The British Olympic Association’s (BOA) cash problems are set to prevent them from staging one of the Olympic Movement’s most important and high-profile meetings in London next year.

The General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), a bi-annual event, attended by more than 200 National Olympic Committees and held in conjunction with a meeting of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) ruling Executive Board, was set to be held by the BOA just three months before the start of the Games in London.

However, the BOA are now set to inform the ANOC that they cannot afford the US$8m estimated that it would cost to host the event. With Athens and Beijing both having held the Assembly in 2004 and 2008 respectively, just a few months before they staged the Olympics and Paralympics, London was the obvious choice, but the 2012 event is now likely to be held in Mexico instead.

A spokesman for the BOA told insidethegames: “The final decision regarding the location for the 2012 ANOC Executive Board Meeting and General Assembly rests with the leadership of ANOC.

“We are fully committed and pleased to be doing our part to support them.”

But the BOA’s failure to be able to organise the General Assembly is another setback for the political ambitions of its chairman, Colin Moynihan, whose ambitions of becoming an IOC member have been hit by the row between the BOA and London 2012 over the surplus from next year’s Olympics, which has been referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

After he rejected an offer from IOC President Jacques Rogge earlier this month to personally intervene and help broker a solution, Moynihan’s reputation is thought to have been marred within the body and reports suggest that his future at the BOA rests on the result of the case taken to the CAS.

The BOA is entitled to 20% of any surplus from the 2012 Games, however, there is disagreement over whether that should mean just the Olympics or also include the Paralympics.

Senior BOA National Olympic Committee members will table a no-confidence vote in Moynihan if the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rules against it.

The BOA filed papers with CAS two weeks ago over its dispute with the London 2012 organising committee (LOCOG) and the hearing is likely to take place within the next four months.

The BOA is challenging an International Olympic Committee ruling that it should not be able to take its share of any profit from the 2012 Games until the Paralympics have also been taken into account.

The BOA’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) contains representatives from all of the Olympic sports and is responsible for electing the organisation’s chairman and has concerns that the BOA is spending money which it cannot afford, on a case which it is likely to lose.

The leader of one sport’s governing body told the BBC: “There is no way that CAS is going to go along with this.

“Moynihan’s position will be untenable if he loses. We have got to get the timing of the no-confidence motion right, but he can’t possibly survive if he sustains that amount of collateral damage.”

Another added: “Members of the NOC will have to ask themselves how the BOA got to this when we should all have been concentrating on winning gold medals.”

The BNP Paribas Open, doctor at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, allergist will become the first tennis tournament in the history of the game to feature Hawkeye replay technology and video displays on more than three courts when all match courts are outfitted for next year’s event, search announced Steve Simon, tournament director.

While most tournaments feature Hawkeye replay technology and video displays on one, two or three courts, none have made it available on eight match courts. The tournament will also be upgrading their video displays throughout the grounds—the Stadium Plaza video display will showcase feeds from three match courts, the Village Court and the Garden Club displays will feature feeds from two match courts, and information towers will be located at all three entrances and next to the practice courts, making it possible for fans to stay in touch with the action even when they are away from the courts.

“This is a great addition to the BNP Paribas Open, and one that I am sure all players on the ATP World Tour will be excited about,” said top-ranked American Andy Roddick. “Hawkeye is one of the best advancements in the game in recent years, so making it available on all courts will create consistency, and is something we hope more tournaments embrace in the future.”

“Hawkeye is an important officiating tool and greatly enhances the tennis experience for fans and players,” said Adam Helfant, ATP executive chairman and president. “We think it’s fantastic that the BNP Paribas Open has made this commitment to bring Hawkeye to all eight match courts and look forward to seeing it in March.”

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) informed on Monday that the bid process for the 16th World Gymnaestrada in 2019 has been launched.

The 131 FIG affiliated and associated national federations have been invited to submit their applications to the FIG Office by December 15, doctor 2012. The host city will be determined at the 13th FIG Council meeting in Liverpool (GBR) in May 2013, tadalafil where the 2019 World Gymnaestrada Bid Federations will have an opportunity to present their bids to the FIG authorities.

All candidate cities will be visited by a delegation of the FIG Gymnastics for All Committee in January – February 2013 and will be evaluated on venue and other bid content.

Emirates Air Line, ask the UK’s first urban cable car, was officially launched today as the British capital gears up to host the London 2012 Olympics.

Dubai-based Emirates Airline signed an US$55.5m, ten-year sponsorship deal to rebrand the cable car service, the most expensive such system ever built, in October.

The 1.1km cable line, which crosses the River Thames, has the capacity to carry up to 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction and offers views across the City of London, Canary Wharf, Greenwich, the Thames Barrier and the Olympic Park.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, Emirates Airline president Tim Clark and London’s Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy CBE, attended the first official flight.

European soccer’s governing body UEFA has stepped up its fight against corruption in the sport by approving the establishment of a network of integrity officers around Europe, while Ukraine’s preparations for Euro 2012 have again been called into question.

The news was announced on Monday, March 21, following the conclusion of UEFA’s latest Executive Committee meeting in Paris. Committee members approved the recommendations made by the working group on corruption/match-fixing which focus on establishing the network, which will involve all 53 national associations, and fostering collaboration with state authorities.

UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino told reporters: “In the countries where it has been possible to fight effectively against match-fixing, it has been possible only thanks to the support of the authorities. We cannot do this by ourselves as we are only a sports organisation. But what we can do is act very strongly. If you don’t eradicate the cancer before it starts to grow, then it can become a danger, and we will not permit it to become a danger.”

In other news, Infantino also confirmed that stadia in Kiev and Lviv are unlikely to be completed by a June deadline for the tournament Ukraine is co-hosting with Poland. Despite Ukraine’s problems, UEFA’s general secretary has stated the delays in Kiev and Lviv will not affect preparations for the tournament.

Infantino added: “They (the stadia) will be ready by October at the latest and there will be enough time to test them from the month of October. We knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. But in the end it will be a magnificent celebration of European football.”

Sighthill in Glasgow has been selected as the preferred site for the Athlete’s Village if Glasgow win the bid for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

The village would house about 6,000 athletes and officials during the Games and according to the BBC, would be similar in size to the village currently being built in Dalmarnock where the 2014 Commonwealth Games are being held.

Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson said: “The regeneration of the area was always a priority for the city but the bid means it can now happen much faster than ever envisaged.

“What’s great about this is that we need to start work on this regeneration before we know if we’ve won the bid. As a result Glasgow just bidding for the Games, people’s lives will be transformed. You’d struggle to find a bid anywhere in the world that delivers a legacy like that.”

Sport Minister Shona Robison said: “Bidding for the Youth Olympic Games could not only bring another world class event to Glasgow, it is a huge opportunity to put in place new facilities and infrastructure.”

Glasgow’s 2014 budget is 230 million pounds – 70 per cent of which will be funded by the Scottish government and Glasgow City Council will be responsible for the remainder.

The 2018 Youth Games host city will be announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in July 2013, following a short-listing process next February.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has today officially opened the Main Press Centre (MPC) which will host up to 6000 accredited press and photographic media during Games-time.

The MPC will provide 31, sales 000 square metres of office space across four floors of workspace for journalists, photographers, accredited non-rights holding broadcasters, as well as IOC and LOCOG staff during the Games. Across the Games it will be open for 52 days with the Catering Village serving an estimated 480,000 meals and 1.6 million cups of tea over 24 hours a day.

The MPC will become a ‘home from home’ for the world’s media with state-of-the-art media facilities to ensure media can report on the Games. A 200 metre-long High Street will feature a range of shops and services including a post office and dry cleaners, pharmacy and general store.

LOCOG Chair Sebastian Coe said: “Like the athletes competing at London 2012, the world’s writers and photographers who will be based in the MPC are at the top of their profession. We will offer them state of the art facilities so they can tell the extraordinary stories that will come out of the Games. This is our first venue on the Olympic Park to open for business and we are ready to welcome the world’s media as they come and set up their office.”

 

Having announced his candidacy for the FIFA presidential elections on Friday, March 18, Mohamed Bin Hammam has rejected claims that his could create a schism within world soccer’s governing body.

The Qatari national, head of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), confirmed long-running speculation that he would run against Sepp Blatter for FIFA’s top job after their formerly strong allegiances became strained.

Franz Beckenbauer, who is soon to step down as a member of the FIFA Executive Committee, has expressed his fear that the June 1 election could create a “dangerous situation” which could “split FIFA into two camps”.

Bin Hammam’s candidacy includes proposals that the 24-man Executive Committee should be replaced by a 41-member board, that a new transparency committee be established and FIFA’s income should be spread more evenly across the globe.

The AFC chief outlined his belief that the presidential battle will not lead to divisions within FIFA, stating: “I am a huge fan of Franz Beckenbauer. He is a football legend, one of my favourite people in life. But why should FIFA split if two candidates are running for the presidency?

“I always respect my competitors. President Blatter is a colleague and friend. I won’t create or encourage any environment that will divide the football family.”