A group led by Ron Jaworski was in Beijing on Monday to announce that the Arena Football League is working on establishing a football programme in China.

Jaworski said: “They will pick up on football very quickly. I watched the Olympics and watched those weightlifters, and I think I’d like to have some of those guys on my offensive line.”

The group will stage a series of exhibitions next fall, then launch what it hopes will be a six-team, 10-game schedule in October 2014.

Games will be held in the fall and winter to allow AFL coaches and trainers the freedom to come to China during their offseason and teach their Chinese counterparts how to build teams .

The league will begin as a mix of Chinese and American players, with the objectivel of converting to all-Chinese rosters as quickly as possible.”

AFL Philadelphia Soul co-Owner, Marty Judge said: “Our goal is in China, for China.”

Former NFL coach, Dick Vermeil is also supporting the project.{jcomments on}

Wie ZDF-Sportchef Dieter Gruschwitz auf dem SpoBiS 2012 verkündete, ask werden ARD und ZDF das Team für die Berichterstattung von den Olympischen Spielen aus London im Vergleich zu vergangenen Titelkämpfen reduzieren. Gruschwitz bestätigte, dass die beiden Sender kumuliert deutlich weniger Personal einsetzen werden als beispielsweise bei den Olympischen Spielen 2008. In Peking waren noch 650 Mitarbeiter tätig. „Es wird keine Fünf mehr davor stehen“, sagte Gruschwitz.

Hauptgrund für die Personaleinsparungen sei die Sparvorgabe für die öffentlich-rechtlichen Sender. Gruschwitz gab jedoch zu, dass es jedoch auch ein Unterschied sei, ob man aus London oder aus Peking berichtet. Aufgrund der Zeitverschiebung mussten in China zusätzliche Highlightsendungen produziert werden, die weiteres Personal erforderten. Aus London dagegen werde ausschließlich live berichtet. „Das reduziert insgesamt das Personal“, so der ZDF-Sportchef.

Gruschwitz gab aber zu bedenken, dass die Personalkürzungen nicht nur Vorteile mit sich bringen. „Im Programm wird es zum Teil spürbar sein. An der ein oder anderen Stelle, wo wir in der Vergangenheit noch mit eigenem Interviewer und eigenem Moderator an einer Wettkampfstätte präsent waren, werden nun nicht mehr vertreten sein.“

Gleichzeitig stellte der ZDF-Sportchef klar, dass sich das ZDF von Wettbewerbern wie Eurosport auch in Zukunft deutlich abheben wolle. „Wir dürfen nicht dahin kommen, dass wir nur das internationale Signal nehmen, das ausgestrahlt wird mit einem Kommentator der in Paris, Bonn oder Köln sitzt. „Wir wollen mit unserem Programm die eigene nationale Farbe deutlich spielen“, sagt Gruschwitz. Das bedeutet aber auch mehr Technik und mehr Personal.

Wie ZDF-Sportchef Dieter Gruschwitz auf dem SpoBiS 2012 verkündete, werden ARD und ZDF das Team für die Berichterstattung von den Olympischen Spielen aus London im Vergleich zu vergangenen Titelkämpfen reduzieren. Gruschwitz bestätigte, dass die beiden Sender kumuliert deutlich weniger Personal einsetzen werden als beispielsweise bei den Olympischen Spielen 2008. In Peking waren noch 650 Mitarbeiter tätig. „Es wird keine Fünf mehr davor stehen“, sagte Gruschwitz. 

Hauptgrund für die Personaleinsparungen sei die Sparvorgabe für die öffentlich-rechtlichen Sender. Gruschwitz gab jedoch zu, dass es jedoch auch ein Unterschied sei, ob man aus London oder aus Peking berichtet. Aufgrund der Zeitverschiebung mussten in China zusätzliche Highlightsendungen produziert werden, die weiteres Personal erforderten. Aus London dagegen werde ausschließlich live berichtet. „Das reduziert insgesamt das Personal“, so der ZDF-Sportchef. 

Gruschwitz gab aber zu bedenken, dass die Personalkürzungen nicht nur Vorteile mit sich bringen. „Im Programm wird es zum Teil spürbar sein. An der ein oder anderen Stelle, wo wir in der Vergangenheit noch mit eigenem Interviewer und eigenem Moderator an einer Wettkampfstätte präsent waren, werden nun nicht mehr vertreten sein.“ 

Gleichzeitig stellte der ZDF-Sportchef klar, dass sich das ZDF von Wettbewerbern wie Eurosport auch in Zukunft deutlich abheben wolle. „Wir dürfen nicht dahin kommen, dass wir nur das internationale Signal nehmen, das ausgestrahlt wird mit einem Kommentator der in Paris, Bonn oder Köln sitzt. „Wir wollen mit unserem Programm die eigene nationale Farbe deutlich spielen“, sagt Gruschwitz. Das bedeutet aber auch mehr Technik und mehr Personal.

The owner of Portsmouth football club Vladimir Antonov and his business partner, herbal Raimondas Baranauskas are due to appear in court charged in connection with the asset stripping of Bankas Snoras.

City of London confirmed the arrests of two men, aged 36 and 53, in response to rumours that Lithuanian prosecutors were looking to question the pair. On Tuesday, the prosecutors were granted their request by a court in Lithuania and a pre-trial investigation into alleged fraud and money laundering immediately began.

In a statement, the prosecutors said: “Both former managers of the bank Snoras have been recognised as suspects with regard to misappropriation of property on a large scale and forgery of documents.

“Prosecutor General Mr D Valys signed European arrest warrants issued against these persons.”

Both are shareholders and former managers of the bank, yet both vehemently deny any unlawful activity. Mr Baranauskas also occupied the posts of chairman of the bank board and president.

Last week Antonov owned CSI released a statement saying: “In the light of the recent events at Snoras Bank, Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI) would like to reassure its companies, staff, and the fans of its teams and events, that it remains very much business as usual.”

Organisers of the Rugby World Cup 2011 have announced that ticket sales revenue for the event now totals US$165m meaning Rugby New Zealand 2011 (RNZ 2011) has now reached 75 per cent of its revenue target.

This reflects $25.6m of sales that have occurred over the last six weeks.

RNZ 2011 CEO Martin Snedden stated: “This is a significant milestone. It is a great place to be with the final ticket phase beginning on Monday.

“Prior to RWC 2011, clinic the highest revenue-generating event in New Zealand’s history was the 2005 British & Irish Lions Tour, viagra which grossed $19.8m. As of today, we have achieved eight times the ticket revenue for that event.”

RNZ 2011 is forecasting total sales revenue of $221.5m based on expected ticket sales of 1.35m from the 48 Tournament matches, and Snedden added: “We have now sold just over 900,000 tickets which underlines how popular this event is going to be.”

Recent ticket sales have been largely driven by the resale of tickets to the eight matches reallocated as a result of the Christchurch earthquake.

Snedden continued: “This coming Monday, at 9am, the final phase of ticketing for RWC 2011 gets underway. We’re urging fans to quickly take advantage of this sales period and secure the seats they want to witness Rugby at its best.

“There will be tickets available for most matches other than the Final. This includes the semi-finals and the quarter-finals. For most of the matches on sale Monday, there are still lots of tickets available in the lowest priced seating categories. For more than half the pool matches this means that fans can buy tickets for as little as $25.58 or $33.83 and take their kids for half that price.”

“This could be the last time we will see the 20 best teams in the world battling it out for the Webb Ellis Cup in our own backyard, so we hope Kiwi fans in particular seize the opportunity to get ringside seats at the biggest sporting event of 2011.

“We are expecting a strong response from fans when the final ticket phase opens. As we saw in France in 2007 and Australia in 2003, many fans make up their minds much closer to the Tournament so we are optimistic that fans will respond in the same way.”

International Rugby Board Chairman Bernard Lapasset added: “This key announcement truly represents the final countdown to the Tournament and I am sure that there will be strong demand for tickets. RWC 2011 is on track to be a successful Tournament that New Zealanders and the global Rugby family will be proud of.”

The Association of Tennnis Professionals (ATP) announced yesterday, June 13, that its Executive Chairman and President Adam Helfant would not be continuing his position with the Tour beyond the completion of his three-year contract at the end of this year.

Helfant joined the governing body of men’s tennis in January 2009, overseeing impressive growth at the Tour during difficult economic times, including in the areas of sponsorship, television and digital.

He stated: “I recently informed the ATP’s Board of Directors that I have respectfully declined their offer to continue on. Since I joined the ATP I have felt an immense sense of responsibility to the sport, and the people who have devoted the better part of their lives to it, to leave things better than when I arrived. I am proud to say the Tour is stronger than ever –- in terms of on-court action and our business –- and is well positioned for the future.”

Helfant revealed that revenues at the ATP will have increased by around 65% under his control by the time he steps down, while the organisation’s net assets will have increased by more than 1,100% by the close of 2011.

He added: “I am proud of what we’ve accomplished. Yet, there comes a time when it makes sense to look to the future and consider other opportunities. For me, that time is now. I have enjoyed the challenges during my time at the ATP, and the position has been rewarding; but when my contract is up at the end of this year, it will be the right time for me to move on.”

According to the statement released by the body, the ATP will begin the search process for Helfant’s successor in the near future, to seek to replace a man credited with sealing major sponsorship deals with Corona Extra and FedEx.

Roger Federer, President of the ATP Player Council, said: “On behalf of the player council and all the players, I would like to thank Adam for his excellent leadership and contributions during his time at the ATP. We achieved a lot together and will be sorry to see him go at the end of the year. The sport is in great shape and we look forward to helping to identify a new leader for this important position.”

ATP Board Member Gavin Forbes added: “Adam has done a terrific job as President of the ATP and we are disappointed he will not be returning next year, but we respect his decision and wish him all the best. The Tour is in a fantastic position and well-placed to continue on the same exciting path.”

Some of Britain’s elite athletes have written to prime minister David Cameron to arrange an urgent meeting to keep the annual £162m (US$250m) grant for school sports in the UK.

A decision was made by Education Secretary Michael Gove to cut the fund from March 2011 which helps 450 school sports partnerships across England. 75 high profile athletes including Denise Lewis, Gail Emms and Tessa Sanderson have signed a written letter to attempt to arrange an urgent meeting to change the decision made by Mr Gove.

Badminton star Emms was behind the letter which speaks strongly in its disapproval of the cut on funding to school sports. The money is currently used to run PE classes where no trained staff are involved and also organise and run clubs, competitions and events. The cut is set to be replaced with a new school Olympics scheme costing £10m ($15.5m).

The passionate letter to the PM reads, ‘With one ill-conceived cut you are on the brink of destroying everything schools, clubs and the national governing bodies of sport are doing to ensure this and future generations embrace sport and physical activity, not shun it.’

The letter adds: ‘The future health of all our children is at risk if you axe this funding. We urge you to act now, please, prime minister, and look again at the permanent withdrawal of funding for school sport partnerships before you condemn millions of children to a lack of sporting opportunities and therefore a bleak future of lethargy, obesity and unhappiness.’