Spanish La Liga side Real Mallorca has appealed against Europe’s football governing body, UEFA, decision to ban them from next season’s Europa League competition because of their financial situation.

In addition to the official appeal, Mallorca has also issued a statement about its intent to fight, and defeat the ban.

The statement says the decision threatens to deprive “the club of a series of revenue in different concepts such as ticketing, sponsorship and income from the competition.

“Ethically and legally, RCD Mallorca believes reason is on their side and [the club] will not relent in the effort to show that he has earned the right to challenge the Europa League.”

New manager Michael Laudrup is confident the decision can be overturned. He said: “I’m optimistic – I know Platini [michel, president of UEFA] and I know he’s fair.

“The committee [of control and discipline] took the decision, but we’ll see what happens. There has been no final word.”

A date for the appeal hearing has yet to be confirmed.

China is the latest venue to be added to the ISAF World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) series schedule.

Qingdao will host the ‘Qingdao Match Cup’ which has been added to the 2010 tour, and will take place between 19-25 October.

President of the Qingdao Yachting Association, Wang Xiulin, and Peter Gilmour, President of the WMRT signed a five-year agreement through to 2014 for Qingdao to host an annual stage of the WMRT.

Gilmour said: “The ability of the city of Qingdao to organise a stage of the WMRT in such a short amount of time was something we analysed carefully.

As both a competitor and organiser I am delighted to see that the penultimate stage of the 2010 Tour will be simply outstanding as the city of Qingdao is now ready for the Tour.”

Qingdao was home to the sailing events for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) have announced the appointment of Micky Lawler as President of the WTA.

Lawler has close to 30 years of experience at Octagon, Lawler will report to WTA Chairman & CEO Stacey Allaster and be responsible for driving the WTA’s international growth strategy, business development, marketing and new fan engagement programs, and member and industry relations. Lawler will begin in her new role on January 1, 2015 and be based out of the WTA’s global headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida.

“Micky Lawler has been at the center of the growth of professional tennis for nearly three decades, driving innovation and business across athlete representation, events, international expansion, governance and sponsorship,” Allaster said.

“In her 11 years as a WTA Board Member and 27 years as a leader of tennis at Octagon, she has been instrumental in shaping and contributing to our strategy for growth, importantly including opening new markets for the sport. As we embark on a new strategic business plan to support our members’ business and increase our fan base, I cannot think of a better executive to join our senior leadership team.”

“I am honored to have the opportunity to work even more closely with Stacey and her team at the WTA at this fantastic moment for women’s professional tennis,” Lawler said.

“The sport has reached new levels of popularity, social and digital interconnectivity, and globalization, while the next generation of exciting champions is now emerging alongside the game’s current iconic superstars. I am excited to help lead women’s tennis to even greater success through continued international growth, enhancement of the fan experience across multimedia channels and in-stadium, and the development of new products and assets to support the business of women’s tennis.

“As this evolution in my professional career is set to begin, I want to thank Phil de Picciotto and all of my friends and colleagues at Octagon, who have given me so much both personally and professionally for the past many years and who continue to do so. Their ongoing support was an essential consideration in my decision to accept this position.”

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) have announced that the Chinese city of Putian will host the 2016 FIG Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships. 

President Grandi and FIG Secretary General André Gueisbuhler met with the Vice Mayor of Putian Ms Zhang Libing (CHN) and Chinese Gymnastics Association President Dr Luo Chaoyi (CHN) on Monday at the Zhenbao Holiday Hotel, the official FIG hotel at the Nanjing 2014 YOG.

According to the contract that was signed by the three parties, the championships will be held in March / April 2016 in Putian, in the eastern Fujian province in China’s South-east.

China has a strong Acrobatic Gymnastics programme with the federation’s most recent success being the World title won by the Chinese Men’s Group at the 2014 World Championships in Levallois-Paris (FRA) in July.

The Rugby Foobal League have revealed they will increase their disability participation within Rugby League by promoting a series of ground-breaking initiatives.

The initiatives include the development of comprehensive online guidance, buy disability access audits of Kingstone Press Championship clubs and disability awareness training for Championships club staff.

The governing body is keen to promote the inclusion of disabled people within Rugby League and has worked in conjunction with national disability sports organisations across the country to provide a comprehensive online guide of all available options.

There is also information regarding the adaption of playing and coaching for disabled participants, generic and a Rugby League Case Study, allergist all available to view for free.

RFL Equality and Diversity Manager Sarah Williams MBE, who compiled the guidance, said: “I have been overwhelmed by the support and time that organisations have given to ensuring that the information is up to date. The guidance offers Rugby League-specific content as well as generic information.

“Most importantly, in compiling the case studies, I have been privileged to meet and talk to some inspiring people and clubs who have worked together to ensure that individual disabled people have the chance to achieve their full potential and be a part of the wider Rugby League family.”

English Foundation for Disability Sport Chief Executive Barry Horne said: “EFDS strongly believes that sports clubs play a key role in ensuring disabled people are active for life.

“It is fantastic to see the RFL develop this specific resource to support their clubs to develop inclusive environments, enabling disabled people to access their sport however they choose, whether as a player, coach, volunteer or spectator.”

Also, in partnership with Level Playing Field, the RFL Facilities Trust has begun a programme of disability access audits of all Kingstone Press Championship clubs, with a view for the audit to be completed by the end of the 2014 season.

Level Playing Field Chairperson Joyce Cook said: “We value our close relationship with the RFL and Facilities Trust and are pleased to be working together to improve stadium access and match day inclusion for disabled rugby fans.

“We are also delighted that the RFL has chosen to launch its new disability awareness online service to coincide with this year’s Level Playing Field weeks of action.

“Awareness goes a long way towards breaking down the barriers many disabled people still face and the new online pages will provide a useful resource for all. Congratulations and many thanks to everyone who has been involved. It is a pleasure to work with the RFL.”

College sports marketing company Learfield Sports has announced today that it has acquired Nelligan Sports Marketing (NSM), adding 41 collegiate properties to its portfolio.

“This transaction is a strategic move for our company, substantially expanding our platform of college rights,” said Greg Brown, president and CEO of Learfield. “Adding the rights that TJ Nelligan and his colleagues have acquired over the years will strengthen our position in certain regions where we already have significant sponsorship rights.”

Learfield Sports currently owns the multimedia rights to 56 college athletic programs, conferences and athletic venues, including the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky., which is home to the National Champion Louisville Cardinal basketball teams, represented by Nelligan.

“Learfield is a terrific company with a stellar brand in college athletics,” said Nelligan, chairman of Nelligan Sports Marketing. “Having founded this business, I had a personal interest that the company would end up in the hands of a great firm that would care for our employees and clients with great service and integrity. Learfield fits the bill beautifully.”

The business will operate with the name of Learfield Sports, effective immediately, and terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Nelligan and Tim Hofferth will continue to work with Learfield to manage certain partnerships and strategic initiatives.

“We will be integrating the operations from NSM immediately, and we plan to grow the base of business,” added Brown. “We are also excited about the additional capabilities we can provide the NSM schools.” Both executives noted that the transaction will provide Nelligan employees with increased support from a larger organization and greater career opportunities. “I’m very pleased that our people will have growth opportunities that didn’t exist for them previously,” said Nelligan.

Plans to redevelop Northampton Town’s Sixfields stadium has been given the go ahead from the town’s council.

Capacity is set to increase to 10,000 for the League Two stadium, with new corporate boxes and a conference centre included in the redevelopment.

The £12million project put together by the football club and Northampton Borough Council will also see the area surrounding the stadium redeveloped, with additional planning applications for housing, local retail facilities and a hotel also to be submitted in the next few months.

“This is a momentous day for the club and our supporters,” said Cobblers chairman David Cardoza.

“I will be honest, there were times when I never thought we would get here and without the fantastic support of David Mackintosh and Northampton Borough Council in the last couple of years we wouldn’t have. But now the club can look forward to a very bright future.

“Now we have this approval we can really start pushing things on. Things are already moving forward quickly and it is possible that we will be building the roof and part of the structure of the new East Stand during the season and then finishing it off in the close season.

“We are working at a pace and the plan is to have the East Stand done by the start of next season, the hotel is going to take a little bit longer but hopefully we will be putting a planning application in for that in the next month or so.

“Our plans are also to give the West Stand an overhaul and to put new seating in to the North and South Stands. Sixfields will soon look very different and we will share our plans with supporters in more depth over the next few weeks.

“We can all be very excited about the future and so can our supporters. This is fantastic news.”