“I am extremely excited to be back in the sports industry, especially with such an internationally historic property, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Merna said. “IMS has a unique mix of 100-plus years of tradition and endless opportunities for its partners. Our significant focus on corporate partnership development and our strong value proposition position the facility and events for some great growth opportunities.”

Merna received a bachelor’s degree in university studies from the University of New Mexico in 1999 and an associate degree in business merchandising from Cazenovia College in 1987.

 

FIFA.com: What kind of year has 2010 been?

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter: 2010 has been a year of “fulfilment”, a historic year, one in which we’ve broken new ground. First of all, we’ve had the World Cup in Africa, which is an extraordinary achievement in itself. It’s had a phenomenal impact around the world, and the economic impact of the event can never be underestimated.

Back in 2004, when the competition was awarded to South Africa, the country was a young republic that had been in existence for ten years and was looking to find its place in the modern world. Since then, both the rest of the world and South Africa itself have come to realise just how important a country it is.

South Africa has risen to the challenge, attracting investors along the way. Its GDP per capita has increased considerably, the Rand has grown stronger despite the crisis, the country is part of the G20 and IBSA (a trilateral, developmental initiative between India, Brazil and South Africa), and it has also been made a Non-Permanent Member of the UN Security Council.

For our part, we will be continuing with our social programmes through Football For Hope, which focuses in particular on education and health in South Africa and across the continent. 

How do you think the year has gone for Africa in footballing terms?

To be honest, I was expecting to see more African teams in the second round of the World Cup, with one of them going on the semi-finals. Ghana just missed out by the narrowest of margins, though, and there was huge disappointment. This month, however, we’ve seen TP Mazembe Englebert of Lubumbashi (Congo DR) go all the way to the final of another competition, the FIFA Club World Cup, which is a first for an African team.

I’ve always said that there are no more little teams at international level because standards have levelled off at the top, whereas the gap has grown at club level.

That’s why Mazembe’s sudden success has been such a surprise. They knocked out the CONCACAF champions, Pachuca of Mexico, and then the South American champions, Internacional of Porto Alegre, Brazil. And they were emphatic wins too. It was no surprise to see them come unstuck against Inter Milan, although the scoreline was a bit harsh on them. I think that tells you they were just happy to get there and that perhaps they had a little less “fire” in them.

The venues for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup finals were revealed a few weeks ago. What is your feeling about the announcements?

We have made historic decisions in terms of sport and geopolitics. We’ve sent the World Cup to new territories. The 2018 World Cup will go to eastern Europe and the vast country that is Russia, and the 2022 event will go to Qatar, in the Arab world. The World Cup will discover new cultures in new regions, and that’s something I’m delighted about. 

Can you explain the decisions in more detail?

You need to follow the development of football and FIFA to understand these decisions. It’s not something that started yesterday either. My predecessor Joao Havelange said that football had to become a universal sport. There was a need to promote football and look for sponsors because we didn’t have a cent back then.

When I jumped into this project in November 1974 I did so with my feet tied together, and I could see straightaway that there was more to football than just kicking a ball. When I became the FIFA President, the decision was made to go into Asia. And then I said we had to go to Africa, which is what we did. It’s only natural, then, that we should keep on moving into new regions.

Can you understand the disappointment of the other candidates?

Yes, but maybe some people have forgotten that in football you have to learn to lose as well as to win. It was a competition. Some people won, some people lost. That’s normal.

What about the criticism in the media?

The sporting media don’t always appreciate the social or cultural importance of awarding the World Cup finals to a country. They just think about penalties, corners, refereeing and money. But, as I’ve already said, this decision wasn’t about making money.

You’ve just touched on the next question. Can you explain your view of the social role of football?

The socio-cultural impact of the game on the future of our society is a subject that is close to my heart. That will be my message when I go to the Confederations’ Congresses, which begins in Asia, in Doha, on 7 January.

Football has spread to all parts of the world now and we need to ensure the expansion and development of the Football For Hope movement. “Hope” is wonderful, but you also have to make a real impact. That means you have to safeguard these projects and follow them up in detail and to do that involves getting support from the respective ministries of education and health. 

The FIFA mission is to “Develop the game, touch the world, build a better future”. What still needs to be done?

We have “developed the game” and will continue to do so. That never ends. We have “touched the world” because we’ve gone everywhere or nearly everywhere. And as for “building a better future”, in other words creating a better world, well, we’re still working on that. 

What message do you have for the new year?

Football is more than a game, but it still remains a game. We need to make the most of its positive values, and, more than anything else, make the most of life. That’s my message for fans around the world this new year.

Infront Sports & Media, anabolics new exclusive media rights agency to the International Cycling Union (UCI), generic buy has successfully secured broad international media coverage for the upcoming 2013 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – held in Minsk, Belarus, from 20-24 February 2013.

Most broadcast partners will provide live coverage to cycling fans around the globe.

The international sports marketing company has licensed international media rights for the event to a significant number of television networks, also securing new broadcast partners for the UCI, such as beIN Sport transmitting the competition in France and Al Jazeera covering the championship for the first time in the Middle East. 

In Europe the event will be also broadcasted in Belgium (VRT), Belarus (BTV), Great Britain (BBC) and the Netherlands (NOS). A pan-Asian agreement with Eurosport Asia ensures coverage in Asia, whilst the Japanese channel NHK also takes up the signal. In Brazil, Globosat covers the distribution of the event. In North America, Universal, Rogers Sportsnet and RDS broadcast across the USA and Canada respectively. In Australia, SBS has acquired the media rights. 

In addition, the UCI will offer fans the chance to follow the action on the official UCI YouTube channel, with live and on-demand coverage and English commentary. 

UCI President Pat McQuaid said: “We are very satisfied with the early results of our new partnership with Infront. The level of international media coverage achieved in a very short period of time, including two new broadcast partners for France and the Middle East, not only confirms the strong fan interest in international cycling but also Infront’s capability to deliver on its promises. Together, we are looking to build on this success to increase coverage and exposure for all other UCI cycling events.”

Glasgow 2014 has appointed Australian Jacqui Murdoch as its director of Games time delivery, they announced today.

Murdoch has been connected to major events since 2000 when she was the venue manager for beach volleyball at the Sydney Olympics. She has also worked for Vancouver 2010, where she was the vice-president Games services and accommodation at the Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

Murdoch has also worked on the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games respectively, working as the deputy director sport and venues at Manchester and as the general manager, venues and overlay in Melbourne.

She also worked as a consultant for London 2012, where she was an expert advisor for venue planning, and most recently Rio 2016, where she advised on Games strategy and governance.

Her responsibility in Glasgow will involve her overseeing the management of all Games time delivery functional areas, including ensuring the areas of family relations, services, sport, venues and Athletes’ Village and volunteering are all developed and ready to be delivered in July 2014.

David Grevemberg, Glasgow 2014 chief executive, said: “Jacqui is a fantastic appointment for us here at Glasgow 2014. Bringing 20 years of international sporting events knowledge and experience to Scotland, Jacqui’s role will be absolutely crucial in ensuring that we remain on track to deliver an outstanding Games in July 2014. Jacqui and her team will be working tirelessly over the next three years to ensure that everyone attending the Games, especially the athletes competing, have a great experience in Glasgow.”

Murdoch, who has already started her role in Glasgow, is excited by the opportunity handed to her.

“Joining Glasgow 2014 is a huge honour for me,” she said.

“Having been involved in the successful preparation and delivery of past Olympic and Commonwealth Games, I am looking forward to getting to work on what I know will be an outstanding Games for Glasgow and Scotland in 2014.”

FIFA is very happy to announce Steven Pienaar, a famous South African Football player as a new ambassador for FIFA’s  “Football for Hope” programme.

Pulling himself out of the poverty of his childhood in Johannesburg’s Westbury township, Steven Pienaar has become one of the true heroes of South African football. The speedy wide midfielder, playing for FC Everton and for the South African National team, says he owes a lot to football:

“Football meant everything to me in my childhood. Football was a school of life which also allowed me to become what I am today. I am an avid believer in FIFA’s Football for Hope programme, because it uses the beautiful game of football to bring young people closer to education and health services, as well as teach them the values of fair play. “

The English Premier League has announced that Multi Media Sports Group (MMS) has been awarded exclusive audio visual broadcast rights for all 380 Barclays Premier League matches per season for seasons 2013/14 – 2015/16 in Spain and Romania. 

The rights for the two territories were acquired in separate auction processes.

Premier League Chief Executive, anesthetist Richard Scudamore, clinic said: “We are extremely pleased that MMS has chosen to invest in our broadcast rights in both Spain and Romania for seasons 2013/14 – 2015/16.

“We look forward to working with them and are confident they will distribute the best action from the Barclays Premier League in a comprehensive and innovative manner to our fans in both countries.”

Multi Media Sports Chief Executive Officer, Ylan Singer, said: “We are delighted to be working with the Premier League again and look forward to building value and reach for these fantastic rights in Spain and Romania.”

This announcement follows recent broadcast deals for Premier League matches in Ukraine, Italy, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, France, Belgium, Middle East, North Africa and Russia.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has urged that Soccer in the country should be halted for two or three years to get over the match-fixing scandal which has tarnished the image of Italian Soccer.

The soccer federation and several clubs rejected the idea, which is Monti’s personal opinion and is not binding.

The widening scandal has seen a number of top players arrested, the coach of this season’s title-winning club placed under investigation and the national team training headquarters raided by police.

“It’s particularly sad when a world which should be an expression of the highest values – sport, youth, competition, fairness – turns out to be a mass of foul play, falsehood and demagoguery,” Monti said at a news conference with visiting Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

“This isn’t a government proposal, but I wonder if it wouldn’t be a good idea to suspend the game for two or three years.”

The idea is unlikely to gain much traction in Italy, a country which is both obsessed by soccer and inured to an apparently endless series of financial, political and sexual scandals in recent years.

“I understand and share the bitterness of Prime Minister Monti,” Italian soccer federation president Giancarlo Abete said in a statement.

..but to stop the championship would mean humiliating all of football, penalising the majority who work honestly and it would also mean the loss of thousands of jobs. It is not the solution.”

Monti’s suggestion underscores the growing disgust over an affair which has shone a harsh light on the pervasive corruption at many levels of Italian society.

“It’s so easy for the great majority of citizens to see the origin of all Italy’s problems in politics,” Monti said. “It’s a big mistake.”

In the latest phase of an operation which began last year, police placed Antonio Conte, coach of championship-winning Juventus, under investigation on Monday over allegations relating to a 2011 match between previous club Siena and Novara.

They also arrested Stefano Mauri, captain of Lazio – one of the two big clubs in Rome, and raided the Italian national team’s training base at Coverciano after placing Italy defender Domenico Criscito under investigation.

Criscito was then dropped from the squad for the upcoming European Championship.

The scandal echoes earlier match-fixing affairs in 1980 and 2006, further tarnishing the image of Italian soccer which has long lost the pre-eminent position in the European game it enjoyed during the 1990s.

With less than two weeks before the start of Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, Italian fans may draw comfort from the fact that previous scandals preceded Italy’s victories in the 1982 and 2006 World Cups.

Prosecutors believe an international gambling ring paid players to throw matches deliberately. Dozens of current and former players in teams ranging from the Serie A top division down to the lower leagues may have been involved.

However, reaction from clubs has been largely defensive and the head of one Serie A club said Monti was “talking rubbish”.

“Before saying we need to stop playing football he should think about his own problems and everything he is destroying and closing down with his laws,” said Maurizio Zamparini, president of Palermo.

“Monti is showing his ignorance because professional football clubs pay 800 million euros ($1 billion) to the state every year.”

The scandal comes at a time when Italian clubs, like many others in Europe, are struggling to make ends meet while paying astronomical salaries to their top players.

According to a report in business daily Il Sole 24 Ore on Tuesday, losses at Italian clubs totalled 428 million euros during the 2010/11 season.

The acting secretary general of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), medic Hitcham El Amrani, order has been officially given the job after an executive committee met in Cairo on Tuesday and Wednesday confirmed the permanent placement.

The 32-year-old Moroccan had been acting secretary general since Oct. 1 after Mustapha Fahmy was snapped up by FIFA as director of competitions.

El Amrani started his CAF career March as deputy secretary general in March 2009. Prior to that, he was one of the managers in charge of marketing at the Asian Football Confederation.

Rothmans, viagra 60mg skippered by Britain’s Lawrie Smith in The Whitbread Round the World Race1989-90 (the forerunner of the Volvo Ocean Race), advice will sail from Sweden to take part in the Volvo Ocean Race Legends regatta and reunion.  At 80’, she is three feet longer than Great Britain II, who is also entered, along with the smallest yacht ever, 45’ Copernicus from Poland, both of whom took part in 1973-74.

Rothmans originally sailed with a crew of up to 16 and finished the race in fourth place overall, taking 131 days to complete the 33,000 nautical mile course.  It was Lawrie Smith’s second race, having completed part of the course on Simon Le Bon’s Drum in 1985-86.

Since finishing The Whitbread, Rothmans has been kept in pristine condition by present owner Bob Erixon and his friends in Scandinavia, who successfully campaigned her in 2003 winning the Round Gotland race and finishing up the order in other Scandinavian regattas.

Erixon formed a syndicate among 16 of his friends to co-own the boat and she still sails under the name of Rothmans.  “The target was to sail the Atlantic and to compete in races like Cowes Week and the ARC,” he explains.  “We think the Volvo Ocean Race Legends regatta and reunion is a fabulous idea and all the owners are very enthusiastic about it,” he confirmed.

“We are all between 44 – 60 years old and we have watched The Whitbread and the Volvo Ocean Race for a long time.  We would love to sail against some of the older boats as well as some of the more modern ones.  We have already raced against Charles Jourdan (WRTRW 1989-90). The Volvo Ocean Race Legends regatta fell right in to place in our Atlantic and Caribbean race tour that is planned for 2011-12,” he added.

The boat is in original and fantastic condition and has been continuously maintained.  Apart from some new electronics, she is in her original racing trim and is sure to be competitive next November in Alicante.

IMG Motorsports, ambulance a division of IMG Worldwide, the global sports, fashion and media company, has secured its first live broadcast deal for the 2013 FIA European Rallycross Championship.

Five rounds of the RX Championship will be broadcast exclusively live from the Nordic region following a new broadcast deal with Viasat, the satellite TV broadcaster.

This is the first of a number of deals with broadcasters around the world and IMG is nearing completion of a full distribution schedule for the RX Championship to be released over the coming weeks.

Kristian Hysen, Senior Vice President of IMG Nordic, said: “Viasat is the leading motorsports broadcaster in the Nordic region offering a wide expanse of properties including Formula 1, MotoGP, NASCAR and SpeedwayGP.  We are very pleased to be working with them and are sure they will provide a solid platform for RallycrossRX to build on.”

The Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish rounds of the RX Championship will be shown live, with the French round at Loheac and the German final round at Estering also confirmed as live events this week. In addition to the live coverage, all rounds of the RX Championship will be covered via a one hour highlights show to be distributed on the same day.

Martin Anayi, Managing Director of RallycrossRX for IMG Motorsports, said: “The inclusion of five live events on the 2013 RX Championship schedule clearly shows the potential of RallycrossRX as an exciting television product.”