Richard Lewis, healing the Wimbledon chief executive, viagra 40mg is in negotiations with “major stakeholders” about moving the tournament back a week.

The aim is to create a longer grass-court season and increase the time lag between the end of the French Open which signals the conclusion of the clay-court section of the year and the switch of surfaces.

“It will give us an extra week of grass?court tennis and that will enable the players to prepare for the Championships,” Lewis said. “Any change would not happen before 2014 at the earliest.”

Discussions will be held with television companies and sponsors although due to contracts with them a switch cannot happen until 2014.

The move would also bypass a potential clash with the Formula One British Grand Prix which this year is on the same day as the Men’s Final, July 8.

If Wimbledon started a week later, the Grand Prix would happen on the tournament’s middle Sunday, a rest day at the tennis.

Mohamed Bin Hammam’s lawyer has revealed that his client will be challenging his life ban from FIFA in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). 

Bin Hammam received a life ban for his part in the bribery affair in 2011. 

The former president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is also claiming that he should not be replaced by China’s Zhang Jilong as acting AFC president until the organisation’s next Congress in May. 

His lawyer Eugene D Gulland said in a statement: “Mr Bin Hammam is taking these steps before CAS to clear his name.” 

Bin Hammam will not attend the hearing in person and the court’s decision is expected next month.

Less than 40% of onsite hospitality tickets have been sold with less than a year to go until London 2012.

Prestige Ticketing bought 90,000 tickets, roughly one per cent of the total allocation, from Olympic organisers Locog. Over 60% of the Prestige Ticketing’s deals are still on offer. The company has not disclosed how much it paid for the tickets, nor its expected profit

London 2012 will be the first Olympic Games to have on-site corporate hospitality. Industry insiders have said they would expect a much higher proportion of packages to have been sold after almost seven months of sales.

Prestige Ticketing’s package deals are priced between £495 and £4,500 packages. The most expensive packages are being sold in consignments of 10; these packages guarantee seats for ceremonies or prestigious athletics and cycling finals.

Prestige Ticketing is building a £7.5m three-storey pavilion at the Olympic Park that will cater for 3,000 guests at a time. There will also be hospitality venues in areas including Greenwich and Wimbledon.

According to Prestige Ticketing, corporate packages for women’s hockey final have already sold out. There has also been strong demand for the tennis at Wimbledon as well as the rowing at Eton Downey and Greenwich equestrian events.

Prestige Ticketing’s Marketing Director Tony Barnard said: “We’re seeing a significant increase in sales activity. The ballots for tickets have ended so people know that if they want to go, there’s only one way left to go.”

 

London’s Bloomberg Square Mile Relay, which allows city workers to compete against each other in a road relay race is scheduled to take place at 6:45pm on Thursday 15th September.

Now in its fifth year, the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay sees more than 1,000 competitors from over 100 teams race around one unique mile that winds through the heart of the City.

Each team member will run along the specifically designed course, fighting off their rivals along narrow alleyways, up spiral staircases and through shopping arcades before ending at the transition area in Guildhall and passing on the baton to the next runner.

Among the firms entered in this year’s relay include: Allen & Overy LLP, AnaCap Financial Partners, Bank of America, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Brooks MacDonald, Citi, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse, ECB, Goldman Sachs, ICAP, Investec Asset Management, JP Morgan, Legal & General, Macquarie, Mako, RBS Capital Markets, Rothschild, Square Mile Magazine, WestLB and TT International.

These City firms and many more will go head-to-head to see who’s got what it takes to compete in the most innovative relay race of the year as they look to top the podium ahead of the previous year’s winners Legal & General (2007 & 2008) and Barclays Capital (2009 & 2010) with the latter chasing an unprecedented hattrick.

The winning team will receive a cheque for £5,000 to go towards the charity of their choice. 

Last year, Barclays Capital opted to put the proceeds towards Richard House Children’s Hospice.

The Bloomberg Square Mile Relay 2011 is also partnered with Virgin Active – the Official Health Club Partner of the event.

To find out more details on the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay, log on to www.squaremilesport.com.

The National Rugby League (NRL) has seized ownership control of the Newcastle Knights football club.

NRL CEO Dave Smith said the move would deliver the security and certainty that the Knights players, prostate staff, medic sponsors, drug fans and members were seeking.

The Knights will continue to play out of Newcastle with their traditional jersey and logo.

“The Knights will continue to be Newcastle through and through,” Mr Smith said.

“The team will look the same, they will continue to be based in Newcastle and they will represent this region proudly like they have for the last 26 years.

“The difference is that, financially, they will be one of the top tier clubs in the competition.”

The agreement follows extensive negotiations with the former operators of the Knights football club, the Hunter Sports Group and the Newcastle Knights Members Club.

The business assets of the old club have been transferred to a new entity, called Knights Rugby League Pty Ltd in which the Members Club will take a minority 20 per cent interest.

Mr Smith said the key objective throughout the negotiations was ensuring the Knights remain a viable, competitive football club.

“Our first objective was to resolve the ownership dispute in the interests of the Newcastle Knights, their players, staff, sponsors, members and fans – and that has been achieved,” he said.

“Our next task is to stabilise the business and, when the time is right, we will consider appropriate longer term ownership options for the business to position it for the future.”

Mr Smith said the new Knights would have a board of seven, including one community representative initially nominated by the Members Club, two shareholder representatives initially from the NRL, and four independent directors.

The cash proceeds of the bank guarantee will be used to pay HSG’s existing employee and supplier obligations and to provide $5.1 million in start up funds for the new club.

The arrangements will also allow Knights Rugby League to fund litigation between the Members Club and RockCity.

Mr Smith said there would not be any changes to the business operations of the Knights for the rest of the 2014 season.

Knights Rugby League CEO, Mr Gidley said he was pleased to see the Knights given more certainty about their future.

“We now have an opportunity for a fresh strong start and that will be welcomed by our proud rugby league community,” he said.

London Broncos have agreed a groundshare with English fifth-tier football team Barnet Football Club to play their the rest of their Super League fixtures for the 2014 season at the Hive. 

The agreement, which will see the Broncos play their home games at the Hive as well as training at Barnet’s former ground at Underhill, secures the immediate future of the club.

Last week, the club announced they had lodged their intention to appoint an administrator as talks continued to try and keep them afloat.

Broncos chairman, David Hughes, said: “Our focus has always been to ensure we made the right decision going forward. Over the last 10 days, we have worked closely with the Rugby Football League and Barnet chairman, Tony Kleanthous, to avoid administration and secure the future of the Broncos.

“I believe this is the right decision, not only for the club, but also for the future of Rugby League in London.

“Many hours have been spent working to make sure the Broncos are positioned in an environment where they are best able to prepare and compete at the highest level.

“I’d like to thank Chief Executive, Gus Mackay and our staff for the long hours they’ve spent working to make sure the Broncos survived

“I’d also like to thank the RFL Board and its Executive, in particular Blake Solly who have also worked tirelessly in their efforts to find a solution.”

Broncos chief executive officer added: “These discussions have been ongoing for six months and I’m personally delighted they have reached a successful conclusion for an exciting future.

“The facilities at The Hive are outstanding and the excellent transport links around the ground make it a perfect venue for Rugby League in London.

“The initial agreement is for the 2014 and 2015 season with a view of a longer and permanent agreement.

“I’d also like to thank the players, staff and loyal fans for their patience and understanding through this period of negotiation. Now we can all move forward positively”

Barnet chairman Tony Kleanthous said: “We are delighted to welcome the London Broncos into our family here at The Hive.

“This deal represents a new beginning for the club and we hope to work with them in the community to grow the participation and support of Rugby League in North London.”

The Broncos had been looking for a new home since an eight-year groundshare with rugby union side Harlequins ended in September.