World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship tournament officials have announced the hiring of Earl “Butch” Buchholz as tournament chairman as the event returns to Trump Doral on March 6-10.

Buchholz, unhealthy who founded and built the Sony Open Tennis tournament into one of the top sporting events in South Florida, sale sale will work to raise the charitable impact, profile and entertainment and social atmosphere of the event.

“I am thrilled to be associated with a world-class event like the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship and look forward to re-connecting with South Florida business and golf communities,” said Buchholz, who has extensive experience working with the South Florida community.  “The Cadillac Championship is truly a jewel of an event featuring one of the best fields in golf and one of the game’s best and most recognizable title sponsors in Cadillac. With the dramatic investments and improvements that The Trump Organization and renowned golf course architect Gil Hanse are planning for both the resort and the course, this event is poised to become one of the biggest sporting, social and entertainment events in the world. We are going to bring fashion, music, business leaders and celebrities together to create events during tournament week that will make the Cadillac Championship one of the most desirable tickets to get here in the Miami area.”

Prior to becoming a renowned event operator, Buchholz rose to as high as No. 5 amateur in the world in tennis and was a member of the U.S. Davis Cup Team.  He made the transition to tennis entrepreneur to build the Lipton Championships – now known as the Sony Open Tennis at Key Biscayne – into the fifth-largest tennis tournament in the world.  An inductee of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Buchholz was the Commissioner of World Team Tennis and the CEO of the ATP Tour.  Buchholz also created the Challenge Series of tennis tournaments that were held in six different countries in Latin America.

“The Cadillac Championship, already one of the most prestigious golf events in the world, is prepared to reach new levels,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “We are delighted to bring someone of Butch’s caliber on board to help change the culture of the event from a golf tournament to a community celebration. Having Butch join the team, alongside Executive Director Eddie Carbone, gives this event an amazing opportunity for growth that will significantly increase the tournament’s charitable footprint as well on its economic impact in South Florida.”

Following fantastic initial results with Championship football club Derby County and a growing list of positive case studies from the United States, health Tickets.com and Digonex have confirmed they will be showcasing their combined expertise in the field of dynamic ticketing at Rugby Expo 2012. 

The workshop which will take place at 11.45 on the professional focused day one of Rugby Expo (14 Nov) will enable both companies to highlight the details behind the strategy of dynamic ticketing, anesthetist | why clubs and venues should consider the option to engage in dynamic ticketing and share the results from others that have adopted the strategy. 

Derek Palmer, symptoms Managing Director / EVP, International for Tickets.com, on confirming the session with Digonex said, “The debate around dynamic ticketing is gathering pace and our work with Derby County FC will show rugby clubs, unions and leagues just what can be achieved when the right partners work together to help clubs and venues engage creatively with fans to help sell more tickets.” 

On confirming his role as presenter Rugby Expo, Jeff Eglen, VP of Strategy at Digonex said, “I was delighted to be asked by Tickets.com and the team at Rugby Expo to support the event. We have worked closely with Derek and his international team on various successful projects. The chance to share these results and explain more about dynamic ticketing to the commercial world of rugby is something I look forward to.” 

Derek Palmer will also be taking part in a main stage Q&A with New York Mets VP ticket sales and services Leigh Castergine on day one at 14.45. The Q&A will share some of the secrets of the Mets’ ticketing strategy that enables the sale of millions of tickets per season in the United States’ most competitive sports market. 

Both sessions will support a full programme of content at the world leading rugby conference and exhibition which has more than 40 speakers now confirmed including European PGA Tour CEO George O’Grady, leading sports entrepreneur Barry Hearn, IRB Head of Development and Performance Mark Egan, Premiership Rugby CEO Mark McCafferty and new RFU Chairman Bill Beaumont.

The Portsmouth Supporters’ Trust (PST) have completed the takeover of Portsmouth FC, moving the League One side out of administration for the first time in 14 months.

A meeting between the former owners at Fratton Park and the PST settled the deal on Friday in a much-needed boost for the struggling club. 

Portsmouth have narrowly avoided liquidation since falling into administration in January 2012, but a supporter-led syndicate allowed the club to fall back under ownership. Fans contributed £1,000 to be part of the Trust, raising nearly £3million to complete the deal. 

Although Portsmouth will be relegated to League Two next season, joint administrator Trevor Birch believes there is cause for optimism amongst Pompey supporters. 

“We have cleared the final hurdle: all of the paperwork has now been signed and the sale concluded,” Birch said. “It has taken more than 14 months of hard work from all concerned to get here and there were many times over that period when I didn’t think we would make it; but we have, and Portsmouth Football Club can once again look forward to the future with optimism. 

“The PST has shown what can be achieved when fans unite together for the good of their community. The club has been through considerable turmoil over the last few years, and I hope it can now enjoy a period of stability and the chance to build solid foundations for a sustainable future based on hard work and honest endeavour.” 

It was also announced that Portsmouth had been deducted ten points from the current points total after exiting administration. 

The Football League had previously confirmed Pompey would be deducted the points once they came out of adminstration but it was unclear if the penalty would come into effect during this season or next. 

The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) have appointed Bill Pulver as their new Chief Executive.

Bill Pulver, the head of linguistics technology company Appen Butler Hill, was named John O’Neill’s successor at the helm of the Australian Rugby Union ahead of a big year for the sport, with the upcoming British and Irish Lions tour.

ARU chairman Michael Hawker said Pulver’s experience in marketing that included sports and entertainment sponsorship, as well as a devotion to rugby, made him the ideal candidate.

“We wanted someone with proven commercial success at CEO level, with international business experience and a love of rugby,’ said Hawker.

“The board also set priorities around good communication skills and an understanding of the world of sports marketing and media. Bill has all those attributes.”

Pulver said he felt “privileged and excited” to take the job.

“For 20 years I have been a chief executive in a diverse range of industries and now I have the opportunity to focus my efforts on this great game, the game I love.”

He said 2013 would be a momentous year, with 14 Test matches scheduled for the Wallabies including the British and Irish Lions tour, but noted there were also challenges ahead.

“In the short term the challenge for our team in the ARU headquarters is to work with all the game’s stakeholders to ensure rugby in Australia powers forward as a unified and energised force,” he said.

Former ARU Boss John O’Neill resigned in October.

With under a month to go until the world of football once again congregates in Rio, and Soccerex is delighted to announce that three of the most experienced men in world football, ed David Dein, Paul Breitner and Gérard Houllier will be speaking at the Soccerex Global Convention in Rio de Janeiro on 24-28 November.

Whether you’re challenging for continental honours or trying to avoid relegation, the recruitment and development of players and coaches will always be crucial to any club. The ‘Building To Win: The Art of Developing Talent’ session will uncover the secrets to nurturing talent on the pitch, as well as guiding players off the pitch to become ultimate professionals. The panel will include former president of G14 and former Vice Chairman of the English FA David Dein and 1974 FIFA World Cup^TM winner and current FC Bayern Munich brand ambassador Paul Breitner. They will be speaking alongside Gérard Houllier, ex-Technical Director of the French Football Federation and the man widely acclaimed as the mind behindClairefontaine which, under his guidance, produced World Cup and European Championship winning teams.

The three legends will join a host of industry figures speaking at the event including FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke, CBF President and 2014 LOC Chairman José Maria Marin,England National Manager Roy Hodgson, world-renowned football agent Pini Zahavi, FIFA Head of Player Status Omar Ongaro, Global Head of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship at VISA Ricardo Fort, senior representatives from the two goal line technology systems licensed by FIFA and Senior Director, Sports, EMEA YouTube Stephen Nuttall amongst many others.

Soccerex CEO Duncan Revie commented: “It’s an honour to welcome David, Paul and Gérard to this year’s Soccerex Global Convention in what will be a stand out session at the event. They will be able to provide an expert analysis on player and coach development which will provide all of the attendees with an in-depth look at the secrets behind emerging talent. Despite Soccerex being the leading business to business football event, we don’t lose sight on the fact that football comes down to what happens on the pitch. ”

The Soccerex Global Convention is a five-day business event consisting of a comprehensive seminar line-up, a number of networking opportunities, a two-day football festival and a packed exhibition which is already close to selling out.

Held in a purpose-built venue within the Forte de Copacabana, with panoramic views of both the famous Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, the exhibition is a hub for business activity; as one of the main components of the convention it provides a platform for leading suppliers from around the world to showcase the latest industry products and services to delegates.

For further information about this event please call +44 (0)208742 7100 or visit www.soccerex.com/global.

Russia officially pulled out of the race to host the 2022 World Cup finals, discount with the aim of solely concentrating on their bid for 2018.

“Russia is setting its sights exclusively on being awarded the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup and has formally withdrawn its bid for the 2022 edition of the world’s biggest and most important single sports event, ampoule ” the Russian bid committee said in a statement.

“We hope to be entrusted with the hosting of FIFA’s flagship event and are ready to inspire the global football family in 2018,” the statement quoted Russia’s bid chairman and the country’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko as saying.

Russia and England are bidding to stage the 2018 World Cup along with joint bids from Spain/Portugal and Belgium/Netherlands while Japan, South Korea, Qatar, United States and Australia are candidates for 2022.

Last week, England officially withdrew from bidding for the 2022 tournament after the United States had pulled out of the running for the 2018 event, making certain it would be held in Europe. FIFA rules prohibit successive World Cups being staged on the same continent.

Soccer’s governing body is due to announce the winning bids in Zurich on Dec. 2.

The bidding process has been overshadowed by allegations of vote-selling, with two members of FIFA’s executive committee, Amos Adamu of Nigeria and Reynald Temarii of Tahiti, being provisionally suspended for 30 days. — Reuters

Zvi Varshaviak has announced he will step down as the president of the Olympic Committee of Israel following 16 years at the helm of the organisation.

The 74-year-old has held the position almost consecutively since 1996, search but will make way for his successor next month, with Igal Carmi and Arye Zaif the early favorites, while former Israel Yachting Association chairman, Yehuda Ma’ayan, has also announced his intention to run for one of the top jobs in Israeli sports.

“I inherited an Olympic Committee which was worthless,” said a proud Varshaviak at a press conference at OCI headquarters in Hadar Yosef on Monday.

“Today we have organized institutions, wonderful staff, good athletes and money.

Therefore I will end my reign as chairman on February 10.”

Varshaviak pinpointed the lack of active athletes in Israel as the main problem in local sports.

“We have 71,000 active athletes in the country and half of them are soccer and basketball players,” he said. “If we want to record achievements we need to prepare an infrastructure for sports so that around 10 percent of the population will be active athletes.”