World soccer’s governing body FIFA is to donate US$6m in aid to the Japan Football Association (JFA) following March’s horrific earthquake and tsunami in the nation.

J-League clubs in areas affected by the natural disaster will receive $4.5m of the total fund for repairs to stadiums and training facilities.

In a visit to Japan earlier this year, FIFA president Sepp Blatter pledged to provide the aid, which will see the remaining figure used to repair existing stadiums and build new training centres in the worst hit Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures.

In partnership with global sportswear supplier Adidas, FIFA will also donate balls, boots, jerseys and other equipment worth $500,000 to children in disaster affected areas.

China Central Television (CCTV) have acquired the broadcast rights to each Olympic Games in the next four-year cycle leading to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games, according to the IOC.

The deal is worth $160 million and represents a 60 percent increase on the current four-year contract tied to the London Olympics.

China’s latest deal, covering all broadcast platforms, includes its home 2014 Summer Youth Olympics being hosted by Nanjing.

It also covers the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

IOC President Jacques Rogge said: “The IOC is very pleased to continue its long-term partnership with CCTV. CCTV has been a great ambassador for the Olympic values in China, and we look forward to continuing our work with them to broadcast the Olympic Games to the widest possible Chinese audience. We are also very much looking forward to working with CCTV on the second Youth Olympic Games, which will be held in Nanjing, China in 2014.”

IOC Executive Board member Richard Carrión, who led the negotiations, said: “CCTV has an unparalleled reach within China, and has promoted the Olympic Games, sport and the Olympic values to a Chinese audience for many years. We are delighted that we will be able to count on their support into the future.”

“CCTV is a strong supporter of the Olympic Movement and believes in the Olympic values. We are delighted that we will continue to broadcast the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games in the coming years” said Hu Zhanfan, CCTV President.

Yesterday, medicine June 14, sale the volunteer program for UEFA Euro 2012 was launched with special events to mark the occasion in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and Warsaw in Poland.

The program will see tournament organisers recruit up to 6,000 volunteers and applications are now open until September 30 via UEFA.com, the official website of European soccer’s governing body.

The application form invites people to recommend up to five friends to inform about recruitment via email. As an added incentive, one volunteer from each host city will be offered a one-week internship at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Ukrainian tournament director Markiyan Lubkivskiy stated: “The volunteer programme is one of the biggest and, beyond all doubt, one of the most important Euro 2012 projects. The candidates have to be really motivated, reliable and ready to work in a big team. Volunteers will get an insight into what goes on behind the scenes and become an integral part of the largest sports event ever staged in Poland and Ukraine.”

Poland tournament director Daniel Olkowicz added: “The idea of volunteering is part of every big sporting event. We are inviting people who want to join with us to share the passion and work together on this unique occasion.” Polish volunteers manager Kamila Czerwi?ska insisted that the selectors would not pay attention to the “age or background of the candidates”.

Argentina have agreed to play two exhibition matches in India and Bangladesh at a discount rate in an attempt to expand its fan base in one of the world’s most populous regions.

Argentina will play Venezuela in Kolkata, abortion India, drugs on September 2 before moving to Bangladesh capital Dhaka to meet Nigeria four days later. The company that owns the rights to Argentina’s exhibition rights, anesthetist World Eleven SA said it promised to take the best national roster and reduced its asking price.

World Eleven President Guillermo Tofoni said: “We have made a good price for them because we are interested in opening up new markets. It’s interesting because our idea is to play with our top players including Messi because we see lots of opportunities in India.”

Tofoni and Dharamdutt Pandey, chief executive officer of Kolkata-based Celebrity Management Group, which bought the game rights, declined to say how much the deal is worth. However, in 2009, Tofoni said World Eleven charged about US$1m for an Argentina game.

Sky Sports have continued their long relationship with the British & Irish Lions by securing a new broadcast deal of their tour to to Australia next year.

Sky Sports viewers with Sky will be able to enjoy all three Tests plus seven tour matches in June and July 2013 across TV, PC, mobile and tablet devices.

The deal extends the relationship between Sky Sports and the British & Irish Lions into its 17th year and the tour will be the fifth shown exclusively live by the broadcaster since 1997.

The British & Irish Lions will take on World Cup semi-finalists Australia in three Test matches plus tour fixtures against the likes of Australia’s Super Rugby teams. The tour begins in June with a match against the Barbarians in Hong Kong.

Barney Francis, managing director at Sky Sports, said: “This deal secures even more fantastic live rugby union on Sky Sports. Our viewers can enjoy a fascinating build up to the Lions tour, which itself promises to be a must see event.

“This deal provides Sky Sports with an unrivalled choice of high quality action. Together with the British & Irish Lions, we have long-term agreements in place to show the best in live sport, including Premier League and UEFA Champions League football, Test and one-day cricket, Formula One plus European, Ryder Cup and US tour golf. Our coverage also remains pioneering and available across multiple platforms. Taken together, Sky Sportsremains the home of sport, with the best line-up of sport in the UK and Ireland.”

John Feehan, the British & Irish Lions CEO, added: “We are absolutely delighted that Sky will be showing the British & Irish Lions tour to Australia and Hong Kong live next year. Over the last number of tours we have come to expect only the best coverage and huge commitment from Sky to showcase the best of British & Irish rugby talent. This continued support fromSky is particularly welcome for next year which will mark our 125th anniversary as the British & Irish Lions.”

The CEO of the German Football League (DFL) Christian Seifert has hailed the “booming” elite league of soccer in the nation, generic the Bundesliga, doctor after the top flight generated a record collective attendance for the 2010-11 campaign.

The Bundesliga pulled in an average of 42, rx 101 spectators per match to mark a 0.7% increase on the previous season, while a total of 12.88 million fans watched 306 top-flight matches in Germany. The 18-team Bundesliga has attracted the highest average attendance of any domestic league in world soccer for several seasons.

Seifert stated: “For the ninth time in the last 10 years we have had an increase in fans going to stadia. The Bundesliga is booming without a doubt and yet again it is the strongest league in the world in terms of attendances, as reflected in the fact that almost 94% of games were sold out. An exciting competition with attractive matches, family-friendly prices and modern stadia are the key factors.”

According to a study released by Deloitte’s Sports Business Group last week, the Bundesliga was the most profitable league in Europe from the 2009-10 season. The Bundesliga also generated the second-highest revenues in Europe, second only to the English Premier League.

Sky Sports have retained the rights to air Spain’s La Liga for a further three years adding to their already bustling soccer portfolio in the UK

The new deal, which begins with the 2012-2013 season, will provide Sky Sports with more than 100 matches from Spain’s top league. That means viewers will be able to watch many of the country’s Euro 2012 winning squad on Saturday and Sunday nights plus fixtures from the Copa del Rey. 

Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports, said: “This is even more good news for Sky Sportsviewers who enjoy the diet of Spanish football across Saturday and Sunday evenings. La Liga  is one of the most exciting leagues in the world and the likes of Ronaldo, Messi and Iniesta provide fantastic entertainment each week of the season for football fans.”

Sky’s weekly Spanish football magazine show Revista de La Liga will return with news, interviews and analysis throughout the season whilst coverage will also extend to Sky Sports News HD.

Sky’s Spanish football expert and former Real Mallorca  player Gerry Armstrong added: “This new deal will be music to the ears of all the followers of La Liga. The league’s popularity has grown over the last 16 years that Sky and myself have been involved and the number of people that stop me in the street to comment on how good it is has snowballed. I can’t wait to see if Jose Mourinho can do it again, or will Barcelona bounce back? Bring it on!”

Sky Sports viewers with Sky will be able to enjoy live matches across TV, PC, mobile and tablet devices, as well as a wealth of support programming.

The new deal for La Liga follows recent renewals with the Premier League (to 2016), British & Irish Lions (2013), The European Tour (to 2018), UEFA Champions League (to 2014/15), Football League (to 2014/15), England and Wales Cricket Board (to 2017), ICC Cricket (to 2015) and Rugby Football League (to 2016).

The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) would “cautiously” welcome a flotation of the English Premier League champions after a Sunday Times report suggested the Glazers, who acquired the club in 2005, have held talks with a number of investment banks about listing the club on the Hong Kong stock market.

MUST, a group campaigning for an end to the Glazer family’s control of the club, chief executive Duncan Drasdo told The Manchester Evening News that the flotation “could be an opportunity for supporters to once again share in the ownership of their club”.

Drasdo called for a full IPO listing, “signalling a clean exit for the Glazers”, and added that the valuation “would have to be realistic – something closer to £1bn (US$1.63bn) rather than the £1.5bn ($2.45bn) that the Glazers seem to feel is possible”.

In March, United parent company Red Football Joint Venture Ltd. announced a record £104.7m ($170.8m) fiscal-year loss due to costs related to swapping a long-term bank loan for a bond last year as well as lower income from player sales.

Drasdo also called for available shares to be “available to all Manchester United supporters and floated on the UK market to maximise accessibility”, and added: “Many supporters would hate to see the Glazers walk away with a huge profit, but it isn’t about them.

“It is about what is best for Manchester United – the club and its supporters. If we wish to persuade the Glazers to go for a full flotation then a million Manchester United supporters standing together, represented through MUST, could present a compelling argument.”

CBS Sports Network has announced that it has signed a deal to broadcast the United Football League games starting this autumn.

The deal represents a small boost to the four-year-old league that has been attempting to gain traction as an alternative to the NFL with franchises in U.S. territories without a professional club such as Las Vegas and Virginia.

Over the years, other attempts at launching a viable alternative to the NFL have failed including the USFL in the 1980’s and Vince McMahon’s XFL a decade ago. The UFL seemed to be headed to a similar fate. Last year, the league reportedly experienced some financial problems that caused the delay of the season. The team located in Hartford was contracted, and negotiations for TV deals with CBS and TNT failed.

Headed into the 2012 season, the UFL has found new luck and announced Thursday that a deal had been reached for coverage on CBS Sports, a cable network that reaches 99 million households.

The eight-week season will kick off on Sept. 19. The plan is for CBS to televise two games a week — on Wednesday and Friday, two days that the NFL have not yet claimed for any games.

Unlike past leagues, the UFL has always stressed that it doesn’t see itself as a competitor to the NFL. The new league has recruited heavily from the NFL ranks. Its first commissioner was a former executive with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The league has famous former NFL coaches that run teams including Marty Schottenheimer and Jim Fassel, and its player ranks have included former NFL pros like Jeff Garcia, Josh McCown, J.P. Losman and Daunte Culpepper.

“Fans have an appetite for football at all levels and we’re excited to showcase the UFL,” said Dan Weinberg, senior vice president for programming at CBS Sports Network in a statement.

President of European soccer’s governing body UEFA, Michel Platini has hailed the decision of the English Football League (EFL) to implement Financial Fair Play regulations in the Championship, the second tier of English soccer.

The league’s clubs will only be allowed to spend what they earn from the 2012-13 season, while sides in League One and Two will not be permitted to spend more than 55% of their turnover on player wages.

The news comes after the Championship has seen a number of clubs struggle with the financial fall-out of relegation from the Premier League in recent years and clubs that breach the rules are likely to be handed a transfer ban as a first sanction, although the possibility of points deductions have not been ruled out.

Platini told Sky Sports: “We are very happy to see that Football League clubs, under the umbrella of the Football Association, are again taking the initiative on good governance issues by introducing Financial Fair Play.

“We are delighted that enlightened football bodies across the continent are trying to restore financial sanity to football on a national level, just as we are trying to do on a European level.”