A special riot force has been launched to help Brazilian police control demonstrations expected during the World Cup later this year.

The head of the elite National Security Force, Colonel Alexandre Augusto Aragon, was quoted in local news on Friday as saying that 10,000 riot troops selected from state police forces throughout Brazil will be deployed in the 12 cities hosting World Cup games June 12-July 13.

“We’ve have been concerned with this (security during the World Cup) before the protests that took place earlier this year, because we don’t wait around for things to happen,” he told the G1 internet portal. “The violence of recent protests is what scared us.”

At the peak of the protests, a million people took to the streets across Brazil in a single day, complaining initially of higher bus fares, corruption and poor public services, and then extending to the billions of dollars being spent on the World Cup and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

“There will be no World Cup,” became one of the mass movement’s most popular chants. “FIFA go home.” was another.

The demonstrations coincided with the Confederations Cup soccer tournament, a warm-up tournament for the World Cup.

Jerome Valcke, the top FIFA official in charge of the World Cup, said recently that the tournament would have “the highest level of security you can imagine” to contain any violence.

Valcke said he was satisfied with the police response during the protests that affected the six Confederations Cup host cities.

The UK government has scheduled a summit meeting with senior sports officials following the arrests of footballers over allegations of spot-fixing.

Maria Miller, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, will host the meeting in London today with representatives from football, tennis, cricket, rugby union and rugby league.

Blackburn striker DJ Campbell is the most high-profile player to be arrested, while Sam and Akpo Sodje, along with their businessman brother Steven, are also under investigation.

Oldham midfielder Cristian Montano was also arrested, along with Tranmere defender Ian Goodison, with all six bailed until April.

Campbell incurred a yellow card in the Championship clash against Ipswich last week – an incident which is believed to be at the centre of police enquiries.

Montano was filmed claiming that he agreed to get himself booked in return for cash, although he failed to incur a yellow card in the fixture against Wolves in October.

A Blackburn statement read: “Following reports in the national media, Blackburn Rovers can confirm that striker DJ Campbell has been arrested. The club will be making no further comment on what is now an ongoing legal matter.”

Speaking at a press conference, Oldham boss Lee Johnson confirmed Montano was being questioned and had been suspended without pay.

Lee also revealed he had rewritten his match programme notes for Tuesday’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tie against Chesterfield to reflect the mood at the club.

He said: “There’s no place for any kind of match fixing. It’s too beautiful a game for that.

“We’ve got to stamp it out. We have to remove people from the game that could ruin it.”

The Professional Footballers’ Association said: “These allegations, if proven, unfortunately demonstrate the real issue football faces in terms of corruption and highlights the necessity of the work carried out by the PFA and other stakeholders in the game in educating players of these risks.

“We take the issue of integrity very seriously and will continue in our efforts to eradicate this evil from our game.”

Portsmouth have confirmed a meeting will be held with their players on Tuesday in the wake of the allegations towards Sam Sodje.

Chief executive Mark Catlin said: “All you can do is check the people around you, notice anything suspicious and inform the players how serious an issue this is.

“We will be doing that tomorrow (Tuesday) as a club, speaking to the players and saying we have to be self-policing. If anyone sees or hears anything suspicious it’s not a case of dropping a friend in it, it’s about upholding the integrity of the sport.

“Things like this need to be dealt with internally. The people who will root this out are the players, the managers and the people within football.”

EHF Marketing GmbH, the marketing arm of the European Handball Federation, has announced a new agreement that will see the promotion of the 2015 World Handball Championship to fans across Europe.

Beginning with the 2013 VELUX EHF FINAL4 to be played in Cologne on 1/2 June 2013, the co-operation will see the advertising and promotion of the event through LCD perimeter advertising in the VELUX EHF Champions League.

The deal also includes promotional events for fans at the next two VELUX EHF FINAL4 events and at selected matches in the VELUX EHF Champions League over the next two seasons.

Commenting on the new agreement, Peter Vargo, Managing Director of EHF Marketing GmbH, said: “We are delighted to be able to welcome our new partners. We are looking forward to working with them to ensure a greater exposure of the tournament. With plethora of stars from the VELUX EHF Champions League the 2015 World Championship is also bound to be a show window of our premier competition and our new partnership underlines how our brand expands beyond the European borders.”

The 2015 World Championship will be played in Doha, Qatar from 11 to 27 January 2015, the first time that the event will be hosted in the Middle East. In a new innovation, the 24-team event will be staged in venues across one city, offering superb conditions for teams, media and spectators who will be able focus completely on the sport rather than travelling between venues. Thanks to the Qatari climate, fans travelling to the event will also be able to enjoy the sun with average temperatures of 20 degrees in January.

HE Skk Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, Chairman of the 2015 World Championship, said: “The Qatar Organising Committee’s vision is to promoting the handball community. Without any doubt staging the championship in one single city enables an unbeatable feeling of togetherness to the handball family.”

Over the ten years, Qatar will be hosting several of the world’s most important sport events, including the FINA 2014 Swimming World Championship, the 2015 Men’s World Handball Championship, UCI 2016 Open Road World Championship and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Sport ist ein erheblicher Wirtschaftsfaktor. Das zeigen die Ergebnisse der Studien “Bedeutung des Spitzen- und Breitensports im Bereich Werbung, ambulance Sponsoring und Medienrechte” und “Wirtschaftliche Bedeutung des Sportkonsums in Deutschland”, die im Rahmen eines Workshops im Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie vorgestellt wurden.

Der Parlamentarische Staatssekretär beim Bundesminister für Wirtschaft und Technologie und Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Mittelstand und Tourismus, Ernst Burgbacher: „Sport und Sportvereine sind eine tragende Säule des Gemeinwohls und leisten einen unverzichtbaren Beitrag zum gesellschaftlichen Leben in Deutschland. Gleichzeitig kommt dem Sport mit fast 100 Mrd. Euro Umsatz im Jahr eine besondere volkswirtschaftliche Bedeutung zu.”

Nach den Ergebnissen der Studie spielen Spitzen- und Breitensport in den Bereichen privater Konsum, Werbung, Sponsoring und Medienrechte in der deutschen Volkswirtschaft eine herausragende Rolle. Der durch Sport in Deutschland ausgelöste Konsum liegt bei fast 90 Mrd. Euro pro Jahr. Für Werbung, Sponsoring und Medienrechte werden fast 6 Mrd. Euro pro Jahr ausgegeben.

Burgbacher hob das Engagement des Mittelstands hervor und wies darauf hin, dass es gerade die kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen seien, die 75 Prozent des Sponsorings tragen. Ebenso sei der Sport für den Tourismus wirtschaftlich sehr bedeutsam, ob als Freizeitbeschäftigung oder bei sportlichen Großveranstaltungen.

Die Rolle des Sports für die Integration und Chancengleichheit sowie die Vermittlung von Werten ist unbestritten. Zugleich dient Sport der Erhaltung der Gesundheit, was angesichts der demographischen Entwicklung und Zunahme chronischer Erkrankungen immer größere Bedeutung gewinnt.

Overseas families and groups staying for the London 2012 Olympic Games are more prone to renting a house for accommodation according London Property Rental 2012.

London Property Rental 2012, whose experience has found significant regional differences in how nations are choosing to find their ideal findings, are backed by an April 2011 report from Visit Britain* that investigated accommodation choices made by inbound visitors to the UK.

According to Carol Fox, owner at London Property Rental, “A large proportion of enquiries for our luxury Olympic 2012 lets have came from the US or France and Benelux regions, so we decided to follow this up to see if there are regional differences in what type of accommodation for London 2012 visitors are most interested in booking. What we found appears to show a general trend for the French and Spanish to travel in large family groups and value the opportunity of cooking their own meals whilst sharing the communal benefits of renting comfortable homes for the games.

Visitors from the United States are used to booking luxury homes for rent by owners, and enjoy the flexibility of self-catering and eating out combined with the extra facilities offered by letting a house for the London Olympics including, satellite TV, fast broadband, garden and free parking . Whereas German and Dutch visitors seem to be more interested in finding functional accommodation such as that offered by hostels, B&B’s or camping.”

London Property Rental 2012’s experience is reflected in findings from Visit Britain that investigated accommodation choices made by inbound visitors to the UK. The report aggregated and analyzed data from 2001 onwards to get a robust view of accommodation data on a market by market level. Amongst the findings are that ‘visitors from the Netherlands have a much higher propensity to be found camping or in mobile homes (5 per cent)’ and ‘Recent years have seen Glamping – a sort of luxury camping is particularly popular with the Dutch’. 

Oxford Economics estimates in an independent report that around 450,000 visitors will stay in London during the 2012 Olympics. ‘Next year’s games will see the highest concentration of global visitors that London has ever experienced. We are finding many visitors are choosing to escape the congestion and hotel room price hikes of up to 50 per cent by opting for the convenience and cost efficiency of a ‘home from home’ over a hotel room for London 2012’ say Fox.

Sydney has been confirmed by the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA) as the host city for the 2015 World Netball Championship.

The New South Wales (NSW) city beat off competition from Manchester for the right to stage the tournament. Netball Australia secured the hosting rights after Sydney missed out on staging this year’s edition of the Championship, which will take place in Singapore in July.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Netball Australia CEO Kate Palmer stated: “This is a dream come true, thanks to a team effort from the NSW Government, Events NSW, the Sydney Olympic Park Authority, Netball NSW and Netball Australia.

“We aimed high when we set out to win the right to host the event and our goal now is to deliver the best and most commercially successful World Netball Championship ever, thereby ensuring that IFNA has the resources to deliver the sport’s strategic priorities,” added Palmer.

Sporting Kansas City, a Major League Soccer (MLS) club, have signed a non-profit naming rights agreement with Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong foundation.

Formerly Kansas City Wizards, have signed a deal which will see their new US$200m stadium named the Sporting Livestrong Park for the next six years, a charity founded by the seven-time Tour de France champion.

Over the course of the partnership the club aim to raise US$7.5 million for Livestrong to assist in fight against cancer, rasing funds through tickets, concessions and revenue from soccer matches.

Sporting KC’s chief executive Rob Heineman said: “We’re proud of Kansas City’s history as a philanthropic leader and we believe that this innovative partnership continues that legacy. Livestrong Sporting Park provides each of us with the opportunity to stay involved in the cause and celebrate many of those things worth fighting for, the support of community, the thrill of victory and events that bring us all together.”

Livestrong founder Lance Armstrong, who has recently retired from professional cycling, said: “Livestrong is honoured to bring its mission to Kansas City through Livestrong Sporting Park. Professional sports provide a powerful vehicle to affect positive change in the world. This partnership with Sporting Club gives us an innovative opportunity to advance the cancer fight in this region and we are eager to get started.”

Livestrong president and chief executive Doug Ulman added: “Sports are a unifying force in bringing people together. Livestrong Sporting Park is more than just a stadium it’s the first athletic venue in the world with a social change mission and offers an ideal arena to champion the cancer cause.”

The deal is a first in US sports, with no other American stadium being named after a charity. The Livestrong Sporting Park is scheduled to open on 9th June.

The agreement reached between Sporting KC and Livestrong echoes Spanish soccer giants FC Barcelona’s partnership with global charity Unicef in 2006, which saw Barcelona pay the charity to have its logo on the front of the team’s kit.

An agreement has been reached which has seen One World Sports obtain the North American rights to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League under terms of an agreement with World Sport Group, the AFC’s exclusive media and marketing partner.

One World Sports will present the 2011 AFC Champions League matches in English on television, broadband and mobile to the event, launched in 2002, which is Asia’s premier soccer club competition. This year’s winner secures a position in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup.

The 2011 AFC Champions League started March 1 with the Group Stage, which includes 32 teams from 10 countries, including Japan, Australia, South Korea, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia and Uzbekistan. The championship match will be held in November 2011.

The acquisition of the AFC Champions League follows the success of One World Sports’ live and exclusive HD exhibition of the 32 game AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 this past January. This major soccer event was also available live on One World Sports’ website and Verizon VCAST.

Preston Bornman, Chief Operating Officer, One Media Corp, parent company of One World Sports, stated: “The AFC Champions League multi-screen rights are on strategy with our long-term commitment to deliver Asia’s best soccer events live on TV, broadband and mobile to U.S. sports fans. The American response to the AFC Asian Cup was tremendous; the AFC Champions League is the top professional soccer tournament in Asia every year. We expect it to generate great interest among U.S. soccer fans and ex-pats from Asia living in the states.”

Mark Hardess, President, ASEAN and Australia, World Sport Group, added: “One World Sports did an outstanding job with the telecast of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 across North America. World Sport Group is pleased to expand the relationship with the AFC Champions League, and to fulfill our commitment to our partners and fans to extend broadcast coverage for the competition. Now, fans in the United States will be able to follow all the action and excitement from this league.”

A potential Britain national soccer team could begin its preparations for London 2012 with a special fundraising match against New Zealand at Wembley Stadium for the victims of the Christchurch earthquake if a proposal from the President of the Oceania Football Confederation is accepted.

David Chung has already received approval for a “Football for Hope” match in principle from world governing body FIFA, to help the people affected by the earthquake in Christchurch last month, which killed 166 people with more than 30 still missing. 

Chung has now begun making overtures to see if Britain’s controversial Olympic team can be lined-up to be the opponents for the All Whites, who were the only undefeated side at last year’s World Cup in South Africa.

The controversy surrounding the possibility of a British Olympic team is currently the subject of a fierce row between the four Home Nations over who will be eligible to play. The Football Associations of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland fear that they will lose their independence from FIFA were they to join forces, alongside England, in next year’s Olympics.

“FIFA have approved the concept of a ‘Football for Hope’ match,” Chung told the Sunday News in New Zealand.

“Despite the wish to do it quickly in a rush to confirm something, it’s going to take a bit of time.

“One thing we’ve floated is if Great Britain could put an Olympic side out in preparation for the 2012 Games.

“If New Zealand played at Wembley, being conservative, even if you only sold 40,000 tickets [roughly half capacity] at US$66, that’s $2.6m.”

The topic was raised by Chung and OFC secretary general Tai Nicholas this weekend during a visit to Celtic Manor in Wales where they were attending the International Football Association Board meeting, which is made up of FIFA and the four Home Nations.

“The four British associations are here and so are four representatives from FIFA,” Chung said. 

“So it will be a good time to discuss the idea.

“There’s a lot of hurdles to pass in terms of where and when, but a summer match would be good.”