ParalympicsGB have confirmed that chief executive Phil Lane is to leave is post with immediate effect after 10 years in the job.

In his time with the team, order Lane has overseen a hugely successful regime, with GB finishing second in the medal table at the 2004 Athens and Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. 

The news leaves ParalympicsGB looking for a new head with just 18 months to go until the 2012 London Paralympics.

Lane spoke of his decision, stating: “The staff team at ParalympicsGB is well-placed to deliver fantastic support to British Paralympic athletes and ensure their continued success. I am looking forward to watching them compete in what promises to be the best Paralympic Games ever.”

Tim Reddish, ParalympicsGB chairman added: “I would like to thank Phil, on behalf of myself and the board, for the work he has done over the last 10 years promoting the Paralympic movement and his significant contribution in successfully taking GB teams to the last five Winter and Summer Paralympic Games.”

Formula One team Red Bull Racing has received a financial boost in the region of £7m (US$11.36m) ahead of the 2011 season after their Renault engines were renamed Infiniti, improving the team’s budget. 

Infiniti is the premium brand of Nissan, part owned by Renault, and are using Formula One to boost its global profile. 

The engines will remain the same, aside from the branding, with the only other difference being that they will be supplied for free.

The renaming will therefore save the team approximately £6.8m ($11m) per annum, which is the cost of all customer engine supplies in the sport. 

The saving is estimated to be around 4-5 per cent of the team’s total budget which will now be used in other departments, though no statement has been made on whether there will be further financial support from the deal.

The Red Bull-Infiniti deal is expected to be officially announced at the Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday.

The former head of communications at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Mark Dolley, has been appointed to replace Tiffany Granfors as the new chief executive of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD).

Dolley will begin his new role with the organisation from March 1, having worked for the IOC between 2003 and 2006 and also as a consultant to the successful London 2012 bid. He replaces Granfors who has been the chief executive for the past 10 years.

ICSD President Craig Crowley spoke of the appointment: “ICSD is faced with immense challenges and I’m grateful that Mark Dolley will now be bringing his high-level experience of sport, sports policy and his vital Olympic Movement professionalism and ‘ethos’ to the ICSD.

“A stronger organisation and a more robust calendar of competitions must be put in place. 

“ICSD must deliver on its core objective of serving deaf athletes, via successful Deaflympics, if we are to ensure greater recognition by sports organisations, business, the media and Government. 

“These are the things ICSD is working toward. 

“And we are very confident that Mark Dolley is the best person to lead the delivery of ICSD’s work, for the benefit of Deaf athletes everywhere.”

Dolley added: “I’m profoundly honoured to be joining the ICSD at an absolutely critical time in the organisation’s development.

“The ICSD has had a long and proud history of serving the needs of deaf sport.

“I have no illusions about the scope of the task ahead. 

“But a sound strategic plan has been established by the ICSD’s Executive Board. I am convinced there are still opportunities ahead. 

“I look forward to working with all of deaf sport, to ensure a rich future is added to ICSD’s rich history, despite the current challenges.”

Crowley then spoke of the outgoing Tiffany Granfors, stating: “On behalf of the Executive Board, staff, delegates and athletes everywhere, I would like to thank Tiffany for her sterling contribution.”

The Soccerex European Forum have announced that they are to play host to Manchester City and former France international/World Cup winner Patrick Vieira, who will be speaking alongside La Liga President, Jose Luis Astiazaran and European Professional Leagues Association (EPFL) CEO, Emanuel Madeiros as part of a press conference on European soccer’s “Professional Football Against Hunger” project at the event on 30-31 March, Manchester.

The “Professional Football Against Hunger” project aims to use the sport’s worldwide appeal and power to engage massive audiences to inspire people to team up and help those in need.

The Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL), the European Union – Humanitarian Aid (EU) and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will be holding a press conference on Wednesday 30th March to discuss their current soccer-related joint initiatives in the fight against hunger.

The Press Conference is part of a diverse agenda reflecting the latest issues in European Football including Financial Fair Play, sponsorship, commercial strategies, social media and fan interaction and International FA development.

With regret, anesthetist the ITF, unhealthy in consultation with Tennis New Zealand and Canterbury Tennis, has decided to cancel the 2011 ITF Seniors World Individual Championships scheduled to be played in Christchurch, New Zealand next week. The ITF Seniors World Team Championships currently being played in Timaru and Ashburton will continue as planned.

The organisers will now make every effort to ensure the safe return home for all participants. The ITF thanks Tennis New Zealand and the organisers from Canterbury Tennis for all their efforts on behalf of the Seniors World Team and Individual Championships.

“We send our sincere sympathies to the people of Christchurch who have suffered so much due to the earthquake that hit their city on Tuesday,” said ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti. “While we are, of course, relieved that all the players, captains and officials who were in Christchurch this week are safe, we are mindful of the loss of life and the large number of injuries that have occurred in Christchurch. We thank Tennis New Zealand and Canterbury Tennis for their outstanding efforts on behalf of the Seniors World Team and Individual Championships. We also thank the players for their support of both events and their willingness to play on in these difficult conditions.”

Dates and prices for ticket sales for Wembley’s staging of the UEFA Champions League Final in May have been announced to the displeasure of many fans.

The prices for tickets are perhaps unsurprisingly at a record high but many wouldn’t have predicted an increase of as much as 17 per cent in some cases.

The availability of tickets for the flagship European club soccer final will go on sale from next week, February 24, until March 18, with prices ranging from £300 (US$487) down to the lowest cost of £150 ($243.5), and £80 ($130) for wheelchair users.

Sales will be conducted exclusively through Europe’s football website, UEFA.com, with each applicant having to complete in full the online application form. Should demand exceed supply then every valid request will enter a lottery to decide the allocation.

The net capacity of Wembley Stadium for the UEFA Champions League final will be around 86,000. Each finalist club will be entitled to take up to 25,000 tickets, to be distributed directly to their fans.

Along with the rising ticket prices, an administrative fee of £26 ($42.2) (including postal charges) for successful applicants inside Europe is in place and £36 ($58.4) for the rest of the world.

The most expensive seats available to the general public for the game are from Category 1; costing £300 ($487), 17 per cent up on the comparable ticket last year. Second-tier places are up 15.5 percent to $355, and the third category costs $243.5, 13 percent more.

UEFA’s event director Giorgio Marchetti told reporters in London. ““We have to benchmark this event against other comparable events like, for example, the final of the European Championship, the World Cup. It’s still priced below comparable events.”

Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire accused of running a scheme that persuaded investors to buy certificates of deposit from Stanford International Bank, located in Antigua, has filed a countersuit against US prosecutors, accusing them of depriving him of his constitutional rights.

Stanford has been in custody since June 2009 and is now seeking US$7.2bn in damages from the SEC and FBI in a lawsuit which claims prosecutors “undertook illegal tactics” in their investigation of Mr Stanford’s alleged pyramid scheme that they claim defrauded investors of $7bn.

Mr Stanford was ruled unfit to stand trial last month by US federal judge David Hittner over concerns of his ‘mental capacity to assist his lawyers’. He has pleaded not guilty to fraud, conspiracy and obstruction.

Mr Stanford rose to prominence in the UK and the Caribbean for his lavish sponsorship of cricket and in 2008, he bankrolled a high-profile $20m cricket match between England and a Stanford All-Stars team in Antigua.

The world’s leading cricket website, physician ESPNCricinfo, drug  has secured IBM as sponsor of its comprehensive statistics and data coverage of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup.

In addition, anesthetist IBM has been confirmed as launch sponsor of the new ESPNCricinfo iPhone and Android mobile apps. The sponsorship with IBM, which runs from February to early April and covers India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan, builds on IBM’s Smarter Planet campaign, which aims to help businesses to make better decisions through the smart and efficient use of data.

The deal gives IBM a presence on some of ESPNCricinfo’s most popular pages; such as Statsguru, the site’s searchable cricket statistics database; Ask Steven, where ESPNCricinfo contributor Steven Lynch answers questions on all things cricket;  The List, where ESPNCricinfo looks at the stories behind the statistics; and, Numbers Game, an in-depth look at the ESPNCricinfo statistics database.

ESPN International vice president-digital media Tom Gleeson said: “ESPNCricinfo is delighted to be partnering with IBM.  ESPNCricinfo’s statistics section in India is expected to generate lot of interest across the sub continent during the world cup with fans searching for interesting statistics about players, venues etc. Cricket fans will have the most reliable and in depth statistics information during the world cup.”

Career management consultancy, Roar Global has branched out into the field of sporting clients after agreeing the acquisition of SJ Dent and Co. sports management.

Roar Global currently represents entertainment industry celebrities such as Myleene Klass, Russel Watson and Kelly Brook but with the takeover of SJ Dent will add the likes of Irish rugby star Brian O’Driscoll and former sporting icons such as Martin ‘Chariots’ Offiah, John Barnes and Neil Ruddock to their client roster.

The ex-sports management company was founded by lawyer Simon Dent and also specialise in the management of young 2012 hopefuls.

Jonathan Shalit of Roar Global stated: “Sport today is an integral part of entertainment across the world and, as such, holds huge a huge attraction for global brands to who want to be associated with sporting heroes.”

The Sri Lankan city of Hambantota, pharmacy a candidate to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games are reportedly paying British firm pmplegacy, pills part of the London-based Chime Communications, at least US$3m to aid their bid for the event, according to Sri Lankan Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage.

In an interview with the Sunday Leader, Aluthgamage stated: “In order to prepare the bid documents for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and for promotional campaigns we have offered the contract to a British PR Firm pmplegacy.

“The exact amount is known to Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal as he is the chairman of the organising committee that handles the finances.”

According to the Sunday Leader, the money will come out of the $4.5m Sri Lanka is paying another Chime subsidary, public relations firm Bell Pottinger to boost its post-war image.

Pmplegacy, has a distinguished 25-year track record of working  on the evaluation, bidding, planning and delivery of major sporting events including the likes of the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing, the 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.