The Board of British Shooting has shaken things up by announcing the appointment of John Harris as its first independent chairman.

The former engineering and commerce chief executive and chair will take up the role initially for a two-year period, spanning the London Olympic and Paralympic Games – a crucial phase in the development of shooting in the country.

Liz Nicholl, UK Sport chief executive, said: “This is an important appointment for British Shooting, and a welcome move to strengthen leadership as we approach the once in a lifetime opportunity that is our home Games next year in London. John Harris is well known to and respected by UK Sport and the UK high performance system and I look forward to working with him in his new position.”

Harris is a proven leader and mentor, and has, most recently, led significant change programmes resulting in considerable improvements be it in commercial market share or sporting and personal performance.

British Shooting’s acting chief executive Hamish McInnes said: “John will bring a new dynamic to British Shooting at a time of great potential for the sport. His appointment heralds a new unity of purpose across the shooting disciplines at just the right time with the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics followed so closely by the 2014 Commonwealth Games. We now have a great chance to work together to develop the sport, to nurture talent and to achieve success at the highest level.”

On his employment, Harris said: “I feel very privileged to have been asked to join the team especially at this very exciting time.”

Cardiff City FC have opted to change the club’s home kit from blue to red and replace the main bluebird image on the club’s crest with a dragon despite opposition from fans.

Cardiff City FC have opted to change the club’s home kit from blue to red and replace the main bluebird image on the club’s crest with a dragon despite opposition from fans.

When plans first emerged to rebrand the club in such a significant way, Cardiff fans reacted angrily and signed a petition against the proposed changes.

However, Cardiff confirmed on Wednesday morning that they would be pressing ahead with the plans instigated by investors Tan Sri Vincent Tan and Dato Chan Tien Ghee and released a photo of the new kit and the new badge, which relegates the bluebird to the bottom

In addition to the new kit, the club have announced plans to build a brand-new training ground, pay off the historical Langston debt, provide manager Malky Mackay with a substantial transfer kitty and explore the possibility of expanding the Cardiff City Stadium.

 statement read: “From the start of the 2012/12 season, Cardiff City’s primary home colour has been changed to red, while the squad will wear blue shirts as an away option. A third change kit will be shown here at a later date.

“Our investors have been impressed with the passion and commitment from Cardiff City supporters for their team and want to harness these strengths to create an affinity between the club and the cultures of Wales and Asia. With that in mind and as a part of the significant investment made to give the club the best chance of succeeding in this area, they believe very strongly that there is a need to make some radical, but important changes to our brand.

“Key to the strategy is to ensure that the club representing as it does the capital city of Wales projects a national identity which will resonate with potential audiences abroad.”The colour red is widely recognised as being synonymous with Welsh culture and heritage, with Cardiff the proud capital of the country. The colour also holds strong spiritual significance in Asia, where it is seen as a symbol of prosperity, power and good fortune.

“It is believed that this fusion of identities and values will reinforce our strength as a visual brand across both cultures. As outlined in the club statement, Cardiff City, through our investors strong connections will be exploring ways in which to maximise brand awareness of the club across Asia, thereby delivering local success.”

Cardiff say that the change in kit comes as part of a “major and significant” investment in the club which will help alleviate financial troubles.

The club said: “As part of this commitment, funds have been earmarked to finally resolve the historical Langston debt issue which for so long has cast a dark cloud over the club and its future. Negotiations have been continuing and a final offer has been made to those representing Langston and Sam Hammam which we believe is both fair and reasonable.

“Whilst not yet concluded, we hope that both Langston and Sam will react positively and favourably to allow this long running and distracting saga to be finally closed which will be to everyone’s benefit. We know that Sam has always expressed his passion for this club and has said that he will always be a lifelong friend of Cardiff City. We hope that this sentiment will shine through accordingly and look forward to welcoming him at our ground as a guest of honour in the near future.”

The International Field Hockey Federation (FIH) have announced that their respected secretary general Peter Cohen will retire with immediate effect.

However their was no reason given for his sudden departure.

The Australian citizen has been the secretary general since 2001. Prior to that, Cohen served as an FIH vice president and the president of Hockey Australia. 

During his years of involvement with the FIH, Cohen was also the chairman of the 2004 World Cup chair of the events and competitions committee, a member of the marketing and bid committees, a technical director, tournament official and judge at countless international hockey tournaments and an honorary life member of the FIH.

Leandro Negre, FIH President, said:  “Finding someone to fill Peter’s enormous shoes will be very difficult. He was someone who always served the FIH with fairness and wisdom. It was with a heavy heart that I learned of his wish to retire. I wish Peter all the best in his future endeavors.”

Cohen, 68, is a lawyer by profession in his native Australia. His background as a lawyer enabled him to help the FIH with its Statutes and build the foundation as it pursued its strategic plan.

FIH CEO Kelly Fairweather, said: “Peter has been instrumental in so many of the FIH initiatives. His dedication, knowledge and experience in the game are virtually unmatched.”

FC Dallas and Time Warner Cable have agreed to the most extensive television broadcast deal in the club’s 18-year history in advance of the 2013 season.

This season Time Warner Cable SportsChannel will air 22 FC Dallas regular-season games. In Dallas, ed Time Warner Cable SportsChannel is available on channel 185 (SD) and channel 148 (HD). 

“We are excited to have a television partner who believes in soccer and shares our passion and commitment for growing the FCD brand and our sport, anabolics ” said Hunt Sports Group Vice President Dan Hunt. “We believe Time Warner Cable is the right partner for us and have signed a deal with the intent on growing this into a long-term partnership.”

The new partnership will not only provide a higher broadcast production quality with all games in HD, ambulance it will also allow FC Dallas to travel its broadcast team to all 17 road games and provide fans with additional in-depth programming about FC Dallas. Among the extended FC Dallas programming available this season and in the future will be pre- and post-game shows, dedicated programming about FC Dallas, and FC Dallas programming within other Time Warner Cable SportsChannel shows.

“FC Dallas games are an outstanding addition to Time Warner Cable SportsChannel’s expanding local sports offering and we’re excited to partner with them to televise games this season,” said Mark Shuken, Senior Vice President and General Manager, TWC Sports Regional Networks. “FC Dallas fans are very passionate and Time Warner Cable SportsChannel will be able to give them more access to their favorite team.”

The UAE Pro League is set to expand to fourteen teams. The competition committee will devise a new format in which the two relegated clubs and the two that finished third and fourth in Division One may play in a qualifying event and two teams would win a place in the top division.

“The format and the dates of this play-off will be drawn up by the competition committee and announced shortly,” The FA President, Yousuf Al Serkal, said after an executive committee meeting at their headquarters in Dubai. “A consensus was reached and I believe it provides all four clubs a fair chance to qualify for the Pro League next season. This is a transitional period, hence the play-off is a one-off competition.”

Al Serkal said the 14-team format would be very beneficial for football in the UAE

“More teams and more games will provide more playing opportunities, particularly to the young players. There are a lot of age group players who don’t get an early exposure in the country’s top league,” he said.

“There was a need to play more games and to provide the players a longer season, and by increasing the number of teams to 14 we have achieved that objective to benefit the country’s football.”

Al Serkal said the clubs would also benefit financially from television broadcasts.

The FA has abolished the two-tier system in Division One (the competition below the Pro League).

Division One, which consisted of 16 teams divided into two groups of eight, will now be made up of 14 teams in one league, the same as the Pro League.

An increase in the number of teams in the top flight is one of the criteria laid down by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for participation in the Asian Champions League. The AFC has recommended a minimum of 33 league games per team in the top division.

Other recommendations are the duration of the entire season, including the league, cup and pre-tournament matches to be ten months, with eight months of top division matches.

{jcomments on}

Infront Sports & Media has appointed Stefan Krauss as the new Managing Director of its Infront Austria, thereby strengthening its international management team winter sports.

Stefan Krauss will take up his new position on 1 January 2012. Following the full integration of Infront Austria into the Infront Group, current Managing Director Dr Stefan Seykora has taken the decision to pass over full operational duties from 30 June 2012 due to personal reasons. He will then join the company’s Advisory Board. This will ensure continuity of experience and maintain the company’s excellent relationships with its key clients.

Stefan Krauss holds almost 30 years of experience in winter sports, as athlete, coach, official and marketing expert. He joins Infront from the German Ski Federation (DSV) where he has been involved as Managing Director of DSV Marketing GmbH since May 2008. Previously, the former professional ski athlete worked for nine years as General Secretary and Sport Director for the Bobsleigh and Luge Federation of Germany (BSD).

In a parallel role since 2006, Stefan Krauss also occupied the position of Vice President Marketing for the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (FIBT) and has been a member ex officio for the FIBT Executive Committee since 2002. Through all his positions he has contributed significantly to the sporting and commercial success of the respective organisations and has built an extensive network within the world of winter sport.

Stefan Krauss will head an experienced team of over 20 employees and will direct all central
projects of the Vienna and Lustenau based Infront subsidiary. Properties include the marketing of the IBU World Cup and the IBU World Championships Biathlon, as part of Infront’s longstanding partnership with the International Biathlon Union. He also takes on the lead for marketing the Vierschanzentournee (Four Hills Tournament) based on the company´s partnership with the Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV) and the DSV. As one of the centres of excellence for winter sports marketing, Infront Austria (formerly APF Marketing GmbH) is an important pillar of the Infront Group.

Bruno Marty, Infront’s Executive Director of Winter Sports, said: “In recent years, Dr Stefan Seykora has successfully and innovatively contributed to Infront Austria. Together with his long time partner and co-Managing Director Volker Schmid he significantly advanced the company´s integration into the Infront Group and has aided the continuous development of the comprehensive event and partner portfolio. We want to thank him sincerely for his commitment.”

“Stefan Krauss is a proven expert in the global winter sports circuit and an ideal successor. Thanks to his many years of marketing experience and his great passion for sport, he is a perfect fit for Infront and will significantly strengthen our international team in the development and successful implementation of our long-term winter sports strategy. We wish him a successful start in January.”

Stefan Krauss added: “I am very excited about working in such an important position for the world’s leading marketing company in winter sports. Together with the already well-established team at Infront Austria, I will continue to work with existing and new partners in a reliable and innovative way. A high quality standard in the collaboration, but also the development of great relationships will always be in focus for me.”

Dr. Stefan Seykora said: “Following the successful integration of the former APF Marketing GmbH into the Infront Group and more than 20 years of fulfilling business and expansion, it is time for me to stand down. I proudly look back over the many achievements and friendships I have gained from Infront and in the world of sport. After a well deserved break, I will take up new and exciting challenges in the coming year. I thank all colleagues, customers and partners for the great collaboration.”

Michael Beloff, order QC, allergist today heard an application from Salman Butt’s new legal representation for an adjournment of the full hearing into the spot-fixing charges against three Pakistan cricketers, also including Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif.

Mr Beloff, the Chairman of the ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal, following a lengthy telephone hearing and having received written submissions, has ruled that Mr Butt’s application is denied and as such, the full hearing will take place as scheduled from 6-11 January 2011 in Doha, Qatar.

The ICC Code of Conduct Commissioners are nominated by the Members countries while their allocation to a tribunal is by the Chairman of the ICC Code of Conduct Commission.

The ICC will make no further comment on this matter at this time.

Die Verbraucherorganisation foodwatch hat DFB-Präsident Wolfgang Niersbach anlässlichder Fußball-Europameisterschaft aufgefordert, die Zusammenarbeit seines Verbandes mitFerrero zu beenden. “Ferreros Marketingstrategie zielt darauf ab, Süßigkeiten als sportlich-leichte Zwischenmahlzeiten zu bewerben”, erklärte Matthias Wolfschmidt, stellvertretenderGeschäftsführer von foodwatch.

“Es ist unverantwortlich, wenn der DFB dazu beiträgt, dassein Sportereignis wie die EM dazu missbraucht wird, gerade Kindern möglichst viele Kalorienanzudienen.”

Durch die Zusammenarbeit mit Ferrero verstößt der DFB auch gegen seine eigene Satzung.Darin heißt es, Zweck und Aufgabe des Fußballverbandes sei es, “gesellschaftspolitischeAspekte mit den Möglichkeiten des Fußballs angemessen zu unterstützen” – explizit auchdurch “die Förderung gesunder Ernährung”. foodwatch verwies auf das Problem von

Übergewicht und Fettleibigkeit bei Kindern. Es sei bekannt, dass Kinder zu viele Süßigkeiten verzehrten, so Matthias Wolfschmidt: “Da passt es nicht, wenn der DFB im Widerspruch zu seinen gesundheitspolitischen Satzungszwecken den Steilpass für Ferreros Junkfood-Marketing liefert.”

Der Deutsche Fußballbund unterstützt Ferrero insbesondere durch Lizenzprodukte wie Sammelbilder der Nationalspieler als Beigabe zu Süßwaren und durch offizielle DFB-Artikel als Prämien bei der aktuellen Aktion “Fan Connection”, bei der Verbraucher rund um die EM auf zahlreichen Ferrero-Produkten Punkte sammeln und in Prämien tauschen können. foodwatch hat die Prämien-Aktion in einem Internet-Video aufs Korn genommen und drin nachgerechnet:

Für ein T-Shirt – das so genannte “DFB Fan-Trikot” – sind 100 Sammelpunkte erforderlich. Um diese zu erreichen, müsste ein Verbraucher beispielsweise 500 Kinderriegel verzehren.

Damit hätte er…

– 59.000 Kilokalorien,

– 5,5 Kilogramm Zucker, umgerechnet rund 1.800 Stück Würfelzucker,

und

– 3,65 Kilogramm Fett, so viel wie in 18 Päckchen Butter

..zu sich genommen. Um die Ferrero-Kalorien wieder abzutrainieren, müsste er mehr als 60

Fußballspiele über 90 Minuten absolvieren – oder anders gesagt: Er müsste an allen Spielen der Europameisterschaft teilnehmen, von der Vorrunde bis zum Finale, und das gleich zwei Mal hintereinander.

Niall Quinn has left his job as chairman of Sunderland to focus on a new role at the English Premier League club with the club’s owner Ellis Short taking over his previous position.

Quinn, will “spearhead international development on behalf of the club” while owner Ellis Short takes over as chairman. Quinn insisted that the new role at Sunderland represented “a great opportunity for us to make the club stronger”. Quinn told the club’s official website: “I’m delighted that Ellis has agreed to support the plan. He’ll be a fantastic chairman and taking this role on speaks volumes about his ambition for the club.”

American Short, who acquired a 100% stake in the club in May 2009, said: “I can assure our fans that it’s the same group of people continuing to lead the club. With financial fair play rules coming into effect it is essential for the long-term success of the club that we develop interests on a global scale and there’s no-one better than Niall to sell the ethos of Sunderland to an international audience. He has been keen to drive this change for some time and I agree that it’s the way forward for us now.”

Sunderland CEO Margaret Byrne added: “Niall is widely known and hugely respected throughout the world of football. His profile, coupled with his vast knowledge of the game and the business, means he is perfectly placed to bring Sunderland to the forefront internationally. Trips to territories such as Vietnam, India, Abu Dhabi and Africa are taking place in the coming months.”

COMMONWEALTH Games Bronze medal winning weightlifter Zoe Smith has had her funding temporarily suspended by the sport’s governing body British Weight Lifting.

The 16-year-old London-based lifter has had her personal funding withdrawn until at least the end of January – although she will continue to have available support services such as physiotherapy and nutritional guidance.

British Weight Lifting staff became concerned about her commitment after she arrived at a recent training camp overweight and with no training programme.

Her lack of commitment to a structured programme was one of the key reasons why she did not take part in the European Junior Championships in November.

After careful consideration, cialis ed the BWL World Class Programme decided they could not continue to support an athlete who was not committed to following a structured training programme or ensuring they stabilised their body weight.

BWL Performance Manager Fiona Lothian said: “Zoe is an amazing talent but we all know that any athlete with talent still has to work hard if they are to realise their true potential.

“On World Class Programmes athletes are funded not only because they are good, sale but because they are willing to work hard to become even better.”

The decision to withdraw her personal funding will be reviewed after the Tri-Nations Tournament on 12th February, check and will be reinstated if training has been consistent and she has been working with the nutritionist.

Additionally, Zoe is required to commit to five training sessions per week of at least 90 minutes, and work with the World Class Programme nutritionist to ensure an optimal body weight, and be back lifting agreed weights at the Tri-Nations Tournament on February 12.