The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has suspended former President Mohamed Bin Hammam after an audit of their accounts revealed fresh allegations of financial wrongdoing, the body said in a statement.

Bin Hammam, who is fighting a life ban by FIFA for bribery, was suspended for 30 days by the AFC.

The AFC said he had been suspended for “events surrounding the negotiation and execution of certain contracts and with the financial transactions made in and out of AFC bank accounts and his personal account during the tenure of Mr. Bin Hammam’s presidency.”

Bin Hammam of Qatar challenged Sepp Blatter for FIFA presidency last year.

He withdrew his candidacy, and was then provisionally suspended, days before the election over allegations that he had tried to buy the votes of Caribbean officials by handing them $40,000 each in brown envelopes. Bin Hammam was found guilty of breaking seven articles of FIFA’s ethics code, including one on bribery.

Bin Hammam, who has denied any wrongdoing, was banned for life and subsequently lost an appeal at FIFA. He has appealed that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.{jcomments on}

 

Davos and St. Moritz’s potential bid for the 2022 Winter Games has gathered momentum after they appointed Swiss Olympic official Gian Gilli as Operations Director.

The Associated Press reports Gilli will combine the role with his duties as chef de mission for the Swiss team at the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

A formal 2022 Swiss bid still needs approval from the country’s sports federations at a meeting in April.

Residents of the state of Graubunden that includes Davos and St. Moritz are scheduled to vote on the bid in November.

Manchester United has remained the world’s most valuable sports team, according to Forbes.

United were valued at £1.43 billion ($2.22bn) in the latest Forbes top 50, down from £1.65 billion ($2.57bn) in the 2011 list, but were still rated 19% more valuable than their closest rivals, Real Madrid.

Earlier this month, the club applied to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange as the Glazer family seeks to raise $100 million to reduce a debt level that, the application noted, “could adversely affect our financial health and competitive position”.

All 32 NFL franchises made the top 50 list, with the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, New England Patriots and Super Bowl champions New York Giants all securing spots in the top ten.

The Forbes top 50 included seven football teams, with Arsenal falling three places to tenth and Barcelona up 18 to eighth.

The Forbes Top Ten:

1 Manchester United – £1.43bn ($2.22bn)
2 Real Madrid – £1.20bn ($1.87bn)
3= NY Yankees – £1.18bn ($1.83bn)
3= Dallas Cowboys – £1.18bn ($1.83bn)
5 Washington Redskins – £1bn ($1.55bn)
6= LA Dodgers – £895m ($1.39bn)
6= NE Patriots – £895m ($1.39bn)
8 Barcelona – £838m ($1.3bn)
9 New York Giants – £831m ($1.29bn)
10 Arsenal – £825m ($1.28bn)

The Chicago Bulls have made changes to their front office to create a new Executive Committee reporting to President & COO Michael Reinsdorf.

The five-member committee includes the creation of two new front-office positions with the team hiring Susan Goodenow as VP/Branding & Communications along with the promotion ofJohn Viola from Senior Dir of Corporate Partnerships to VP/Corporate Sales.

They join Executive VP/Business Operations Steve Schanwald, Senior VP/Financial & LegalIRWIN Mandel and VP/Ticket Sales Keith Brown as members of Reinsdorf’s new Exec Committee.

The move marks the evolution of the team’s front office under Reinsdorf, who was named President in September ’10 by his father and Bulls Chair Jerry Reinsdorf.

“We intend to better utilize all the resources of our franchise to grow the Bulls brand, to deliver more information and entertainment to our fans, to play a larger and more defined philanthropic role in the Chicago community, and to bring more value to our business partners and sponsors,” said Michael Reinsdorf in a statement.

Goodenow comes to the Bulls from the Red Sox, where she worked as Senior VP/Public Affairs & Marketing since ’08. Prior to her stint with the Red Sox, Goodenow worked in PR for MLB from ’06-07 and has also worked for the American Red Cross and was a Senior VP for DC-based Sanderson Strategies Group. She began her job with the Bulls on Jan. 1 and will oversee all branding and communications efforts for the Bulls. She reports to Reinsdorf, while Viola reports to Schanwald.

iSportconnect has announced a partnership with international agency specialising in Sports and Technology Marketing, remedy PR and sponsorship in motorsport, order Sine Qua Non, as it continues to develop its expertise and services in the motorsport industry, and sports business in general, to its fast growing membership.

An agreement has been reached which will see Sine Qua Non International’s Claire Ritchie and Chris Hughes manage iSportconnect’s Sports technology sub-community, as well as contributing to the Motorsport sub community using their expertise in the industry.

Under the terms of the partnership the duo will initiate group discussions, as well as writing expert columns and publishing case studies to both sub-communities. In addition, Sine Qua Non will also work with iSportconnect in future networking events for both the Sports technology and Motorsport industries.

Claire Ritchie is the founder and Managing Director of Sine Qua Non International. Having had extensive experience in sales, marketing and sponsorship at Hewlett Packard and Nortel Networks where she managed the multimillion dollar Formula One partnership with BMW Williams F1, she has used that knowledge to develop partnerships for technology brands in F1, MotoGP and World Rally as well as other sports.

Ritchie said of the link up with iSportconnect: “With our unique focus on technology and sport, we are pleased and ideally placed to manage the Sports technology sub-community.  iSportconnect has done a great job since its launch in bringing together like minded professionals and we welcome the opportunity to help to contribute to its continued growth.”

Chris Hughes is Head of PR and Communications at Sine Qua Non and has extensive experience in the motorsport arena. Chris was one of the original members of Panasonic Toyota Racing’s Marketing and Communications team and was jointly responsible for building up the team’s Formula 1 press office from scratch. Prior to joining Sine Qua Non, Chris was responsible for MotoGP communications at Bridgestone Motorsport.

Founder and CEO of iSportconnect Sree Varma added: “iSportconnect is delighted to announce this working partnership in order to obtain the expert opinions and views of Sine Qua Non. We are excited to be able to provide our loyal members with the latest news and discussions within the sports technology and motorsport sub-communities and feel that the extensive experience of both Claire and Chris will help us to offer the best service possible within these industries.”

Sine Qua Non is a leading innovator in helping companies to maximise the positive impact of Marketing, PR and Sponsorship across the business to deliver on this challenge.

Since its inception at the turn of the Millennium, Sine Qua Non has enjoyed a period of continuous growth throughout the 2000s. Initially created to fulfil a desire to fuse a driving passion for technology and sports sponsorship, the company has incrementally built up a dedicated marketing and PR competence over the years.

David Sheepshanks, the chairman of England’s new St George’s Park national football centre in Burton, claims the site’s completion has sent a message of intent to the rest of the world.

England teams, starting with the under-17s next month, can now begin using the £100million facility on the 330-acre site at Burton-upon-Trent.

The Football Association (FA) devoted months to researching best practice in various sports around the globe, but now Sheepshanks hopes they will become the reference point for other nations.

“Hopefully the rest of the world will see this as a statement of intent by English football, which we will go on seeking to improve,” he said.

“It is a nerve-centre, a think-tank. I could almost say, if I was allowed to, a Mecca.

“It is a meeting point for the game, a congregating nerve centre where it doesn’t matter whether you are coaches, chief execs, physios, commercial directors, nutritionists – it is a place where the game can come together.

“We will welcome anyone who wants to come and we will be listening.

“One of the reasons we got here is because we listened to what everyone else told us, and we will go on listening because the day you think you have got to the top of the mountain is the day you start going down it.”

Werner Augsburger, asthma the sports director of the 2014 Sochi Olympics has resigned after four months on the job and returned to Switzerland. 

Werner Augsburger cited problems with a language barrier in Russia, site and leaving his family behind to be based in Moscow according to Swiss daily Neue Zuercher Zeitung.

Augsburger was selected by Sochi Olympic organizers last April. He began his duties organizing events in September.

The newspaper reports that Augsburger says he has no other immediate work plans.

The 53-year-old Augsburger was previously Switzerland’s mission chief at three Olympics. He joined the Sochi team after two seasons as chief executive of the Swiss ice hockey league.

The Breeders’ Cup today announced it has selected The V Foundation for Cancer Research as its primary non-profit beneficiary for the 28th running of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, to be held November 4-5 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. The V Foundation has been the primary non-profit beneficiary of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships since 2009. During the past two years, the Breeders’ Cup has raised more than $350,000 through donations to The V Foundation, an organization founded by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano in 1993.

In addition to The V Foundation, the Breeders’ Cup will continue to raise funds and awareness for equine-related charities it has supported since its inception in 1984.

Fans will have the opportunity to make contributions to The V Foundation through the purchase of limited edition glassware sets of Breeders’ Cup champions Goldikova (IRE) and Zenyatta and their record achievements over the past three years. Each set contains three glasses for each horse. The glasses may be purchased through www.breederscup.com/charities.

“The V Foundation is a magnificent organization that is committed to finding cures for cancer and we are proud to partner again with them this year,” said Tom Ludt, Breeders’ Cup Chairman. “We have many devoted fans that support us and we want to give back to them by supporting an organization that helps so many in need.”

George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports and a V Foundation board member,   commented: “We sincerely appreciate the efforts and contributions of the Breeders’ Cup community and fans.  When we join together to make a difference, we truly have an impact.”

Jacques Anouma, symptoms former Ivory Coast football federation (FIF) president has revealed his intention to fight for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) presidency against scandal ridden Issa Hayatou.

Anouma officially sought for the backing of the FIF on Friday by presenting a letter requesting for support at the body’s headquarters in Abidjan, clinic where he was received by new president Sidy Diallo and his collaborators.

According to Supersport the Ivorian FA will likely root for Anouma, story who also said he was waiting for an endorsement from Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara.

The 58-year-old accountant is a member of FIFA and CAF executive committees and former president of the West Africa Football Union (WAFU).

Hayatou is expected to run for re-election following the introduction of a pre-campaign team last March made up of Guinean Almamy Kabele Camara, a member of Caf’s executive committee, Badra Sene of Senegal and Benin FA president Anjorin Moucharafou.

The race for the presidency is expected to begin in March 2013 during the body’s general assembly in Morocco.