It has been revealed that more than a million extra tickets for the London 2012 Olympics will not go on sale until next Spring.

Thousands of tickets for most popular events, were held back from sale earlier this year while seating plans were finalised. London 2012 organisers had initially said those tickets could go on sale as early as December, but that is now unlikely to happen before April 2012.

The only tickets which will be put on sale in December are for football. Around 1.5 million football tickets were left unsold at the end of the first two sale phases. Football was the only sport which did not sell out.

There is bound to be enormous demand for the remaining non-football tickets when they are finally available. There will be several thousand tickets available for both the opening and closing ceremonies, which were massively oversubscribed, as well as other sought-after events like the athletics finals.

A spokeswoman for the London 2012 organising committee, Locog said that the organisation’s focus is currently on the sale of Paralympic tickets, which continues until 26 September.

She added: “In December, we will put 1.5 million Olympic football tickets on sale on a live system. The remaining one million Olympic tickets, to all sports, will go on sale to the British public next year from the contingency seats, once venues are tested and licensed, and operational plans are completed.”

It is still to be decided how the remaining tickets will be sold. It is likely that those who applied this year, and were unsuccessful, will be given priority.

The difficulty, though, with the tickets not being allocated until so close to the Games is that those who are lucky enough to be able to buy them could discover that transport and accommodation prices have risen in the meantime.

Visa, an official sponsor of the International Olympics Committee (IOC) is looking to enhance the profile of Britain’s Olympic athletes during its marketing activity ahead of the 2012 Games. Up until the event, Visa will be the official presenting partner of the British team and will look to boost the profile to encourage interest in the athletes progression.

Head of Partnership Marketing at Visa Europe, Colin Grannell stated: “The goal is to make the team famous, to make some of the individuals much higher-profile.”

In their attempts to achieve this goal, Visa will also create competitions that offer the chance to meet and train with athletes in the run-up to the Games. The campaign will be undertaken through digital and social media as well as point-of-sale activity.

Danny Jordaan is set to be nominated by the South African Football Association (SAFA) to run for the presidency of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Jordaan was the chief executive of the organising committee for this summer’s FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and according to SAFA, his name will be put forward for the 2011 elections.

SAFA vice president Mwelo Nonkonyana has said Jordaan is the right man to improve football in Africa. He said: “Our position is clear, we want to transform soccer, not only in Africa, but the rest of the world.

“We have already consulted extensively in this regard. We have to know CAF’s views. We don’t want to antagonise people – we wish to make a difference.

“Change must come, but it must be a change for the better. We will nominate a person with extensive knowledge of the game, and a person who has demonstrated those qualities is Danny Jordaan.”

The Perth 2011 International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Wolrd Championships’ sponsorship programme has been a success, despite the current tough economic climate, it has been revealed.

Darren Beazley, Director of commercial operations, said: “Over the last 16 months, we have been successful in a challenging economic climate to secure over 25 partners in the different categories. On the sponsorship front, we are supported by the Australian Government, Eventscorp, as well as commercial sponsors such as QBE Australia, Middletons, Leeuwin Estate, Little Creatures, Carbon Conscious, Kailis Australian Pearls and so on. We also have official supplier and event partners too numerous to list here.

“Perth 2011 has been approached by companies from overseas, including the US and more recently from a large financial institution from the United Kingdom. Currently, we have international businesses involved such as DB Schenker, which has joined as an official supplier, and we hope that we will have other international organisations join Perth 2011 over the next 12 months.”

The Perth 2011 ISAF World Championships is set to be the largest sailing event ever held in Australia, and will take place from 3 to 18 December 2011, on the shores of Western Australia.

Germany’s leading sports rights agency SPORTFIVE has extended their marketing contract with Hertha BSC until at least 2025.

As part of the collaboration SPORTFIVE will be in charge of marketing, TV rights as well as hospitality and new media services. SPORTFIVE has been partners Hertha BSC since 1994.

Ingo Schiller, Director of Finance at Hertha BSC, said: “The restructuring and renewal of the contract is extremely important and very positive for both sides. Together we are the potentials that are opened up by the new partner KKR, use for the benefit of the club. “

Philipp Hasenbein, Managing Director of SPORTFIVE: “The entry of KKR strengthens the capital club. He is not only good for the club, but also for his fans and the city of Berlin. We have been working for 20 years very trusting with Hertha BSC together and look forward to the future together. “

The London Aquatics Centre, which was used during the London 2012 Olympics, will host the FINA/NVC Diving World Series between April 25 and 27, British Swimming has announced.

It will be the first time the centre will have been used for international competition since work to transform it in the wake of the Games.

UK Sport has confirmed an investment of up to £100,000 from its National Lottery-backed Gold Event Series – a programme to bring 70 elite events to the United Kingdom by 2017 – by way of support.

British Swimming’s chief executive David Sparkes said: “We look forward to welcoming the best divers in the world back to London. Many of those attending will already have fantastic memories of the iconic venue and of the 2012 Olympics.

“This event marks the beginning of the history of the pool within legacy mode and we wish the divers well as they start the next chapter in the life of this fabulous building.”

Mayor of London Boris Johnson added: “The 2012 Games continue to change lives in the capital and I hope news that the world’s diving elite will return to our amazing Aquatics Centre next year will inspire even more Londoners to take to the pool.”

The FINA/NVC Diving World Series is an annual competition which will also have meetings in Beijing, Dubai, Moscow, Windsor and Monterrey.

Leading MotoGP racer Valentino Rossi has revealed he is looking to start a Moto3 team, running Romano Fenati and possibly half-brother Luca Marini on KTM machinery in 2014.

Rumours that Rossi would become involved in a Moto3 team have been circling for months.

But in August the seven time MotoGPchampion insisted the plan was just to start a ‘VR46 Riders Academy’, to help support young Italian racers, rather than an actual team.

However Italy’s SportMediaset reports that the Italian Federation will no longer field the San Carlo-backed Team Italia squad next year, leaving 2012 race winner Fenati in need of a team.

Italy’s Sky Italia will sponsor the new VR46 project, while KTM machines are also confirmed – and an obvious choice, having won every Moto3 grand prix so far this year.

“We have joined forces with Sky in order to give the Italian riders the opportunity to be competitive and reach the highest levels,” said Rossi.

Teams wishing to enter next year’s Moto2 or Moto3 World Championships submitted their requests at the San Marino Grand Prix. Further details on the 2014 entries will be made available after the next selection meeting at the Malaysian Grand Prix, in October.

However the official MotoGP website has confirmed that the new VR46/Sky team “has already forwarded an official entry application to MotoGP governing body the FIM and commercial rights holder Dorna Sports in order to participate in the Moto3 class.”