Former 2010 FIFA World Cup CEO, medstore Dr Danny Jordaan, has been appointed South African Football Association President after winning the race for the top seat over fellow contender Mandla ‘Shoes’ Mazibuko.

It was an overwhelming majority victory for Dr Jordaan who polled 162 votes to Mazibuko’s 88.

The elections were conducted by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and were also monitored by members from FIFA and continental soccer body, CAF and SASCOC.

Jordaan takes over from Kirsten Nematandani who did not contest the race.

Dr Jordaan, who sought the mandate on the promise to improve Bafana Bafana’s overall performance, youth development, strengthening women football as well as strengthening the Association’s financial standing, said he was excited and was looking forward to deliver on his mandate.

The Vice-Presidents positions went to Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana who garnered 197 votes, Lucas Nhlapo (173) and Elvis Shishana who got 167 votes. The other Vice-President of the Association is Premier Soccer League chairman, Dr Irvin Khoza.

The 10 National List members of the National Executive Committee are, Mr Gladwin White, Mr Kwenzakwakhe Ngwenya, Ms Nomsa Mahlangu, Mr Poobalan Govindasamy, Mr Xolile Nkompela, Mr Truman Prince, Ms Ria Ledwaba, Mr Aubrey Baartman, Advocate Norman Arendse and Ms Anastasia Tsichlas.

Glasgow is expected to submit a bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) next month for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games after local councillors backed the plans

The city will now formally submit a bid to the International Olympic Committee next month and will compete against five other cities who have lodged an interest – Poznan (Poland), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Guadalajara (Mexico), Medellin (Columbia) and Buenos Aires (Argentina).

On Thursday, councillors from Glasgow City Council’s Executive Committee meeting heard from chief executive George Black.

He said the majority of the infrastructure required for the Games would be in place by 2018 following the Commonwealth Games in two years’ time, including the Hydro Arena and the National Hockey Centre at Glasgow Green.

The only two facilities which will need to be built are a BMX track and a diving pool.

Glasgow City Council will fund 30% of the Games Delivery Budget, with the remaining figure picked up by the Scottish Government.

The Youth Olympic Games were first held in Singapore in August, 2010. It is held every four years and involves around 3600 athletes between the ages of 15 and 18.

Glasgow’s programme would involve 28 sports.

Japanese businesses are boosting their sales promotions of Olympic-related goods and services, viagra including replica uniforms and packaged tours to see the Games.

Package tours to attend the London Olympics have been popular, viagra coupon with applications far outnumbering available spots.

Japan travely agency JTB Corp. offered packaged tours to London and solicited 15 participants for the tour, no rx a six-day trip with four nights in a hotel, priced at 1.3M yen (US $16,200).

The agency received 10 times more applications than available spots, and selected participants by lottery. So far, 30 similar tours have booked 80% of their seats.

Kinki Nippon Tourist Co. said  “most of its Olympic tour packages also have sold out,” including a six-day, three-night tour for 450,000 yen ($5,600) that includes tickets to table tennis and swimming events.{jcomments on}

A meeting has been arranged between the UK Government and the British Olympic Association (BOA) for today, March 29, to try to find a solution to the cash row threatening to overshadow the build-up to London 2012.

The chairman of the BOA, Colin Moynihan has been at the centre of the untimely dispute however, he announced that the Government had agreed to try to find an “amicable” solution to the row between themselves and London 2012 (LOCOG) over the argument about profits from next year’s Games.

Moynihan spoke ahead of a press conference unveiling 27 sporting icons as Team GB ambassadors, stating: “I can report that good progress was made through the weekend.

“The Government has agreed to hold a discussion to reach an amicable solution to the current contractual dispute.”

Moynihan is due to meet with the Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson before Britain’s National Olympic Committees gather in London tomorrow afternoon where the topic is top of the agenda.

BOA’s opposition in the dispute, the organisers of London 2012, have not been invited to the meeting which follows criticism from Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt who condemned the row over the weekend.

Robertson added: “The last thing any of us wants is a damaging row lasting the summer. I want to see if there is anything the government can do to bring this row to a conclusion.

“The last thing any of us wants is for this to go on for three or four months and end up at CAS. That would be very bad for sport and for London 2012.

“My role is to look at the overall damage this is doing for London 2012 and for British sport and see if there is anything I can do to help come to a solution.

“London’s Olympics is in great shape – it’s on time and it’s to budget. I’m prepared to do anything I can to reach an end to this dispute.”

After London won the rights to host the Games back in 2005, an agreement was signed meaning that the BOA would be entitled to a cut of any profit after 2012, but only after the cost of the Paralympics has been taken away, potentially limiting the amount they will receive.

The BOA is now disputing the contract they signed six years ago and is taking London 2012 to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Whilst they are involved in legal action against LOCOG, Moynihan and BOA chief executive Andy Hunt will not be permitted to take part in any 2012 Olympic Board meetings.

There is increasing pressure – both domestically and internationally – for Moynihan to drop his legal action with the BOA Chair having already angered the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge by turning down the opportunity earlier this month for him to try to resolve the row.

The IOC last week ruled in favour of London 2012 and Denis Oswald, the chairman of the IOC’s Coordination Commission for London 2012, has warned the BOA that they have no chance of winning their case at CAS.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Oswald stated: “It’s very regrettable that they have and we have to spend time on this. It could have been avoided. 

“The sooner it is settled the better so that we have it behind us.”

The row took a further twist when Neil Wood, the chief financial officer at London 2012, issued a statement refuting Moynihan’s claims that the Olympics could make a profit of £400 million (US$640 million).

“With reference to a claims by the BOA of a meeting last July between LOCOG and the BOA in which statements allegedly were made by me to the effect that the Olympics would make a profit of about £400 million ($640 million) with the Paralympics making a corresponding loss and at a subsequent meeting I allegedly revised this figure down to £300 million ($480 million) – I have never made such statements, which are in fact untrue,” he said.

President of FIFA, Sepp Blatter has stated Japan could still host the FIFA Women’s World Cup despite staging the 2019 Rugby World Cup in the same year.

Japan is set to become the first Asian country to host a Rugby World Cup in September 2019 running until the end of October the same year, and Blatter has opened the door for the country to stage the showpiece event of women’s football a short time before it.

Blatter said: “Japan would be a good candidate or contender. They are a little bit afraid because they have the Rugby World Cup in the same year but the sports are totally different.”

Japan has just finished hosting the 2012 Women’s Under-20 World Cup and they currently hold the ‘World Cup winners’ title winning the tournament in the Commerzbank-Arena, Germany last summer.

The next edition of the tournament in 2015 is set to be stage by Canada.

In the lead up to the London Games luxury tourism packages to the U.K. have attracted interest from wealthy Chinese and corporate clients. Caissa Touristic Group AG VP Zhang Rui said sales in the sector have reached more than 100M RMB (US $15.9M).

The company is the sole authorized Olympic Games ticket seller in China and “has tied the ticket sales to luxury tourism packages, medic ” Zhang said.

“The closer to the Games we get, the more passionately people want to watch them. We have received hundreds of inquiries and our sales are growing every day.” {jcomments on}

The funding available to England Basketball has been cut by £1.2m (US$1.9m) by the board of Sport England after they decided that England Basketball’s plans had not adequately addressed the challenge of increasing participation beyond the governing body’s current audiences.

The previous four-year funding of England Basketball had been structured to encourage a greater commitment, generic and improved approach, and to increasing participation in the sport. A maximum award of £1.2m ($1.9m) was only made available assuming that England Basketball was able to produce a robust strategy for growing the whole sport.

Sport England’s chief executive Jennie Price, therapy said: “England Basketball has not demonstrated the necessary focus on improving its plans for increasing participation, despite continued support and encouragement to do so. This was an important factor in our decision”.

As a result of the decision, England Basketball’s ‘whole sport plan’ revenue funding will not see the potential increase over the next two years. 

Subject to performance, it will now remain at its current level of £1.35m ($2.15m) per year, until March 2013.

Price added: “The Board has not taken this decision lightly, but from the outset of this funding period Sport England has been clear that poor performance would lead to a governing body’s overall funding levels being reviewed”.

“As an investor of public funds, we have a responsibility to ensure that our investment is properly managed and delivers value for money. We remain firmly committed both to the sport of basketball and to working with England Basketball on our remaining investment to support the development of the sport”.