World soccer’s governing body FIFA has revealed that 11 companies have submitted their initial interest in the next phase of goal-line technology tests after the issue was discussed at the first meeting of the new FIFA Task Force Football 2014 last month.

Out of the 11 companies who expressed interest in taking part in the new trials, FIFA said nine are from Europe, one from North America, and one from Africa. 

One company from Britain which has continually registered its interest in delivering goal-line technology is Hawkeye, a firm which has already proved its credentials with its successful implementation of video technology for tennis and cricket. 

Paul Hawkins told BBC Sport recently: “Our system for football is easier than for cricket, technically. Technology is not here to hurt anyone, it can only make things better.”

FIFA remains split on the issue of technology, with UEFA president Michel Platini airing his concerns about it just last week despite worldwide calls for the system to be introduced.

Platini told the Sunday Times: “Why should we? (introduce such technology). So we can eliminate doubt whether a ball has crossed the line? But I eliminate doubt with the use of additional referees in the Champions League and the Europa League.

“The day we have goal-line technology, five minutes after you will ask for offside technology. We will have that for ten years and then you will ask for penalty area technology.”

Franz Beckenbauer, head of the FIFA Task Force Football 2014 which is looking at ways to improve the game in different areas, told the FIFA Congress last week that he thought the additional referees system was highly effective, saying that he believed goal-line technology may be “superfluous”.

Despite these statements, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) decided at its March 5 meeting to extend testing of goal-line technology by one year, while FIFA president Sepp Blatter said at the time that none of the 10 companies involved in the February trials had been successful in meeting the criteria set out by IFAB at its meeting last October. 

The further testing phases will be split in two, with the first trials of goal-line technology scheduled between September and December. Following this phase, the test institute in consultation with the IFAB will establish a shortlist of companies who will proceed to the second testing phase that is scheduled for March to June next year. 

FIFA said each individual system will be scrutinised using stringent pass/fail criteria, both during daylight and at night under floodlights before results of the testing are announced at a special IFAB meeting in July 2012.

Criteria include: a goal indication to referee’s watch (automatically displayed by vibration and visual signal); signal range (full coverage of the pitch and technical areas); free shots on goal (100% recognition); static accuracy test (minimum 90% correct recognition in this first phase); and dynamic accuracy test (minimum 90% correct recognition in this first phase).

A new partnership between USA Gymnastics with Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) Facilities will see the organisation showcase its Olympic stars after the 2012 and 2016 Games.

The Tour of Gymnastics Champions will feature Team USA’s top gymnasts, as well as former champions, and take place directly after the London and Rio Games, visiting 40 cities over a ten week period between September and November in 2012 and 2016.

Although details of the venues are still to be announced, AEG Facilities owns and operates over 100 sports venues around the world including the Staples Center in Los Angles, American Airlines Arena in Miami and Sprint Center in Kansas City.

It also runs venues outside the USA including the O2 Arena in London, Berlin’s O2 World and the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai.

Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics, stated: “AEG is a global force in the entertainment industry and this partnership enables USA Gymnastics to take the tour to an unprecedented level. Our combined experience and resources allow us to reach a broad audience and create a dynamic showcase for our athletes and sport at the highest degree possible. This is partnership is designed to capitalise on our mutual strengths and co-promotional abilities.”

Bob Newman, AEG Facilities’ chief operating officer, added: “Last year, AEG Facilities and USA Gymnastics hosted the most successful Visa Championships to date. We are thrilled to partner with USA Gymnastics once again and look forward to combining efforts and resources to produce this prestigious post-Olympic event.”

Planning Permission has just been granted for the new training facility for English nPower League One soccer team Southampton Football Club.

The state of the art venue has been designed by AFL Architects and the company released a statement on their webiste today, February 14 to confirm the approval.

The statement from the architectural company read: “The design for the new building represents a contemporary but contextual approach. By using natural timber cladding to the walls and roof of the new building, the contemporary architectural style and massing will sit comfortably within it’s rural setting at the edge of the New Forest.”

The 2014 UEFA Super Cup will be staged in Cardiff at Cardiff City Stadium.

The traditional clash between the winners of the Champions League and Europa League will be staged at the venue on Tuesday, August 12, with a 7.45pm kick-off.

Jonathan Ford, chief executive of the Football Association of Wales, said: “The Football Association of Wales is delighted Cardiff will be hosting this year’s UEFA Super Cup.

“Cardiff has hosted several high profile sporting events. This, however, is a first.

“This will be the first match staged on behalf of UEFA in the Welsh capital. We are sure it will not be the last.”

John Griffiths, Minister for Culture and Sport on behalf of the Welsh Government, added: “The UEFA Super Cup coming to Cardiff and Wales is another fantastic opportunity to showcase the capital city and our country.

“We are used to hosting major sporting events in this country. Rugby union and rugby league, football, cricket and speedway to name just a few. A UEFA Super Cup is another huge event.”

Paul Downton, a former wicket-keeper for England, has replaced Hugh Morris as Managing Director of English Cricket and will begin his role on 1 February 2014.

Downton represented England in 30 Test Matches between 1981 and 1988  and 28 One Day Internationals with more than half his Test Matches were against the powerful West Indies team of the 1980s . He played in both the 1981 and 1985 Ashes winning series, the 1984/5 series win in India and the Cricket World Cup Final in 1987 in Kolkata.

He is a qualified coach and since retiring from cricket he has been an active member of the Middlesex, ECB Cricket and MCC Committees and forged a successful career in the City with HSBC, Cazenove and JP Morgan.

ECB Chief Executive David Collier said : “Paul’s record of success both on and off the field made him the outstanding candidate to replace Hugh Morris. His experience of a World Cup Final, Ashes success, six County Championship wins and 58 international appearances for England provides a wealth of cricket experience. His background in law when coupled with his experience in the City provides the unique set of skills which is required to lead and manage the England Cricket Department’ s £100 million budget over the next 4 years.Paul will inherit a thriving Team England operation which has been exceptionally well led by Hugh Morris and the ECB wishes Hugh every success in his new role at Glamorgan CCC.”

Paul Downton added: “I am honoured to have been offered this position and the trust which the ECB has placed in me to lead our national teams. Since retiring from the game I have taken a close interest in both County and International cricket and I am excited by the challenge of building on the success which England teams have enjoyed at all levels in recent years.

“My discussions during the appointment process with the Chairman, Chief Executive, the England Team Director and One Day coach have provided me with a clear vision of the importance attached to this role and I look forward to forging close and successful working relationships with my new colleagues at ECB. Finally I would like to thank J P Morgan Cazenove who have been a terrific company to work for during the past 17 years and I wish the company and all my colleagues every success in the future.”

Rome is gearing up for another attempt to bid for the 2024 Olympics, viagra according to the Associated Press.

After a brutal last minute scrapping of the 2020 bid in February of this year, clinic Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno spoke out in the press that they need to get ready for 2017 when the 2024 bids will be decided by the IOC. 

Rome’s bid, allergy led by IOC member and then IOC vice-president, Mario Pescante, fell out of the race the day before the deadline for submissions due to a lack of government support. 

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti was not able to give the bid the government guarantees required by the IOC for the campaign.

Italy, like Spain, has been hit by an economic crisis and they bid was seen as a catalyst to jump start the economy if they could win. Spain is bidding Madrid and following the same plan, winning the Olympics would be a big boost to the lagging economy.

Kuwait told the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today it’s political interference in sport institutions will end.

Kuwait has been suspended from the IOC since 2010. The IOC said in May Kuwaiti athletes could participate at the games, but would compete and march in the opening ceremony under the Olympic flag.

IOC spokeswoman Sandrine Tonge said Monday the suspension was “conditionally lifted” after Kuwait ruler Sheik Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah pledged autonomy for the country’s Olympic committee and promised new legislation for institutions governing sports.

They will be allowed to hoist their national flag and have the Kuwaiti National Anthem playing alongside it.

Kuwait is sending 11 athletes to the London 2012 Olympics which start on July 27.

Andy Murray, Britain’s tennis number 1, has starred in a new short film created by racquet partner, Head Tennis, which has been launched on YouTube and Facebook. 

The viral is named ‘Get Closer’, and is the first part of Head’s unique Facebook campaign enabling fans to interact with the Scot Murray throughout the Wimbledon championships. 

The new viral depicts a fictional day in the life of Andy Murray – following the tennis star at home, on the court and even in the shower as he interacts with his fans who give him a giant Facebook ‘like’.

Head Tennis has invited fans to watch the Get Closer film online on its Facebook page, where they can ‘like’ the page in order to gain access to exclusive content, special prizes and Andy’s tweets throughout Queens and Wimbledon.

Murray will then select his favourite cheers and personalised messages to be emblazoned on the tennis racquet bag he takes out onto centre court during the tournament. 

Johan Eliasch, CEO of Head N.V. said: “Using digital and social media in HEAD’s brand communication, we want to bring our consumers and our athletes closer together in an emotional and fun way. 

“We are proud to be partnering with Andy on such a unique campaign during the most prestigious tournament in the tennis calendar.”

Andy Murray added: “The viral was great fun to make and there are plenty of random characters that crop up throughout, I definitely haven’t had too many days like that! In the lead-up to and during Wimbledon it really means a lot to me to have support and encouragement, it makes a big difference on the court.”

The British Olympic Association (BOA) and Brazil Olympic Committee (COB), whose cities are organising the next two summer Games, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) after agreeing to work more closely and identifying areas of mutual cooperation.

BOA chairman Colin Moynihan and COB President Carlos Nuzman signed the agreement after claiming that they were uniquely positioned to enter into a strategic partnership to mutually benefit sports and athletes from both nations.

Under the terms of the MoU, the Committees will share information and best practice in a range of areas, including sharing information about facilities, training conditions, venues and other key information about sport performance, working on preparation camps before London 2012 and Rio 2016 and assist each other and in particular certain member National Federations (NF) of sports in preparations for the next two Games.

Additionally, they will work together to facilitate the establishment of strategic partnerships and operational assistance between the countries NFs, sharing best practice and collaborating with each other in relevant performance and administration issues in relation to London 2012 and Rio 2016.

Moynihan stated: “I am delighted that we have signed a Memorandum to reflect the strong spirit of cooperation and collaboration we enjoy with our counterparts in Brazil.

“The next six years will undoubtedly be the most exciting and ambitious period in both our organisations’ histories and there will be many opportunities to share advice and best practice for the ultimate benefit of our athletes and sports.

“As the host National Olympic Committee for London 2012, the BOA’s primary focus is to ensure the success of Team GB at London 2012 whilst creating a legacy infrastructure for success in Rio 2016 and beyond.

“[This] agreement will help greatly towards achieving this objective.”

International Olympic Committee (IOC) have announced today that IOC Vice-President John Coates will be the Chairman of the Coordination Commission for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Frank Fredericks was also elected as Chairman of the Coordination Commission for the 3rd Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires for 2018.

Coates and Fredericks will lead two experienced teams of commission members, drug also named today, anabolics who will be responsible for assisting their respective local Organising Committees as they prepare for their editions of the Games. The members of the Coordination Commissions represent the stakeholders of the Olympic Movement, including the athletes, the National Olympic Committees, International Sports Federations, and the International Paralympic Committee, and act as a link between them, the Organising Committees and other Olympic Movement stakeholders, thereby ensuring the coordination necessary to help deliver successful editions of the Games.

IOC President Thomas Bach also decided that Arne Ljungqvist, Gerhard Heiberg and Hein Verbruggen will continue in their roles as chairmen of the Medical Commission, Marketing Commission and OBS, respectively, until after the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games to ensure continuity in the preparations. The terms of all three had been set to expire after the IOC Session in Buenos Aires. 

The members of the Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Tokyo 2020 are as follows:

Chairman
John COATES

Vice-Chair
Alex GILADY

Members (in alphabetical order)
Sebastian COE (ANOC)
Mikaela COJUANGCO-JAWORSKI
Kirsty COVENTRY (Athletes’ Commission)
Anita DEFRANTZ
Guy DRUT
Habu GUMEL
Nicole HOEVERTSZ
Robin MITCHELL
Lydia NSEKERA
Andrew PARSONS (IPC)
Irena SZEWINSKA
Marius VIZER (ASOIF)
Zaiqing YU

The members of the Coordination Commission for the 3rd Summer Youth Olympic Games – Buenos Aires 2018 are as follows:

Chairman
Frank FREDERICKS

Members (in alphabetical order)
Danka BARTEKOVA (Athletes’ Commission)
Lingwei LI
Barry MAISTER
Henry NÚÑEZ (ANOC)
Adham SHARARA (ASOIF)