Three Guatemalan internationals have been banned for life by FIFA after they found guilty of match-fixing.

Gustavo Cabrera, Yoni Flores and Guillermo Ramirez were found guilty of involvement in the fixing of three matches, two of them involving the national side.

The matches in question were Guatemala’s 3-2 defeat by Costa Rica in a friendly in May, a friendly against Venezuela last year and a 6-1 win by Mexico’s Santos Laguna over Guatemala’s Municipal in the CONCACAF Champions League in October 2010.

The Guatemalan FA had already banned the three for life, but FIFA’s action means the sanctions will take effect worldwide.

“The Disciplinary Body of the Guatemala FA, after having conducted complete and extensive investigations, passed their decisions on 6 September 2012, which are now final and binding,” a statement on the FIFA website read.

“FIFA’s decisions were taken following receipt of the case file, and are in accordance with article 136 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.”

The Topps Company, drugs one of the leading manufacturers and marketers of sports trading cards, cough announced today a multi-year licensing agreement with the National Football League.

The longstanding relationship between the two organizations has spanned more than a half century.

“At Topps, clinic we take great pride in our enduring relationship with the NFL,” says Ryan O’Hara, Chief Executive Officer and President of The Topps Company. “We’re thrilled to know we’ll be in business with the league for years to come.”

Doug Kruep, Vice President and General Manager, Sports & Entertainment of The Topps Company, said: “Our commitment to creating exciting and innovative product is as strong as ever and this deal will allow Topps to continue offering collectors the most sought-after football cards in the industry.”

Leo Kane, NFL Senior Vice President of Consumer Products added, “The Topps Company has been a great teammate for decades. We look forward to bringing more fans their product and their proven ability to excite adult and kid fans alike.”

The New York Yankees, health recent poor attendances have been accounted largely with theie StubHub partnership.

Attendance at the stadium is down 3.6% this year, pill a 6% increase over last season’s 3% drop.

“We believe there are serious issues with the StubHub relationship, search ” team president Randy Levine told The Post yesterday. “We are actively reviewing more fan-friendly alternatives for next year.”

The Yankees, like some other Major League teams, believe that more fans are turning to the online reseller, rather than paying a higher premium to buy tickets directly from the team. The Yankees had been ranked first or second during their first three seasons in their new stadium…they are currently the fifth best selling team this year.

While the Yankees are claiming the “StubHub effect” is hurting their ticket sales, MLB attendance as a whole is up 7%. Although this is largely due to the Miami Marlins move into their new stadium. Marlins attendance is currently around 28,000 a game, an increase of almost 10,000 people per game from this time last year.

The Yankees contract with StubHub expires at the end of this season.

Spanish soccer giant Barcelona, is to drop the UNICEF logo from the front of its shirts at the end of this season, to be replaced by the name of its new Qatari sponsor.

Barcelona is the most well-renownd of a small group of soccer clubs in the world not to have a corporate logo on its shirts, instead displaying the name of the United Nations Children’s Fund, for which it pays the organisation US$2.03m a year.

However, last month the club agreed a record five-year sponsorship deal with Qatar Sports Investment worth $40.57m a season and will have ‘Qatar Foundation’ on the front of its shirts from July 1.

Barcelona vice-president Javier Faus stated: “It has been decided that the Qatar Foundation logo will go on the front of the shirt, on the breast.

“In the end, there will be only two words – Qatar Foundation – in yellow. UNICEF will go on the back underneath the player’s name.

“We continue to have significant structural problems, which we have been burdened with for some years, but which are our structural problems now and which we have to deal with.

“We have solved some of them with the Qatar Foundation sponsorship deal but we still have many challenges ahead.”

Faus was unsure as to whether the UNICEF logo would be allowed to appear on shirts worn in the UEFA Champions League, but added: “What we can guarantee is that every FC Barcelona shirt that is sold around the world will have the UNICEF logo on the back.”

A deal has now been completed which has seen the New Orleans Hornets become the first ever National Basketball Association (NBA) side to be owned by the league itself. The NBA’s acquisition of the team has long been suspected but is now finalised after previous owner George Shinn was forced to sell the franchise due to financial troubles.

The NBA will run the side until a new owner can be found after New Orleans native, Jac Sperling was placed in charge of finding the right buyer. It is believed that as a local man himself, Sperling is focusing his attentions on keeping the side in New Orleans which is also the incentive for an amalgamation of local business owners calling themselves the Hornets’ Business Council.

The group have been attempting to boost home ticket sales to prevent the side from relocating, though the Hornets still have the third lowest attendance in the league. Shinn founded the Hornets himself in 1988 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He then relocated the club to New Orleans in 2002 where they play at the New Orleans Arena.

The Costa Brava region in north-eastern Catalonia believes The 2014 Open de España has provided a positive legacy.

According to a recent report by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, asthma Energy and Tourism, medic there was a 2.4% increase in foreign visitors to Catalonia in June compared with the same month in 2013, drugs which set a new tourism record for the first half of the year, with 7.1 million foreign tourists to the region. 

The European Tour event, which was held near Girona at World Top 100 venue, PGA Catalunya Resort, and won by Spanish golfing icon, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, attracted over 39,000 visitors during tournament week, and injected an estimated 1.8 million Euros into the area.

With a potential combined household reach of almost half a billion viewers from around the world, according to The European Tour’s tournament valuation report, this year’s Open de España has also achieved a cumulative global media value of over $16 million – more than double what was secured for the 2013 event.

Ramón Ramos, Director of Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board, said he was pleased The 2014 Open de España had been such a major triumph, offering outstanding golf and achieving thousands of hours of global media coverage for Spain’s best golf course.

“An important goal for us has been to ensure that the four-day event was not a one-off success story, but a platform to provide support to local tourism businesses, elevate PGA Catalunya Resort’s status as a great golfing venue and boost the area’s reputation as an important European golf destination,” he said.

For over a decade, Golf Costa Brava Pirineu de Girona’s Golf Marketing Club, which consists of golf clubs and resorts, hotels, restaurants and numerous tourist attractions, as well as the tourism board itself, have all been working together to promote the region as a must-visit, European hot-spot.

“Since Costa Brava was voted the IAGTO Emerging Golf Destination of the Year in 2000, we have aimed our strategic plans and marketing campaigns at increasing awareness of the fantastic courses and facilities available in our region,” he added. “The interest has since been phenomenal, and hosting The 2014 Open de España has been the icing on the cake.

“Costa Brava is a perfect destination for golfers of all levels – right on Barcelona’s doorstep – with great courses, experiences, and value that cannot be met by any other golf destination. Plus there is a wealth of historical, cultural, sporting and leisure attractions for family members not so eager to spend all their time on the greens.”

Sport & entertainment agency brandrapport has announced today a revamp to the company, physician which includes a change in ownership.

In seeking to deliver a more rounded brand experience offering to its clients, brandrapport has developed a new innovative Brand Planning & Insight model, widened its Digital & Social Media offering, expanded both its Communications & Events teams and set up a ‘Social Sponsorship’ division.

The Senior Management of the agency have also announced they have completed a buy out of the business from previous owners Ingenious Media.

brandrapport has also picked up several new projects in recent weeks from the likes of Clydesdale & Yorkshire Banks, CNP (part of First Milk), Jaguar, Polar & Samsung.

Andy Kenny, Managing Director commented: “Our agency belief is that brands can build and maintain trust by making a real difference to their customers, communities & colleagues – and our new look and feel reflects our expertise and energy in creating and delivering inspiring content to help companies do just that.”

Andy Dwyer, CEO added: “It’s an exciting new phase for the agency and we are delighted to be back in control of our destiny. Whilst we have some clear thoughts for the future of the business, we are also open to exploring new opportunities and partnerships.”

brandrapport’s clients include Allianz, Burghley, Center Parcs, Clydesdale & Yorkshire Banks, CNP (part of First Milk), Jaguar, LV=, Nestle, Prudential, RaboDirect, Samsung & Sport England.

Nearly three years after reducing its public access and closing to competitive racing, seek the Nashville Superspeedway motor racing complex will have a new owner.

U.S.-based NeXovation, Inc., a global innovation company and active pursuant (highest bidder) for the iconic Nürburgring motor sports facility in Germany, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn., from Dover Motorsports, Inc.

Under the terms of the agreement, NeXovation will acquire the Nashville Superspeedway facility along with some related equipment and assets for $27 million in cash from Dover Motorsports and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Nashville Speedway U.S.A., Inc. Closing is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2014 and is subject to customary closing conditions.

“With our unique business model, passion for automotive technology and motor sports, and a tremendous market right in our own backyard, the Nashville Superspeedway is the perfect complement to our innovative and technological focus,” said Robert Sexton, CEO of NeXovation. “After creating and developing this opportunity within NeXovation for nearly two years, we are excited about implementing a completely new business model that we believe will transform this complex into a fully immersive experience in the world of high performance motor sport, automotive technology, and experiential venues.”

Nashville Superspeedway first opened in 2001 and is situated on almost 1,400 acres of land just outside of Nashville, Tenn. The 1.33-mile concrete superspeedway has a permanent seating capacity of 25,000 as well as lighting for nighttime events.