The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has lifted the suspension of the Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB) by reinstating it with full rights and thereby paving the way for the country’s national teams and officials to take part in all FIBA competitions and activities.

The decision came after FIBA carried out a thorough review of the FLB’s statutes and organisation and held discussions with representatives of the federation. Also taken into consideration was the positive opinion granted by FIBA Asia.

The suspension was handed down on 11 July 2013, following the disruption of the Lebanese national championship due to political and judicial interferences, with the national federation being punished for serious infringement of the FIBA General Statutes and all principles under which the Olympic sports movement is founded. 

Lebanon’s Basketball Federation has been a member of FIBA since 1947.

The MCC World Cricket Committee is looking for the International Cricket Council to push ahead with plans for a Test championship.

There is a window in the current international schedule in 2017 for the championship to take place in England.

But nothing has been agreed, anabolics between the Test nations, unhealthy sponsors or broadcasters. The current proposal is for the top four teams in the rankings to contest the title, which the MCC supports. But the Cricket Committee says that an inaugural tournament including just the top two would be acceptable.

A statement released on behalf of the group, which is chaired by former England captain Mike Brearley and includes the likes of Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan, Rahul Dravid and Steve Waugh, read: “The committee is a strong supporter of the proposed World Test Championship, and urges the International Cricket Council to ensure that such a tournament – or at least a final – takes place in 2017 and beyond.

“Since its creation in 2006, the WCC have stated that everything possible should be done to promote and protect Test cricket, which it believes is the ultimate form of the game.

“The committee understands the commercial sensitivities and logistical issues surrounding the proposed World Test Championship, but feels that a solution must be found.

“Whilst the committee would ultimately like to see the currently proposed four-team knockout competition proceed, it believes that a scaled-down version involving the top two teams in either a one-off Test Final or Test Series would still provide a context that the longest form of the game currently lacks in comparison to ODI and T20 cricket.

“The committee would like to end the uncertainty for everyone in the game by pressing ahead with a WTC in 2017, as announced, and believes that Test cricket could suffer if the concept was dropped.”

British Cycling’s Chief Executive Ian Drake has welcomed the news that Sport England has awarded the sports governing body £32 million to grow grassroots cycling over the next four years. 

Sport England today announced a £493 million four-year investment to keep the inspiration of London 2012 alive.

Cycling, netball, wheelchair basketball and triathlon are among the sports being rewarded for their strong plans and excellent progress on grassroots sport, all receiving funding increases of over 30 per cent.

Drake is particularly excited about the announcement: “Today’s Sport England funding announcement is a recognition of the good work done by British Cycling members and volunteers in driving grassroots participation and a challenge for us to do even better in the next four years.

“Whether it is for winning medals or for getting people active, we are proud of our record of delivering value for lottery funding and we take the responsibility very seriously.

“There is still a great deal of work to do in making cycling in this country better. We’re looking forward to getting stuck in.”

Sport England’s Chief Executive, Jennie Price, said: “This investment represents Years 5 to 8 of our long term plan to get more people playing sport. We’ve learned a lot over the last four years and with a record 15.5 million people already playing sport once a week, we are on track to deliver. We have worked very hard, with the governing bodies of sport, to make these decisions, and I believe they are right.”

Minister for Sport Hugh Robertson said: “This public investment of almost half a billion pounds for grassroots sport will help us deliver a real legacy from the London 2012 Games. We want all sports governing bodies to help inspire a generation and create a culture where people have a sporting habit for life.”

Knut Frostad, prostate Chief Executive of the Volvo Ocean Race is looking to highlight the “human” element of sailing to help spread the sport to a new fan base. 

Judging by the 30, case 000 daily spectators that turned out the last time the race casted their anchor on Brazilian soil, discount the sailor can take comfort in knowing that they have made steady progress.

Speaking exclusively to iSportconnect, the Norwegian yachtsman said: “What we focus a lot on is the human side of the event and the fact that this group of people have achieved so much at such a high level. Most people can relate to the fact that these people are inside a locked environment, where you cannot escape over a very long period. 

This is one of the last human challenges, where it’s man against nature, using technology to overcome. It’s fascinating. What we can do to improve that is make the life on board more accessible to people.” 

Two years ago the Volvo Ocean Race made the choice to introduce a media crew member, operating as a journalist and a cameraman, on board the crafts in an attempt to provide the audience watching at home with a greater insight into life on a boat. The decision is just the first step of a bigger plan. 

“We are now working on a project with biometrics, where we are able to display what is happening with the human body on board, so you can watch that via iPad and see if people are sleeping or awake, if they are stressed or if they have a cold,” smiled Knut. 

“We don’t know how far we can take that for the next event, but we can transmit that information and give non-sailing fans an interesting experience because they like watching these people fighting this battle out in the ocean. When there is a storm hitting them, you will be with them when it happens. 

“The human side of the event is what really drives the interest from non-sailing fans. You can’t do that in soccer, for example, with one person interviewing the players while they are playing!”

Watford Football Club have inked a four-year catering contract with Lindley Venue Catering worth £5.6m ($8.8m)

The sports stadia catering arm of the Lindley Group will look after all aspects of the catering, hospitality and events business at the club’s 19,900 capacity Vicarage Road ground.

The services were previously provided in-house, but the club’s new chief executive Scott Duxbury aims to develop a new revenue stream with the appointment of a contractor.

“We have been looking at all aspects of the club and felt that catering and hospitality was an area where we could benefit from the expertise and experience of a specialist,” commented Duxbury.

“In speaking to other people in the business, Lindley’s name constantly came to the fore and I was aware of their reputation and had seen the results they were achieving at Premiership and other Npower Championship clubs.”

As well as catering, Lindley will be responsible for the sales and marketing function to increase use of the facilities for non-match day events.

Jonathan Davies, sales & marketing director at Lindley Group, added: “The fact that we were approached by Watford FC because they were looking for a caterer with a point of difference speaks volumes for how Lindley is now perceived.

“As a business with a new management team Lindley has also undergone something of an evolution over the past two years and with the creation of the Lindley Venue Catering division we have honed our skills in the professional stadia catering sector.”

NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes have announced today that the Coyotes have renewed their affiliation agreement with the Arizona Sundogs of the Central Hockey League (CHL).

Vice President of Hockey Operations and Assistant General Manager, Brad Treliving said: “We are pleased to have this relationship with the Arizona Sundogs as we look to continue to grow our sport throughout the state of Arizona.”

The Sundogs play their home games at Tim’s Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, Ariz. Arizona is one of 12 teams that compete in the CHL. The franchise was founded in 2005 and hosted the CHL All-Star Game last season.

“Last year’s affiliation with the Coyotes was positive for both organizations,” Sundogs General Manager Chris Presson said. “David Schlemko is just one example of why an affiliation between the Coyotes and the Sundogs is so exciting. We were proud to have him here and we’re looking forward to assisting the Coyotes in the future.”

Military sponsorship of sports is set to continue after a bill to end military sponsorship was defeated in a vote of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday night.

An amendment introduced by Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) and Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) attempted to prohibit the military from spending public funds on sports sponsorships, such as the No. 88 car driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. that is backed by the National Guard. A similar measure authored by McCollum had failed twice previously, and the Kingston-McCollum amendment was initially defeated by a voice vote. But McCollum demanded a recorded vote, which occurred Wednesday night, where the measure was defeated by a narrow 216-202 margin.

On Monday, NASCAR and four other major sports leagues — the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball and IndyCar Series — sent an open letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) asking him to help ensure the amendment was not adopted. In addition to the National Guard’s presence, the Air Force is also an associate sponsor on Aric Almirola’s No. 43 car at Richard Petty Motorsports. The amendment was part of a much larger $608 billion Dept. of Defense appropriations bill for 2013.

Earlier Wednesday, House members vigorously debated the merits of military sponsorships in sports. Kingston, whose district includes Savannah, quoted published figures stating that the National Guard spent $26.5 million to back Earnhardt’s car at Hendrick Motorsports in 2010, but that the money produced no actual recruits. He also claimed that NASCAR audiences aren’t an ideal target of military recruitment, because 69 percent of the sport’s fan base is over the maximum age for enlistment.

“I’m as pro-military as they get,” Kingston said on the House floor. “… and the only thing that’s a bigger population [in my district] than my military are my NASCAR fans. And yet [what] they’re saying to me is, we’re pro-NASCAR, but … we can spend this money a lot better than we are today.”

McCollum used the Army’s recent decision to withdraw as sponsor of Ryan Newman’s car at Stewart-Haas Racing after this season as evidence that military sponsorship doesn’t work. “Over the past few days, professional sports have come out in full force to protect their taxpayer-funded subsidy,” she said. “For the purposes of the 2013 defense appropriations bill, those pro teams are military contractors, who have failed to deliver on their contract in the past with the taxpayers for recruits.”

But Kingston and McCollum were the only members of the House who spoke in favor of the amendment, and they were outnumbered by those rising in opposition. stment when factors like media exposure and apparel sales are factored in.

“This is a huge return for the buck,” he said. “This is why Fortune 500 companies actually advertise through NASCAR. Not because it feels good, but because it delivers results. And the fact is, no matter the size of the military, you’re still going to need recruits.”

Wednesday’s vote on military sponsorships was much closer than McCollum’s two attempts last year, when similar measures went down 281-148 and 260-167. The defeat of Wednesday’s amendment does not affect the recent decision by the Army to pull out as a NASCAR sponsor, which was announced July 10 because of what the branch called a “reallocation” of marketing funds that “will not include a presence in NASCAR.” The Army’s departure after this season will mark the end of a decade-long run in the sport.