According to a new 3,000 participant survey by vouchercodes.co.uk, 1 in 10 men are willing to sacrifice their wedding budgets, while 1 in 5 women will ditch their summer holidays to secure tickets for London 2012.

Unsurprisingly the survey revealed that that tickets for the men’s 100-metre sprint races will be the most sought-after, despite the actual race being likely to last under 10 seconds. The race should feature a mouth-watering showdown between Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt and his great American rival Tyson Gay, will be £725 (US$1,180) when they go on sale next week.

This is relatively low when compared to the £20.12 to £2,102 ($32.74 to $3,274) for the opening ceremony and £1,500 ($2,440) for the closing.

The second most popular event was Women’s swimming, which is almost certain to see Britain’s double Beijing 2008 Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington in action, just ahead of diving where Britain’s 16-year-old sensation Tom Daley is tipped to be a strong gold medal prospect in the men’s 10m platform event.

Reporting that 42 per cent of people claim they would sell their belongings to bag an Olympics ticket, vouchercodes.co.uk co-founder Duncan Jennings stated: “Now the Olympic timetable and ticket prices have been released, the excitement around London 2012 is building to fever pitch.

“With higher prices for the most popular events, people are already thinking about what they will have to give up in order to make their dreams a reality.”

Despite the huge ticket prices involved, some Londoners are hoping to make a profit when the city hosts the Games, with 1 in 10 London homeowners planning to sub-let their homes during the Olympics to take advantage of the close proximity of their properties to the Games.

Jennings added: “While the Olympics are a dream ticket, it’s important to shop smart when securing tickets and be aware of the potential pitfalls of subscribing for more tickets than you can afford.”

London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton has already fired a warning regarding illegal tickets found at the Games, saying his organisation are working closely with the Metropolitan Police to make life “very difficult and very painful” for any touts trying to sell counterfeit tickets.

According to Croatian daily newspaper, Vecernij List, the nation has become the latest in a long line of hopefuls linked with hosting a Formula 1 race. 

The newspaper claimed that the project is being planned for just outside the country’s capital, Zagreb, and has the support of the FIA, Bernie Ecclestone and favoured track designer Hermann Tilke. 

According to the report, the project has an estimated budget of US$346.7m, which will wholly come from private investors, and would take more than 18 months to complete.

The owners of cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL) Kochi franchise have initiated a new contest inviting fans to name the team.

The franchise has provided two options to choose the new name which must include Kerala or Kochi as the first name, and Titans, Commandos, Tigers, Tuskers, Heroes, or United as the last name.

KCPL Director Mukesh Patel said in a press release: “We would like to give an opportunity to all our fans to be a part of our team and select a name for their IPL team.”

Former Union minister of state for foreign affairs Shashi Tharoor had posted on his Twitter page: “As a Kerala MP & cricket well-wisher, had a frank talk with owners of IPL team. Convinced serious changes are coming, including of name.”

The Kochi franchise was initially named Indi Commandoes without having Kerala or Kochi attached to it, however within minutes the team was re-named as Indi Commandoes Kerala after facing flak from fans belonging mostly to Kerala.

Betting firm Betfair has signed a new two-year sponsorship deal with rugby union’s Super 15 competition in Australia, order giving the company stadium and grass signage at the home grounds of all five Australian Super 15 franchises as well as advertising across Super Rugby’s digital platforms.

The deal covers every fixture hosted by the ACT Brumbies, New South Wales Waratahs, Queensland Reds, Western Force and newcomers the Melbourne Rebels, but not games played in New Zealand or South Africa.

Betfair spokesperson, Hugh Taggart said: “The addition of a new franchise and the change to tournament fixtures means there are more local derbies and subsequently bigger Australian audiences both at grounds and through television coverage.”

While the value of the sponsorship has not been revealed, Taggart added: “Suffice to say we believe it represents good value. Super Rugby remains a pretty clear sponsorship space while rugby league is cluttered with corporate bookmakers. The deal should give us excellent exposure to a growing audience.”

Andrew Twaits, Betfair’s chief executive, said: “Its Betfair’s first foray into rugby union and this new partnership will help broaden our awareness nationally, crucially in the key New South Wales and Queensland markets.”

ARU chief executive John O’Neill, himself a non-executive director of rival betting firm Tabcorp, added: “Betfair has been one of our approved betting operators since early 2008 and their decision to become an official partner of Super Rugby in Australia builds on what has been a very good working relationship. The Australian Rugby Union and Betfair have had an open communication channel to ensure the game and the agency maintain their high level of integrity.”

Delegate places for the upcoming 2011 SportAccord Convention in London have been sold out, the event organisers have announced.

The sell-out is not the first in the event’s history but is the earliest, coming one month ahead of the ninth annual edition. The 2011 SportAccord Convention will take place from April 3-8 at the Park Plaza Westminster Bride Hotel in London.

Anna Hellman, executive director of the SportAccord Convention, stated: “We are of course delighted to be sold out again, especially so early, although it’s unfortunate that we will not be able to accommodate everyone who wants to attend.

“We are very concerned with preserving the exclusive networking environment we provide and therefore we put a ceiling of 1,500 delegates on attendance,” added Hellman.

The thoughts and deepest sympathies of the global Rugby family continue to be with the people of Christchurch, anabolics all New Zealanders and everyone affected by last week’s tragedy. The response of the global Rugby family has been overwhelming and we know is greatly appreciated by those affected.

It is appropriate that the focus must remain on the extensive recovery and response operation in Christchurch and it would not be right for Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) to speculate or comment on Christchurch’s ability to host Rugby World Cup 2011 matches as planned until an extensive review and assessment has been completed, which could take several weeks.

RWCL, in partnership with tournament organisers RNZ 2011, the New Zealand Rugby Union and the New Zealand Government, continues to assess the damage to critical tournament facilities and services. These include Stadium Christchurch itself, accommodation, training facilities, the transport network and key tournament infrastructure.

It is clear there has been damage to Stadium Christchurch, accommodation and other infrastructure. However no decision will be taken about the RWC 2011 matches scheduled to be held in Christchurch until accurate and confirmed information has been received and analysed following the completion of the currently ongoing full assessment. Consideration must be given to all aspects of hosting RWC matches.

Whatever the outcome of the detailed assessment, all 48 matches will be hosted in New Zealand and the tournament will kick off on September 9.

RWCL and RNZ 2011 continue to regularly update all tournament stakeholders who have been extremely supportive throughout the process. All Rugby stakeholders recognise that the people of Christchurch are the paramount consideration at this difficult time.

South African Tourism and the country’s Ministry of Tourism has revealed figures of a report, buy claiming that the country’s economy received a US$523m boost due to the hosting the FIFA World Cup last year.

South Africa has benefited from a 9 per cent increase in its image as a secure travel destination in comparison with the overall perception before the start of the event, buy after more than 309, prostate 000 foreign tourists entered the country for the tournament.

Of the 309,000 tourists, 38 per cent were from Africa, 24 per cent from Europe, 13 per cent from Central and South America and an impressive 11 per cent from North America.

United States fans topped the charts with 30,175 travelling fans, while 24,483 arrived from Mozambique, even though the country’s national team did not qualify for the World Cup.

Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk told African Business Review: “More than half of the tourists who had attended other World Cup events in the past also felt that South Africa was a better host than other countries they had experienced.”

The government-commissioned report did not include tournament “pre-spending” in the country.

Mike Davis has been chosen as executive director of the U.S. Golf Association, abortion succeeding David Fay, generic who retired in December.

Davis becomes the seventh executive director in the organization’s 116-year history, discount having served as the USGA’s director of rules and competition since 2005.

Fay, 60, held the position for 21 years before ending his 32-year tenure with the Far Hills, New Jersey-based USGA, which oversees the rules of golf in the U.S. and Mexico and stages 17 annual national championships, including the U.S. Open.

Davis, 46, joined the USGA in April 1990 and has held roles including championship director of the U.S. Open from 1997 through 2004.

The Australian soccer A-League will be reduced to just 10 teams next season after debt-ridden North Queensland Fury was dropped from the competition.

The former owner of the club withdrew his support after the side lost millions of dollars, leaving the club under league administration for the past year.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) supported Fury for the A-League’s 2010-11 season, but insisted that the club had to raise enough capital to justify its continued participation in the tournament.

A statement from the FFA chief executive Ben Buckley, read: “The decision was determined after considering the financial position of the club for season 2011-12 as too big of a financial risk for FFA to undertake. Despite the hard work put in, the target of US$1.52m of capital from the Retain the Fury campaign was not met, with less than $304,000 being pledged.”

He added: “Whilst the club and the advisory board had attracted some very encouraging sponsorship commitments, the projected loss to run the club next season is still in our assessment in excess of $2.03m.”

According to local media reports, the FFA invested between $7-9.12m into Fury during its turbulent two seasons in the A-League. Administrators had planned to expand the league to 12 teams next season with the addition of a second Sydney side, but the plan was scrapped due to financial concerns.

The Munich bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics has received a boost ahead of the arrival of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation Commission after signing up Metro Group as its latest corporate partner.

The IOC delegation will begin its four-day inspection of the Bavarian city’s plans for the 2018 Winter Olympics later today, March 1, having arrived in Germany on Sunday. With officials having already visited rival bidders from Annecy in France and PyeongChang in South Korea, Munich is the final stop on the IOC’s inspection tour.

International retail network Metro Group has been recruited as Munich 2018’s 11th national sponsor, and Munich 2018 CEO Bernhard Schwank said: “It is great to be able to unveil this latest asset for Munich 2018 on the eve of the Evaluation Commission visit. Metro Group’s show of commitment at this crucial time confirms that German business has faith in Munich’s chances of winning this bid.”

Meanwhile the second instalment of the ‘Living Bid Book’ series has illustrated the bid committee’s vision for CO2 compensation and the first ever climate-neutral Winter Games in Olympic history, with environmental expert to the bid, Boris Schwartz stating: “We would like to take this opportunity to set new standards in sustainability. It is very important that we make the most of Bavaria’s outstanding natural treasures whilst putting the least possible strain on the environment.”

Meanwhile Munich Olympic bid officials have indicated they will resume talks with a land owner unwilling to cede his property for the 2018 Winter Games, according to the Associated Press. Some farmers in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the planned site of the Alpine skiing events, have refused to give up their landed needed for the sports facilities.