Thomas Lund, clinic | General Secretary of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) has labelled the match-fixing incident, ed which saw eight players intentionally attempt to lose a game to ensure a more favourable draw in the next round, as a ‘hiccup’.

The controversy has undoubtedly reflected badly on the sport, but the BWF are confident that the action to disqualify the guilty athletes will ensure that those contemplating picking up a racket will not be deterred.  “Our disciplinary committee went in and sent out a strong message that this is not acceptable,” said Lund.

“This sent a message to the youth of the world that this is not our sport. The world understands very well that this is not acceptable in our sport. We may have had some players that did not figure it out, but they are responsible and have been punished.”

Although the former player does admit to understanding the actions and emotions of the eight competitors to a certain extent, he insists that the decision to disqualify the athletes was indeed the correct one. He said: “I really have big sympathy for the eight players, in terms of them having practiced for so many years to get here. But, this is more than just about the individuals; it is about how to act within the framework of the sport.”

The actions of the disqualified athletes have been linked to the unpopular group stage format, but Lund believes the current setup will help create memorable moments and will overall prove to be beneficial to the sport. He enthused: “It has brought a much better story telling opportunity.

Before, a player would go on vacation after the first match, but now most players get at least two games and an extended career as an Olympian, which is hugely valuable.

The exposure the system has given to the sport is tremendous. Group play has definitely been extremely good. People will probably remember the little hiccup, but there are so many positives we can take out of this.”

The storm has clouded what has otherwise proven to be a successful Badminton event, consisting of sell-out venues and high quality action. For the BWF, the positives will heavily outweigh the “extremely unfortunate and really regrettable” moments. Lund concluded: “It is two lines in a forty line evaluation of our sport. When people look back at it in the future, people will remember the incredible Lin Dan/Chong Wei Lee match, the Li Xeurui/Wang Yihan match and so many other great matches.”

By Edward Rangsi

The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Presence Switzerland, has unveiled details of its plans for the House of Switzerland, one of the few Houses to be fully open to the public during the London 2012 Olympics.

The House will break with tradition to create a mini-village in and around the famous Glaziers Hall on the south bank of the Thames. It is expected to attract approximately 250,000 visitors who will be able to experience Swiss culture and cuisine.

A number of other features of Switzerland will be on show, such as the country’s expertise in the development of innovative technologies, with the House set to open a week before the Games on July 20 through to the closing ceremony on August 12.

Anton Thalmann, Swiss Ambassador in London, said: “The London 2012 Olympic Games is a wonderful opportunity for Switzerland to engage with a wide range of tourists and UK residents around the world’s largest sporting and cultural event. Switzerland and the UK share a strong and long-established relationship, with the House of Switzerland another example of our joint collaboration in exciting and innovative projects.”

Nicolas Bideau, head of Presence Switzerland, added: “We are delighted to outline our vision for welcoming Londoners, Olympic fans and tourists to one of the few Houses fully open to the public. With free admission and a lively atmosphere, we estimate providing 250,000 guests with a flavour of modern Switzerland.”

Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI) has purchased a majority stake in online platform SportPost.com in order to continue its portfolio expansion.

CSI recently snapped up North One Sport from North One Television and also bought a majority stake in the popular ‘Leaders in Football’ conference.

SportPost attracts over 3 million unique visitors each month having only been launched in April last year, cialis providing sports fans with a platform to find and share sports content with each other. CSI’s investment will help to enhance the SportPost platform to include a new live sports video portal.

CSI chairman Vladimir Antonov stated: “We have been seeking to acquire a number of sports and media businesses which will complement our existing and developing portfolio of sports interests. SportPost gives us excellent platform for this.”

Co-founder and managing director of SportPost Peter Janes added: “In the last 12 months since going live, SportPost has established itself as a leading destination in online sports entertainment. The contacts and support from the CSI management team will be of huge benefit in developing the SportPost offering as creation of additional sites within network.”

The English Football League has appointed the sport division of PR consultancy Threepipe to work on ongoing campaigns. The company’s first task will be to promote The Football League Awards 2011, which will be held in London, on 20th March.

Threepipe will also be tasked with driving national, regional and online coverage around the Football League’s competitions and community initiatives – as well as creating campaigns to encourage new fans to attend soccer matches.

Threepipe previously worked on the launch of The Football League’s iPhone App in August last year, and co-founder Eddie May stated: ‘In addition to running one of the most successful professional leagues in the world, The Football League also delivers a huge range of community initiatives and campaigns to promote football to a new audience. We are really excited about the prospect of helping to tell these stories to a wider audience’.

The world’s original league football competition – formed in 1888 – the Football League has 72 members and is also the largest single body of professional clubs in European football.

The league is also responsible for the npower Football League, Carling Cup, Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, and reserve and youth football.

Swiss financial services company UBS has been confirmed as the title sponsor of Formula One’s Chinese Grand Prix as part of a deal signed last August.

Despite declining to reveal the value of the deal, sickness UBS has agreed a naming rights sponsor of the circuit after Sinopec cut their ties with the Grand Prix in 2009. The previous deal saw Sinopec agree to pay an annual sum of US$20m to be title sponsors of the race.

The new agreement is believed to have been signed for the next seven years until the current contract for hosting of the Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit expires.

Last month, allergy Formula One Management agreed to extend the race’s place on the Formula One calendar to 2017 in a new five-year deal.

David Li, head of UBS China, confirmed the deal along with Formula One authorities.

A number of major European soccer clubs were unhappy with the schedule of dates released for next year’s African Cup of Nations by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The event will be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea will be played between 21 January and 12 February, with reigning Champions Egypt hoping to retain their crown.

The tournament will begin over a week later than 2010 edition with the opening match played in Bata in Equatorial Guinea, while the final will take place in Libreville.

The one-week delay is not favourable by those European sides who play in leagues which take a winter break. This is because an earlier start to the tournament would have meant that many Europe-based players could compete at the finals without missing domestic matches.

The CAF is yet to fix a date and venue for the draw for the 2012 Nations Cup but FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, laws state that clubs must release their players for the Nations Cup up for 14 days before their opening match.

UK watchdog Ofcom has relaxed its rules on the time allotted for commercial breaks during the programming of televised sport, herbal meaning advertising options have increased.

All major commercial channels will now be permitted to show 12 minutes of advertising per hour, a significant increase from 7 minutes per hour for certain broadcasts. In turn this will cause longer interruptions for the viewing public when watching televised sporting events.

Commercial breaks will now make up around 20 per cent of the running time of an individual programme, despite research proving viewers’ dislike of commercial breaks

Ofcom’s decision comes to appease cash-strapped media channels’ desire to drive increased advertising revenues to pay for programming.

However with new technology and innovations such as Sky-Plus enabling an increasing number of viewers to edit out the adverts altogether, the move by Ofcom is unlikely to quell the calls to relax the rules on product placement within programming itself.

Bahrain Formula One grand prix organisers have announced that the season-opening race has been called off because of the civil unrest sweeping the country with regards to human rights protesters.

The race was due to kick of the 2011 season and be held on 13 March, had been in doubt for more than a week after violent anti-government demonstrations in the country’s capital, Manama, with F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone admitting concerns over the safety and security at the event.

Ecclestone yesterday stated that it would be down to Bahrain Crown Prince Salman to make the decision upon whether the race could go ahead, by today, February 22.

The decision means the Australian grand prix in Melbourne on 27 March will play host to the first round of the 2011 season. The final testing session that had been scheduled for Bahrain from 3-6 March has also been cancelled.

A statement read: “The Bahrain International Circuit today announced that the Kingdom of Bahrain would withdraw from hosting this year’s F1 grand prix race so that the country can focus on its process of national dialogue.”

Several people have been killed and hundreds injured in a crackdown against protesters demanding more say in the running of the Gulf kingdom.

Prince Salman announced his decision to Ecclestone yesterday, February 21, and stated: “At the present time the country’s entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain. Although Bernie Ecclestone had graciously made clear a decision on the race was entirely Bahrain’s to make and was not yet required, we felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting of Bahrain’s Formula One race to a later date.

“I would like to extend my personal gratitude to Bernie Ecclestone for his support and understanding. After the events of the past week, our nation’s priority is on overcoming tragedy, healing divisions and rediscovering the fabric that draws this country together, reminding the world of the very best that Bahrain is capable of as a nation once again united.”

It is still believed to possible that the Bahrain grand prix could be rescheduled for later in the year as opposed to being scrapped from the calendar entirely, having been a fixture of the F1 season since 2004.

Ecclestone added: “It is sad that Bahrain has had to withdraw from the race, we wish the whole nation well as they begin to heal their country. The hospitality and warmth of the people of Bahrain is a hallmark of the race there, as anyone who has been at a Bahrain grand prix will testify. We look forward to being back in Bahrain soon.”