Head of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), discount Wei Di, cialis has reportedly been dismissed from his position.

Wei, asthma who had previously been an executive in aquatic sports, assumed his role at CFA in early 2010 and made positive contributions to reducing corruption in Chinese football.

Wei was also responsible for replacing former national team coach Gao Hongbo with ex-Spain and Real Madrid manager, Jose Antonio Camacho.

China’s new President, Xi Jinping, is a keen football fan and there is speculation that he may have been involved in the decision to remove Wei from his position.

Wei will be replaced by Zhang Jian, who served as the Head of the General Administration of Sports’ Policy and Regulations Department.

Zhang has said he will “set straight” the internal politics of the CFA and try to bring about “revolution” in Chinese football.{jcomments on}

Rugby Expo 2012 is delighted to confirm the final list of speakers for this year’s event.

The full list includes full representation from the sport with contributors from the IRB, RFU, Premiership Rugby, Russian RFU, Hong Kong RFU, United States, professional clubs, brands and sponsors, financiers and marketers alongside thought leaders and entrepreneurs leading global sports including golf, boxing and baseball.

The full list of speakers is as follows:

• Bill Beaumont – Chairman, RFU
• Lawrence Dallaglio – Founder, Dallaglio Foundation and former England international & captain,
• George O’Grady – Chief Executive, PGA European Tour
• Barry Hearn – Founder and Chairman, Matchroom Sport
• Giles Morgan – Global Head of Sponsorship and Events, HSBC
• John Taylor – talkSPORT
• Mark Egan – Head of development and performance, IRB
• Howard Thomas – VP, Rugby Union of Russia and deputy managing director, RWC Sevens 2013 Russia
• Mark McCafferty – CEO, Premiership Rugby
• Nick Mullins – Chief Commentator, ESPN
• Paul Morgan – Communications Director, Premiership Rugby
• Phil Vickery – Founder, Raging Bull and former England international & captain
• Steve Grainger – Rugby Development Director, RFU
• Steve Griffiths – Head of Technical Services, IRB
• Tony Rowe OBE – Chief Executive and Chairman, Exeter Chiefs
• Charlie McEwen – Director of Sales and Marketing, British & Irish Lions
• Beth Coalter – Sevens Manager, IRB
• Alastair Marks – Head of Rugby Growth, RFU
• Andy McKenzie – Director, LiveWire Sport
• Andy Perkins – Business Development Director EMEA, Tickets.com
• Angus McNab – Head of professional rugby, Opta
• Brendan Guilfoyle – Partner, P&A Partnership
• Carol Thelwall – Jones – Volunteer Manager, RFU
• Colm Hannon – Managing director, eSocialMedia
• Dan Jones – Partner, Sports Business Group, Deloitte
• Dan Lyle – Executive VP, tournament director, USA Sevens
• David Barnes – Rugby Manager, The Rugby Players’ Association
• David Ingmire – Tax Consultant, RFU
• Derek Palmer – MD and Executive VP International, Tickets.com
• Dru Morton – Sustainability Manager, RFU
• Gary Hetherington – Chief Executive, Leeds Rugby
• Geoff Irvine – Chairman, Bedford Blues & Board Director, ER2015
• Helen Clayton – Hitz Project Manager, Premiership Rugby
• Ian McMahon – CEO, Hong Kong RFU
• Jeffrey Eglen – VP – Strategy, Digonex
• Jon Reay – Digital Strategy Director, Aqueduct
• Ken Moulton – Operations director, Teamer
• Kevin Roberts – Editorial director, SportBusiness Group
• Leigh Castergine – VP, Ticket Sales and Services, New York Mets
• Mark Cameron – Brand Experience Director, Land Rover
• Nick Shaw – Head of digital, RFU
• Nick White – Partner, Couchmans LLP
• Omar Hassanein – Chief Executive, Irish Rugby Union Players’ Association
• Robert Norster – Director, Engagesport LLP and ex-CEO, Cardiff Blues
• Rod O’Callaghan – Director, Sports Risk Management Services, Paddy Power
• Roger Blitz – Leisure Industries Correspondent, Financial Times
• Ross Baxter – Facilities investment manager, RFU
• Ross McClelland – Coach development manager, R4UK
• Simon Gillham – Vice President, Brive RC
• Simon Marjoram – Managing director, Bamboo
• Simon Winman – Head of Funding and Facilities, RFU
• Trevor Watkins – Partner, Pinsent Masons

To view the content schedule for the event click here.

With a sold out exhibition floor for the second year running, attendance can now only be secured by purchasing the remaining few delegate passes.

Please contact Rugby Expo sales manager Jason McMahon on 0845 0740752 or purchase your tickets online.

The head of Pyeongchang’s bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics pledged Thursday to respect the IOC’s rules after being warned following a conflict-of-interest investigation into sponsorship contracts tied to the South Korean candidacy.

Cho Yang-ho, who is chief executive of Korean Air and head of the Pyeongchang committee, said in an e-mailed letter to the IOC Ethics Commission that the bid group and all related organizations “will strictly respect the IOC Code of Ethics, the Rules of Conduct and all proper implementing provisions.”

His comments came a day after the International Olympic Committee issued a warning to Pyeongchang and reminded the bid to “fully respect the rules of conduct.” Two South Korean companies signed sponsorship deals with international sports federations headed by senior IOC members.

Korean Air signed a two-year, $1 million sponsorship deal with the International Skating Union (ISU) in October. The IOC said both sides agreed to postpone the start of the deal until after the 2018 host-city vote in July.

Ottavio Cinquanta is an IOC executive board member who heads the ISU.

The IOC said Wednesday a separate sponsorship deal between South Korean electronics giant Samsung and the international rowing federation, known as FISA, did not break the rules. Samsung is one of the IOC’s global sponsors.

“We appreciate the logic of this decision at this time, which has also been conveyed to the International Olympic Committee,” the Pyeongchang bid group said Thursday in a statement. “We believe that this matter is now closed and we can all move forward into the next phase of the 2018 bid campaign.

“PyeongChang 2018 has always been and continues to remain committed to complying with all IOC rules and regulations.”

Korean Air said it remains committed to sports sponsorship but decided to delay the ISU deal to avoid any “misunderstanding.”

“This decision clears up any current concerns that may have arisen,” the airline said in a statement Thursday.

Cinquanta insisted he did nothing wrong.

“I wasn’t acting as an IOC member for this deal, I was acting as the ISU president,” Cinquanta told The Associated Press from his office in Milan. “The commercial rights we granted are property of the ISU, not Mr. Cinquanta. If I thought I had done something wrong maybe I would have acted differently, but I don’t know because that’s not the case.”

Pyeongchang is competing against Munich and the French town of Annecy to host the 2018 Winter Games. The IOC will select the host by secret ballot next July 6 in Durban, South Africa.

The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) has signed a deal with Japan’s Synca Creations Inc, to televise its World Championships and World Cup series in 2014 in Japan.

The deal opens a new era in IFSC event exposure and in the marketing area. IFSC has partnered with newly-established local agency Synca Creations to distribute IFSC events for broadcast on Japan’s Sky A network, amongst other platforms.

Marco Scolaris, IFSC President, commented, “This television contract marks a significant step forward for IFSC. It also helps our National Federation, the JMA: now, in Japan, they will gain regular exposure on television for each international event during the IFSC climbing season, being able to celebrate their athletes, bringing them to a larger audience.”

Tazu Mori, Producer at Synca Creations, said, “Sport climbing is a booming sport in Japan. With the success of our Japanese climbers and Japan’s strong outdoor clothing and equipment market, we expect to help grow the sport exponentially in the coming years.”

Earlier this year, IFSC signed a 4 year agreement with marketing agency Broadreach, to assist IFSC in centralizing and distributing its television and new media rights outside of Europe.

Kate Hardcastle, an award-winning businesswoman has become the first female director at a Super League club by joining Bradford Bulls.

Hardcastle, a lifelong fan of the rugby club, joins owner Omar Khan on the board.

Bradford’s honorary chairman Gerry Sutcliffe said: “We are delighted that Kate is joining us and is a welcome, knowledgeable and successful asset to the new team at the Bulls.

“Her results, drive and innovation are known and respected worldwide.”

Hardcastle is regarded as one of the country’s foremost commercial and marketing experts. She will focus on developing the Bulls brand and building the fan base among families and children as well as creating new opportunities for women.

“I have grown up with the team and the sport and I would only ever want to add value, to focus the team and get the Bulls back to a position of strength,” she said.

“I look forward to having the support of the club and fans as we venture into new and exciting territories.”

David Grevemberg, stomach CEO, Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, attended the International Sports Event Management Conference in London today, commenting on the progress of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and outlining the legacy plans which have been in place since the bid was conceived.

Grevemberg said, “We have hung our aspirations on three pillars. Infrastructure, how the public and private sector can work together and the power and world-wide reputation Glasgow has as a major sports capital.”

Sustainable transport is a key focus for Glasgow with the concept of a ‘live city’ which will make it easy for people to travel around Glasgow.  “We have park and ride solutions, new bicycle routes and we are looking into hybrid and electric transport.  As London, we will be offering free transport with a ticket to the Games which we promised in our bid.  The M74 ring road will also provide more convenient and reliable access to the city,” said Grevemberg.

For further information on the International Sports Event Management Conference 2012 go to www.sportseventmanagement.co.uk and follow #ISEM2012 on Twitter.

In an interview with a group of journalists at the Global Sports Industry Congress in London, purchase Munich 2018 chairman Katarina Witt  said Munich has been able to overcome local opposition to its bid to host the 2018 Winter Games.

The city is competing with Annecy, cialis France, apoplectic and Pyeongchang, South Korea and the International Olympic Committee will vote July 6 on the next host in Durban, South Africa.

Witt said a dispute with landowners in Garmisch- Partenkirchen, where the alpine events will be held, was “mostly solved.” The neighbors had been reluctant to give up some of their land for use in the 2018 Games.

“They were right because there wasn’t the right discussion going on at the right level,” Witt said. “It wasn’t a bad intention. In general, it was sort of like, ‘We got the Olympics, and now everybody will do it.’ You didn’t think about, ‘Well wait, you’ve got to secure some people who own the land.’”

Witt, a gold medalist at the 1984 Games in Sarajevo and Calgary in 1988, said Munich isn’t at a disadvantage with members of the IOC because the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and the 2012 London Summer Olympics will also be held in the European region.

Munich, which also organized the 1972 Summer Games, is seeking to become the first city to host both summer and winter editions. Pyeongchang failed to win during two previous bids.

“You have to keep your tradition, and you have to nurture your heartland, where the sport has been for many, many years,” Witt said

“We’re pretty confident we will be able to deliver magic.”

Kickboxing promotion GLORY is coming to UK screens with news that BT Sport have signed an exclusive deal to broadcast the series.

The deal is for the UK based company to show the next two events, starting with the weekend’s GLORY 12 card from Madisson Square Garden in New York.

Formerly known as the Glory World Series, Glory is an international kickboxing promotion founded in 2012 by Glory Sports International Pte Ltd. partners Pierre Andurand, Marcus Luer, Scott Rudmann and Total Sports Asia.

The promotion is headquartered in Singapore.

Penny Briscoe will be the Chef de Mission for the British team at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, order the British Paralympic Association announced today.

Sochi 2014 will be Briscoe’s sixth Paralympic Games, cough and she brings a wealth of experience to her new role. She was Deputy Chef de Mission for ParalympicsGB at London 2012 and Vancouver 2010, as well as being the BPA’s Director of Performance since 2002.

Upon being awarded the role, Briscoe said: “I was absolutely delighted to have been asked to take on this position. It is an honour and a privilege to be a Chef de Mission and I’m looking forward to bringing all my experience to this new challenge of leading a ParalympicsGB team at a Games.

“My ambition is that at Sochi, every athlete and staff member in ParalympicsGB will have the mental and physical toolkit and the support framework to thrive in the Games environment. That is much bigger ambition than it may sound, because the Paralympics is so much more complicated an environment than a World Championships. We already have detailed plans in place to develop those skills and that support.”

Tim Hollingsworth, Chief Executive of the BPA, said: “Penny is one of the most experienced people working in Paralympic sport in the UK and knows the environment incredibly well, so I’m delighted she has taken on the role. As a former athlete herself, she understands all the stresses and strains that the Games can pose, and she epitomises the athlete-centred focus of the work that the BPA does.

“Separating the Chef de Mission and CEO functions worked extremely well in London and we were keen to replicate the model for Sochi. While a much smaller team than in London we are committed to providing the same world class support.

 

The International Sports Event Management Conference 2012 (ISEM) started today in London, illness with LOCOG’s James Bulley, malady   Director of Venues and Olympic Park, medic and Andrew Amery, Head of Security, discussing the challenges faced in planning, managing and delivering a successful Olympics games.  With 60% of visits to the London 2012 website channelled through mobile communication, the emergence of social media and mobile communications were an important challenge to deliver for the Games, with the advancements in technology since Beijing making it the most connected Games in history.  This consideration was highlighted by the panel to Rio 2016 that it needs to be as equally prepared.

Howard Dickel, Programme Director, BT Global Services, who also took part in the panel discussion said, “We knew an emergence in social media was coming but we didn’t know how it was going to hit.  It would be very different from Beijing.”

“We had to deliver the best spectator experience and with mobile technology and social media moving forward at an incredible rate and with people expecting high speed internet, we had to build the world’s largest high density, high speed internet network in the Olympic Park.”

“Another key consideration was security. With more mobile devices available, this presented us with a risk of cyber security issues so we had to ensure we were prepared for this.  We also had to make sure that to make the Games more mobile, the event still looked good and that antennas and communications equipment wasn’t visible.”

“Social media in 2016 will be different again so it’s important that there is flexibility and Rio is prepared for the unknown,” said Dickel.

Additional areas of London 2012’s event management were discussed including security and the stadium facility.

LOCOG’s Head of Security Andrew Amery said, “There were a number of security challenges around the Games such as the pre-Games weather as we were unable to set-up security when planned as the overlay couldn’t go down.  The G4S issues came as shock at the last moment.  We are still in negotiations about closure of the contract.  Key to the overall success of the security was that we were honest publicly.  Our national strategy was published on the Home Office website and this helped build international confidence that London would deliver a safe and successful games.”

For further information on the International Sports Event Management Conference 2012 go towww.sportseventmanagement.co.uk and follow #ISEM2012 on Twitter.

Key event delivery statistics

• The London Underground set a new record – 4.57 million passengers travelled in August 2012
• 15 million people took to the streets over 70 days for the Torch Relay
• London 2012 festival –19.8 million people took part
• TV records broken
• 11 million tickets sold
• Sell out Paralympics