Football Federation Australia (FFA) has revealed today that Jack Reilly will step down as a Director of FFA.

Reilly served three two-year terms as an appointed independent director.

FFA Chairman Frank Lowy AC has thanked Jack for his six years’ of service to FFA and his contribution to the advancement of football in Australia.

“As a former Socceroo World Cup player Jack brought an insight to the elite tier of the game in Australia and as a former chairman of the Victorian Soccer Federation and former director of Melbourne Victory he clearly understood the historical context of the reforms we’ve undertaken and the great progress made over the past eight years,” said Lowy.

“His business and finance background allowed him to make a broad contribution to FFA’s governance structures.

“I know Jack will be a lifelong friend of football and I look forward to his continued support of FFA’s mission to make football the biggest and most popular game in Australia.”

Jack Reilly was appointed to the FFA Board in 2007 and served on the Finance and Audit Committee and the Football Development Committee. He was Head of Delegation for the Joeys at the FIFA Under 17 World Cup in Mexico in 2011.

Jack Reilly said: “The well-being of Australian football has been a passion of mine since I came to this country as a player in 1970.” 

“In my six years on the FFA Board I was delighted to see the game grow at all levels, in particular the profile and the playing standards of the Hyundai A-League.

“The qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the new leadership of CEO David Gallop tell me the game is in good shape for the years ahead. I’m satisfied with my contribution and will continue to support the game in any way I can.”

The FFA currently has a seven-member board under the chairmanship of Frank Lowy AC with five elected and two appointed directors. 

It is expected that UEFA President, and former France international soccer player, Michel Platini will be re-elected in his post on 23 December. The decision looks to be a foregone conclusion as no challengers have gone up against the current president or look set to do so by midnight on 22 December.

Platini has held the position at UEFA since January 2007 and earlier this year revealed that he would put himself forward to continue his role for a further three years.

In an eventful and sometimes controversial tenure, Platini’s main achievement has been to deliver on his promise to “take the game back to the fans in the smaller countries”. That pledge remains a vote-winner among the majority of the 53 member associations.

In comparison with the 2007‑08 season when Platini took over the presidential position, teams from Israel, Denmark, Switzerland, Slovakia and Serbia have taken part in the Champions League group stage. Russia and France have also had their participation increased by a single club with teams from Portuguese, Turkish, Spanish, Italian, Scottish and Czech leagues all sacrificed.

Last Friday, after the executive committee meeting in Prague, Uefa announced a €300,000-a-year (US$394,313) boost to all member associations’ conditional funding, largesse that would probably not be overlooked if Platini’s candidacy was contested. The big clubs are less pleased about the Champions League reforms introduced by Platini than the “smaller countries” and if reinstated, he may face a tougher 3 years ahead..

The board of the Football Association nominated David Bernstein as the new chairman of the governing body on 22 December. Bernstein was formerly chairman at Manchester City for 5 years and was recommended by the nominations committee, chaired by Phil Gartside.

The committee’s nomination was approved in unanimous fashion by the board and the FA Council will endorse the appointment at its meeting on 25 January.

During Bernstein’s 9 year spell at City, 5 of which were as chairman, the 67-year-old saw the club promoted back into the English Premier League. Bernstein also led negotiations which delivered the club’s new City of Manchester Stadium.

He is a chartered accountant with a long career in business, sitting on the Boards of several public companies including the French Connection Group Plc, Ted Baker Plc and Blacks Leisure Plc, where he has been Chairman since 1996. Since 2003 he has been a Director of Wembley Stadium and has been Chairman since 2008. He is also President of the National Association of Disabled Supporters.

“The Board was united in its view that David would make an excellent choice as Chairman of the organisation.  I have worked with David for some years and have always been impressed by his professionalism and integrity” said Acting Chairman Roger Burden.

“We look forward to working with David to take The FA forward in the best interests of football at all levels across the country.”

Nominations Committee Chairman Phil Gartside said: “David was the outstanding candidate for the role. He combines strong business and leadership skills with tremendous insight and knowledge of football.”

“I very much look forward to working with David and together focussing on the priorities for the development of English football. We have a busy year ahead with work starting on St George’s Park, the launch of the Women’s Super League, England men’s and women’s teams competing in major competitions at a variety of age groups and a drive to implement the recommendations of our review into international player development.” added FA General Secretary Alex Horne.

Mr Bernstein said: “I am honoured to be asked to take on the role as Chairman of The FA. It is a tremendous challenge but I look forward to working with the Board, the staff at The FA and everyone in football from local playing fields to Wembley and the international stage. ”

Sunset+Vine|APP, a sunsidiary of TV sports production and media company Sunset+Vine, has been appointed production partner for the Santander 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships.

Sunset+Vine International is responsible for the television distribution of the championships which take place in Santander from 12th-21st September 2014.

Held every four years, the ISAF Sailing World Championships brings together all ten Olympic sailing classes and features more than 1250 athletes. It is not only World Championship titles that are at stake, the ISAF Worlds will also decide 50% of the national qualification spots available for the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition.

With daily news bulletins and live coverage of all ten Medal Races forming part of the programming offering, this year’s event has secured an unprecedented commitment from broadcasters with over 20 of them, including ESPN (USA), BBC, OSN and beIN France, taking the championships to over 40 territories worldwide.

Andrew Preece, Managing Director of Sunset+Vine|APP said: “We are delighted to have been appointed as media partner for this year’s Santander 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships. It is fantastic to be entrusted by the sailing’s governing body to take their prestigious sailing event to a global audience. We are clearly demonstrating that our experience of working on the Olympics and Volvo Ocean Race – two of the three pinnacles in the sport of sailing – is paying dividends in terms of the unprecedented commitment we are securing from broadcasters globally.

“Our work with the BBC for the London 2012 Olympic sailing event has been particularly beneficial in helping us to work with the International Sailing Federation to deliver this huge collective world championship in Santander.”

Gary Jobson, ISAF Vice-President added: “ISAF is delighted to be working with Sunset+Vine|APP on the ISAF Sailing World Championships.  They have a proven track record in the production of sailing events and their distribution team have done an outstanding job in securing commitment from broadcasters around the world. We look forward to welcoming many of those broadcasters to Santander and showing the world the very best of Olympic class sailing.”

The Professional Squash Association has hired Tim Garner as a PSA European Representative as it looks to further expand the output of the European Tour.

The major announcement comes in the final countdown to next month’s IOC decision to consider Squash as a ‘new sport’ to add to the Olympic Games programme in 2020.

Englishman Garner, a former world No26 who competed on the PSA World Tour for more than ten years, has a wealth of experience in event management and administration – making the 43-year-old Londoner an outstanding candidate for the new position.

Manager and Head Coach of London’s famous Lambs Squash Club for four years, Garner  went on to form Eventis Sports Marketing with fellow former pro’s Peter Nicol and Angus Kirkland, staging a number of major events including the PSA International 50 Canary Wharf Classic, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in London this year. Garner has also managed the British Squash Professionals’ Association (BSPA) since its inception in 1993.

In an enterprising initiative to boost Squash’s 2020 Olympic Games campaign, Garner & Nicol undertook the Xodus 7 Continent Challenge in April – contesting seven squash matches in seven days on seven continents.

“We are delighted to announce Tim’s appointment as our European Representative and we see this as major addition to the PSA team,” said PSA COO Lee Beachill. “Europe is a growing market for the PSA and we have no doubt that he will help advance our presence in this region.”

Garner added: “I am excited by the opportunity not only to work with the PSA, but also the various European Federations, to help grow our fantastic sport in the region. I will be looking to harness the talent, enthusiasm and endeavour that already exists – and help facilitate more opportunities for the players to play events and the public to see those players in action.

“In doing so this can only be good moving forwards into what will hopefully be an Olympic era, and if not will still I am sure be a period of growth for our wonderful sport.”

The Premier League and Football Association (FA) are two of a group of 9 of the UK’s leading sporting governing bodies to have signed a voluntary code to reinvest in grassroots projects using at least 30 per cent of domestic television revenues.

The sum includes six of the most popular sports in the UK and is a massive increase on the initial target of 5 per cent per annum, amounting to £250m (US$386.5m) a year.

“This is an important statement of their intent to invest in the future,” said Sports Minister Hugh Robertson. “I welcome this commitment and could not support it more strongly.”

The idea for the implementation of the code came from the Sport and Recreation Alliance (SRA), formerly the Central Council of Physical Recreation, an umbrella organisation that represents 320 national bodies for sport and recreation in the UK. The plans were first introduced two years ago after pressure was placed on the leading sports to ensure that their events remained on free-to-air television.

Tim Lamb, the SRA’s chief executive, said: “Striking the right balance between audience reach, revenue generation and grassroots investment is a matter for the governing bodies themselves to determine. The code is there to show everyone the responsible approach governing bodies take to finding that balance.”

The nine organisations to sign up are: the All England Lawn Tennis Club/Lawn Tennis Association (joint signatories), the ECB, the PGA European Tour, the FA, the Premier League, the Royal & Ancient, the Rugby Football League and UK Athletics. This means that the only leading governing body not to sign the agreement are the Rugby Football Union (RFU).