Paul Wildes has completed the purchase of English League Two side, Port Vale lifting the club out of administration.

Wildes, supported his business partner Norman Smurthwaite, had a bid of £1.25 million bid approved by the club’s administrators Begbies Traynor.

The deal, which has also been approved by the Football League, sees the Valiants come out of administration, eight months after entering in March.

Wildes, who was named as the preferred bidder last month after Keith Ryder’s summer-long bid came to nothing, told the club website: “I would like to thank the Port Vale supporters, once again, for their ongoing patience and support.

“It has been a long process but we are delighted to have finally taken over the club and look forward to a long and successful association.

“As I have previously stated, our intention is to develop the club both on and off the field.

“On the pitch we’re continuing to support manager Micky Adams and the squad as they push for promotion. Off the pitch we have made some key appointments to ensure the immediate and ongoing success of the club.”

Wildes will become club chairman whilst Smurthwaite will be chief executive, with Mike Aspinall taking up the role of operations director.

Financial director Robin Anderson will take responsibility for finance and IT departments and the club is also planning to appoint a commercial director.

The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) also know as the World Air Sports Federation, medstore has announced today the appointment of Giancarlo Sergi as CEO of FAME, its recently formed marketing and events company.

Mr Sergi is the President of SINERGI Ltd, a management consultancy firm based in Switzerland and active in the sports industry.

The primary objective of FAI Air Sports Marketing and Events SA (FAME), a shareholder company based in Switzerland, is to promote air sports and create commercial value for the FAI and its events by actively exploring the sports market and developing new and more attractive events. 

The FAI and SINERGI had already teamed up earlier this year; SINERGI played a significant role in the signing of a long term sponsorship agreement with the prestigious Swiss watch company Breitling as the first ever Global Partner of the FAI. 

Robert Henderson, Chairman of the FAME Board of Directors, stated: “We are delighted to have Giancarlo join us a CEO. I am confident that his knowledge and expertise will ensure that FAME will be in a strong position to respond proficiently to requests for innovative and marketing oriented events from host cities and FAI Air Sports Commissions”.

Mr Henderson also announced that the FAI had agreed to the sale of a stake in FAME to SINERGI Ltd and the election of Mr Sergi to the FAME board of directors.

Giancarlo Sergi added: “SINERGI strongly believes in aeronautics and we are proud to be associated with such an appealing project. FAI is entering a new era and we hope that our investment and involvement will contribute to the success of this venture. I am also honoured to commit personally to this project.”

Newly launched sports network BT Sport has announced all three of its channels will will be available in all of Betfred’s 1, view 370 bookmakers across the UK.

Betfred is BT’s first big commercial contract in the gaming sector following the news that more than 500, viagra 000 households have already signed up for BT Sport.

The commercial deal means that all of the Betfred shops will have access to BT Sport, comprising BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN, for the next three years.

BT Sport will be delivered as part of the bookmakers own Betfred TV service. Betfred customers will be able to watch and bet in play on a huge range of events including one of the most comprehensive line ups of live football available.  This includes coverage of 38 games from the Barclays Premier League, with 18 of the ‘top pick’ games. These include the London derby between Tottenham and Chelsea on September 28 and the Merseyside derby as Everton play host to Liverpool on November 23.  BT Sport will also show top flight live matches from football leagues around the world including Italy, Germany, France, Brazil and the US as well as games from the Scottish Professional Football League, FA Cup ties for the next five seasons including the final, as well as live coverage from the UEFA Europa League.

Bruce Cuthbert, director of commercial customers, BT Sport, said: “We are delighted to announce our first major contract in the gaming space. It is fantastic that Betfred has signed up to put BT Sport in all of its bookmakers. As the largest independent bookmaker in the UK, we could not have hoped for a bigger name as an early customer.

“We are already seeing fantastic levels of interest and sign ups in BT Sport across pubs, clubs and hotels, as hard-pressed owners who have been priced out of the market by Sky in recent years look to offer their customers some really top class sport at an affordable price.”

Betfred Managing Director John Haddock, “We are delighted to have secured a deal with BT Sport and we are looking forward to showing some top quality action in all our 1370 shops nationwide. As well as showing the live sport we will continue to have the best offers on the high street including special boosts for our in play betting.”

The Russian city ofSt Petersburg has been announced as the host of the opening match and final of the 2017 Confederations Cup, the warm-up tournament for the following year’s World Cup in Russia.

They will join Moscow, Kazan and Sochi in the event held every four years by FIFA.

It is contested by the holders of each of the six FIFA confederation championships, along with the FIFA World Cup holder and the host nation, to bring the number of teams up to eight.

The eight-team tournament, to be played in June 2017, will serve as a prelude to the World Cup to be hosted by the world’s largest country for the first time the following year.

The under-construction Gazprom-Arena in St Petersburg is set to stage the opening match and the final of the event.

“Proposing Moscow and Saint Petersburg, the cradle of Russian football by the way, as the stage for the key matches of these two major FIFA events is an important operational decision for the LOC (Local Organising Committee),” said Vitaly Mutko, Russia’s Sports Minister and chairman of Russia 2018.

“It is part of our milestone achievements, and our preparations are already in full swing.

“We look forward to the validation of our suggestions in December so we can continue our mission.”

Diego Maradona has been appointed Dubai Honorary Ambassador of Sports.

0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

Maradona accepting the ambassadorial role with Dubai Sports Council (DSC) will help resolve a dispute with former club Al Wasl, which sacked him in July just over a year into a two-year contract.

“Dubai Sports Council and I have discussed a few ideas and they are serious about upgrading the sports sector in Dubai,” Maradona said. “For those who think that I have fallen down or I have collapsed, I’m stronger now.”

Ahmad al-Sharif, secretary-general of Dubai Sports Council, said: “Maradona will inspire the new generation of talented players to reach the highest athletic levels possible.”

Maradona’s appointment comes after he was sacked as coach of Dubai-based Al Wasl The Dubai Sports Council will take over the Argentine’s contract with the club, which was due to last until August 2013.{jcomments on}

Scottish Premier League (SPL) club Hibernian’s financial struggles have continued after reporting a loss for the second year running as the club published its annual accounts.

The Edinburgh club did manage to cut staff costs but recorded a £900,000 loss before tax, the same level as the previous year.

Hibs now have a net debt of £6.4m, an increase of £500,000 from 2011.

The club reported turnover of £6.9m, down slightly, but slashed wages by £700,000, giving Hibs a wages to turnover ratio of 60%.

Much of the loss sustained came from a reduction in players sales, with just £100,000 made in 2011/12 compared to £900,000 the season before.

Club chairman Rod Petrie admitted the losses were “disappointing” and reflected a poor season on the pitch where Hibs finished one place above relegation.

Mr Petrie told the official Hibernian website: “The one sporting high of reaching the final of the Scottish Cup turned sour in the manner of the defeat.

“The club apologised to supporters for the lack of a performance on the day but now have the chance to atone for that defeat in this year’s competition.

“It is disappointing to report a loss for the year. The manager has rebuilt the team.

“Now the club is working closely with supporters to rebuild attendances at Easter Road Stadium and improve revenues for the current year despite the economic hardship that affects everyone.”

USA Weightlifting has announced the appointment of Michael Massik as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Michael joins the USAW having had a very deep background in NGB leadership and Olympic movement. For the past four years, denture he was a principal with Massik-Burton LLC, a firm that provides consulting services to multiple National Governing Bodies. Prior to that, he was the Executive Director of USA Fencing for 12 years, from 1996 through 2008. Under his leadership, fencing went from no medals in Atlanta (1996 Olympic Games) to six medals in Beijing (2008), and a USA fencer won a gold medal in the sport for the first time in 100 years. During the same period, the annual budget for Fencing went from less than $1 million to nearly $4 million and membership grew from approximately 8,000 to 25,000.

Before joining USA Fencing, Michael was a senior manager at Brown-Forman Beverages Worldwide, a Fortune 100 corporation where he worked for  12 years. While at Brown-Forman, he founded the Louisville Fencing Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the sport of fencing to low income youth within the city of Louisville, KY. That center developed one of the foremost fencing clubs in the USA, and its success continues to today.

Noel Jeffs, no rx the Stadium Director who oversaw the difficult transition from the old Wembley Stadium to the new Wembley Stadium, seek has agreed to join the panel of industry-leading speakers at Stadia & Arena 2012, sale Bordeaux (www.sam.uk.com).

Jeffs, who worked at Wembley from 1979 to 2007 and was the Stadium Director– when the new Wembley opened – will be in conversation with Alan Levett, Director of Stadia & Arena 2012, sharing his rollercoaster ride to completion.

Since leaving Wembley he has formed his own business Stadium Advisory Services and recently worked on a 2 year contract for AEG to oversee the opening of the new Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul, the home of Galatasaray SK and some of the loudest and most passionate football fans in the world.

He will be bringing more than 30 years experience of stadium management to Stadia & Arena, Europe’s most prestigious industry event. Other speakers include: 

? Damien Rajot, Director, Vinci Concessions 

? Stephane Pottier, Director, Lagardère Unlimited 

? Tom Jones, Principal, Populous 

? Thomas Torkelsson, Managing Director, Got Event, Gothenburg 

? Mark Collins, Managing Director, Global Spectrum South East Asia 

? Mark Roberts, Senior Consultant, Sports Business Group, Deloitte LLP 

? Andy Simons, Director KSS Design 

There will also be Classroom Sessions covering such areas as event safety and security, traffic management, sustainability and the environment, and turf.

These sessions will be chaired by Birger Nass, Match Operations & Stadia – Bundesliga, Craig Lovett – Director Spotless Facility Services Ltd and Dimitri Huygen General Secretary ESSMA.

For the full conference programme and your chance to win free travel and accommodation for the event visit www.sam.uk.com. Offer ends May 5th.

Book your place as a delegate, and organise accommodation, now through Carole Beckham (carole@aladltd.co.uk) or simple call on +44 (0)1732 459683.