1	EBU Retains Rights To Cycling’s Vuelta	Friday, ailment 17 February 2012
2	Eurosport Secure Crucial FIS Rights Deal	Friday, bronchi 17 February 2012
3	New Zealanders to See National Rugby League this Season after New Sky Deal	Friday, online 17 February 2012
4	New Zealand Football Inks Four Game Deal with Sky	Thursday, 16 February 2012
5	BBC to Trial Some London 2012 Events in 3D	Thursday, 16 February 2012
6	Eurosport Extend Rights Deal with FIS World Cup	Thursday, 16 February 2012
7	Ustream Partners with Universal Sports Network to Screen 2012 Alpine Ski World Cup	Thursday, 16 February 2012
8	NHL Agrees Two Broadcast Deals in Europe	Wednesday, 15 February 2012
9	British Eurosport to Broadcast MotoGP for 2012 & 2013	Wednesday, 15 February 2012
10	Bangladesh Premier League T20 Distributes TV Rights in  Asia, Africa & UK	Wednesday, 15 February 2012
11	Colonial Athletic Association Inks Deal with NBC Sports  Group	Tuesday, 14 February 2012
12	Eurosport to Continue to Screen African Cup of Nations	Monday, 13 February 2012
13	IMG Partner with Panasonic to Show Live Sports, Including  Premier League Coverage on Flights	Monday, 13 February 2012
14	ESPN Star Sports Gets Rights to Bangladesh Premier  League Twenty20 Tournament	Friday, 10 February 2012
15	WWE Agree TV Distribution Deal in Lithuania	Thursday, 09 February 2012

Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has revealed 18 La Liga clubs have agreed to play the Spanish Supercopa in China from next season except for spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The presidents of all 20 clubs met in Madrid on Monday to discuss a proposal, put forward by the Spanish FA (RFEF), for five of the next seven season-opening clashes to be held in China.

Madrid’s Florentino Pérez and Barcelona’s Sandro Rosell were the only two to disagree with the idea, which the others see as a useful way of raising badly-needed funds.

“They gave their case and we gave ours,” Cerezo said. “We are interested in playing in China and Real Madrid and Barca are not. For us it is an economic question, and we would earn a lot more money playing there.”

Cerezo said it was an issue that Spanish fans would not be able to attend the games, but stressed that the benefits on offer outweighed this.

“That is the only problem there could be, but for us it is very clear and very important to be able to play in China,” he said. “The Federation will take the decision that it has to take and we will accept it.”

On June 1 last year, the RFEF announced that it had signed an agreement with marketing agency United Vansen International Sport for the game to be played at the Olympic Stadium in Beijing pending the agreement of the clubs and the federation’s general assembly.

The venue for the Supercopa would be of particular interest to Madrid and Barcelona, who have shared the last seven trophies between them and played each other over two legs to decide the title in 2011 and 2012.

La Liga’s big two have a lot of power when decisions are being made in Spanish football, and have successfully blocked attempts by Atletico and other clubs to share out the TV revenue generated by Primera Division games more equally.

Cerezo conceded that all clubs would need to be in agreement before a decision was made. “Doing things against the wishes of anyone is not good either,” he said. “I would imagine they will need to be convinced.”

English rugby league team, Castleford Tigers are searching for a new chief executive following the resignation of current chief Richard Wright with immediate effect.

Wright, who has been in the post for the last 15 years, will remain a director of the club and insists his resignation is not linked to recent rumours of a takeover.

He also assured supporters that his decision will have no impact on the new stadium project in which he has played a major role.

“I have made this decision to move on with a great deal of thought,” he said. “Fifteen years in the role has taken its toll on me.

“The job consumes you totally for seven days a week and it’s time to give priority to my family.

“It has been a real privilege for me to work at this great club and, whilst I leave my role with sadness, I believe there are good times ahead.

“The move has got nothing to do with recent rumours regarding consortiums looking to take over the club.

“Whilst it is true there was an approach, when the time came to get the cheque-book out nothing materialised.”

ailment helvetica, sans-serif;”>Gambling and match-fixing under the spotlight, 7-9 March

Is gambling in sport good for business?  Will 2012 be another year of headline

convictions and corruption in a major competition? Is betting an integral part of commercial success, or a risk to the competitive integrity of the sport industry? What’s next for gambling in sport?

These questions and many more will be debated at the Global Sports Forum

Barcelona 2012 (GSFB), 7 – 9 March, as ICC Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat,

joins FIFA Head of Security, Chris Eaton, and Norbert Teufelberger, Co-CEO of

online gambling company Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment pls for a panel

discussion on “Gambling in sport.”

Eaton, who recently estimated that €300billion – €500billion is gambled on sport across the globe every year, has been involved in international criminal

investigations for 40 years.  He joins the panel to discuss his view that as many as 70% of bets placed on sport fixtures go through unregulated and unregistered bookmakers, which is threatening the integrity of professional sport.

Lucien Boyer, President and CEO, Havas Sport & Entertainment and

General Commissioner of the Global Sports Forum Barcelona, said:

“Gambling and corruption in sport remains a top priority for governing bodies

across the globe, with three Pakistan cricketers convicted of spot-fixing and FIFA appointing Chris Eaton to a new Head of Security role in 2011.”

“In such a big year for sport, the GSFB 2012 is leading the way in tackling the

issues that are of vital importance to the future of the sport industry and we are delighted to welcome five of the industry’s leading experts to the Forum.  We will be investigating how sport can manage legal gambling and eradicate the illegal bookmaking culture to protect the industry we all know and love.”

The most significant issue we need to tackle

International Cricket Council chief, Haroon Lorgat, recently highlighted the

danger illegal gambling posts to sport, telling BBC Test Match special that spot

fixing in cricket is “the most significant issue we need to tackle.”

“You cannot underestimate the value of protecting your integrity and the

reputation of the game and if that was to go, we’ve got no game,” Lorgat told

the BBC.  “I think we have shown we will not rest until we do tackle the issue.”

Lorgat, Eaton and Teufelberger will also be joined on the panel by John Abbott, Chairman of the INTERPOL steering group for the INTERPOL – FIFA initiative to reduce corruption in football, and Warren Phelops, gambling policy

representative for the European Sponsorship Association (ESA).

Registration for the GSFB 2012, which takes place at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya in Barcelona from 7 – 9 March, is now open.  For your exclusive

chance to hear from many of sport’s leading figures, including the likes of LOCOG Chairman, Sebastien Coe, Eric Cantona, England Rugby 2015 CEO, Paul Vaughan, and London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic hopeful, Oscar Pistorius, go to www.globalsportsforum.org/prices-registation_en_us and follow the on-screen registration instructions.

Members of the press are invited to attend free of charge.

Swansea successful first season in the Premier League has resulted in a £14.6m profit.

The club, which has risen from the bottom tier to the top flight over the past seven years, are preparing to release their full accounts for the year ending May 31 2012.

The £14.6m profit after taxation is a significant increase on a loss of £8.3m in the side’s previous promotion-winning season and the rise to profit comes despite a doubling in the club’s wage bill.

Swansea, who finished 11th in their debut season under boss Brendan Rodgers, received £5m in compensation when Liverpool hired the Northern Irishman to replace Kenny Dalglish. Michael Laudrup is currently their manager.

The business review will reveal a turnover of £65.2m and work has already begun on the £2.5m Landore training ground development together with discussions to increase the capacity of the Liberty Stadium.

The gap between the Premier League teams and the 72 clubs in the other English professional leagues will widen further next term when a new domestic television contract worth more than £1bn per season comes into place.

This has allowed the Swans to foster plans to renovate their stadium, which is the second smallest in the English top flight after Queens Park Rangers’ Loftus Road.

“Work is well under way on the £2.5m Landore training ground development and the creation of a partnership with Swansea University which involves the acquisition of a long-term lease of the playing fields at Fairwood, which will result in a first-class training complex befitting a Premier League club,” reads a statement on the club’s official website.

“Plans to increase the capacity of the Liberty Stadium are already being discussed with the idea of a phased development over a two-year period when the timing is right.”

The acting chief executive of Cricket South Africa (CSA), Jacques Faul, has resigned from his post barely four months after sports minister Fikile Mbalula appointed him to restructure the embattled organisation.

In his letter, Faul cited a “sense of hostility,” and a “campaign to discredit” him as his reasons for resigning. “Certain board members have lost trust (or never had any) in my judgement and seek to micro-manage operations,” Faul stated in the letter.

Faul took the reins at CSA following the suspension of long-time chief executive Gerald Majola in the wake of a ministerial committee finding that recommended disciplinary action and possible criminal charges against him following a two-year debacle over huge irregular IPL 2 bonus payments to himself and other CSA staff.

The second edition of the Indian Premier League was played in South Africa due to security concerns around elections at the time in India. Majola’s disciplinary hearing, which was scheduled to be finalised last month, is still to start amid challenges over the composition of the panel from his legal team.

Faul has been lauded for his efforts in his short tenure at CSA to bring about the transformation that sports minister has insisted on. CSA sources also suggested that there had been disagreements between Faul and CSA president, Willie Basson, over the process, but neither official could be reached for comment.

Soccerex has announced that Rafael Benitez will be speaking on ‘The Art of Management’ at next month’s European Forum in Manchester.

The Spaniard is one of Europe’s most successful managers. He first came to prominence at Valencia where he led the club to its first La Liga title in 31 years in 2001-02. This was followed by another league title in 2003-04, pills along with the UEFA Cup, before he moved to Barclays Premier League club Liverpool. The highlight of Benitez’s career on Merseyside came with the 2005 Champions League triumph over AC Milan and he left the club to join Serie A giant Internazionale in June 2010.

The Art of Management will see Benitez disclose inside secrets on what it takes to produce success on the pitch including training tactics, mental preparation and analysis. The session will be moderated by leading Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague.

Duncan Revie, Soccerex CEO, said: “Mr Benitez is one of the most successful managers of recent times, his record speaks for itself. It is a huge honour having him speak at Soccerex on ‘The Art of Management’…an art which he has definitely perfected during his career.”

In addition to the Art of Management, the Soccerex conference will include content on UEFA’s player and coach development in the wake of financial fair play (FFP) and the new Elite Player Performance Plan. The Forum will also address the relationship between betting and football with consideration to the issue of match fixing, discuss club ownership and financial management with regard to FFP, debate the changing landscape of football sponsorship and look at the turbulent relationship between football and the media. This year’s European Forum will take place from March 28-29. For full information about Soccerex and future Soccerex events please visit www.soccerex.com, call +44 (0)20 8742 7100 or email: enquiry@soccerex.com.

Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore has revealed that the Premier League have looked into introducing a winter break, but currently to no avail.

England boss Roy Hodgson recently joined Sir Alex Ferguson and Roberto Mancini in calling for a two-week halt to the season to benefit the national side and afford Premier League stars respite from a gruelling fixture list.

But Scudamore says talks with the Football Association (FA) and the Football League have yet to yield results  to work a break into the current schedule.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, he said: “We have tried but unless somebody is prepared to give something up, it is pretty hard.

“We offered to start the season a week early, which is difficult in terms of summer holidays, but we don’t really want to be starting in July.

“We are not inclined to reduce the number of clubs in the Premier League – if you were running a theatre and had 380 nights that you wanted to sell, why would you throw 60 or 70 of those nights away?

“Similarly, the Football League don’t want to lose the League Cup. It’s a huge source of funding for the Football League and it is a big solidarity play between the leagues.

“As for the FA, they don’t want to give up replays in the FA Cup, so we all sit down and we all look at each other, but it’s pretty hard for those of us in English football to create that two-week space.

“Nobody has asked the Football League to give up the League Cup, but why would we? We are huge supporters of it and we wouldn’t have the temerity to alter the FA Cup either.

“That will be up to the FA, but unless the FA decide they have different priorities, where the England team is more important than something else they own, then that might be for them to look at.”