Sepp Blatter, the current incumbent of the presidency of world soccer’s governing body FIFA, has laid out his manifesto for re-election for a fourth term of office in opposition to Mohamed Bin Hammam, saying that the organisation needs ‘evolution not revolution’.

Asian confederation (AFC) chief Bin Hammam confirmed his candidacy for the role last month and the Qatari will face his Swiss counterpart in the election on 1st June.

Blatter stated: “In these challenging times FIFA needs first of all stability, continuity and reliability“, opposing Bin Hammam’s election pledge based upon major changes to FIFA’s structure.

The 61-year-old Qatari’s manifesto contains proposals for change, including the creation of 17 more executive committee positions on a new 41-strong FIFA board.

Blatter promised to apply ‘zero tolerance and fair play’ throughout the game and added that ‘the biggest enemies of football are corruption, match-fixing and doping’.

Blatter added that under his leadership there had been a 57-fold increase in investment in soccer development projects when comparing the period 2007-2010 with that of 1995-98, prior to his election.

He also made an appeal to the financial interests of the member associations and pointed out that FIFA has grown its cash reserves from zero to US$1.2bn.

Blatter added that there would be another additional financial dividend if the 2014 finals in Brazil prove to be a success and on top of this, he said FIFA would provide $1bn for soccer development over the next four years.

Blatter has pledged to ‘strengthen the universality of football’ and said that the controversial award of the World Cup to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022 was ‘an important step in this direction’.

D.C. United and Inter Milan owner Erick Thohir has denied reports that he will put his share of the Major League Soccer club up for sale to cover the debts of Inter Milan he took over last fall.

Italian outlet Il Sole 24 Ore reported earlier this week that Thohir was prepared to sell his share of D.C. United to cover Inter’s debts of “200 million euros” and avoid touching his own private funds, discount built primarily through years as a media mogul in Indonesia.

Thohir and Washington, cialis D.C., prostate lawyer and sports agent Jason Levien joined the investment group behind D.C. United in July 2012, and Thohir became a controlling shareholder and club president at Inter last October.

“I would like to reaffirm the position of both D.C. United and FC Internazionale Milano as part of my football portfolio,” Thohir said via statement. “These assets are integral parts of my international sports investment strategy and I look forward to growing both brands well into the future. I deny, in no uncertain terms, recent media reports which indicated otherwise.

“My commitment and dedication to both DCU and Inter is unwavering, and I am focused on producing results both on and off the pitch at both clubs.”

D.C. United are in the process of negotiating a $300 million stadium deal with local officials to build in the Buzzard Point area of Southwest D.C., a move championed by Thohir and Levien shortly after they took over. The club hopes to begin play at the site in 2016.

Madrid 2020 has agreed a partnership with Madrid Hotel Industry Association that will ensure that should Madrid host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, visitors to the event will have the availability of more than 80,000 beds at the city’s hotels, and room rates will be capped.

Madrid Mayor Ana Botella said: “We are very excited by the commitment shown by the hotel owners who have signed up to this partnership. This demonstration of support by the businesses and people of Madrid is very encouraging and urges us on as we work towards fulfilling our dream.”

Madrid 2020 President Alejandro Blanco added: “The Games are not just a sporting event but an opportunity to promote Spain by celebrating its history, experiencing the present and looking forward to the future, particularly the positive impact that an Olympic Games will have on Madrid and the Spanish people. Support is growing daily and over 80 per cent of the country is already expressing their support for our bid.

“Winning the Games will be the catalyst for regenerating the country’s economy” added Blanco, who pointed to the fact that the occupancy rate for London’s hotels during the 2012 Games was 94 per cent and that the UK economy’s one per cent growth between July and September had been attributed, in the main, to hosting the Olympics.

Blanco spoke of the Games legacy saying: “I’m not going to claim that Madrid 2020 will be the best Games of all time, but I will say that they will be our Games. They will belong to each and every one of us and we will work diligently to ensure sustainability.”

G4S, allergy the Official Security Services Provider of London 2012,  have failed in their promises to provide the recommended amount of security personnel for the Games.

Instead up to 3,500 extra troops will be needed for security duties during the Olympics amid fears that private firm G4S will not be able to meet the needs, the defence secretary will say today.

Philip Hammond will say the military force at the Olympics will be boosted to some 17,000 troops with just two weeks to go.

It comes as security-providers G4S admitted it was experiencing “some issues in relation to workforce supply and scheduling” and had accepted that the government was turning to the military for extra help.

Some 17,000 troops will now be involved in the Olympics, with 11,000 of these involved in the security of more than 30 sporting venues and some 70 non-competition venues, including car parks and hotels.

Military personnel will also be involved in specialist support roles including air security, search teams, communications and logistics, among others.

Mr Hammond will give further details to MPs today.

A London 2012 spokesman said: “Security for the Games is big and complex but we have the best brains in the security business working on this – Home Office, Metropolitan Police, Ministry of Defence and world’s largest private security business.

“Delivering a safe and secure Games is everyone’s number one priority.

“We do not anticipate an increase in the overall venue security numbers.”

Andy Hunt, chief executive of the British Olympic Association (BOA), has refuted claims that his position, as well as that of chairman Colin Moynihan, has been weakened by the deal that brought an end to a bitter dispute with the London 2012 Olympic Games organising committee (LOCOG).

The BOA was forced to give way in its cash row with LOCOG, a case which they had initially stated that they would take to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and abandoned its legal action against Games organisers.

The deal agreed will see LOCOG waive rights to royalties on two items of Team GB merchandise and will also allow the BOA to buy extra Olympic Games tickets and Hunt denied the episode had jeopardised his position, telling Sky News: “Not at all. We work with our boards, and with the IOC (International Olympic Committee), and the 33 sports to make sure that we were pursuing a contractual right that we had. We have consulted widely, and everyone has supported the way we have handled this.”

Hunt added: “We have always said we wanted a settlement and that’s what we have got. When you have to pursue something that you think is right, it might not always be popular. What we have done in pursuing what was a narrow contractual dispute has been blown out of all proportion and now we are taking a stand to make sure we can close it off and agree a settlement that helps LOCOG and British athletes.”

London 2012 has agreed “in principle” to lift the suspension of Moynihan and Hunt from its board meetings and LOCOG chief executive Paul Deighton added: “We are obviously pleased to get the dispute behind us so we can just move on and concentrate on what’s important, which is delivering a great Games and a great Team GB that can win medals.”

If successful in their bid to host the 2017 World Athletics Championships, Doha will use the same air-cooling technology that they plan to employ during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The Qatari capital is one of four cities bidding to host the event alongside London, who want to stage the Championships in the stadium being built for next year’s Olympics, and are seen as the English capital’s biggest rival.

Doha’s bid to host the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics failed two years ago because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ruled that holding the Games there in July or August could be too dangerous because of the searing heat at that time of the year in the Gulf.

But pioneering cooling technology was invented during the country’s controversial bid to host the World Cup to counter the threat of average temperatures in Qatar in the summer which peak at around 41 Celsius and can often pass 50 degrees Celsius and they now plan to utilise that in the World Championships if they are awarded the event.

Qatar has developed system of solar-powered, air-cooled stadiums with roofs designed to shelter the fans and players. Qatar proposes playing World Cup matches in 12 stadiums equipped with the technology.

The technology can keep the temperature at under 20 degrees Celsius – a long way below the 30-degree mark at which most medical experts agree conditions become dangerous. 

If Qatar officials also manage to convince the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) of the benefits of the system then it could also have major benefits for its proposed bid to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.

A spokesman for the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) told insidethegames: “We are presently considering the potential dates for hosting the 2017 IAAF World Championships, and we will enter discussions with the IAAF over dates at the appropriate time during the bidding process.

“Should Qatar’s bid for the Championships be successful, the proposed stadium would be Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium which will be fully equipped with the latest environmentally friendly air-cooling technology.”

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) has announced Curt Harnett as their Chef de Mission for the TORONTO 2015 Pan American Games. 

Four-time Olympian, treatment three-time Olympic medallist and Board Member of World Bicycle Relief Canada will lead Team Canada at the TORONTO 2015 Games

“We are so excited to at last, decease inform Canadians and those across the Americas of the individual who will be responsible for leading our TORONTO 2015 Canadian Pan American Team, impotent ” said Marcel Aubut, President, Canadian Olympic Committee. “Curt is one of Canada’s most decorated Olympians, and we are so grateful that he has accepted this great responsibility. I have full confidence that Canada’s Pan American athletes will benefit greatly from his extensive experience, unending passion and tremendous intensity.”

“What a truly incredible honour this is for me. I am ready for the task ahead and accept this massive responsibility,” said Curt Harnett, four-time Olympian, three-time Olympic medallist and the new Chef de Mission for Canada’s TORONTO 2015 Pan American Games Team.

“One of my goals as Chef will be to illustrate to all Canadians that these Games matter,” added Harnett. “They matter not just because an unprecedented amount of resources are being invested into sport, or because they afford Canada’s best athletes the opportunity to compete at home, in front of a hometown crowd. They matter because come 2015, various cultures and languages will be coming into our home and we will host them with a true Canadian spirit – one of peace, fair play and equality. To me, these are values worthy of promoting and celebrating.”

Canada’s 2015 Pan American Team is expected to be the largest team ever fielded at an international multi-sport competition. The unprecedented size of the Canadian Team for TORONTO 2015 will exceed 1,100 with the inclusion of athletes, coaches, and mission staff and is a result of the COC’s landmark financial investment.

“With this investment, we are ensuring that every Canadian athlete who is eligible to compete will compete,” added Aubut.

“On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to congratulate Curt Harnett on being named the Chef de Mission for Canada’s 2015 Pan American Games team,” said the Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport). “Curt’s experience, both as an athlete and as 2011 Assistant Chef de Mission for Team Canada in Guadalajara, will provide our athletes and coaches with unparalleled leadership, knowledge, and enthusiasm leading up to and during the Games.”

The world governing body for air sports (FAI) has announced that it has opened the bid process that will determine the hosts for the 2015 FAI World Air Games.

FAI Member Organisations, pills cities, drugs regions, event organisers or commercial bodies interested in bidding for this event are asked to submit their initial expressions of interest to the FAI by 30 November 2012.

The FAI World Air Games is the flagship event of Air Sports. This multi-disciplinary event is the only world competition that brings together the various different Air Sports. It is a combination of elite competition and spectacular demonstrations which exemplify the very best that Air Sports have to offer.

“We are very excited to get the bid process for the next FAI World Air Games started and we look forward to receiving the applications. Hosting the FAI World Air Games, where the very best air sports athletes from all around the world pit their skills and talents against one another, is a unique way to promote the image of a city, region or even a country”, said FAI Secretary General Jean-Marc BADAN.