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Finland Announce Tidy Profits from Hosting 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship

The Finnish half of the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship organizing committee announced it made a profit of €8, look 238,162 ($10,595,26) for the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, which will be invested in youth hockey.

The organization had €27.3m ($35.1m) income and cost over €19.1m ($24.5m) in the first year of the co-hosting agreement with Sweden. In 2013 Stockholm will be the main venue hosting the semi-finals and medal games, while Helsinki will host one of the two preliminary-round groups and two quarter-final games played within the group before the two winners fly to Stockholm.

The profit from this and next year will be used for youth hockey over a period of 10 years with the goal to increase the number of registered players from currently 56,626 to 70,000.

In total 90 per cent of the profit goes into youth hockey while 10 per cent will be used for infrastructure projects in Vierumäki and in other regional funds.

The skills coaches will work with various teams in their region in close co-operation with the clubs and their coaches and schools, and also educate part-time coaches and parents. They will participate in two seminars per year organized by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, which has named 25 potential clubs that can name skills coaches paid for through the fund.

It was also announced that ticket sales for the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship games in Helsinki will start on 15th October.

Juventus Coach Conte Plea Bargain Rejected for Match-Fixing

Juventus coach Antonio Conte faces a lengthy ban for his part in a match-fixing scandal after having a plea bargain application rejected on Wednesday.

Conte, order who faces charges of failing to report an attempted fix while at Siena in 2010-11, abortion was willing to accept a three-month suspension and a fine of €200,000 ($243,000) but the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC) believes that punishment is not sufficient for the offence.

It was thought that the prosecutor, Stefano Palazzi, would accept all plea bargains put forward when the hearing began on Wednesday morning, but after agreeing to one point penalties for Torino and Varese he then chose to throw out the offer from Conte and Siena.

Siena were prepared to accept a five-point deduction and a fine of €40,000 ($48,585), but this was turned down.

The legal team from Juve have called for the trial to be scrapped, citing a Corte Costituzionale ruling from 1992 which is reported to state a judge cannot pass the new sentence if he rejects an agreed plea bargain.

It seems certain that Conte will face a lengthy ban and will not be on the bench for the Serie A champions when the season kicks off later this month. Any ban would forbid Conte from contact with the squad during a match and also from giving any interviews to the media.

REWE befeuert das Fußballfieber mit Sammelkarten zum Spielen und Tauschen

Ein Sommermärchen bei REWE mit der DFB-Sammelkarten Kampagne “Mit dieser einzigartigen Aktion wollen wir unsere treuen Kunden mit einem ganz besonderen Geschenk belohnen, das insbesondere bei den Kindern für große Begeisterung sorgen wird.”, betont Lionel Souque, Vorsitzender der Geschäftsleitung der REWE Märkte in Deutschland. “Wir freuen uns, dass wir als Partner die offiziellen DFB-Sammelkarten 2012 gratis an unsere Kunden ausgeben können. Denn die Kampagne ist Teil unserer strategischen Partnerschaft mit dem DFB. Uns erwartet eine spannende und ereignisreiche Europameisterschaft.”

Ebenso zufrieden mit der Zusammenarbeit äußert sich Nationalmannschafts-Manager Oliver Bierhoff: “Wir sind sehr froh, dass REWE uns als Partner im Rahmen dieser besonderen Aktion mit Blick auf die UEFA Euro 2012 begleitet. Die offiziellen DFB-Sammelkarten 2012 und das Album sind ein tolles Souvenir und ein schönes Andenken – nicht nur, aber natürlich ganz besonders für die Fans der deutschen Fußball-Nationalmannschaft.”

Mit den REWE DFB Fußball-Sammelkarten soll erneut die Sammelleidenschaft der fußballbegeisterten Kunden entfacht werden. Die Kampagne mit den Stars der deutschen Fußball-Nationalmannschaft läuft über rund sieben Wochen, vom 26. April bis zum 16. Juni, deutschlandweit in rund 3.500 REWE, toom und nahkauf Märkten. Für jeden vollen 10 Euro Einkaufswert bekommen REWE-Kunden bis zum 16. Juni eine Original DFB-Sammelkarte mit den beliebten Nationalspielern gratis zum Einkauf dazu. Ob zum Sammeln, Spielen oder Tauschen – mit den DFB-Sammelkarten bei REWE ist großer Fußballspaß garantiert.Ein Sommermärchen bei REWE mit der DFB-Sammelkarten Kampagne “Mit dieser einzigartigen Aktion wollen wir unsere treuen Kunden mit einem ganz besonderen Geschenk belohnen, das insbesondere bei den Kindern für große Begeisterung sorgen wird.”, betont Lionel Souque, Vorsitzender der Geschäftsleitung der REWE Märkte in Deutschland. “Wir freuen uns, dass wir als Partner die offiziellen DFB-Sammelkarten 2012 gratis an unsere Kunden ausgeben können. Denn die Kampagne ist Teil unserer strategischen Partnerschaft mit dem DFB. Uns erwartet eine spannende und ereignisreiche Europameisterschaft.”Ebenso zufrieden mit der Zusammenarbeit äußert sich Nationalmannschafts-Manager Oliver Bierhoff: “Wir sind sehr froh, dass REWE uns als Partner im Rahmen dieser besonderen Aktion mit Blick auf die UEFA Euro 2012 begleitet. Die offiziellen DFB-Sammelkarten 2012 und das Album sind ein tolles Souvenir und ein schönes Andenken – nicht nur, aber natürlich ganz besonders für die Fans der deutschen Fußball-Nationalmannschaft.”

Arsenal Owner Stan Kroenke to Bid for LA Dodgers

Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke is reported to have made a bid for MLB team Los Angeles Dodgers, according to the LA Times.

Kroenke who is the owner Kroenke Sports Enterprises is understood to be one of 12 groups interested in purchasing the baseball team. Others include former LA Lakers basketball star Magic Johnson.

Kroneke already owns franchises in all other major American sports, namely the NFL’s St Louis Rams and a contingent of Colorrado based teams including the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, and Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids.

The world famous Dodgers are facing financial meltdown and were put under bankruptcy protection last summer by outgoing owner Frank McCourt, who will later this year pay his former wife Jamie an £85m ($132.5m) divorce settlement.

The Boston native was in 2002 beaten to the purchase of the Red Sox by John W. Henry, now owner of Liverpool.

Former Dodgers manager Joe Torre, one-time owner Peter O’Malley and former agent Dennis Gilbert are also on the shortlist to buy the well known franchise.

Milan Mandaric Completes Sheffield Wednesday Takeover

Sheffield Wednesday has confirmed that Milan Mandaric has completed the takeover of the club with his company UK Football Investments for £1 (US$1.55).

Mandaric has negotiated terms to wipe out the clubs debt which totals at around £30m ($46.59m). Sheffield Wednesday had owed £23m ($35.71m) to the Co-operative Bank of which the new owner has paid £7m ($10.87).

The takeover means that Mandaric, prescription 72, ambulance will now leave Leicester City after a 4-year reign as owner of the Midlands club. Sheffield Wednesday chairman, Howard Wilkinson in now keen to put all their financial woes behind them after relegation last year was followed by the club reaching the verge of administration.

Wilkinson spoke of the deal, “I believe this to be one of the most important days in the recent history of our great club,”

“Our trials and tribulations have been well documented, but I can now see a brighter future for Sheffield Wednesday.

“Our club has been on the brink of administration and if this were to happen then so many people around our club would have suffered.”

The takeover has come just in time after a winding-up hearing at the High Court on November 17 ordered payments of £1.4m ($2.17m) to be made within 28 days to avoid administration.

Chelsea ‘in talks over Earls Court move’

Chelsea are in talks over a possible move to a new stadium in Earls Court, according to reports.

It was reported that the club are considering quitting Stamford Bridge, their home of 105 years, and moving to a new 60,000 capacity ground, which could be built on the site of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre.

A source close to the deal told the newspaper: “The discussion is now on again. It is largely because the owners are progressing alternative uses for the site and there’s lots more urgency for Chelsea to make a decision. From Chelsea’s point of view, this is their last opportunity to get a new ground and stay in the same area they have been in for over a century.”

The club has met the site’s owner, Capital and Counties, in recent months and Chelsea and its advisers are said to be holding a series of meetings to decide whether to pursue a bid or not.

A source close to Chelsea told the Guardian: “There have been discussions about it and the club is clearly considering its next step.”

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck added: “Certainly we wouldn’t leave West London or thereabouts and there are very few sites available.”

“We have to do things with our other commercial activities to make up the deficit that is created by the fact we don’t have a 60,000-seat stadium. We can’t say that we will never move or have a new stadium but at the moment, it’s not at the front of our agenda.” He added.

The Daily Telegraph however, reported that the club were unlikely to make the move.

“We will always look at proposals put to us and we get two or three of these a year. But we have no plans to move stadium at this time”, a club spokesman told the newspaper.

Federal Cabinet approves Munich 2018 Bid

Munich 2018 now benefits from the backing of every level of government in Germany, with the Federal Cabinet today voting unanimously in favour of the Candidature City File and offering its 100 percent support for the Bavarians’ bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018.

Munich’s bid to host the Winter Games in 2018 has now received an unequivocal vote of confidence from the highest level of government within its home nation. The backing from the Federal Cabinet of Germany is yet another demonstration of the overwhelming cross-party support the Bid Committee enjoys at all levels of government.

Munich 2018’s main shareholder, the German Olympic Committee (DOSB), and the Munich 2018 Supervisory Board have already given their unanimous approval of the Bid Book.

Thomas Bach, President of the DOSB and Chairman of the Munich 2018 Shareholders’ Assembly, said:

‘I am very happy to have support from the government in Germany and this strong backing from the Federal Cabinet will undoubtedly reinforce the bid’s presence on the international stage.’

The bid will gain great confidence from the extensive backing by the national government at an important time, as the Munich 2018 Bid Committee prepares for two pivotal presentations: at the Asian Games 2010 in Guangzhou on 13 November and at the European Olympic Committee General Assembly in Belgrade on 26 November.

Glasgow to bid for World Gymnastics Championships

British Gymnastics announced that a bid has been submitted for the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. The event would be staged in Glasgow and held in the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) that will open in 2013 and host the Gymnastics competition for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The bid has been developed by the British Gymnastics with the support of UK Sport, ailment Event Scotland and the City of Glasgow’s major event teams who are working together on the project.

Jane Allen, doctor Chief Executive Officer of British Gymnastics said, help “This is an outstanding bid with both sport and government working together to secure this prestigious event for Glasgow. British Gymnastics is proud to be able to present such a high standard bid to the FIG and is confident that it will be received well by the FIG President Bruno Grandi and the FIG Council who will vote on the 2015 Host City in May 2011.”

The bid team have already begun their campaign for support at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships that are currently taking place in Rotterdam (18-25 October).

Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer for EventScotland said, “We are delighted to be part of the bid team for the World Artistic Gymnastics Competition 2015. Staging the event in Glasgow would build on the excitement and spectacle that will be created through the Commonwealth Games and give spectators the chance to witness top level gymnastics competition on their doorstep once again.

“Scotland has proven it is the perfect stage for international sporting events and with the strong governmental support and funding, this event could be a stand-out attraction in Scotland in 2015.”

The 2015 World Championships have been targeted as the show case event for the sport of gymnastics to demonstrate a legacy from the Commonwealth Games 2014 and it would bring the Olympic Games 2016 qualification event to Scotland for the first time. The winning country will be announced on 18- 20 May 2011, following an official presentation to the FIG Council.

The bid has been developed by the British Gymnastics with the support of UK Sport, Event Scotland and the City of Glasgow’s major event teams who are working together on the project.

Jane Allen, Chief Executive Officer of British Gymnastics said, “This is an outstanding bid with both sport and government working together to secure this prestigious event for Glasgow. British Gymnastics is proud to be able to present such a high standard bid to the FIG and is confident that it will be received well by the FIG President Bruno Grandi and the FIG Council who will vote on the 2015 Host City in May 2011.”

The bid team have already begun their campaign for support at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships that are currently taking place in Rotterdam (18-25 October).

Mike Gascoyne signs new five-year deal at Lotus Racing

Chief technical officer for the Lotus Racing Formula One team, Mike Gascoyne, has signed a new contract to stay with the team until 2015.

The team re-entered F1 this season and have yet to score a championship point. Despite this, Gascoyne has signalled his intention to end his career in the team.

Gascoyne said: “Having started the team from scratch with Tony it was always my intention to finish my career here, so it’s great to have formally agreed a five-year deal.

“I’m extremely grateful to everyone involved in Lotus Racing for having the confidence to take this into a long-term contract. We’ve had a great start to our partnership together, and I’m looking forward to continuing that for the next five years, and even beyond that.”

Team principle Tony Fernandes added: “Mike’s five-year deal is a major announcement for the whole Lotus Racing team.

“It shows just how serious we are, not only about how far ahead we are setting our aspirations, but also as a reward to Mike for the incredibly hard work he and the team have already put in to get us from literally four people back in September ’09 to our current position as a serious F1 player with a very bright future ahead of us.”

Gascoyne has previously worked with McLaren, Tyrrell, Jordan, Benetton, Toyota and Spyker,

ICC president says he won’t support Modi

President of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Sharad Pawar has said he will not protect suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi and insists he will face punishment if he is found guilty of the charges against him.

Modi was suspended over financial irregularities relating to the bidding process for IPL franchises, mid-over advertising sales and the sale of theatrical rights.

Pawar said: “No question of protecting anybody. Not only Modi but anybody. If somebody has committed some mistake he will have to face the music.”

He went on: “IPL, the product, has been a success in this country. It has established that India can also organise such things, and there he [Modi] has taken lots of pain, there are no two opinions about that. But his style of functioning has become controversial and the present board feels it should go in-depth [probe].

“The board has deputed a committee; let us see what the outcome is. From what I know of the BCCI [Board of Control for Cricket in India] it will take an appropriate decision and take steps to improve their functioning and image. I am confident that he has to be given a fair trial. But I can’t interfere either way.”