English League Two outfit Morecambe FC have announced a loss of £635,000 for the last financial year.

Shrimps chief executive Rob Taylor has suggested reduced attendances at the Globe Arena led to this year’s losses.

Taylor told the Morecambe Visitor that crowds were “well below budget”, before describing the 1,246 turnout for the game with Dagenham at the end of February as “disappointing”.

The figure is less than half of the 2,700 target that chairman Peter McGuigan set at the end of last season.

by Ismail Uddin

The New Zealand Olympic Committee has today named a new Secretary General to lead Olympic and Commonwealth sport into the new decade.

Kereyn Smith will be the first woman to lead the organisation and brings with her more than twenty years in sport leadership and governance both at both a national and international level.

New Zealand Olympic Committee President Mike Stanley says Ms Smith was chosen for her strong leadership ability, pills strategic expertise and commercial and financial acumen. She is currently the CEO of Academy of Sport South Island and the vice-president of the International Netball Federation.

“Kereyn is both highly qualified and a motivational and inspirational leader,” said Stanley. “High performance sport in New Zealand is undergoing a period of review and change and Kereyn is the ideal person to provide the strong strategic direction necessary at this time.

“The Olympic rings symbolise the pinnacle of high performance sport in New Zealand,” he continued. “Kereyn will maximise the value the New Zealand Olympic Committee adds to sport, athletes, commercial partners and all New Zealanders.

“We’re delighted Kereyn is on board.”

Ms Smith will also work at both a national and international level to advocate on behalf of New Zealand athletes and sport and acknowledges the aggressive financial targets ahead.

The New Zealand Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit charitable organisation that receives just seven percent of annual revenue from government.

“In order to deliver consistently high performance environments at Olympic and Commonwealth Games and to on behalf of athletes in New Zealand, financial security is crucial,” said Stanley. “Kereyn will be part of ensuring this security.”

Ms Smith will take up her role in January 2011 just 18 months out from the London Olympic Games which begin on 27 July 2012.

‘I am honoured to be appointed to the role of Secretary General,” said Ms Smith of her new role. “I am also acutely aware of the very real challenges that lie ahead. With less than two years to the London Olympic Games, a dynamic and changing high performance landscape, and the ongoing need to secure the necessary financial resources to add value to sport and athletes, it will certainly be a testing time.

“Kiwi athletes have unreasonable ambition and expectation that they will take on the best in the world and succeed,” continued Ms Smith. “This means sports organisations and their leaders must also step up their pace. I’m excited to be part of this drive for success.”

Ms Smith also believes sport plays an important role in society and will look to further develop a series of programmes that inspire school-age children to take up sport and, in doing so, become the best they can be.

Barry Maister is the current New Zealand Olympic Committee Secretary General and has held the position since 2001. He will step down on December 31st 2010.

Maister was appointed to the IOC earlier this year and, as such, will continue to sit on the New Zealand Olympic Committee board.

Ms Smith will be the tenth Secretary General of the New Zealand Olympic Committee. The organisation was inaugurated on 18 October 1911 and will celebrate its centenary next year.

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship (CWFC) has announced that it has extended its relationship with ESPN International. 

The agreement will see the global sports media company continue to deliver coverage of Cage Warriors events on its ESPN television networks in Africa, unhealthy the Middle East, capsule the Pacific Rim and the Caribbean, as well as via their broadband platform in Latin America until the end of 2014. 

The relationship between Cage Warriors and ESPN International began earlier this year through an agreement for coverage of all CWFC events in 2012. Ten events have already been staged across eight different countries, with two more still to come before the end of the year. 

Cage Warriors has cemented its place as Europe’s leading MMA organisation in 2012, showcasing top up-and-coming fighters such as Conor McGregor, Gael Grimaud and Brad Scott, as well as established stars like Phil Harris, Jesse Taylor, Lucio Linhares and David Bielkheden. 

“This year has been the biggest in the 10-year history of Cage Warriors and we’re delighted that our events have been shown in so many parts of the world thanks to the success of our relationship with ESPN International,” said Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan. 

“We believe we have an outstanding product so we obviously want as many people as possible to enjoy that product from the comfort of their own homes, especially as the appetite for MMA continues to grow across the globe. 

“Cage Warriors is only going to get bigger and better over the coming months, as we have done in 2012, so I’m pleased that ESPN International will be there to bring that continued growth to their viewers over the next two years. The best is still to come.”

Newcastle United is fast approaching the break-even after reporting an operating loss of £3.9million.

The Magpies, who lost £33.5million in 2009-10 and £37.7million 12 months earlier, reduced those figures to below £4million after amortisation in 2010-11, their strongest financial showing for several years.

Significantly, wages accounted for 60.6% of a turnover which rose by 69% from £52.4million to £88.4million, where in 2008-09, the season they were relegated from the Barclays Premier League, the ratio was 82.7%.

Managing director Derek Llambias said: “The club’s financial results for the year end June 2011 are extremely strong. We can now count ourselves amongst very few clubs across the UK and Europe who are operating at close to break-even.

“What is particularly pleasing is that we have achieved this whilst also ensuring we have a strong squad sitting firmly in the top third of the table and currently pushing for a European place.

“Some of the key financial principles we set in place when Mike bought to the club back in 2007 are now beginning to reap rewards, most notably our adherence to a strict transfer policy which avoids, or limits wherever possible, the acceptance of dated payments for players bought or sold.

“We believe it is a far healthier financial model to settle full transfer fees for players up front, not dated over a period of years. We have dealt wisely in the transfer market and reinvested the income received from player sales into improving the squad.”

The net cash spend on player transfers, including Andy Carroll’s £35million departure of Liverpool in January last year, was a receipt of £5.4million, although the Magpies have since invested a further £25million in transfers and wages.

In addition, when Ashley took over the club in 2007, it owed £36million in deferred payments for players; the club is now owed £5million.

Newcastle have also cleared all of their third-party debts, which amounted to £76million in 2006-07, and its borrowing from Ashley in terms of interest-free loans remains at £140million.

by Ismail Uddin

Mark Gonnella joins English soccer club, viagra 100mg Arsenal from his previous role as corporate affairs director at Barclaycard.

Gonnella said: ‘The opportunity to bring two great passions of my life – football and communications – together in my day to day work is irresistible. Arsenal has a compelling business plan for the future and effective communications will be a key part of making those plans come to fruition.’

Gonnella spent nearly ten years at Barclaycard, health where he was responsible for managing Barclaycard’s reputation across Europe and the US. He also led Barclaycard’s PR activities during their sponsorship of the Premier League.

Gonnella will be responsible for creating communication programmes to extend Arsenal’s brand and reputation around the world. He will lead Arsenal’s corporate, commercial and football communications activities.

His appointment follows the departure of head of communications Amanda Docherty in September.

Birmingham City FC financial woes have left the club in a sticky situation, to either win promotion to the Premier League or go into administration according to the Daily Mail.

Figures obtained by newspaper show the club will run out of money unless they rise out of the Championship. They stand sixth but are losing £10million a year.

The sales of Liam Ridgewell and Jean Beausejour mean the club have enough cash to get through the play-offs but, unless more is found, it will run out by June with the relegation from the Premier League causing this current situation.

The publication of the year’s accounts has already been delayed until April 30 and the club are subject to a Football League transfer embargo.

The figures are expected to show a small profit. But this has been generated by the summer sales of Roger Johnson and Craig Gardner for almost £10m as well as Ridgewell and Beausejour, and with contracts such as the £2.5m a year paid to Nikola Zigic, they are heading for more losses next season.

The club cannot raise cash by remortgaging St Andrew’s as HSBC hold the deeds to the ground as security on an outstanding loan.

The bank have withdrawn a £7m overdraft, further increasing pressure on the club’s absent owner Carson Yeung, who is facing fraud charges in Hong Kong relating to £59.7m in a case of alleged money laundering.

by Ismail Uddin

South African broadcaster, medic SABC has secured the radio broadcast rights to the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

The deal is a trade-exchange in which the SABC will in return provide airtime to the PSL.

According to the agreement, sale 11 SABC radio stations will continue with their tradition of broadcasting live premiership matches.

PSL chairman Irvin Khoza said this agreement was part of the PSL’s plan to raise the standard of South African football to an even higher plateau.

With the PSL already regarded as the richest league in Africa, illness Khoza hopes to translate the off-the-field success to matters on the pitch by introducing a range of innovations to stoke excitement among supporters, such as the Q-Innovation strategy.

Khoza said: “The ‘week in and week out’ of pre-match conversations in the 11 SABC radio stations will enable and enhance participation by the fans and supporters of the beautiful PSL game in what is clearly their passion.

“The Q-Innovation has succeeded in getting every match of the league to be played by clubs as if it is a knockout competition game.

“Gone are the days when a draw away from home was considered a good result. From this season, a draw is a loss of two points.”

The league’s first fixture, when all the teams play their first game, opened with 25 goals during the eight games, which is a 25% increase from the equivalent period last year, before the launch of Q-Innovation.

SABC acting chief operations officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng said: “We are delighted that we can utilise the power of our radio stations, to fulfil our mandate of showing sports of national importance.

“For the South African public, the love of soccer is strong and this partnership with the PSL will ensure that we can provide our audiences with compelling sports programming, while generating revenue for the organisation.”

Real Zaragoza president Agapito Iglesias has succumbed to mounting pressure from disgruntled supporters and decided to sell his majority stake in the struggling La Liga club.

Zaragoza have fallen a long way since beating Arsenal to win the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1995. They are bottom of the standings and in financial administration.

Outraged fans have mounted regular protests outside the Romareda stadium and have also made their displeasure felt during matches, at which Iglesias has not been seen for several months according to local media.

“The president of Real Zaragoza, Don Agapito Iglesias Garcia, has decided to put his stake up for sale with immediate effect,” the club said in a statement on their website. Part of the reason for the sale was the failure to find new investors, the statement added.

Zaragoza have 13 games to save their top-flight status.

by Ismail Uddin

The UK and Ireland arm of Japanese athletics equipment company Asics has appointed Barry Mellis as its new managing director, decease it has been announced.

Mellis replaces Rioji Sekito and has extensive UK and European sports trade experience having most recently been general manager of Intersport UK.

President and chief operating officer of Asics Europe, malady Alistair Cameron, said: “Everyone at Asics worldwide is grateful for the significant contribution Sekito San has made to the company, and in particular the work he has done to build the brand in the UK, now our fastest growing market.

“He will be sorely missed, however he leaves a strong legacy and a good team in place and we could not have a more suitable replacement in Barry who brings a huge amount of sports retail and industry experience to the brand at a crucial stage in its development. Asics UK is the fastest growing part of Asics European business and he will be responsible for maintaining brand growth and dynamism.”

Mellis added: “Asics is a fantastic, highly credible brand with the realistic ambition of becoming the number one premium sports performance brand. I relish the challenge of developing brand presence and growth in both the UK and Irish markets.”