The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee has signed an agreement with INTERPOL, the world’s largest international police organization, to create a Group of Major Sporting Event Security Experts to ensure the safety and security of 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.

At a ceremony at INTERPOL’s General Assembly in Rome, the Chairman of Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee’s Security Committee, H.E. Sheikh Abdulla bin Nasser Al Thani, met with Ronald K. Noble, Secretary General of INTERPOL, to sanction terms of the agreement that will see INTERPOL provide a permanent Chairperson and Vice Chairperson to assist the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee in its planning. 

The INTERPOL Group of Major Event Security Experts will bring together specialized law enforcement professionals and security experts from all regions of the world to offer assistance and consultation to the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee on security strategy, framework and practices throughout Qatar to help ensure that the safety and security of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.

The former Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police Service, Janet Williams, who led and oversaw policing protective security planning for the 2012 London Olympic Games, will chair the new Group.

H.E. Sheikh Abdulla bin Nasser Al Thani said: “We recognize that hosting the FIFA World Cup, one of the world’s largest international sporting events, will entail a wide variety of challenges. By working with INTERPOL and its network of 190 member countries, the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee will be able to draw on a pool of expertise from around the world on how best to host a successful and safe tournament while adhering to the highest international standards.”

Al Thani added: “Together we are committed to identifying further areas of cooperation in which INTERPOL’s global tools and international law enforcement networks can further support our national and regional security. The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee looks forward to close collaboration on other strategic initiatives.”

The Group’s scope of work will also extend to providing advice, guidance and robust training to Qatar’s Ministry of Interior in preparing for the security for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, in addition to developing strategic partnerships with international and national partners to help promote security and ensure compliance with major event security standards and best practices.

INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said that Qatar’s support for the initiative demonstrated its commitment to ensuring the highest standards in event security.

“The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee has shown great leadership in the area of security for its country, its people and the millions of football fans who will visit the region during the 2022 FIFA World Cup and we are delighted that they share INTERPOL’s vision for a safer world,” said Mr Noble.

INTERPOL’s group of experts and its General Secretariat will work closely with the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, the Ministry of the Interior and our National Central Bureau in Doha during the next ten years as part of a fully collaborative approach to prepare and implement the necessary security framework and practices.

“Already the world leader in international police information exchange, the creation of this group of experts will see INTERPOL become the reference point for all security elements linked to hosting a major event, sporting or otherwise,” concluded the INTERPOL Chief.

Wie das Magazin „Sponsors“ berichtet, health hat die Kommission für Zulassung und Aufsicht der Landesmedienanstalten (ZAK) das Verbot für Werbung von Sportwettenanbieter bei TV-Sendern gelockert. Ab sofort dürfen sie als Presenter werblich auftreten. Bislang wurde jede Form von Sportwettenwerbung beanstandet.

Ende Juni wurde zum Beispiel Werbung der Anbieter Bwin und Tipico beim privaten Fernsehsender Sat.1 beanstandet und für die Zukunft untersagt. Auch Sport1 wurde Sportwettenwerbung verboten. Begründet wurde dieses Verbot mit dem geltenden Glücksspielrecht. Das hat sich zum 1. März in Schleswig-Holstein und zum 1. Juli in 13 Bundesländern geändert. Auf die Gesetzesänderung in den 13 Ländern stützt sich nun die neue Haltung der ZAK. Denn nach dem neuen Glücksspielstaatsvertrag sollen Wettenanbieter, die eine Konzession besitzen, grundsätzlich werben dürfen. Näheres soll eine Werberichtlinie regeln, die in Bearbeitung ist und noch verabschiedet werden muss.

Unternehmen, die nun eine der 20 bundesweiten Sportwetten-Konzessionen in Deutschland beantragt haben, dürfen ab sofort Sendungen im Privatfernsehen sponsern, ohne dass die Medienaufsicht dies beanstanden wird. Das Presenting oder TV-Sponsoring, wie es die ZAK nennt, darf aber nicht mit einem „werblichen Zusatz“ versehen sein, erklärte eine Sprecherin der Kommission auf Nachfrage. Werbefilme, zum Beispiel von Bwin mit den FC-Bayern-Granden Uli Hoeneß, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge und Karl Hopfner, sind weiterhin nicht erlaubt. Dieses Prozedere soll mit dem Verband Privater Rundfunk und Telemedien (VPRT) abgesprochen worden sein. Die VPRT war für eine Stellungnahme gegenüber SPONSORs nicht zu erreichen.

Vor dem Hintergrund der harschen Kritik an dem neuen Glücksspielstaatsvertrag, an dem Vergabeprozess der 20 bundesweiten Sportwettenlizenzen und an den ersten Entwürfen der Werberichtlinie für Glücksspielanbieter ist die Bedeutung der neuen ZAK-Vorgabe als gering einzustufen. Anfang diesen Monats hatte Thomas Deissenberger, Vorsitzender der Geschäftsführung von Constantin Sport Marketing und Sprecher des Arbeitskreises Wetten beim VPRT, gegenüber SPONSORs mit Blick auf die noch zu verabschiedende Werberichtlinie mitgeteilt, das Glücksspielwesen in Deutschland sei „nach wie vor nicht in einer kohärenten Weise ausgestaltet und genügt daher nicht den europarechtlichen Anforderungen. Aus diesem Grund halten wir die Bewerbung von Sportwettangeboten mit EU-Lizenz weiterhin für zulässig und erhalten diese vorläufig aufrecht.“

Auch dürfte die ZAK-Regelung nur für eine Übergangszeit gelten. Mit Ausnahme von Schleswig-Holstein, das ein deutlich liberaleres Glücksspielgesetz hat, arbeiten die Bundesländer gerade an einer Werberichtlinie, die noch in diesem Jahr in Kraft treten soll. Der aktuelle Entwurf regelt unter anderem Werbung von Sportwettenanbietern im Fernsehen. Doch auch dies könnte nur eine Übergangsregelung sein: Einzelne Wettenanbieter haben bereits juristische Schritte gegen die Werberichtlinie angekündigt und Rechtsexperten räumen ihnen vor Gericht gute Chancen ein.

Taipei and the United Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop deeper relations between the UK and Taipei as the Taiwanese city prepares itself to host the 2017 Universiade for elite university athletes.

The agreement, signed at the Global Sports Projects Summit at the British Business Embassy, is expected to help British companies capitalize on business opportunities associated with future global sporting events including the 2017 Universiade, for which contracts are expected to total 750 million pounds, according to a statement released by the British Trade & Cultural Office (BTCO) in Taipei yesterday.

The MOU was signed by Taipei City Mayor Hau Lung-bin, who is currently visiting London for the summit and UK Trade & Investment Chief Executive Nick Baird, the BTCO said.

Speaking at the singing ceremony, Hau said this marks the first time that the Taipei City Government has signed an MOU with the British government.

He hopes that the agreement will not only enable Taipei City to benefit from the United Kingdom’s experience of staging international sports events, including the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games, but also boost bilateral ties and mutual trades between Taiwan and Great Britain.

“Following the unparalleled success of the London 2012 Games, UK Trade & Investment is helping British firms identify, win and deliver contracts for major sporting events all around the world,” Baird said during the ceremony.

“The 2017 Universiade represents a major opportunity for UK firms to export their expertise. This collaboration with Taipei City will help the UK maximize the economic legacy of the 2012 Games, and support Taipei as it delivers a world class competition,” he added.

Taipei won the bid to host the 2017 Summer Universiade last December.

Launched in the Italian city of Turin in 1959, the Universiade is a biennial sports event for 12,000-plus university athletes from more than 160 countries.

At the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen, China, Taiwan won 32 medals — seven gold, nine silver, and 16 bronze.

A lucrative three-year deal has been agreed between Spanish soccer giant Real Madrid and the capital’s Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce and the Community and City of Madrid to promote holidays in the city and the rest of the country.

The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Özil and Spain captain Iker Casillas will act as ambassadors for Spanish tourism and appear in promotional campaigns, including television advertisements.

Additionally, the tourist board will also have a presence in the team’s home Santiago Bernabeu stadium, on billboards and LED perimeter hoardings adorned with the slogan “Visit Spain, visit Madrid”.

The campaign hopes to reach an audience of 300 million worldwide through coverage of Real Madrid’s home matches, most notably El Clásico, their 17th April meeting with bitter rivals and Liga BBVA leaders Barcelona.

However, the deal has proved controversial in some quarters, with Barcelona-based newspaper Sport objecting to the decision to pay Real an annual US$4.58m of taxpayers’ money as Spain embarks on an aggressive programme of fiscal spending cuts. The paper also voiced its disappointment that other top Spanish clubs, such as Valencia and Barcelona, were not included in the project.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez said: “Our history and legend have made Real Madrid a universal team, but its grandeur begins in Madrid and Spain. For over 100 years it has been one of the most relevant references of this country and we have proudly carried the Madrid name around the world. We humbly accept this responsibility and we will carry it out with hard work, talent and commitment; values that identify with Madridismo.”

Alberto Ruiz Gallardon, the mayor of Madrid, described Real as “this city’s most important asset”, adding: “In large part it belongs to all Spaniards, because you are ambassadors of Spain.”

The minister of industry, tourism and commerce Miguel Sebastien said: “Real Madrid is an icon of Spain. It is a winning team and one of the most visible clubs on an international level, but what we must promote is its culture of hard work and the excellence in its genes.”

The Spanish national team, who are currently world and European champions, are also involved in a US$1.18m “Visit Spain” promotional campaign.

ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) official broadcaster of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup have revealed that the opening match between India and Bangladesh delivered a peak rating of 12.48 TVR across 6 metros according to data issued by research agency TAM for CS 4+ TG on ESPN, Star Sports, Star Cricket, and DD1.

Overall, the opening match delivered an average cumulative TVR of 7.8 across ESPN, Star Sports, Star Cricket & DD1 channels. The match reached out to 27.4 million consumers across 6 metros. The city of Bangalore leads the pack with average TVR of 9.17 for the first match followed by Mumbai (9.14 TVR), Kolkata (7.7 TVR), Delhi (7.65 TVR), Hyderabad (6.43 TVR) & Chennai (4.94 TVR).

Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium is set for a sell-out attendance for the first time in five-and-a-half years in national soccer team manager, Gary Speed’s first home game in charge against England on Saturday, March 26.

The Euro 2012 qualifier is on track to sell the 69,000 tickets available for the event after the Football Association of Wales (FAW) announced that the game was already close to capacity.

The FAW released a statement, reading: “Due to overwhelming demand we are now in a position to suspend ticket sales for the time being.”

Jonathan Ford, FAW chief executive, confirmed the majority of tickets had gone to Welsh fans, adding: “I’m really delighted to say: six weeks to go and we have sold out the Millennium Stadium.”

In the interview with BBC Wales, Ford continued: “We have an allocation to the English – 10% [of the tickets] go to the FA, but the rest we had to sell to local people. We weren’t able to go out on a local sale so we had to go direct to the [Welsh] clubs.”

That ticket initiative ensured Welsh clubs could effectively keep 25% from the ticket sales. It also ensured tickets would not fall go to England beyond the allocation to the FA.

Wales’ last Millennium Stadium full house was a 0-1 defeat to England in September 2005 when Joe Cole scored the winner in a 2006 World Cup qualifier in front of 70,715 fans in Europe’s 12th-biggest sporting arena.

London’s world-renowned Lord’s Cricket Ground will be renovated by Almacantar after the company were selected as the preferred property developer for the job.

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has confirmed that it will enter into a period of exclusive talks with Almacantar over the planned building of apartments on Wellington Road at the ground’s Nursery End. The two failing bis to be awarded the contract were from Capital & Counties and Native Land.

The MCC’s ‘Vision for Lord’s’ will see the capacity of England’s most famous Test cricket ground increased from 29,500 to 37,000, while an indoor cricket school and enhanced conference facilities have also been planned.

MCC secretary and CEO Keith Bradshaw stated:“We have been impressed with the quality of Almacantar’s submission, which demonstrates a high degree of inventive thinking; something entirely appropriate for such an iconic venue as Lord’s.

“We will now work with them through the exclusivity period to shape the emerging proposals for the Nursery Ground, Indoor School and residential opportunities so that we can refine the financial model before presenting back to committees,” he added.

For the third time in succession, Inmarsat has been selected to provide essential voice and data connectivity for the Volvo Ocean Race.  Inmarsat FleetBroadband will be used to deliver broadcast quality high-definition television (HDTV) and rich multimedia content from the competing boats to the world’s media. Inmarsat has increased its involvement in the next edition of the race and is now a Race Partner, which will allow the communications company to further heighten its participation.

Inmarsat is the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications, and the company has played an integral role in the lives of seafarers for over 30 years. When it comes to delivering reliable maritime communications and safety services, no other network can match the combination of global reach, breadth of services and reliability that Inmarsat offers.

Knut Frostad, CEO Volvo Ocean Race said:  “I am very pleased to announce this continued and enhanced partnership with Inmarsat. FleetBroadband has proved it can deliver a flawless performance in tough conditions and that is absolutely essential for us. We need to be able to get reliable and high quality material off the boats and deliver it to the world with immediacy. You could say that the DNA of the Volvo Ocean Race is really based around moving images. And to be able to transmit these images from the boats is core to our communication and story building around the race. In many ways you could say that the Inmarsat’s FleetBroadBand has revolutionised the sport of offshore sailing.

“And by enabling us to be so connected to the boats, we can monitor them 24 hours a day from our Control Room in Alicante. This is crucial for our safety procedures and the onboard safety equipment is a vital tool for the crew in emergency situations.”

Each Volvo Open 70 will be equipped with a SAILOR FleetBroadband 500, providing voice and high-speed data communications.  Also onboard is a compact SAILOR FleetBroadband 150 for crew voice calling and IP data, plus two SAILOR Mini-C systems for constant positioning data and global safety communications. For the first time and after extensive evaluation, Inmarsat’s new global satellite phone, the ISATPHONE Pro, will be included in the safety kit of all the race yachts.

Andrew Sukawaty, Chairman and CEO, Inmarsat said: “FleetBroadband gave a flawless performance during the last Volvo Ocean Race in 2008 – 09 and will continue to take media coverage of the race into a whole new era. Faster transmission speeds deliver better quality broadcasts bringing all the action onboard into people’s homes around the world. It is undeniably the world’s premier global race and one of the most demanding team sporting events in the world and we are delighted with the global endorsement of ISATPHONE Pro, with its inclusion in the yachts’ safety equipment.”

The hard-fought overall Media Crew Member (MCM) Award, introduced for the last edition will once again be presented by Inmarsat. In addition, on each leg, an MCM will win a €1000 cash prize for outstanding excellence in communicating across all media from their boat, as judged by a specialist panel.

When the race concludes in Galway, Ireland, in July 2012, a €10,000 prize will be awarded to the MCM judged to have made the best overall contribution to race coverage.   

Knut Frostad firmly believes the MCM is as much a key player as the helmsman, tactician and the crew.  “No story, no sponsorship, no race. It’s as simple as that,” he says. “We wish them all great success.”

Andrew Sukawaty added: “Inmarsat is pleased to recognise the unique contribution the MCMs make to the race bringing the excitement of the race to the masses and delivering millions of dollars in valuable media coverage for race sponsors from the harshest of maritime conditions.”

Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards has rejected suggestions that he bullied members of the Football Association board into blocking reforms after former Football Association (FA) chairman Lord Triesman spoke out against his old Premier League counterpart.

In an interview with ESPN, Richards stated: “Bully the 12 people on the FA board? Absolutely not. What a futile accusation.

“I am not a bully. I, nor the Premier League, block any change at the FA. We would not block change because we want change – we are a progressive organisation and I was personally involved in changing the constitution of the FA back in 1996 to form the board capable of being progressive.”

He added: “The FA is in control of football’s governance, football’s regulations and of football’s discipline, and that is how it should be.

“If the FA wants to run the professional game – the leagues and the Premier League – then of course we all have a problem because the Premier League won’t tolerate that kind of interference and we will fight our corner.

“I attend the FA board meetings about once a month, and I am one man’s opinion among a board of 12. But I am entitled to my opinion as a representative of the Premier League.

“For good or bad, I speak my mind and being a Yorkshireman, I might not be as eloquent at speaking as some, but I say it as I see it.”

Triesman’s permanent successor, David Bernstein was ratified in his role as FA chairman last month and has supported Richards since joining the organisation, stating: “There’s a mutuality of interest where the good of the national game is in all interests. Sir Dave Richards has been extremely co-operative.”

Bernstein added: “When I spoke to the FA Council two weeks ago I presented five main themes, one of which was relationships. It is very important to work and improve relationships in and out of the UK.”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith met in New York yesterday, 1 February, to discuss the league’s current labour situation. It has been confirmed that both parties agreed to hold a formal bargaining session with both negotiating teams on Saturday in Dallas.

They also agreed to a series of meetings over the next few weeks, both formal bargaining sessions and smaller group meetings, in an effort to reach a new agreement by early March with fears of a potential NFL lockout looming.

In DC, Mark Maske noted the two sides have said that the “last full bargaining session came before Thanksgiving, although they have remained in contact through less formal channels”

N.Y. Daily News reporter Frank Isola said stated that the latest announcement regarding potential discussions was a, “smart PR move by Roger Goodell and the players’ association” in order to “make it look like they’re making progress at the Super Bowl. This way people don’t talk about a strike or a lockout”