Ten Sports has secured the rights to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. 

Ten Sports has moved quickly to secure the Indian sub-continent broadcast rights. The games will take place from 4 to 15 April 2018. 

Ten Sports CEO Rajesh Sethi commented on the acquisition, denture “After the enormous success of Glasgow 2014, medicine we are very happy to extend our partnership with the Commonwealth Games Federation for the 21st edition of the Commonwealth Games. The ever increasing Indian participation and success at these Games is very encouraging and we at Ten Sports will continue delivering the best of action from the 17 sporting disciplines in the coming years.” 

Ten Sports is the first private broadcaster in the Indian subcontinent to give multi-channel coverage of the games along with in depth studio analysis and build up shows to educate audiences about the different sporting disciplines and medal prospects. 

Announcing the agreement, the Commonwealth Games Federation CEO Michael Hooper said, “The arrangement we have reached with Ten Sports to become another of our broadcast partners for 2018, coming as it does on the heels of the Commonwealth Games Federation’s deal announced earlier this week with Australia’s Seven Network, is testament to how popular the Commonwealth Games brand has become across the world.”

MPs have divulged their concern that the London 2012 Olympics may go over budget and said it was “staggering” that initial estimates about security costs were so wrong.

The Public Accounts Committee’s report into the London Olympics also raised concerns about the legacy of the Games and warned that the Olympic Stadium must not become a white elephant.

The Government, however, has continued to insist it is confident the Games will come in under budget.

Margaret Hodge, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “The venues and infrastructure of the London Olympic Games are on track to be delivered on time and within budget. The Olympic Delivery Authority’s management of the building programme has been exemplary.

“However, the £9.3 billion public sector funding package is close to being used up and we are concerned about whether the running of the Games will be held within budget. Taking into account costs outside the package, the full cost to the public of the Games and legacy projects is already heading for around £11 billion.

“We are particularly concerned about the significant increases in the security bill. LOCOG (the London organising committee) now needs more than twice the number of security guards it originally estimated and the costs have roughly doubled. It is staggering that the original estimates were so wrong.”

The report states that the LOCOG have been forced to renegotiate their contract with G4S for venue security from a “weak negotiating position”. Mrs Hodge added: “There is a big question mark over whether it secured a good deal for the taxpayer.”

LOCOG’s original estimate for the number of security guards in and around the venues was 10,000 – a “finger in the air estimate”, according to the PAC report. The Government announced in December that figure has more than doubled to 23,700. Security costs from the Olympics budget have risen from £282 million to £553 million.

“LOCOG itself now has almost no contingency left to meet further costs, even though it has done well in its revenue generation,” says the report. On legacy, the PAC report raises concerns over sports participation targets and the stadium after a deal for West Ham United Football Club to take it over was scrapped.

Mrs Hodge added: “We were promised a strong Olympic legacy but the Government has chosen not to adopt the target of one million more people participating in sport by 2013, and plans for the stadium have fallen through. It must not become a white elephant. The Government is dispersing responsibility for delivering the legacy and we need clarity about who is accountable.”

European neighbours Azerbaijan and Georgia will make a joint bid to host the European football championships in 2020, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said. 

“Azerbaijan and Georgia … will apply to jointly host the European football championships in 2020,” Saakashvili said during an address to Azerbaijan’s parliament during a visit to Baku. 

The bidding process to host Euro 2020 will start later this year and the winner is due to be announced in 2014. 

During his visit to energy-rich Azerbaijan, Saakashvili also praised the “strategic partnership” between the two small Caucasus states which have collaborated on projects such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline that takes Caspian Sea oil to European markets. 

This year’s European football championship will be jointly hosted by Polandand Ukraine, with the 2016 tournament to be held in France. 

Russia will host the 2018 World Cup.

Azerbaijan has also submitted a bid to host the 2020 Olympic summer games.

by Ismail Uddin

(Source: BBC): Leaders of England’s 2018 World Cup bid have written to Fifa distancing themselves from corruption allegations made against football’s world governing body by the British media.

England officials have also pleaded with Fifa’s executive committee to base its decision on the merits of their bid.

The letter, signed by chairman Geoff Thompson and international president David Dein, is the latest attempt to put England’s campaign back on track ahead of the vote on 2 December.

England are facing defeat after a backlash from Fifa members in response to an investigation by the Sunday Times into alleged corruption in the bidding process.

Two executive committee members, Amos Adamu of Nigeria and Reynald Temarii of Tahiti, face a Fifa ethics committee hearing this week into the newspaper’s claims that they were willing to offer their support in return for money for football projects.

Both men have denied any wrongdoing and will fight the allegations during the three-day hearing.

England 2018 also fear they could be damaged by an upcoming BBC Panorama investigation into Fifa, due to be screened on 29 November – only three days before the vote.

Thompson and Dein wrote: “In recent weeks, the role of the British media and its relationship with both Fifa as an organisation and the individual members of the Fifa Executive Committee has come under the spotlight and there has been significant speculation as to the effect that this might have on our bid.”

“It has been a difficult time for Fifa and as a member of the football family we naturally feel solidarity with you and your colleagues.”

“We hope England’s bid will not be judged negatively due to the activities of individual media organisations, regardless of one’s view of their conduct. We hope you appreciate that we have no control over the British media.”

If Fifa’s ethics committee gives weight to the Sunday Times claims by getting tough with the two members currently suspended and there is a good response to the letter and the inspection report, then England may feel they can still get back into the race.

London Underground workers, 18,000 to be precise, have been offered a payment of £850 each for working during the Olympic Games.

The Rail Maritime and Transport union had declared a dispute with LU after lack of progress over an Olympic payment, but there have been talks this week at the conciliation service Acas.

The union said it had received an offer of £850 for all Tube staff, adding it would affect up to 18,000 workers.

General secretary Bob Crow said: “Clearly moving from offering nothing to the latest offer of £850 is a massive shift on the part of London Underground. The offer will now be considered by our reps and by the full executive before we make a formal response.”

The union had rejected previous offers, saying there were too many strings attached to proposed deals. The RMT has struck several deals with rail companies for extra pay during the London Games this summer, including a bonus of £500 for staff at Virgin Trains and Network Rail, £600 for London Overground workers and an agreement with Docklands Light Railway which union officials said could be worth up to £2,500.

The union is balloting hundreds of administrative staff it represents at Transport for London (TfL) for industrial action over “severely restricted” annual leave during the Games. Officials claimed that leave had been banned altogether for the duration of the Games in one department, saying this would make life “impossible” for many staff, especially those with school-age children.

Howard Collins, LU’s chief operating officer, said: “We have put forward an offer which would see station, maintenance, service control staff and operational managers receive up to £850 for working flexibly during the 2012 London Games, subject to attendance, customer satisfaction scores and agreement from operational staff to work flexibly in order to deliver a successful Games.

“In return we are asking staff to work longer hours at different times of the day, to be prepared to work extra hours and to be more flexible in how and where they carry our their role for us during these crucial weeks. We know our employees want to play their part in delivering a great games for London, so reaching agreement on this will allow all of us to focus on that exciting challenge together.”

Lee Jones, operations director for Tube Lines, said: “We have been discussing this issue with our trade unions for some time, and we will continue to try to find a way forward through constructive discussion. We would urge the RMT to withdraw its threat of a strike ballot, which will not achieve anything.”

by Ismail Uddin

A total of six cities from Europe and Latin America have submitted applications to bid for the third edition of Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2018, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Friday.

The six cities bidding to host the 2018 YOG are Argentina’s capital  Buenos Aires, Colombia’s Medellin, British city Glasgow, Mexico’s Guadalajara, Dutch city Rotterdam and Poznan in Poland, Xinhua news agency reported.

“We are delighted with the high level of interest shown in hosting the 3rd Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2018,” said IOC president Jacques Rogge on the IOC website.

“It is a shining endorsement of just how successful the inaugural summer (Singapore 2010) and winter (Innsbruck 2012) editions were and reflects how the popularity, excitement and awareness surrounding the YOG continue to build at an impressive pace.”

The candidate cities are expected to submit the signed 2018 YOG Candidature Procedure before March 15. The IOC executive board will select a shortlist of candidates in February 2013, while the host city will be chosen in July 2013. The second edition of summer YOG will be held in Nanjing, China in 2014.

by Ismail Uddin

Who should win the bid? Who would you like to see win? Have your say here >>

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has announced an expansion of television coverage for the XIV Women’s Softball World Championship. 

The championships, herbal being staged in Europe for the first time ever, impotent are currently being held from August 15-24 and mark a significant landmark for the global growth of the women’s sport.  

Being staged in Haarlem, symptoms Netherlands, the 16-nation world championship will now receive added coverage of both the bronze and gold medal games live on Sunday, August 24 after an increase in viewer demand for the women’s softball global showcase. 

TV Tokyo has gained the exclusive broadcasting rights for Japan to its 32 million viewers and the United States will provide wide coverage on a number of networks including Comcast Sports Network and Cox Sports Network will be broadcasting games to their viewers in 10 regions. 

ESPN3 will also be broadcasting the medal games on their streaming platform to their subscribers. 

Dale McMann, WBSC Executive Vice President, said: “This is truly an exciting development and major boost that further raises the profile and confirms the appeal of women’s sport – and in particular women’s softball – in the eyes of broadcasters and audiences alike. 

“The expanded coverage will allow these athletes at our world championship in Haarlem to showcase their talents – and our sport – to a wider audience, which not only significantly raises the value of our women’s showpiece event but also helps inspire and attract the next generation of girls to our sport over the long-term. 

“The timing of this advancement is particularly key as the WBSC remains dedicated and continues working very hard to position our sports for a return to the Olympic Games.” 

WBSC Secretary General, Beng Choo Low, said: “The WBSC shares and supports ‘Olympism in Action and increasing the number of women in sport and we are working hard with our partners to maximise broadcast coverage of our women’s world championship, in order to help achieve a sporting landscape that is more appeling, gender-balanced and relevant to women.” 

The WBSC is hoping to be included into future Olympic Games at the Olympic Agenda 2020 review.