Peform, denture a major digital media specialist, cialis has completed a 100 per cent buyout of leading soccer website Goal.com from a consortium of investors including Bessemer Venture Partners.

The deal represents a major step by Perform which, according to Comscore, streams sports videos to 21 times more unique users than any other sports video operator in the UK. Over the past three years, Goal.com has expanded its reach into 15 languages, and the January viewing figures for the website reached nearly 20 million unique users.

In announcing the takeover, Perform stated that it would integrate its live sports data (GSM), video news (Omnisport), video highlights (ePlayer) and live streaming (Livesport.tv) from its catalogue of more than 40 different football leagues and competitions. The acquisition will also see Perform add its mobile expertise to the existing Goal.com services, which are already available on iPhone, Android and Blackberry.

Perform joint-CEO Simon Denyer stated: “Goal.com is the iconic global football portal and a clear market leader. This acquisition gives Perform a major brand and major worldwide coverage. We now reach over 95 million sports fans every month – a large and ever-increasing number of potential customers. This means Perform, our advertisers and rights-holder partners are now able to market to and transact with a very significant fan base.”

Goal.com CEO Ron Elwell added: “Over the past five years, Goal.com has grown from nothing to the largest football site in the world, reaching tens of millions of passionate fans thanks to the vision of our founder, Gian Luigi Longinotti-Buitoni. The acquisition by Perform provides a great platform for the continued growth of the site with the addition of world-class video content and I’m sure it will continue to be a fantastic business.”

As part of the takeover, Perform will retain three key members of Goal.com’s management team including Michael Simpson, one of the website’s original founders, who assumes the role of senior vice-president for product and content. Jonathan Gamble becomes senior vice-president for commercial and sales, and Scott Rothrock is staying on as chief technology officer.

The first London 2012 venue at the Olympic Park has been opened, with the Olympic Velodrome ready for riders ahead of next year’s event and Sir Chris Hoy declared he “can’t wait” for the Olympics after riding on the finished London 2012 cycle track for the first time.

Scotsman and four-time Olympic champion Hoy, was joined by fellow Beijing winners Victoria Pendleton and Jason Kenny plus a team of British sprint stars who are all aiming for London 2012 success. The cycling icon provided a much-needed cyclist’s viewpoint to the designers and architects about what is needed for the venue in Stratford, east London.

He stated: “Having been involved in a very small way in the design process in the early stages, it’s amazing to see the velodrome finally completed, and to be able to have ridden on it gives me a feel for what it’s going to be like in a year and a half’s time. I can’t wait!”

The VeloPark is expected to come in on budget at around £93m (US$150.3m). The facility is a 6,000-seat velodrome, complete with its sweeping roof designed to reflect the curve of the cycling track.

Building work began on in March 2009 and the development has now been handed over from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to the London 2012 organisers with tasks now ahead to install the temporary facilities, such as lighting and scoring, needed to turn it into a world class Olympic and Paralympic venue.

London 2012 chairman Lord Coe described it as “a stunning venue built for champions”.

The construction took a team of 26 carpenters eight weeks to install the track and more than 350,000 nails were used to on its 56km of timber surface with organisers billing it as the world’s fastest cycling track, thanks to a range of tailored features including the track geometry plus the temperature and environmental conditions.

ODA chairman John Armitt added: “In delivering the velodrome on time and to budget we have completed our first Olympic Park venue and our biggest milestone to date.

“The striking architecture of the velodrome and the medal prospects of our world-leading cyclists mean the venue will become one of the defining images from the Games, and a landmark new building for future generations to enjoy.”

After the Games, the velodrome will be used by elite athletes and the local community and will include a cafe, bike hire and cycle workshop facilities.

Scottish Premier League (SPL) club Aberdeen’s chairman, Stewart Milne stated that talks continued “to move in the right direction” with regards to a league it is expected that the SPL will shortly announce a date on which a vote will be taken over the potential reconstruction, after the 12 member clubs met at Hampden Park on Monday, February 21, for another round of talks.

Speaking of the most recent proposal for a top league of 10 and second tier of 12, Milne stated: “I’d be very disappointed if it did not go through.

Last month, SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster, who along with other officials other officials immediately entered a board meeting that could decide on a date for the vote, said consensus was being sought for a top league of 10 and a second tier of 12.

But some clubs still required convincing over the wisdom of a smaller SPL and the viability of plans to increase financial help for those suffering relegation, with the SPL was expected to present refined proposals to the clubs on Monday.

Milne spoke of the yesterday’s talks, adding: “I think they continue to move in the right direction.

“There is a bit more work to be done to get everyone totally behind it, but there is no other option on the table – we are still looking at the 10 and the 12.

“There will be a date hopefully lined up within the next two or three days and there’s further work to done on the document to bring all the elements together.

“And I would hope that, within the next four or five weeks, we would be able to get the clubs back together and take a vote on it.

“Not everyone plays their hand totally openly. There’s negotiations involved in these things and it’s finding that balance between self-interest and the interest of Scottish football and that’s where there is further work to be done.”

VisitBritain has reappointed Christopher Rodrigues to serve a second four-year term as the chairman of Britain’s national tourism agency as the industry stands on the brink of its greatest opportunity for years.

Rodrigues will continue to provide the strategic leadership to the company, after being named as chairman in January 2007, as it takes on the task of using major events such as the Royal Wedding, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to showcase Britain and deliver a permanent increase in tourism to the UK.

Rodrigues’ reappointment comes after UK Prime Minister David Cameron backed the challenge of creating a unique public-private partnership to fund a global marketing campaign with British Airways, DFDS Seaways, lastminute.com, P&O and Radisson Edwardian being the first companies to have agreed to contribute to the campaign.

VisitBritain is believed to be well advanced towards the goal of building a £100 million ($162 million) marketing fund and Rodrigues stated: “I am absolutely delighted to be reappointed to this challenging role at such an opportune moment for British tourism.

“In a few months the eyes of the world will be on the Royal Wedding at Westminster Abbey and next summer they will be focused on the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Games.

“These and other iconic events present us with an unprecedented opportunity to boost Britain’s image abroad and promote our attractiveness as a destination.

“I am determined to do my utmost to ensure that tourism, already Britain’s fifth largest industry and third biggest earner of foreign exchange, makes a major contribution to the rebalancing and rebuilding of Britain’s economy.”

Tourism Minister John Penrose said: “The next few years offer a wealth of opportunities for the tourism industry from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to the Diamond Jubilee and a certain Royal wedding.

“Christopher’s vast knowledge and experience will allow VisitBritain and the wider industry as a whole to reap the benefits, creating growth and raising the profile of the UK abroad, and I’m delighted he will be serving a second term as Chairman.”

A potential collective bargaining agreement (CBA) being reached between the National Football League (NFL) and Player’s Association (NFLPA) still seems very far away after the league filed an unfair practices complaint against its player’s union to the National Labour Relations Board.

The NFL claim that the NFLPA isn’t bargaining in good faith on a new contract, using delays to “run out the clock” on talks before disbanding the union and suing the league under antitrust law for colluding to restrict players’ pay.

With the current deal expiring in just over two weeks time on March 3, the union has stated it expects the league to lock out players after saying that the NFL’s claim had “absolutely no merit” .

In yesterday’s filing, the NFL said the union’s threat to decertify is “a ploy and an unlawful subversion of the collective bargaining process, there being no evidence whatsoever of any (let alone widespread) dissatisfaction with the union by its members.”

The ITF announced today that Invacare will continue its sponsorship of wheelchair tennis for a 17th successive year by becoming title sponsor of the ITF’s year-end Doubles Masters event in a two-year deal. The 2011 Invacare Doubles Masters will be held in Amsterdam on 2-6 November.

The Invacare Doubles Masters is the ITF’s flagship wheelchair tennis doubles event. First staged in 2000, ambulance the season-ending event currently features the world’s top eight men’s doubles pairs, and the top four women and quad doubles pairs. Women’s world No. 1 Esther Vergeer has been the most successful competitor, sharing the women’s title on eight occasions.

Invacare Corporation was previously title sponsor of the World Team Cup between 1996 and 2010. The European team of Invacare Corporation has overseen its wheelchair tennis sponsorship since 2008, since when the company has increased its on-site involvement and operational support behind the scenes.

During the 2011 Invacare Doubles Masters, the European team of Invacare Corporation will continue to host the successful international wheelchair tennis symposium that has been held during the World Team Cup for the past three years. The symposium is a public seminar that features a variety of guest speakers from wheelchair sport and various medical experts.

ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “We are delighted that Invacare is continuing its sponsorship of wheelchair tennis. The company’s longstanding support of the World Team Cup helped it become the most prestigious event on the ITF’s wheelchair tennis calendar, and I am confident that its commitment and enthusiasm will have a similar effect on this important year-end event.”

Hans Lautenschlager, Invacare Vice President / General Manager of Commercial Operations EMEA, said: “After 16 years of World Team Cup support, Invacare has been seeking new challenges within international tennis. The Doubles Masters will give Invacare a great opportunity to continue developing ‘best-in-class’ tennis events with the ITF. Our aim is to make the Doubles Masters a long-awaited and popular date in the tennis calendar as the World Team Cup is today.”

Elections took place over the weekend by the Gambia National Olympic Association, announcing Momodou Dibba as the organisation’s new president. Dibba beat competition from his only rival, Abdoulie Touray in a decision overshadowed by the arrest of acting president and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Beatrice Allen.

However, the decision to elect Dibba did not go smoothly and is set to be investigated by the IOC after several sports associations in Gambia boycotted the elections because they claim Touray was not being treated fairly.

This will not come as pleasing news and puts the nation’s future involvement in the Olympics in further doubt after the IOC warned in the build-up to the election that the Gambian Government were risking getting the country suspended from London 2012 if they are suspected of interfering.

The post was vacated last July when Lang Tombong Tamba, also chief of defence staff for Gambia’s armed forces, was sentenced to death for his alleged role in a 2009 coup to oust the Government.

Acting president, Allen was forced to step down after her arrest last month along with GNOC treasurer Ousman Wadda and accounts officer Muhammed Janneh on allegations of embezzlement. 

Dibba promised to give sport in Gambian schools a higher priority, stating: “My sport development agenda is to focus my attention on the sporting associations, in particular for athletes to develop and excel in their various sporting disciplines, to ensure that GNOC takes full responsibility to regularise the associations’ annual contributions to their respective international federations to enable them to have a platform in meetings, conferences and seminars in these international bodies.”

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) have been handed a significant boost after their long standing sponsor, asthma CoSport Australian signed a lenghty ten-year extension until 2020

The company is the Australian division of Jet Set Sports and has provided corporate clients with hospitality packages at Olympic Games through its VIP Hospitality Programmes and Hospitality Management Services since 1984.

The company first teamed up with the AOC for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and CoSport will continue to act as a provider of event tickets and hospitality packages for the Games.

“Jet Set Sports/CoSport is a leading provider of hospitality packages and event ticketing, whose focus is the Olympic Games.

“They are incredibly good at what they do and are committed to the Olympic Movement. We are very grateful for their continued support of the AOC and Australia’s athletes for years to come.” said AOC president John Coates.

Craig Phillips ,AOC secretary general and team chief operating officer, added: “CoSport’s professional approach has enabled thousands of Australians to support the Australian Olympic team first hand which really helped with the team’s success in Beijing and Vancouver.”

Orlando Silva will continue in his role as Brazil’s Sports Minister under the new President-elect Dilma Rousseff.

Rousseff, who will begin his position in the New Year, has dropped plans to set-up a separate Ministry to exclusively oversee preparations for Rio 2016. Silva, 39, is seen as a key figure in Brazil’s successful bids to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup as well as the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Silva, will have a vital role to play in Rousseff’s new Government after being appointed as Sports Minister in March 2006. Silva earlier in the week played down reports that new government cuts to funding, would impact upon the quality and speed of the relevant infrastructure projects ahead of the World Cup in four years.

There are increasing concerns about Brazil’s preparations which were criticised publicly last week by FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who warned that they must step-up the pace of construction work.

Beijing has been selected to host the 2015 IAAF World Championships, sale IAAF Council announced.

The selection of the Chinese capital to host the 15^th edition of the Championships will bring athletics back to the dazzling “Bird’s Nest” Stadium, unhealthy the centerpiece of the 2008 Olympic Games.

“To help build up our sport and the culture of athletics in a country of 1.6 billion inhabitants is a great opportunity, hospital ” said IAAF President Lamine Diack, when making the announcement. “As we sometimes say, China is not a country, it’s a continent. So this is a fantastic opportunity for our sport and for the sport in China.”

Beijing, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly 17 million, will become the third Asian city to host the IAAF World Championships, the world’s third largest sporting event. Tokyo played host in 1991 and Osaka in 2007.

“Beijing hosted a very successful World Junior Championships for us in 2006 and then of course a very memorable Olympic Games in 2008,” Diack added. “So this provides a great opportunity to showcase the Championships in the best possible light in China.”

“This is the most important sporting event for China since the 2008 Olympic Games,” said Liu Jingmin, the Vice Mayor of Beijing.

“We thank you for your trust. We will deliver a high standard event in Beijing which will open a new chapter in Championships’ standards.”

Beijing’s successful bid marks the latest phase of China’s commitment to add to and enhance its athletics legacy.

Entering the 1980s, the Chinese government stressed that “Athletics was the fundamental sport with great influence” and that it was “necessary to improve (the national) athletics programme”, setting the stage for the sport’s significant growth and visibility in the country. Further encouraging its athletics community, in 2002 the General Administration of Sport of China (GASC) positioned athletics as a “focus sport”. In 2006 Beijing hosted the IAAF World Junior Championships where athletes from nearly 180 nations took part. The city has also hosted numerous IAAF Race Walking events, including the 2010 Race Walking Challenge Final, and the Beijing International Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, this year celebrated it’s 30^th running.

“We believe that our bid to host the highest profile athletics competition in the world will serve to further promote the development of athletic sports across the world,” said Duan Shijie, Chairman of the Chinese Athletic Association.

“Hosting a world athletics championships is an aspiration shared by all citizens of Beijing, which we believe will facilitate the development of athletics in Beijing and China and substantially advance the exchanges and cooperation between China and the rest of the world,” sai Guo Jinlong, the Mayor of Beijing.