Juventus coach Antonio Conte’s FIFA ban has been extended to include Champions League matches starting next week.

Conte was suspended for ten months by the Italian Football Federation for allegedly not reporting a suspect fixture during his time with Siena back in 2010.

However, he had still performed match-day duties during friendly games so the rules regarding his position when Juventus kick off their European campaign against Chelsea on Wednesday was previously in doubt.

The world governing body has ended that speculation in a statement released on Friday afternoon. It said the ban “covers all types of matches, including domestic, international, friendly and official fixtures.”

With Conte set to face a second appeal hearing next week, FIFA’s statement went on to say the sanction could be changed if he is successful.

Juventus technical director and former player Massimo Carrera has taken over Conte’s duties on match days with the banned coach continuing to lead the team during training sessions.

FIFA also revealed others caught up in the match-fixing trials will be subject to similar punishment. The statement went on to say it is “currently reviewing additional documentation provided by the Italian federation in relation to other sanctions.”

The NFL Players Association (NFLPA)  today announced a new licensing relationship with TheraPearl, adiposity an innovative consumer products company specializing in hot and cold pack technology.

TheraPearl’s products are uniquely designed to aid in post-workout recovery, making the company a natural fit for the NFLPA and pro football players everywhere. TheraPearl’s mission is to educate consumers about the proper use of hot and cold therapy in conjunction with various forms of training, while informing consumers on the many benefits of using hot and cold therapy.

“We’re thrilled to partner with the NFLPA in developing products that impact a player’s training and recovery,” said Daniel Baumwald, President of TheraPearl. “Our products maximize targeted hot and cold therapy and are uniquely designed for athletes and athlete recovery. We are happy to make this technology available to the NFL players for whom recovery is such a crucial part of the game.”

TheraPearl’s unique products were recently on display at the 2012 NFLPA Rookie Premiere in Los Angeles last month where 35 of the top NFL rookies experienced the product benefits in the TheraPearl cooling, relaxation and massage tent. The technology has appealed to a wide range of celebrities and athletes including current and former NFL players.

“Health and safety is a great concern for all professional football players,” said Keith Gordon, President of NFL PLAYERS, INC. “We are pleased to bring on an innovative company like TheraPearl as an official licensee. Proper recovery between practice and games is a crucial piece of staying healthy, and TheraPearl technology aims to enhance and maximize the recovery process. We hope that both players and fans will embrace their products”

The San Diego Padres announced that Vice Chairman and CEO Jeff Moorad has withdrawn his application to Major League Baseball for a control transfer, in order to expedite MLB approval of the club’s television broadcasting agreement.

“With Opening Day less than one month away, John Moores and I believe our top priority is to ensure that Padres fans will be able to watch broadcasts of what we believe is an exciting baseball team,” said Moorad. “I remain fully committed to the San Diego Padres and our fans, and am looking forward to the 2012 season.”

But the real reason, according to multiple sources, has more to do with Moorad’s group lacking the votes needed among MLB owners to approve the sale of the team. Moorad and his group controls 49 percent of the team (John Moores has the majority share), and Moorad has been running the Padres as CEO. 

Moorad’s tenure has been marked by way too much front-office turnover (three GMs in four years, with Kevin Towers departing and Jed Hoyer fleeing), and there’s some doubt as to whether the group has the financial resources needed to succeed. The Fox Sports broadcast deal will help allay many of those fears, so the delay may be only temporary, something that Bud Selig hinted at in a press release:

“I have spoken with San Diego Padres Chairman John Moores and Vice Chairman/CEO Jeff Moorad.  They have informed me that Jeff is withdrawing his control transfer application of the Padres at this time in order to focus on completing the club’s local television contract.  I am pleased that John and Jeff are working on ensuring that the club’s games will be televised this season and beyond, and I know that they are acting in the best interests of Baseball, the franchise and the great fans of San Diego.”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) have signed their final sponsorship deal with Hyundai Motor Company to become the governing bodies first official car partner, in a deal worth US$44m, for the duration of a new five-year agreement.

Under this agreement, ICC officials and players will use Hyundai cars for official transportation for the duration of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Additionally, Hyundai will be the transportation partner for ICC’s other competitions, such as the Champions Trophy, Women’s World Cup and the World Twenty20, among other exclusive rights.

Arvind Saxena, director, marketing and sales, HMIL, spoke at a press conference yesterday, February 8, stating: “The estimated cost of the partnership between ICC and HMIL is more than Rs 200 crore (two billion) for the next five years. It includes the ICC deal as well as the cost of our media campaign.

“The cost of the media campaign will be varying in future. It keeps changing every year depending on various factors.”

HW Park, CEO HMIL, said at the signing ceremony on behalf of Hyundai: “The ICC Cricket World Cup is one of the biggest sporting extravaganzas and we are proud to be part of this event. Hyundai shares ICC’s deep-rooted passion for cricket and remains committed to supporting the game in the future as well.”

Haroon Lorgat, chief executive of the ICC added: ” We are very glad that two Korean companies, LG and Hyundai are now associated with us, which will also help to develop cricket in that country.

“Hyundai has an opportunity to enhance their brand around 105 countries where ICC is deeply involved.”

Michael Gove, herbal Education Secretary, cialis was forced to withdraw his proposal to eliminate the £162m (US$250m) UK school sports funding put in place by the previous government.

Although the u-turn does not mean that the entire funding will stay in place, view Gove promised that £47m ($72.8m) of the total would be salvaged from the partnership.

Gove also stated that a further £65m ($100m) would be released in the academic years which straddle the 2012 Olympics to ensure that there will be at least one dedicated PE teacher in place at every school.

The move was an embarrassing climbdown for the education secretary whose plans forced an intervention by David Cameron, who demanded a rethink after the coalition Government was hit by a public backlash.

The European Tour has unveiled a new Beijing Office today with the aim of further developing its global brand in China.

It will be led by Simon Leach (Li Sai Wen), who previously helped grow the game of snooker in China through his work with World Snooker’s governing body, World Snooker Limited.

In addition to seeking new opportunities in China, Leach and his team will help manage and oversee the existing European Tour events played in the country, working alongside the China Golf Association and the Multi-Ball Games Administration Centre of the General Administration of Sport.

The European Tour has had a strong presence in China for the past 12 years, with April’s Volvo China Open, at Genzon Golf Club in Shenzhen, the 44th European Tour event to be staged in the country.

Three more tournaments are due to take place on Chinese soil on The 2014 Race to Dubai, with the Hong Kong Open returning to Hong Kong Golf Club from October 16-19, before two out of the four Final Series events – the BMW Masters and WGC-HSBC Champions – are held in Shanghai in consecutive weeks at the end of October and start of November.

As a consultant to The European Tour, Leach was central to the development of partnerships which have subsequently helped establish the BMW Masters in 2012, while last year he also helped launch the Foshan Open, one of two Chinese events on the European Challenge Tour in 2014 alongside the Shankai China Classic. He has now been appointed Director of European Tour International, China, leading the new office which is located at Park View Green (Qiao Fu Fan Cao Di) Beijing’s ground-breaking, iconic, creative and ecologically friendly office and retail premises.

Leach said: “After building a sound, sustainable platform in Greater China for many years, it is now the right time to create a permanent presence on the ground to further develop the already excellent relationships with the China Golf Association, and other various Local Sports and Government Bureaus throughout the country.”

“We are implementing sustainable long term plans with partners to further develop European Tour events in China, and we are focusing our efforts to provide young Chinese players with increased playing opportunities both in Mainland China and overseas through the Challenge Tour platform – the leading feeder tour for rising stars heading for The European Tour.”

“In addition, we will be announcing new and exciting initiatives in the areas of digital and social media, retail and brand development. The China golf market is clearly at the beginning of a huge growth curve, especially with its recent inclusion in the Olympics, and The European Tour is well placed to contribute hugely to this development. It is an exciting time for golf in China, and we look forward to developing many reliable and effective partnerships throughout the region.”

Edmonton in Canada has hired TSE Consulting as lead consultants in its bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Edmonton, denture a premier destination for sports events for over thirty years, malady has been a long-term client of TSE Consulting. The Commonwealth Games bid is part of the implementation of a long term sports event strategy to drive results in meeting various socio-economic objectives of the city.

With vast experience in advising bids, TSE will assist Edmonton 2022 with all aspects of the bid until the election of the host city of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in September 2015. TSE has recently worked with winning hosts such as the City of Lima on their bid for the 2019 Pan American Games as well as Sport Event Denmark in their recent wins to host the 2018 ISAF Sailing 2018 World Championships as well as the IIHF World Championships 2018.

Lars Haue-Pedersen, TSE Managing Director, commented: “We look forward to continuing our work with Edmonton on this exciting project. Edmonton is a city with a strong and clearly defined sports event strategy and to bring the Commonwealth there in 2022 just makes a lot of sense – for Edmonton and the Commonwealth Games movement. We are very excited to be part of this vision and together with the Edmonton bid committee we will develop a strong bid building on Edmonton’s experience in organising world class events.”

The first official announcement from the Edmonton 2022 bid will be made next week in Edmonton on Canada Day – July 1.