Alex Horne will step down as FA General Secretary on 30 January 2015 it was announced today.

He will leave his position after 11 years at The FA where, for the last four years, he has been General Secretary.

Alex said: “I am incredibly proud to have worked for The FA for over a decade in many differing roles. It’s been a privilege to have played my part in the financing, build and opening of Wembley Stadium and the National Football Centre at St. George’s Park, both of which will provide a huge benefit for the game.

“More importantly, it’s been a pleasure to work alongside so many devoted and talented people within The FA who are passionate about developing and improving football across the country at all levels.

“This is probably the toughest decision I have made during my career. But after 11 fantastic years at The FA, I have decided to move on.

“At the age of 42, the time is right for me to look for a change of direction and I will be leaving the organisation at the end of January next year.”

FA Chairman, Greg Dyke said: “On behalf of the Board and the staff at The FA, I would like to thank Alex for his dedicated leadership in a variety of roles over the last decade.

“I will now work with the Board on finding his successor.”

Alex joined The FA as Finance Director in February 2004 and was Managing Director of Wembley Stadium, overseeing its completion and opening.

He went on to become Chief Operating Officer in May 2008 before taking over the role of General Secretary in May 2010.

SANZAR, the organisers of the Super Rugby tournament, has revealed the competition may expand to 17 teams.

According to a statement released by SANZAR, a sixth South African team – most likely to be the Kings – will be included along with a team from Argentina. 

The new structure requires approval from the Unions of each country but would mean that Argentina are included in the tournament for the first time, with South Africa having more teams in the competition than Australia and New Zealand. 

“A scheduled meeting of SANZAR’s Executive Committee took place in Sydney on Thursday where the future of Super Rugby was among the agenda items,” read a statement. 

“Today’s meeting was another important step in deciding the future of Super Rugby,” said SANZAR CEO Greg Peters. 

“Encouraging progress was made and we now have a preferred model that involves six teams from South Africa and a new team from Argentina. 

“The model will now be taken to the National Unions for approval before SANZAR presents its final position to broadcasters and fans in due course.”

Currently Australia, New Zealand and South Africa all have five teams.

Havas Sports & Entertainment (HS&E), pills the subsidiary brand engagement network of the Havas Group, sale has revealed today that President & Global CEO, cialis Lucien Boyer, will now operate from London moving from the Paris base.

Boyer wil continue to apply his expertise and knowledge to strengthening HS&E’s global network, which spans 35 offices in 20 countries. HS&E’s global network is part of the Havas Media Group and delivers a variety of sports & entertainment services including strategy, research, brand communication, activation, SoMe, content and live experience.  All HS&E network offices will report in to him in London, as well as their respective local management. 

Boyer will be supported in global business development, strategy, planning, and network expansion by a diverse global team that includes top-level specialists in several worldwide locations: Global COO Jérôme de Chaunac and Global CFO Guillaume Bailly, based in Paris; Fredda Hurwitz, Global VP Strategic Planning, Marketing & Communications and Jez Jowett, Global VP Digital & Social Media, out of London, along with other team members in London, Paris, São Paulo, and Atlanta. 

The London-based global operations will leverage the local expertise and relationships of the UK team that includes HS&E ignition and major event bid specialists Seven46, who played a key part in Tokyo 2020’s Olympic bid. 

This newly bolstered team will build on recent achievements for international clients such as The Coca-Cola Company for whom HS&E are engaging fans around the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour and the Sochi Olympic Torch Relay among other projects, and recent strategic partnerships with global music licensing agency Music Dealers and iSportconnect, the world’s largest online network for the sports community. 

Commenting on this new organization, Boyer said: “This is an exciting new development for the Havas Sports & Entertainment network that will help us take full advantage of one of the world’s leading global hubs for sports andentertainment. 

“As a global network with an extensive footprint, it became evident that our future development involves tapping into the tremendous opportunities in London, where we have a very talented team who work with a number of leading brands and organizations including The Coca-Cola Company, The Football Association, The Lawn Tennis Association, Sport England, Live Nation, Yahoo! and Aeroflot. 

“2013 was an especially creative and fruitful year for our network, with a record-breaking 77 global awards won by our teams including over 50 awards for our Spanish team’s ‘Enter the Game’ campaign for Konami, all while increasing network revenues with a 15%profitability ratio. We have delivered a number of fantastic projects for our clients, such as creating content and experiences for F1 fans around Burn’s Lotus F1 partnership; bringing football’s top prize to 89 countries for the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour for Coca-Cola; developing a three year communications plan for the IAAF; among other successes, which make us well-positioned to offer brands strategy and insight into fan engagement. 

“With the constant changes and innovation in communications, we are proud to help brands stand out by telling their story through shareable, relevant content and experiences that create meaningful connections with fans. We also look forward to expanding synergies with our sister agencies within Havas Media Group and Havas Creative in the UK and worldwide.”

The new announcement follows Havas recently changing their global CEO. 

A new logo has been unveiled for the 40th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach which is on April 11-13, doctor 2014 Grand Prix Association of Long Beach officials have announced.

The new logo, abortion created by the Los Angeles-based Vessel Design Group, features a stylized Indy car flanked by an ocean wave and a palm tree, signifying the unique attributes of the Grand Prix’s 1.97-mile, 11-turn race course on the downtown streets of Long Beach, Calif.

“The new logo perfectly captures our themes of sun, fun and speed,” said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. “We are looking forward to putting on our biggest and best show yet for the race’s 40th running. The 2014 event will be a celebration of America’s number one street race, both off the track and on.”

Featuring a variety of entertaining activities for the entire family, the 2014 Grand Prix will again be headlined by the IZOD IndyCar Series, expected to feature drivers such as two-time series champ Scott Dixon, the series’ 2013 points leader; defending series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay; defending Long Beach winner Takuma Sato; past Long Beach winners Helio Castroneves, Dario Franchitti and Will Power, and Marco Andretti.

Ernie Els, a four-time Major champion, has become the international ambassador for the Asian Tour. 

The South African star, who will defend his Open Championship title at Muirfield this week, said he was delighted to receive the recognition from Asia’s premier Tour which is celebrating its milestone 10th season as a players’ organisation this year.

“It is a great honour for me to receive an Honorary Membership from the Asian Tour. This is absolutely wonderful. I’ve played in Asia for many, many years and for them to do that, to basically be their International Ambassador as well, is something which I will take seriously,” said Els.

A former world number one, Els has been a huge supporter of the Asian Tour where he has featured in a total of 26 tournaments across the region dating back from 2004 when the Tour was established by the players. He has an impressive record with two victories and 16 other top-10s in those appearances across the region.

This season, the 43-year-old, who has 70 professional victories worldwide including the recent BMW International Open in Munich, featured in two Asian Tour tournaments where he finished tied 14th at the inaugural Chiangmai Golf Classic presented by PTT in Thailand and runner-up at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters.

“I’ve played in Asia twice already this year. I’ve played over there since I’ve been a professional golfer. I’ve seen a lot of the players coming through. Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee, you know, he’s my age, and he’s played his whole career with a lot of success and to also see the youngsters coming through from the Asian Tour is wonderful,” said Els, who is nicknamed the “Big Easy”.

“Well, who knows where the Asian Tour will be in 10 years’ time? I can only see it growing. It’s just an amazing part of the world. Golf is so spectacular over there for the people. They are so excited about it. Golf courses are going up all over the place there where I’m designing several courses in Southeast Asia. It just keeps growing. It’s such a big part of the world with a huge population. Golf is one of the really growing markets in Asia,” he added.

Asian Tour Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han, said: “We are extremely honoured and privileged that Ernie Els has agreed to become an Honorary Member and our very first International Ambassador of the Asian Tour. Ernie is truly one of golf’s most famous stars and is widely respected globally for his achievements in the game and also contribution to various community and social projects that he is involved in.

“Through this wonderful partnership, we are delighted to officially welcome Ernie into the Asian Tour family. His views on the development of golf are widely respected and we look forward to his continued input and contribution to this great game and also on the Asian Tour.