Spain’s dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Portugal in the Euro 2012 semi-final attracted a record audience of more than 18 million television viewers in Spain, industry figures have showed.

A stunning 83.3 percent of the audience watched the penalties that put Spain into Sunday’s final, said Kantar Media figures, released by television audience consultancy Barlovento Comunicacion.”The nearly 13 minutes of penalties averaged 18.141 million viewers and 83.3 percent of the share, the most viewed programme in (Spanish) history,” Barlovento said in a statement.

The peak was at 11:26 pm (2126 GMT), roughly when Cesc Fabregas’s penalty delivered the Spanish victory, with a total 19.086 million people glued to the screens, equal to 87.3 percent of the audience.

That made it “the most viewed minute in the history of (Spanish) television”, the agency said.The Euro tournament is being broadcast in Spain by Telecinco, controlled by Italian media group Mediaset.

Viewership varied through the match, the agency said, with 14.182 million or 75.6 per cent of the audience watching the 90 minutes of normal time, rising to 16.485 million or 77.1 per cent for extra time.

Spain reached their third consecutive major tournament final after overcoming Portugal 4-2 on penalties in the first Euro 2012 semi-final in Donetsk on Wednesday.

Formula One team Toro Rosso have added to their technical line-up ahead of the 2012 season with two key appointments to the Italian team’s design and aerodynamics departments.

Luca Furbatto joins the design team in Faenza having worked at McLaren since 2000, discount where the 39-year-old Italian’s most recent role was that of assistant project leader on the design of this year’s Formula One car. Prior to that he was McLaren’s head of stress analysis and materials.

Jon Tomlinson has joined Toro Rosso’s UK-based Bicester wind tunnel team, ampoule where he takes on the role of deputy head of aerodynamics, abortion reporting to Nicolo Petrucci. The 38-year-old Englishman joins from Williams, where he had been head of aerodynamics since 2007. Prior to that he worked at Jordan and Renault.

Both men took up their Toro Rosso positions on Thursday and on April 1, 2012, Furbatto will take over as chief designer, reporting to technical director Giorgio Ascanelli, when Ben Butler returns to work for Red Bull Technology in Milton Keynes in the UK.

With exactly one month until the 2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series kicks off, the ITU has released a new promotional video showcasing the electrifying action that embodies ITU triathlon.

CLICK HERE to see the 2011 promo video and get a sneak peak at what’s to come this season.

Now in its third year, the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series will see the world’s fastest triathletes race head-to-head in seven events around the globe.

With $1.65-million USD up for grabs, plus valuable Olympic qualifying points, a lot is on the line in the heated battle to become ITU’s 2011 World Champion.

The 2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series kicks off in Sydney on April 10 and continues in Yokohama, Madrid, Kitzbühel, Hamburg, London and Beijing.

This season’s ITU World Champions will be crowned at the Grand Final when ITU returns to the 2008 Olympic Games venue in Beijing on September 10-11.

Spain’s 4-0 win over Italy may have been historic but Twitter created a completely new record with a total 16.5 million tweets sent out around the game.

In a blog post Twitter also revealed that total global traffic on the platform peaked at 15,358 tweets per second during the 4th goal, a new sports-related record on Twitter. 

The new record smashed the 10,245 tweets per second that were garnered during the last few minutes of the Superbowl final when the New York Giants narrowly defeated the New England patriots. However it is still nowhere near the all time tweets per second record of 25,088 which happened during a television screening of Japanese anime movie Castle in the Sky by legendary director Hayou Miyazaki.

 

Joao Havelange, the former FIFA president, has resigned from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) just days before an ethics commission is due to deliver its findings on allegations he received kick-backs.

Havelange, now aged 95, is the IOC’s longest-serving member and has been under investigation for the past year into allegations by BBC Panorama that while at FIFA he received $1.5 million from now collapsed marketing company ISL.

A source within the IOC confirmed that Havelange had resigned.

The ethics commission are to report to the IOC executive board this week with a decision on any sanctions due on Thursday.

The ethics commission will also deliver findings on Panorama’s allegations against two other IOC members, FIFA vice-president Issa Hayatou and Lamine Diack, president of the IAAF international athletics federation.

Havelange has been an IOC member since 1963 and with his resignation the investigation is likely to be dropped on the grounds that the IOC no longer have jurisdiction over him.

The Brazilian was FIFA president for 24 years until he was succeeded by Sepp Blatter in 1998.

Blatter has promised to open the court file relating to the ISL case later this month.

Panorama have also named Ricardo Teixeira, Havelange’s former son-in-law and Brazil’s 2014 World Cup chief, as having received payments from ISL.

All those alleged to have received payments have previously denied any wrongdoing.

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The International Rugby Board has confirmed that the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) has been suspended from full IRB member status with immediate effect after failing to conduct appropriate Board elections in accordance with IRB Bye Laws.

The decision, ed taken by the IRB Council after a comprehensive review of the membership status of the SLRFU, clinic follows ongoing concerns regarding the governance and management of the Union and its ability to meet IRB requirements to hold an Annual General Meeting and elections in accordance with its constitution by January 31, 2011.

The SLRFU will now revert to IRB Associate Member status with a further review to be held on April 1, 2011 pending the successful completion of the Union’s AGM and Board elections.

The SLRFU remains entitled to participate in Asian Rugby Football Union competitions subject to the Regional Association’s rules.

Udinese owners, look the Pozzo family have completed their takeover of Watford Football Club from owner Laurence Bassini.

The Pozzos have been interested in Watford for a few months but Bassini had insisted on several occasions there was no truth in our sources’ claims the family wanted to take over the club and that he was not looking to sell.

The Stanmore businessman finally admitted he was leaving the club two weeks ago and since then all parties have been working to conclude the deal.

Watford are believed to have been bought by a Special Purpose Vehicle, a new company set up to buy the club and controlled by the Pozzos.

The Pozzo family already own Serie A club Udinese and Spanish club Granada.

IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard has announced organizational changes in the commercial and operations/competition divisions of the sanctioning body of the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights which will come into effect on Jan 1.

Terry Angstadt has resigned as Commercial Division President and will be succeeded by Marc Koretzky, who joined IndyCar in May as Director of Corporate Business Development. Angstadt will assist with the transition.

Also, because of increasing demands on the Competition and Operation division, IndyCar will split the responsibilities of President of Operations and Race Director into separate positions. Brian Barnhart will remain President of Operations, overseeing the operational and logistical areas, while IndyCar is reviewing candidates to fill the position of Race Director.

“I’m confident that Brian and Marc will lead our company into a bigger and brighter future in these new roles,” Bernard said.

As president of the commercial division, Koretzky will oversee sales, business planning and development, marketing, public relations and organizational operation.

Koretzky, 35, has utilized his MBA in Executive Strategic Management most recently in management of all non-racing events surrounding the IZOD IndyCar World Championships presented by Honda in Las Vegas in October. Tapping into his experience with the NFL, NCAA and other sports properties, he produced and coordinated the weeklong activities that created global awareness, including an unprecedented night closing of Las Vegas Boulevard for a 34-car parade.

Koretzky said: “IndyCar has made tremendous strides under Terry’s leadership and its future is indeed bright. I look forward to working with IndyCar’s current commercial partners and helping to develop additional strategic relationships.”

Previously, the New Orleans native worked in conjunction with the NFL as Director of Operations for multiple Super Bowl Committees and was an independent lead consultant to the Atlanta Local Organizing Committee for the NCAA Men & Women’s Final Four Basketball Championships.

“Marc’s demonstrated abilities with big events will be a great asset to IndyCar as it continues to grow and prosper,” Bernard said. “With the new car and engine manufacturer competition coming for the 2012 season, along with exciting news regarding new commercial partners on the horizon, IndyCar is poised for an exciting future. Marc comes highly regarded and brings a unique perspective with his experience with major sports properties as with the NFL Super bowls and NCAA tournaments. “

Angstadt, who joined IndyCar inafter serving as vice president of marketing for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 2001, was named commercial divisionpresident in 2007. He was instrumental in forging long-term commercial partnerships with series title sponsor IZOD; Apex-Brazil, the official Brazilian trade and investment promotion agency; and secured strategically important events in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Qingdao, China.

“Terry has been an integral member of the IndyCar executive team since 2007, and has been instrumental in orchestrating successful inaugural events Baltimore and Brazil, managing the demands of promoter relations and serving as a key liaison between our teams, venues and partners while overseeing the business development of our company,” Bernard said. “We wish Terry the best of luck as he moves on to the next chapter in his career. He will be missed by the entire IndyCar team.”

A president of operations, Barnhart is responsible for officials, technical specifications, safety development and implementation, medical and event logistics. The Race Director is the senior official in Race Control, who oversees all on-track activity.

“As our sport continues to grow and we prepare for our first new car in almost a decade, we feel that splitting these roles will help fully service our teams and venues as we prepare for the demands of 2012 season,” Barnhart said.

Barnhart is an IZOD IndyCar Series representative on the board of directors of ACCUS and the U.S. representative to the FIA. An Indianapolis native, Barnhart has been with IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1994, when he joined IMS as track superintendent. He served in various roles for Indy car teams from 1982-94.

The thoughts and deepest sympathies of the global Rugby family continue to be with the people of Christchurch, symptoms all New Zealanders and everyone affected by last week’s tragedy. The response of the global Rugby family has been overwhelming and we know is greatly appreciated by those affected.

It is appropriate that the focus must remain on the extensive recovery and response operation in Christchurch and it would not be right for Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) to speculate or comment on Christchurch’s ability to host Rugby World Cup 2011 matches as planned until an extensive review and assessment has been completed, drugs which could take several weeks.

RWCL, clinic in partnership with tournament organisers RNZ 2011, the New Zealand Rugby Union and the New Zealand Government, continues to assess the damage to critical tournament facilities and services. These include Stadium Christchurch itself, accommodation, training facilities, the transport network and key tournament infrastructure.

It is clear there has been damage to Stadium Christchurch, accommodation and other infrastructure. However no decision will be taken about the RWC 2011 matches scheduled to be held in Christchurch until accurate and confirmed information has been received and analysed following the completion of the currently ongoing full assessment. Consideration must be given to all aspects of hosting RWC matches.

Whatever the outcome of the detailed assessment, all 48 matches will be hosted in New Zealand and the tournament will kick off on September 9.

RWCL and RNZ 2011 continue to regularly update all tournament stakeholders who have been extremely supportive throughout the process. All Rugby stakeholders recognise that the people of Christchurch are the paramount consideration at this difficult time.

In a two-year arrangement beginning this year, order every match of the ANZ Championship, including the finals series, will be televised live for the first time in the competition’s history.

In a further coup for netball fans, all Australian Diamonds Test matches played in Australia and New Zealand will be broadcast live on Fox Sports.

In addition, all matches will be televised in high definition with no ad-breaks during play.

Fox Sports CEO, Patrick Delany said: “It’s a historic day for netball in Australia with Fox Sports, in partnership with Foxtel, delivering fans the depth and quality of coverage they’ve always wanted, both at home and on the go.

“Never before have fans been able to watch every ANZ Championship game live until now.

“We’ll ensure netball fans have access to the best competition at home and abroad with live and high definition coverage extending to all Test matches featuring the Diamonds played on home soil and across the Tasman.”

“Netball is Australia’s leading female sport showcasing electrifying athletes in a ferocious competition that has the potential to generate a very strong following on Fox Sports.”

“It’s an exciting time for sports fans with Fox Sports embarking on its largest winter sports offering in history which includes the NRL and AFL seasons, Socceroos World Cup qualifiers and the year’s biggest two sporting events – the British and Irish Lions Rugby Tour and The Ashes.”

Beginning with the ANZ Championship on Sunday 24 March, 2013, the deal will see Telstra become the digital rights partner, streaming the ANZ Championship games played in Australia live on mobile.

In addition, SBS will provide live coverage of one ANZ Championship match each Sunday plus the Test series.

“We’re thrilled the new broadcast deal will provide Australians with the ability to watch every game of the ANZ Championship live through subscription and free-to-air platforms,” ANZ Championship general manager Andy Crook said.

“The latest announcement supports our ambition of setting the benchmark for female sports leagues, not just in Australasia, but around the world as we look to continue to engage with our current fans and inspire a new generation.”