Liverpool have appointed ex-Tottenham director of football Damien Comolli as their director of football strategy.

The 38-year-old Frenchman was sacked by Spurs in October 2008 after three years at the club and later joined French outfit St Etienne as sporting director.

He will begin work with Reds owner John Henry and boss Roy Hodgson immediately.

“I am delighted to be joining Liverpool and look forward to working with John and Roy, medstore ” said Comolli, sale ed who also spent seven seasons as a scout at Arsenal.

“I think we all realise there is a big job ahead, but we all share the vision that John has for rebuilding the club and bringing back the success that the supporters deserve.”

Liverpool finished seventh in the Premier League last season, missing out on a place in the Champions League for the first time since 2003.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Flanders Classics NV have renewed their partnership for the distribution of the European media rights to the Tour of Flanders for a further four-year period.

The cycling race is a monument of the cycling calendar and forms part of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) World Tour.

The agreement with race organizer Flanders Classics NV enriches the EBU’s comprehensive cycling offer and ensures extensive coverage of the race for European cycling fans.

EBU Director Sports & Business Stefan Kuerten said: “We are extremely pleased that Flanders Classics has decided to continue its successful partnership with the EBU. This agreement shows once again the commitment of the EBU and its Members to the sport of cycling and shows the importance of a wide reaching coverage on free to air channels.”

Flanders Classics Chief Executive Wouter Vandenhaute added: “The renewal of our partnership for another four years reflects the mutual trust between the European Broadcasting Union and the Tour of Flanders. The EBU is an ideal choice to showcase our event and we are delighted about the appreciation shown by the EBU and its members to our premium product.”

Wie die Zeitung „Der Westen“ berichtet, see fordern mehr als 50 Fanclubs in einem offenen Brief an Oberbürgermeisterin Ottilie Scholz, ed | die Medien und die Bürger ein gemeinsames Einstehen für den Fußballverein von 1848. Die VfL Fans wehren sich gegen Kritik, anesthetist die Bürger am Sponsoring von Sparkasse und Stadtwerke für den Profisport äußern.

„Weit vor dem Bergbaumuseum und dem Starlight Express ist der VfL Bochum 1848 d e r Imageträger dieser Stadt“, heißt es in einem Offenen Brief an Oberbürgermeisterin Ottilie Scholz (SPD), die Medien und die Bürger. „Durch den VfL wird auch Bochum allwöchentlich bundesweit wahrgenommen.“

Man sei zutiefst beunruhigt, wie offen und unwidersprochen das Sponsoring des VfL durch kommunale Unternehmen wie der Stadtwerke Bochum in Frage gestellt wird. „Denn wer dieses Sponsoring abschafft, schafft mittelfristig auch den VfL ab.“

„Uns fehlte in der Debatte bislang ein starker Gegenpol, daher haben wir am Donnerstagabend auf unserer Fanclub-Konferenz diesen Brief verfasst“, sagt Martin Volpers (50). Zuletzt seien in den Medien ausschließlich diejenigen Menschen zitiert worden, die es kritisieren, dass z.?B. die Stadtwerke pro Saison 900?000 Euro an den VfL überweisen oder die Sparkasse bis zu 500?000 Euro jährlich für den Profiradsport ausgibt. „Es geht uns keineswegs um Medienschelte, wir befürchten nur, dass diese Debatte dem VfL langfristig Probleme beschert“, so Volpers.

Hintergrund der Empörung war aus Sicht der VfL-Fangruppierungen, dass zuletzt in den Bochumer Lokalmedien ausschließlich diejenigen Menschen zitiert wurden, die es kritisieren, dass etwa hohe Summen aus öffentlicher Hand in das Profisport-Sponsoring investiert werden. Im Falle des VfL Bochum zahlen die Stadtwerke als Premium-Partner (zweite Sponsorenebene) nach Informationen von „derwesten.de“ 900 000 Euro per annum.

Die VfL-Fans weisen darauf hin, dass das Sponsoring keine Einbahnstraße sei, sondern ein Schulterschluss, von dem der Verein, die Sponsoren, die Stadt und ihre Menschen profitieren. „Entsprechend erwarten wir von den lokalen Medien und den Bürgern, dass sie gemeinsam mit uns hinter ihrem Aushängeschild stehen und nicht gegen einen vermeintlichen Millionärssport polemisieren“, heißt es.

The head of the Asian Winter Games in Almaty has been replaced after officials inspecting sporting facilities last week found them unsatisfactory.

Sultanbek Syzdykov was chosen on Monday to replace Sultanmakhmut Shokbytov, help who was named the Almaty Directorate of the Asian Games in January 2010 to oversee the construction of sports facilities, the Kazakh daily newspaper Kazakhstan Today (KT) reported.

Shokbytov will continue to work in the directorate, Kazinform.com reported.

The VII Winter Asian Games, to be held in Astana and Almaty, will begin January 30, 2011 with opening ceremonies in Astana.

The new Almaty Directorate must ensure that all the stadiums and athletic facilities for the regional event will be completed on time, KT reported.

Over 10,000 foreign visitors are expected to descend upon Almaty alone during the games, which will last until February 6, 2011. The total budget for the 2011 Asian Winter Games is anticipated to exceed $1 billion.

Kazakhstan was chosen in 2008 by the Olympic Council of Asia, which organizes the games, to host the 2011 event.

Radio City, cheap the leading radio network in India partners with Godrej Eon Tour de India (TDI) 2012, the biggest cycling race in the country organized by ID Sports.

Radio City will share updates from the race across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, live and exclusive, for its listeners. Radio City will be posting second-on-second updates of the exciting Grand Prix to be staged at the Formula One track, in New Delhi that will witness 60 cyclists will be cycling together at this Grand Prix. Apart from this Radio City will also interact with the celebrities on ground, bringing alive the memories of the stars/personalities on a cycle.

With this partnership, Radio City will encourage its listeners to be a part of this energetic sport. Godrej Eon Tour de India, 2012, India’s biggest cycling event, is organized by ID Sports in association with Cycling Federation of India and promoted by Maharashtra Cycling Association, Tourism Ministry, Cycling Federation of India and ID Sports.

Radio City president & COO Ashit Kukian commented: “We are happy to be associated with the biggest cycling event of the year – Tour de India. With a lot of youngsters adopting cycling as a sport, especially in the metros, we hope our listeners enjoy the wonderful experience of getting live updates about Tour de India. With this association we hope to also take them onto a trip that reminds their memories with the sport.  We believe with Tour De India, we will be able to connect with masses, giving them a platform to showcase their talent.”

ID Sports MD Akil Khan said: “With our strategic alignment with Radiocity, we will encourage our listeners to adapt cycling as a fitness regime to stay fit. We believe with cycling as an alternative means of transport we can bring about the awareness of global warming and encourage the masses to save fuel and stay fit at the same time. With Radiocity as a partner that is India’s first and leading FM radio brand, we are looking forward to reach out to their wide range of listeners and promote cycling as the next big sport.”

Ahead of Tuesday’s nights Merseyside derby which sees ninth-placed Everton attempt to leapfrog rivals Liverpool in the table with a victory, generic ed Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has spoken, rather bizarrely, about how the Reds’ off the pitch activities are just as important as the team’s performance in the Premier League. He said:

“The club is now where it was before – each one for each one, everybody in it together. There are many ways you can judge a season and the best way is progress at the football club as a whole. I don’t think it necessarily relates to trophies or points.”

“You can measure it by how the club has progressed and where it is, from the first team to the kids. Off the pitch, especially, the club is a lot stronger than what it was. You go off the pitch and see how much money we are getting through sponsorship and kit deals.”

“You look at the academy and see how much better it is. You look around here and most of the people have got a smile on their faces now. The squad is stronger than it was last year. What other areas are there to improve on – apart from points?”

by Ismail Uddin

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The 106 member countries represented at the 2010 Congress of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) today voted by acclamation for Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu from Chinese Taipei to serve a second four-year term as the President of the Association.

The result returns Wu, a member of the International Olympic Committee and AIBA member for 25 years, for a further four years as the head of the association which he has headed since 2006, when he put an end to the tenure of former president Anwar Choudry from Pakistan on a reform ticket.

As the only candidate for the election, Wu was voted in by acclamation as the delegates gave him a standing ovation. Furthermore, four Confederation Presidents were also re-elected as Vice-Presidents of the Association: Dr Abdullah Bessalem for the African Boxing Confederation; Domingo Solano for the American Boxing Confederation; Dr Humbert Furgoni for the European Boxing Confederation and Keith Walker for the Oceania Boxing Confederation.

“I want to thank all the delegates for your confidence and trust placed in me,” Wu said after the election. “I clearly remember four years ago in Santo Domingo when I was elected President I delivered my election speech. The first thing I said is that the President of AIBA is a servant of boxing for AIBA and for our national federations. I now repeat this. With your confidence and trust I will continue to give my
commitment to you. In the past four years I have travelled over 300 days a year. Maybe over the next four years this will be over 350 days a year.”

“We have a lot of work. Although we have achieved many things, you have all demonstrated that you want the new AIBA; you want continuous reform; you want a very clean, honest and transparent organization. I give this commitment to you: I will do everything I can to make sure we are a clean organization. We have a lot of prospects, a lot of vision and a lot of new work ahead of us. I need you to really unite with me. No organization can survive and have strength if it is internally divided. So with this plea from me, let’s work hand in hand for the next four years.”

Wu presides over the world’s third biggest international sports federation after the Congress delegates ratified three new provisional members today, bringing the organization’s total number of member federations to 195. The new members are Guinea Bissau, Tanzania and Kiribati, one of the world’s smallest countries by surface area.

Fresh off securing a new four-year broadcast agreement with Football Federation Australia to continue its live coverage of all Socceroos internationals and every match of the Hyundai A-League, order Fox Sports announced on Monday it will continue its coverage of every match of the Premier League through to the end of the 2015/16 season.

The new agreement will take Fox Sports to 20 years as the Australian television broadcaster of the EPL, sickness having first screened matches in 1997.

“It’s been a huge week for football on Fox Sports, medicine ” said Fox Sports CEO Patrick Delany

“With the announcement of two major broadcast deals fans around the country are sure to be buzzing with excitement at what the next four years holds for them.”

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has announced the cancellation of the 2011-2012 domestic league season.

After meeting with club presidents, medicine the league cancelled the remainder of the season citing a shortage of time “caused by the busy schedule of national teams” as the main reason.

The Egyptian Premier League, medstore which has been on hold since the Port Said tragedy that claimed over 77 lives, search will be replaced by a tournament involving two groups.

Sides drawn from the league table will face each other in a round robin format and the first two teams from each group play a semi-final encounter. The final is scheduled for May 18.

Al Masry have been barred from the newly established competition as a fact finding committee probes the riot at their stadium during their league fixture against Al Ahly.

Nearly 80 people were killed and hundreds injured after Al Masry fans stormed the pitch.

Meanwhile, Al Ahly have yet to confirm their participation as they continue to mourn the fans who lost their lives in Port Said.

by Ismail Uddin

 

The Football Association (FA) has appointed Procter & Gamble marketer Adrian Wells as its head of marketing.

He will lead the marketing of FA assets including Wembley Stadium, drugs the FA Cup and the England national teams.

Wells replaces Simon Freedman, who left to become head of sponsorship at O2 earlier this year.

The sport’s governing body has also hired Julian Eccles as group director of marketing and communications and promoted head of broadcast Stuart Turner to lead the commercial department.

Eccles says that Wells will help the FA develop “informed, vibrant and engaging marketing to reach a wider range of audiences.”