He added, “It’s necessary for us to get the Olympics…A number of countries that have a good winter climate are fighting, and so must we. If we win the right to host the Olympics we’ll secure hundreds of jobs in the Carpathians forever.”

Following the European Football Championship last summer in Lviv, Ukrainian Olympic head Sergei Bubka said that Ukraine was eager to develop its winter sports infrastructure, commenting: “This can bring development to the region. Ukraine was designated as a summer sports region under the Soviet Union. Now we want to develop the mountains there, the infrastructure, resorts.”

Lviv has passed a feasibility study and officials say the city is capable of being an excellent Olympic host.

Bids must be submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ahead of the autumn 2013 application deadline.

Other cities interested in bidding for the 2022 Games include Barcelona, Oslo, Nice, Munich, Brasov and Prahova Valley (Romania), St. Moritz/Davos and Krakow (Poland).

Following IOC President, Jacques Rogge’s comments questioning McDonald’s and Coca-Cola’s Olympic sponsorship, both major brands have defended their deals as Worldwide Partners of IOC.

Jacques Rogge earlier this week told the Financial Times that growing levels of obesity had led to a “question mark” over the two brands’ sponsorship of the Games. He added that the choice to renew McDonald’s sponsorship deal in particular was “not an easy decision”.

A McDonald’s spokeswoman rebutted today by suggesting the company recognises public health issues like obesity are complex matters that cannot be solved by businesses or governments alone.

“Ultimately it’s up to individuals to make the right food, drink, and activity choices for themselves and our broad range of menu options in a variety of sizes, together with the nutrition information, means that customers can make more informed choices,” she added.

The Games is set to be the “biggest catering operation in the world”. McDonald’s claims that not many businesses could rise to such a challenge and provide “high quality British good quickly and safely”.

James Eadie, Olympic portfolio director at Coca-Cola Great Britain, also added values of Coca-Cola and the Olympics are “extremely intertwined”. Coca-Cola is the longest continual sponsor of Olympic Games since 1928.

“The Olympics gives us an opportunity to demonstrate what the modern business is all about and allows us to accelerate and showcase sustainability.”

The company is also offering the “widest portfolio” of products at any Games, 75% of which will be water, juice or reduced sugar varieties.

Coca-Cola is looking to drive a recycling message around the Olympic Park. It aims to turn every soft drink pack recycled within the venue into a new bottle, which will be back on shelf within six weeks of consumption.

The multi-billion dollar companies also will leave a lasting social legacy after the Games.

FIFA have announced that its new Task Force Football 2014 will start its mission on 10 May 2011 when the working group convenes at the Home of FIFA in Zurich for the first time.

The 22-member group consisting of high-profile experts from the world of soccer is to be chaired by Franz Beckenbauer who stepped down from his role on the FIFA Executive Committee this year. The former German international legend will be supported in the performance of his duties by his deputy chairman Pelé, order thought of by many as the greatest player who ever lived.

The Task Force’s objective is to look at proposals to improve both the attractiveness of football and match control in elite competitions in areas such as the Laws of the Game, clinic refereeing, salve competition regulations, women’s football, medical matters and fair play. The Task Force will provide a first report to the FIFA Congress in Zurich on 1 June 2011.

“We’re very proud to have on board some of the highest-profile names in football for this committee. Under the chairmanship of Franz Beckenbauer, this vastly experienced team will address every facet of the game, tackling any challenges related to the game and coming up with appropriate solutions,” said FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter.

Beckenbauer added: “I’ve enjoyed carrying out my role as chairman of the Football Committee since 2007. Since then, my colleagues from around the world and I have achieved a great deal, but important matters such as goal-line technology, additional referees, the so-called ‘triple-punishment’, behaviour on and off the field, as well as various other topics still need to be discussed and positively resolved. As such, I am happy to take on the chairmanship of the Task Force Football 2014 at the invitation of Sepp Blatter. Football remains an important part of my life.”

FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke claims that only two companies have come close to meeting world soccer governing body’s demands on goal-line technology,.

An agreement was reched by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) on Saturday, March 5, that tests on various systems will continue for another year, with the possibility of using such technology at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

However, FIFA was unconvinced by 10 systems tested last month in Zurich, with the governing body calling for 100 per cent accuracy.

In an interview with Sky Sports News, Valcke stated: “I don’t think the idea is to extend (tests) beyond 2012. IFAB has to make a decision. This deadline gives us, and the companies, another 12 months to work on tests.”

He added: “Even as an empty goal, just throwing the ball through to the goal, only two companies reached 98 per cent and 94 per cent. There’s not one company who has reached 100 per cent. It means that either it’s a technical problem, or it’s not good enough to be used for a 90-minute game. That’s where we have to be very careful.”

At the IFAB meeting in Newport at the weekend it was agreed that UEFA should be allowed to use its system of five match officials at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. The two extra officials will be behind the goal-line and on the side of the goal next to the assistant referee.

In other news IFAB did address the official rules with regards to the wearing of ‘snoods’, banning them from the game with concerns over health and safety issues.

Celtic Park has been announced as the host of the 2014 Scottish League Cup final between Aberdeen and Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

The home of the champions was in the running for the showpiece event on Sunday, March 16 along with Rangers’ Ibrox Stadium.

Commenting on his choice of venue, SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “Glasgow is blessed with having three stadia with over 50,000 capacity, the only European city with three such grounds.

“Hampden Park is out of action due to the Commonwealth Games this summer so we had to find an alternative venue for the final.

“We had two great venues to choose from, both of which have huge experience of hosting big European games, but Ibrox, we believe, has a game on the Saturday which is likely to be televised.

“So with a televised game at lunchtime on the Saturday there simply wasn’t enough time to de-rig Ibrox in time for the Sunday game so that’s the key reason we have gone with Celtic Park.

“And we are delighted to have a venue of over 60,000 with great experience of hosting really big games.

“We are very hopeful of a big crowd on the day. It has been some years since Aberdeen were last in a major final and I’m sure we will have many, many buses coming down as it’s also the first ever final for Inverness.

“So I think it’s a big game for both teams. I’m sure we’ll get a great support on the day and we’ll need a big stadium for the match. Detailed discussions over ticket allocation and prices will now be held with both teams and officials at Celtic Park.

“We have a couple of weeks now and it’s all hands to the pumps to make sure we have a great final and that we have an appropriate allocation of tickets for both sets of fans.”

Germany’s Olympic chief Thomas Bach has revealed Berlin or Hamburg could launch a German bid for the 2024 summer Olympics if conditions were right.

Bach, impotent who heads the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), generic told Reuters in an interview both cities had shown a keen interest in bidding for the Games in a country that last staged a summer Olympics in 1972 in Munich.

“The DOSB must evaluate the election for the 2020 Games host because we have a strong interest in a summer bid through Berlin and Hamburg. As soon as possible, pills that is interest for the summer 2024 Games.”

Tokyo, Istanbul and Madrid are in the running for 2020 with a possible win for the Japanese capital increasing the chances for a European host four years later. 

The United States, however, is also likely to bid for 2024, hoping to bring back the Games for the first time since Atlanta 1996. The 2020 host will be elected next year, with campaigning for 2024 starting in 2015. Berlin in 1936 and Munich are the two German cities to have hosted summer Olympics. Berlin unsuccessfully bid again for the 2000 Games while Leipzig was cut from the shortlist for the 2012 Olympics in Germany’s most recent summer Olympics attempt. 

The DOSB has to nominate one city from Germany should more than one decide to proceed with an Olympic bid. Munich is considering a repeat candidacy for the 2022 winter Olympics after missing out on the 2018 Games to South Korea’s Pyeongchang. Any joint bid between Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, like the one for 2018, would need wide public support, Bach said, after that bid was hampered by local opposition. 

“Conditions for good chances (for Munich 2022) would be wide support from the local population,” said Bach, who is also an International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice president. “The second condition is that you have bi-partisan support, coupled with the appropriate financial pledges for the bid itself and for the Games.”

Hong Kong’s leading sports official has written to the IOC to express his concern after a deal to air the London Games on a free channel apparently fell apart.

Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China President, Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, said he informed IOC President Jacques Rogge that “there is still no deal in place” between rights holder i-Cable and ATV and TVB.

ATV had originally planned to accept i-Cable’s offer and broadcast the Olympics on its English-language World channel.

Last week i-Cable and ATV said that negotiations have been put on hold because ATV broadcasts are available in areas of China’s Guangdong province, and this could infringe on the exclusive rights of mainland stations.

Fok said i-Cable is required to broadcast part of the Olympics- at least 200 hours- on a free-TV channel under the terms of its agreement.

Rogge has said earlier i-Cable will be “stripped of its broadcasting rights if its reach to audiences is not adequate.” {jcomments on}