Football Federation Australia have announced a new deal with the A-League referees giving them their first pay rise in five years.

However the match officials say their battle for better conditions is far from over, with talks to resume in November for contracts covering seasons beyond 2013/2014.

The FFA on Thursday announced it had settled on changes to the standard match officials agreement – covering at least 48 referees from the A-League, W-League and National Youth League – following lengthy discussions with the Professional Football Referees Association (PFRA).

The revised deal, which only covers the season beginning next month, includes an average 19 per cent increase in match fees across all competitions.

It also covers the reimbursement of out-of-pocket medical expenses for injuries suffered during training and matches and pre-season medical test.

“It’s a step in the positive direction. It’s a start, but it’s certainly not the end of discussions,’ said Tony Dempsey from the newly-formed PFRA.

“We’ve come to an agreement with them to have negotiations in November and December of this year around a collective bargaining agreement that sets out terms and conditions on a more wholistic basis for seasons following this season.”

Those conditions include future pay rises and the prospect of full-time match officials.

Dempsey said the new contracts would be signed ‘within days’, ruling out the need for any immediate strike action.

“If we can’t reach an agreement in November or December or sometime next year on future terms and conditions, we could be faced with a similar standoff to what we’ve just had for future seasons.

“But in the short-term, it’s been resolved.”

The 2013 IPC Athletic World Championships will be taking part in Lyon, herbal after the French city won the bid to host the nine day competition.

The Championships, sponsored by Handisport France in conjunction with the IPC, will be the first major international event following the 2012 Paralympic games and will commence on July 20. It will be first time the event has taken place in France, since Lille in 2002 and is expected to draw an estimated 2,000 athletes from 118 countries.

“We are delighted to bring one of the biggest para-sport events in the world to France, especially so soon after London 2012,” said President of the French National Paralympic Committee Gerard Masson.

“We are committed to delivering a superb World Championships in Lyon and are confident that we have the right conditions to secure that athletes can deliver the best possible performances.”

With the Champioships coming right of the back of London 2012, IPC Chief Executive Officer Xavier Gonzalez said that the event would “feature many new heroes, Paralympic champions and world record holders”

“The Local Organizing Committee has so far shown great enthusiasm for this Championships and the whole of the IPC Athletic team is looking forward to working with them in the years to come,” added Gonzalez.

The Spanish Olympic Committee (SOC) will cut the cost of its bid to host the 2020 Olympics by up to 40 percent compared with the last time it tried to land the games.

Spain’s troubled economy is marked by a 21.5 percent unemployment rate. Committee head Alejandro Blanco said the country would get a vital boost if it can win the rights to the Summer Games on the third attempt.

“We need the games, erectile ” Blanco told Spanish media. “This country, find with its current political and economic situation, abortion needs a project such as this. The gmes mean a lot to all countries but, for Spain, it means a lot more.”

On Tuesday, the mayor’s office founded the Madrid 2020 Society, which will manage a bid that is competing with Tokyo; Rome; Istanbul; Doha, Qatar; and Baku, Azerbaijan. Madrid unsuccessfully bid for the 2012 and 2016 Games, which went to London and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Though the Spanish committee did not release figures, Blanco said the bid plans to cut 30 to 40 percent from the previous $50.4 million budget, leaving it between $30.2 million and $35.3 million. Blanco did not say how the budget would be split between the public and private sectors in one of the largest debt-strapped eurozone nations.

This bid has taken a low profile with Spain desperate to meet deficit-reduction targets amid the continuing eurozone debt crisis. A new conservative government will assume power Dec. 22 and austerity and reforms will begin to take hold.

With about 80 percent of infrastructure completed, Blanco said no money would be spent on the bid until 2013 apart from the sum for the organizing committee.

British Basketball has signed a deal with UK pay-tv broadcaster BT Sport.

Bt Sport will show GB’s two home competitive games against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iceland, which are due to take place on Wednesday August 13th and Wednesday August 20th. Both games will tip off at 7.30pm and be broadcast on BT Sport 1.

Simon Green, head of BT Sport, said: “BT Sport is pleased to add to its basketball offering with Great Britain’s EuroBasket 2015 home qualifiers. On top of our exclusive NBA rights, this deal enhances our coverage for UK-based basketball fans and continues to expand the range of our overall offering.”

David Leyden Dunbar, Commercial Director for British Basketball, commented “We are delighted to have a broadcaster of BT Sport’s quality on board providing Live coverage of our men’s qualifiers. “

“These two International games provide a wonderful platform for our Men’s Senior team to illustrate the depth of talent within the squad and will offer a great opportunity for the sport to reach a wider audience. This team represents the pinnacle of British Hoops and as exciting as it was to have two back to back games at The Copperbox, the addition of BT Sport’s coverage will certainly add to the occasion”.

The games mark the start of Great Britain’s road to the 2016 Rio Olympics and will see them attempt to qualify for their fourth European Championship Finals in a row. 

Albano Guaraldi tumultuous time as Bologna owner may soon be over as he revealed he is willing to listen to offers for the Serie A club.

Guaraldi has had a difficult time with the club’s fans and admitted he regrets buying the club in the first place.

“If the right offer comes along, I’m ready to step down,” Guaraldi said in Gazzetta dello Sport.

“If I could go back I probably wouldn’t make the same decision to buy a majority stake in the club.

“If a serious buyer comes along, I’m ready to sell Bologna.”

Supporters fell out with Guaraldi, who took over the Emilia Romagna outfit in April 2011, after Bologna decided to sell their top players this summer in order to balance their books.

The fans voiced discontent over the departure of star players Saphir Taider, Gaston Ramirez and Daniele Portanova as they protested during Bologna’s 2-2 league draw with Sampdoria earlier this month.

“I accepted the presidency inspired by the enthusiasm of the shareholders but without thinking I would raise the expectations of the fans, the same supporters who are now protesting against me,” Guaraldi said.

“As of today, I really cannot tell you how to repair the relationship with part of the fanbase.”

Bologna, who finished 13th in Serie A last season, narrowly avoided bankruptcy in 2010.

Senior corporate adviser Sangita Shah has joined English football team Swindon Town as non-executive director.

Shah, who has worked as a consultant for the Cabinet Office and HSBC, joins the League One club which is led by chairman Jed McCrory with a view to putting the club on a stable financial footing.

“I have utter delight at the opportunity to serve the club,” she said. “The vision and strategy that Jed has for the club is compelling and one that will result in Swindon Town flourishing.

“Already, it is reaching a stable financial footing and with the further changes planned, I am confident that the board will move the club rapidly to a position where it will be thriving – both on and off the pitch.”

McCrory added: “I am very pleased that a person of Sangita’s gravitas and business acumen has agreed to join us in our push to develop a community club here at Swindon Town.

“I have worked with Sangita over the past five or six years on numerous different sector projects and I have no doubt that she will bring expertise that will help us continue the work we have started.”

Two competitions winners will create public spaces that will welcome millions of visitors to the north and south of the Olympic Park in Stratford at the aftermath of the London 2012 Games, the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) have announced.

Design teams were asked to come up with plans for a visitor centre and playground in the green river valley of the North Park along with a 50 acre urban landscape in the South Plaza sitting between the Olympic Stadium, the Aquatics Centre and the ArcelorMittal Orbit.

For the North Park competition, a London based firm called Erect Architecture were chosen for their winning design concept to create a community hub building which will be integrated into the parkland and river valley of the North Park area.

Meanwhile, for the South Plaza competition, James Corner Field Operations, who are based in New York, were chosen for their design concept, which features a tree lined promenade connecting flexible spaces for events, cultural programmes, food stalls and other attractions.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “The fantastic legacy we are building at the Olympic Park is already taking shape. These inspiring public spaces will be at the centre of the new communities that are rising in this brand new quarter of the capital.

“I congratulate these two winners, who now have the chance to put their stamp very firmly on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for generations to come.”

The winning design for the North Park includes a playground themed on its surroundings with the chance to climb trees, build dens and have everyday adventures in nature, while previous buildings and play spaces designed by erect architecture have won several awards, such as the Kilburn Grange Play Park in London.

The winning design for the South Plaza will have a South Bank feel and will welcome the majority of visitors to the Park with James Corner Field Operations renowned for its contemporary design across a variety of projects including the award winning and widely acclaimed High Line in New York City.

Minister for Olympic Legacy Bob Neill, said: “London 2012 will leave a legacy of innovative design and boundary-pushing architecture. Whilst the Games may be about athletes, its legacy will be about the communities involved.

“The fact that we are valuing original and creative design for community facilities proves just what a successful legacy London 2012 will leave.”

The winners were chosen from over 100 entries from across Europe, Asia and North America before being shortlisted to five teams per competition and judged by an expert panel.

They will now work with the OPLC to develop more detailed plans for each area.

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Related discussion: why didn’t they build the Olympic stadium in one go?

 

Tottenham Hotspur have officially thrown in the towel in their attempt of moving into the 2012 Olympic Stadium even though the bidding process was reopened and have instead set their sights on building a new one.

Tottenham’s refusal to accept the decision by the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) to award the Stadium to West Ham and demand a judicial review in the High Court put London’s bid to host the 2017 World Athletics Championships in doubt. 

So concerned were officials that the legal dispute would scupper London’s chances that they decided to keep the Olympic Stadium in public ownership, at which point Tottenham dropped their judicial review. 

Even though Tottenham could have bid again for the Olympic Stadium the decision by the OPLC to guarantee that the athletics track will remain there for 99 years has effectively forced them to concentrate on the Northumberland Development Project.

Tottenham’s joint proposal with entertainment giants AEG for the Olympic Stadium included tearing up the track and instead helping fund the redevelopment of Crystal Palace National Sports Centre to leave athletics with a post-Olympic legacy.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy revealed that the club now hoped that they would receive public and private support to fund the £400 million ($628 million) Northumberland Development Project.

“It is clear to us that increasing the capacity of the club’s stadium is a key factor in the continued development and success of the club and will involve the company in considerable additional capital expenditure,” said Levy.

“A financing package will need to include bank finance, enabling development and sponsorship.

“Quite clearly any further investment would need to be in the context of a commitment by the public sector to to undertake public infrastructure works in order to create the environment and confidence to commit further.

“These would include public sector improvements, such as improved transport in the surrounding area, thereby creating an area in which the club can justify an investment of hundreds of millions of pounds.”

Pac-12 Networks have announced today that it will distribute Pac-12 Networks sports programming to international audiences through a new YouTube paid channel scheduled to launch in late August.

Pac-12 Networks becomes the first live streaming 24×7 subscription sports channel on YouTube. The new channel will distribute the Pac-12 Network feed as well as Video On Demand content to 27 countries at launch, price expanding to additional countries over time.

“Securing international distribution has been a top priority for us, buy especially knowing that we have so many alumni and a growing fan base outside of the United States,” Pac-12 Networks President Lydia Murphy-Stephans said. “YouTube is synonymous with innovation and instantly provides us with incredible reach to serve our fans and universities. We are very excited about this new channel.”

Pac-12 Networks will stream 850 live events this year, including 35 football games, 150 men’s basketball games and hundreds of Olympic sports events that are especially popular abroad. In addition, Pac-12 Networks will feature hundreds of hours of studio shows, exclusive content and original programming to provide fans with the inside access and in depth coverage of every Pac-12 game that they can’t find anywhere else.

“We love seeing Pac-12 Networks take advantage of the huge opportunity to connect with fans around the world through YouTube,” YouTube Global Head of Partnerships Claude Ruibal said.