R&A Chairman Shrugs Off Male-Only Clubs Criticism

Peter Dawson, chairman of the Royal & Ancient (R&A) is adamant male-only golf clubs do not damage the image of the sport.

Muirfield, which will host this weeks Open Championship, is a male-only club and Dawson faced a number of questions relating to Muirfield and two other clubs in the tournament rotation, Troon and Royal St George’s.

Dawson said in a news conference on Wednesday: “In our view they don’t do anyone any harm and we think the right of freedom of association is important. And we’ve explained our view that we think they have no material adverse effect on participation.

“On the other hand, the media are, with seemingly boundless energy, I think, and enthusiasm, giving out the message that this is an issue and that such clubs should be condemned to extinction, and we shouldn’t be using one to stage The Open Championship. And we understand that view, too.

“We’ve got politicians posturing, we’ve got interest groups attacking the R&A, attacking The Open and attacking Muirfield. To be honest, our natural reaction is to resist these pressures, because we actually don’t think they have very much substance.

“But I’d like to stress we’re not so insular as to fail to recognise the potential damage that campaigns like this can do to The Open Championship.

“And it is our Championship Committee’s responsibility to do what is best for The Open and to maximise the benefits which The Open brings, not just to golf, but also to the local area. And, by the way, in huge funding for women’s golf.”

Not everybody is against the single gender policy with support, perhaps surprisingly, coming from the chief of the Ladies’ Golf Union.

“I don’t think it has any affect,” Shona Malcolm, CEO of the union, told Sky Sports News.

“We can see both sides of the story but we have affiliated ladies only golf clubs and they are very keen to maintain the status quo.”

With around 3,000 golf clubs in the UK, Malcolm said that 1% of these had single gender membership policies.

UK Sport Reveal Basketball Funding for Rio 2016

UK Sport have made a major U-turn today by revealing they will award funding to Basketball for the Rio 2016 Olympics.

The announcement comes after Basketball made an informal representation to UK Sport’s Board earlier this week. Basketball had originally been allocated no funds for Rio 2016.

Basketball presented new and compelling performance information that reprioritised the sport and the Board agreed to further investment.UK Sport’s award will be on a one year conditional basis with the following three years funding released only on the fulfilment of strict performance criteria. The exact amount of investment to be awarded to these sports will be determined through further dialogue with the sport in the coming weeks. UK Sport also added funding for Wheelchair Fencing.

British Basketball’s Performance Chairman, Roger Moreland said: “We are absolutely delighted with the decision of UK Sport today. They have acknowledged that we successfully presented compelling new performance data, which not only impressed the Board but made them recognise that we are potential podium contenders for 2020. They could see from our evidence and that supplied by Patrick Baumann from our International Federation (FIBA) that our sport has an upward trajectory in terms of both performance and participation.”The endorsement and support of FIBA also played a crucial part in our success by demonstrating through technical information, how much progress we have made over the last 7 years as well as our position globally. We will now enter into a dialogue with UK Sport about the actual details and level of funding as well the support services required.

“This is a momentous day for British Basketball and everyone who is connected with the sports, whether players, fans or officials.”

Reacting to the decision, Mr Baumann, Secretary General of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) said: “I am thrilled for British Basketball and UK Sport’s recognition and appreciation of the very strong case we presented. The new funding will allow the sport to build on the progress and growth it has already made in a very short time and aim for a podium place in 2020.”

Bombay High Court Rules on Deccan Chargers

Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Deccan Chargers will remain terminated from the IPL after the Bombay High Court set aside a status quo order passed by an arbitrator on cessation of its membership in the league.

Justice Dhanuka quashed the status quo order passed by the arbitrator appointed by the High Court to resolve the dispute between Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Deccan Chronicles Holdings Ltd (DCHL).

On another petition filed by DCHL against termination of the contract of its IPL franchise, the court refused to grant any interim relief.

The court orders on the two petitions suggest that the termination of Deccan Chargers’ IPL membership will stand.

Dhanuka said the “arbitrator had no jurisdiction to grant status quo.” He said the arbitrator is not superior to the High Court and so “cannot pass an order which overrides the high court’s direction.”{jcomments on}

 

Jaguars to Play Home Games in London

National Football League (NFL) side, sale the Jacksonville Jaguars, viagra order will play numerous home games in London in a bid to boost their global marketability.

The Jaguars will play four ‘home’ games in London, sale uk viagra. starting from 2013 and running up until 2016.

The news comes on the back of the St Louis Rams announcement last week that they would be pulling out from plans to play in the capital in 2013 and 2014.

New Jaguars owner Shad Khan said on his appointment in December: “The NFL is going to be developing an international fan base. Why shouldn’t it be the Jaguars?”

The Florida side have also struggled to sell out EverBank Field, their 67,000 capacity stadium, over the past couple of seasons.

iSportconnect Directors’ Club London – All Set To Go

The inaugural iSportconnect Directors’ Club London is happening today, generic order with senior decision makers from across the sports industry meeting to share high level insight and opinion on business trends and relevant industry news.

In a ‘Question Time’ format, order | Sir Craig Reedie, Member of the IOC Executive Board, Ed Warner, Chairman UK Athletics, Sally Hancock, Director, Olympic Marketing and Group Sponsorship at Lloyds TSB, Paul Vaughan, CEO of England Rugby 2015, and Nic Coward, General Secretary, Premier League will meet on Tuesday, 21st February at around 4pm, with a specially invited audience of premium iSportconnect members.

The event, in partnership with Generate Sponsorship and Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP, invites guests to offer questions to speakers in a session moderated by Richard Gillis, Sport Business writer and blogger for The Wall Street Journal, followed by a networking opportunity in a relaxed environment.

Attendees are able to post questions for the panel in advance as well as arrange meetings via the iSportconnect Directors’ Club London networking tool, adding further value to the delegate experience.

Founder and CEO of iSportconnect Sree Varma, said, “We’ve received an excellent response from this first event, attracting high profile speakers from across the industry.   The Question Time format should keep the event interactive and provide an interesting discussion format.”

For further information go to dev.isportconnect.com

Attendees include:

Alastair Marks McDonalds: Head of Sponsorship

Rupert Daniels Arsenal: Partnerships Director

Misha Sher Rangers FC: Global Partnerships Director

Rajesh Agrawal RationalFX: CEO

Giancarlo Bernini Sony Ericsson: Head of Global Sponsorship

Gordon Lott Lloyds TSB: Head of London 2012 Partnership & Group Sponsorship

Roger Maslin Wembley National Stadium: CEO

Keith Harris Seymour Pierce: Chairman

Peter Daire The Football Association: Head of Sponsorship

Justin Walkey Bird & Bird: Head of Media & Sport

Andy Martin London Irish RFC: CEO

Mike Pask IMG: Vice President

Kenny Logan Logan Sports: MD

Chris Akers Sports Resource Group: Chairman

David Piggins Powerplay Golf: CEO

Mark Osikoya Coca Cola: Head of Sponsorship

Helena Christopher QBE: Head of Marketing

Danny Talbot Thomas Cook Sports: MD

Andy Westlake Fast Track: CEO

Mike Lee Vero Communications: CEO

Banned Pakistan Cricketers Butt & Amir Lose Appeal

Former Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir have lost their appeal against the sentences dished out for spot-fixing of a test match.

Ex-Test captain Butt, 27, received 30 months for his role in a plot to bowl deliberate no-balls in the Lord’s test against England in August 2010.

Fast bowler Amir, 19, was detained for six months in a young offenders institution after he admitted bowling two intentional no-balls at Lord’s.

The duo, along with fellow team mate Mohammad Asif, were sentenced at London’s Southwark Crown Court on November 3.

Butt and Amir were not present at the Court of Appeal in London for the proceedings before the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, and two other judges, the Press Association reported.

A lawyer representing Butt had argued that his 30-month prison sentence was “manifestly excessive” while counsel for Amir urged the court to suspend his sentence.

Ali Bajwa, for Butt, argued that his sentence was “out of proportion to the seriousness of the offence that was committed”. Although serious, it was at the “lower end of the scale” of such offences, he added.

Bajwa described Butt as a broken man in a state of “ruin and disgrace”.

He told the appeal judges: “The very fact of conviction and imprisonment amounted to exceptional punishment for Mr Butt.”

Henry Blaxland, for Amir, urged the court to impose a suspended sentence of a length that would enable his immediate release.

Unprecedented Demand for London 2012 Tickets Continues

Tickets remain only for football, volleyball and wrestling at London 2012 after another 850,000 tickets were sold in the second round sale last Friday, as demand for tickets to the game remains high.

The first-come first-served second round scramble for tickets was open to the 1.2 million people who had failed to secure any tickets in the original sale, which was decided by a ballot system.

More than 150,000 applications have been processed since Friday for around 850,000 tickets. Just under 90 per cent have received tickets, subject to payment.

With still more than a year to go until the Olympics are due to start, 23 of the sports are now completely sold-out. This is unprecedented in the history of the Games.

There were 2.3 million tickets on sale and 24 sports were in the second round sale, 18 of which were sold out by Friday evening, the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) confirmed.

Only tickets for football, which had 1.7 million tickets for sale in the second round, volleyball, which is due to take place at Earls Court, Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling, at ExCel, remain for sale.

This massive demand meant about 10 per cent were not successful in this round.

Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012, said: “Over 130,000 more people will now have tickets to the Games following the first day of the ‘second chance sale’ on Friday.

“We know there is still some disappointment from those who were not successful in their requests but we will continue to do everything we can to get them to the Games.”

Those who were successful in the first round will get another chance to buy tickets from 6am on July 8 to 6pm on July 17. Another major round of ticket sales will take place early in 2012.

Coe added: “Over a million new tickets will be offered to the British public next year from contingency seats, once venues are tested and licensed, and we aim to get as many of these tickets as possible into the hands of customers who have missed out to date.”

WTA Launch New Global ‘Strong is Beautiful’ Ad Campaign

A new global advertising campaign entitled ‘Strong is Beautiful’ has been unveiled by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), covering television, print and digital platforms as well as social media applications.

The campaign features 38 of the game’s top current and up-and-coming players and will be pushed across 80 markets over the next two years, designed to support the WTA’s efforts to establish a deeper engagement with fans around the world and to promote both the sport’s next generation of players alongside current established names.

The 30-second television and digital advertisements focus on the players’ lives and the intense and sometimes difficult social undercurrents of realising their dreams.

WTA chairman and CEO Stacey Allaster stated: “We want to develop a closer relationship with our fans and attract a new generation of fans to women’s tennis, and the ‘Strong is Beautiful’ campaign is one way to get it done. This campaign will serve as a creative marketing platform for our players, tournaments, year-end WTA Championships and the entire sport.

“The personal stories of our athletes are inspirational. The unique combination of athleticism, strength and determination on the court and success, interests and inner beauty off the court is what makes women’s tennis so attractive to millions of people around the world.”

The TV, print and digital elements of the campaign will begin to run globally later this month. Advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein and Partners is behind the campaign.

Singapore FA withdraws from 2011 Asian Champions League

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has withdrawn from next year’s Asian Champions League in protest against a ban on foreign teams, it has been announced.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has ruled that top leagues across Asia cannot contain foreign team, but the Singapore’s S.League has three – Chinese club Beijing Guoan, Japanese side Albirex Niigata and Etoile FC of France.

Chief of the FAS, Zainudin Nordin, said: “We concluded that due to our current lack of critical mass in key areas such as talent pool and resources, there is still a pressing need for us to continue having foreign teams participating in our league, to help address these gaps in our game and safeguard the sustainability of our league in football excellence, commercial and financial terms.”

President of the AFC, Mohamed Bin Hammam, added: “We have taken on board the situation of the FAS. We hope they will consider seeking direct entry to the ACL soon.

“It is hard to see Singapore out of AFC’s professional football activities in spite of their great potential. We will work hard towards seeing them playing an active role in our professional football programmes in the future.”

Alex Horne to Step Down as FA General Secretary

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.