HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, pills wife of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, doctor Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, was re-elected as President of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), the international governing body of equestrian sports.

Princess Haya defeated two other candidates, Sven Holmberg (Sweden) and Henk Rottinghuis (Netherlands), to win a second four-year term in voting at the FEI General Assembly in Chinese Taipei. In a vote of 124 National Federations (out of 133 who were eligible), Princess Haya won the support of 90 National Federations from around the world, compared to 23 for Holmberg and 11 for Rottinghuis.

Princess Haya announced Her decision to seek a second term in March after several FEI nation groups and Federations urged her to do so. Princess Haya was first elected as President of the FEI in May 2006, on a commitment to modernize the organization. She was the first FEI President to win a contested election. More than 80% of the deliverables outlined in her original manifesto were implemented in her first term, including significant improvements in communications, marketing, animal welfare, FEI finances, grassroots development and liaison with national federations. In Her first act in office, She initiated a reform that established a two-term of four-year limit for the Presidency.

“Thank you so much for your confidence and trust. I promise that I won’t let you down”, an emotional HRH Princess Haya commented. “I promise to unify this Federation. I promise to work for you, the National Federations, and constantly appreciate your needs and do everything I can to serve this sport we all love. I never really realised how many wonderful friends and supporters I have. This has been a really extraordinary year for me and I am truly humbled by what you have done for me. Thank you very much.”

Looking ahead, in addition to plans to build on and consolidate Her first term accomplishments, Princess Haya has presented numerous new ideas among Her second-term pledges in Her Programme, which was published on the October 23, 2010. Her vision for the future of the sport entails the development of equestrian sport in unison with the National Federations and Athletes, while respecting good governance and strong values that celebrate the horse and horsemanship.

The daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan, Princess Haya has been riding internationally since the age of 13 and competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. She became a member of the International Olympic Committee in 2007 and also serves as a UN Messenger of Peace, with a focus on combating hunger and poverty. Sharing Her love of horses and horse sport is Her husband, HH Sheikh Mohammed, who successfully led the UAE endurance riders to take the team gold medal at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky, USA last September.

Portugal’s Professional Football League (LPFP) has expanded the league to include 18 clubs and its president said it would challenge the current TV rights bargaining model in European courts.

“The league’s council of (club) presidents approved an expansion of the competition to 18 clubs in the 2012-2013 season,” the LPFP said in a statement late on Monday.

The expansion would be achieved by allowing the bottom two teams this season to avoid relegation.

The decision, which provoked a heated exchange between club delegates, still needs to be ratified by the Portuguese Football Federation and Portugal’s National Sports Council. Some of the clubs which voted against the proposal said they would challenge the measure.

The LPFP also delegated president Mario Figueiredo with the task of preparing a complaint to the European Union about the current TV rights bargaining model that privileges bigger clubs.

“This was an historic day, we managed to gather support for a structural question and an eventual complaint to end the monopoly of TV rights,” Figueiredo said.

He wants the LPFP to be the single negotiator of TV rights for all of the Portuguese Premier League instead of the current model whereby TV contracts are negotiated on a club-by-club basis.

This means that in Portugal, as well as in neighboring Spain, the bulk of broadcast rights revenues are dominated by bigger clubs, with half of the revenues going to the so-called “big three”; Benfica, Sporting and Porto.

Benfica and Porto did not back the move to collective selling.

Yearly revenues from TV rights are estimated at around 75 million euros ($96 million) – a modest sum compared with the fees earned by clubs in larger European leagues in England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

Benfica rated 21st internationally in terms of soccer club income in 2010/11, according to a recent survey by British business firm Deloitte.

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.