The Chinese city of Chengdu will be the host city for The World Games 2025. The Mayor of Chengdu, Luo Qiang, signed the Organiser Agreement for the 12th edition of the multi-sports event today at SportAccord in Gold Coast, Australia,

The Vice President of IOC and the Chinese Olympic Committee, Yu Zaiqing, signed the agreement as Witness. International World Games Association President Jose Perurena signed on behalf of the IWGA.

This was preceded by ratification of the contract by the 37 member federations of the IWGA during the Annual General Meeting at SportAccord.

Chengdu follows the city of Birmingham, Alabama as host. The 11th edition of The World Games will take place there from 15 to 25 July 2021.

The IWGA President said: “By signing a contract with one of the most forward-looking and dynamic cities in China, we have signalled our arrival as a major power in international sport.”

He added: ”Following our 2021 event in another great country, the USA, we are excited now to start work with our Chinese partners on plans for 2025.”

The Mayor of Chengdu said: “Chengdu highly appreciates the concept of the IWGA and believe that it is in line with Chengdu’s development philosophy. We are confident that, under the guidance of the IWGA and the support from the Chinese Olympic Committee and governments of all levels, Chengdu can offer the world a successful and excellent World Games, a precious legacy to Chengdu and The World Games.”

The 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, from July 15-25, 2021, with 3,600 athletes from over 30 sports and 100 countries taking part.

LaLiga’s clubs posted revenue of €4.479 billion for the latest financial year, covering the 2017-18 season, representing growth of 20.6% over the previous season.

This is the largest positive annual change in recent years and particularly notable given that it has occurred following several financial years in which LaLiga has been consistently posting double-digit growth rates.

The results fall at the midway point of the three-year audiovisual cycle for the national market, so are not affected by any sudden increase in revenues.

LaLiga’s gross operating profit (EBITDA) was €945 million, operating profit (EBIT) was €325 million and the net profit for the year was €189 million. This represents the best financial results in the competition’s history.

The 2017-18 season saw two new factors making a big contribution to the results: commercial revenue and revenue from transfers. These have now taken a central role alongside broadcasting revenues as key drivers of annual growth.

In the case of commercial revenue (without including turnover from advertising), the annual increase was 34.1%, amounting to turnover of €838 million, which is indicative of the fact that Spanish clubs are becoming an increasingly attractive medium for sponsors.

Meanwhile, in the case of revenue from player transfers (i.e. sale price), the annual increase of 104.3% allowed turnover in this section to double in a single year. The entry of €1.018 billion is symptomatic of the significant capacity held by Spanish clubs and SADs for creating sporting value.

Audiovisual turnover received by the clubs managed to surpass the €1.5 billion mark for the first time and will increase from the 2019/20 season as a result of the new audiovisual cycle negotiated for the national market and the international agreements that have been signed.

LaLiga’s results have been achieved at the same time as an increase in operating expenses (OPEX) and at a time of high investment intensity (CAPEX).

OPEX (€3.169 billion) increased by 18.7% in 2017-18, propelled especially by increases in sports staff expenses, which represent an investment in talent and a potential source of income for LaLiga in the medium term. This will be achieved through both rotation – transfer – as such, as well as the increase in sporting potential and the general appeal of the competition.

Meanwhile, gross CAPEX on infrastructure and players (€1.341bn) followed the same trend with annual growth of 11.8%.

Without doubt, these are considerable levels of expenses and investment, providing the best guarantee of maintaining the quality of LaLiga out on the field of play and its appeal over the medium to long term.

LaLiga achieved all of these figures while simultaneously maintaining a downward trend in the degree of leverage. The ratio of financial debt to EBITDA of the competition was 0.9x, the lowest level on record.

It is also important to underscore that LaLiga 1|2|3 is contributing more and more not only to the revenue of LaLiga as a whole, but to the earnings (all the indicators for LaLiga 1l2l3 are in positive territory and show upward trends) and to the creation of cash flow and value for the business.

LaLiga has also reviewed two special groupings for internal financial analysis, Netted LaLiga and Netted LaLiga Santander, which exclude the two largest clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Both of these groupings are showing a rapid level of convergence in terms of revenue. In relative terms, some indexes or ratios are even better. This is indicative of a business that is increasingly more fairly distributed and more sustainable over the long term.

The above has led LaLiga to obtain an overall operating profitability index (ROIC) of 12.3% (15.1% adjusted) in the 2017-18 season, six decimal points higher than the previous season and, in any case, substantially better than those of other leading competitions.

Finally, LaLiga earmarks around 2.0% of its turnover for corporate social responsibility projects, an amount which is significantly higher than the majority of companies and industries of a similar nature.

This allows for the development of pioneering initiatives mentioned in the report which remain an immense source of pride.

Overall, LaLiga’s clubs create a professional football industry which produces an impact on national GDP equivalent to 1.37% and which directly or indirectly employs around 185,000 people (0.98% of average employed population in Spain over the past year).

To this can be added the more than €4 billion that LaLiga contributes to the state coffers in the form of taxes.

The UEFA Champions League match between Ajax and Tottenham Hotspur topped the television ratings in Holland with a market share of nearly 65% on Wednesday night.

Tottenham’s comeback away victory pulled 4.840 million viewers on Dutch channel Veronica with a share of 64.6% of viewers tuned in as the Amsterdam team blew a 2-0 first-half lead.

The match also led the ratings in Italy. RAI 1 attracted 5.234 million viewers with a 21.2% share.

LawAccord stepped up to present its first full-day session with a near-capacity audience, a high-calibre collection of expert speakers and a ringing endorsement from SportAccord Acting-President Francesco Ricci Bitti.

The SportAccord Daily reports:

Ricci Bitti congratulated LawAccord on its expansion and paid tribute to an initiative that “has been a pioneer in the SportAccord organisation.”

He added: “We are in difficult times. On the positive side sport is more relevant in society than in the past, but the negative side is that it’s more complex and that means we need more lawyers. Legal expertise is one of the skills that has been handed to all sports organisations to solve a variety of problems on the professional side and in the grassroots. The people working in law are important partners in sport today.”

The agenda addressed a variety of the legal issues affecting sport in a range of formats, with doping, match-fixing and rival leagues among the topics tackled.

First up was Malcolm Speed AO, former CEO of the International Cricket Council and Cricket Australia, with a Keynote Address on whether great governance is possible.

He said that great governance should be illustrated by a “thriving organisation where the board adds value to the sport”. Speed added: “We have very critical and demanding constituencies. Good governance has made a positive difference, but the time has come for us to move to the next level and achieve great governance.”

Governance was just one of the issues highlighted by Matthieu Reeb, Secretary General of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Reeb provided an update on recent developments, concluding with the Caster Semenya case, which he described as “difficult, not only because it is beyond the law”. He added: “We have different opinions expressed; legal opinions, scientific opinions. It may not be the end of the story, because there is still the possibility of appeal.”

Most of the cases listed by Reeb involve doping, which was addressed in more detail by Brent Nowicki, Managing Council and Head of the Anti-Doping Division at CAS.

Nowicki explained how the division had evolved from a service at the 2016 Olympics which he admitted was “not very efficient” to an improved system at the 2018 Winter Olympics and now a permanent part of CAS. He said the goal is to provide a service which is “time-sensitive and cost-sensitive”, and above all independent.

He said: “It must physically be independent and we pride ourselves on being that independent authority so that decisions are made by individuals not appointed by the IFs, not paid by the IFs and not associated with the IFs in any respect.”

World Anti-Doping Agency President Sir Craig Reedie then offered his latest opinion on the most high-profile doping episode of recent years. He insisted that the situation in Russia has “moved on a long way”.

He added: “We should stick with that, get it finished and move on.”

Catherine Ordway, Assistant Professor and Course Convenor in Sports Management at the University of Canberra and a Senior Consultant in Sports Law at Snedden Hall & Gallop Lawyers, was joined by Iain Roy, Managing Director of Royglo Pty and Founding Head of Integrity at Cricket Australia, in a one-on-one discussion about match-fixing. They described the “gamblification” by certain organisations that circumvent regulations by streaming events to overseas territories and enabling betting markets on low-level competitions.

Matthew Mitten, Professor of Law and Executive Director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University Law School, also discussed the issue of rival leagues and competitions. He said EU law provides no immunity for IFs that act in ways that could be considered to be anti-competitive for the economic interests of athletes.

However, he added that IFs would be acting lawfully if they were to pursue legitimate objectives, such as countering activity from a rival league by launching a new competition.

As the world becomes more digital, as customers’ expectations rise and Spanish football grows in popularity, there is an increasing need for LaLiga clubs to offer more than a piece of paper and a seat when it comes to tickets.