London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) has confirmed that troops serving in the UK’s Armed Forces are being given the chance to win tickets for next year’s Olympic Games in ‘Tickets For Troops’ initiative.

The share-out will allow 10,000 tickets to be given to members of the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force and their families and LOCOG chairman Sebastian Coe said he was “absolutely delighted” troops could receive tickets.

Tickets For Troops is being funded by London 2012’s Ticketshare scheme, which sees proceeds from prestige hospitality seats used to provide tickets to worthy causes. All serving members of the Armed Forces and those medically discharged since the start of military action in Afghanistan in 2001 are eligible to register for tickets, which must be done online at the Tickets For Troops website.

Coe said: “Through the sale of our prestige tickets we are enabling the donation of tickets to a number of deserving causes – it would be unimaginable that we wouldn’t include our armed service personnel.”

Tickets For Troops chairman Lord Marland added: “This support makes a real difference to the troops who are doing such an extraordinary job during these difficult times.”

In addition, young people are also to be given the chance to win free Olympic tickets in return for taking part in sport by joining in the Sportivate mass participation scheme.

Sportivate aims to give 14 to 25-year-olds the chance of six to eight weeks of sports coaching and is designed to get 300,000 youngsters playing sport.

Sport England chief executive Jennie Price said: “Lots of young people think sport isn’t for them. I would like them to have the chance to discover whether there is a sport they really enjoy, so this programme is all about choice.

“Everyone who takes part will receive high-quality coaching – giving them the confidence and skills which will make them want to keep playing in the future.“

London’s bid to host the 2015 World Athletics Championships has been abandoned over the uncertain future of the 2012 Olympic Stadium.

The capital could instead be put forward to host the event in 2017.

The Government was unable to commit to a 2015 bid because a number of the tenders for the stadium have plans that would see the running track removed.

The decision means Beijing is the sole remaining bidder and they should be confirmed as hosts later this month.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will announce their final decision on 20 November.

Some bids for the use of the stadium post-2012 Games, including the one from West Ham and Newham Council, include the retention of the track but others, including the one from American sports company AEG and Tottenham Hotspur, have plans that would see it removed.

UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner said: “Obviously we are disappointed not to be pursuing our 2015 bid, especially after securing the support of both the Government and the Mayor of London.

“However, we need to present the IAAF with a bid that is free of any uncertainties.

“That is not something we can commit to until the process regarding the future of the stadium, which we fully support, is concluded.”

IAAF President Lamine Diack added: “We fully understand and respect the reasons for UKA moving their bid from 2015 to 2017. We are delighted that London are still in the race.”

Football Federation Australia (FFA) says it has launched legal action against the Fairfax newspaper group over claims it made that the FFA’s bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup was marred by corruption.

The FFA confirmed it had begun defamation proceedings against the newspaper in Sydney’s Supreme Court over a number of recent articles relating to the bid.

An FFA spokesperson said: “The articles contain serious defamatory allegations regarding the conduct of the Bid, including FFA’s accounting practices and its compliance with FIFA regulations and its Government Funding Agreement.

“FFA completely rejects these serious allegations and is seeking damages.”

The Australian Government had cleared the FFA of any wrongdoing after the Fairfax had claimed it had spent “secret millions” on lobbyist fees and gifts to FIFA executives and their wives.

Leading full service sports data and media company Infostrada Sports today announced it has signed a data partnership with the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

Infostrada Sports will become the official data partner of the IWF for a three year period until the end of 2017.

Infostrada Sports and the IWF will exchange sports data and content. Infostrada Sports will receive the IWF official results and returns full athlete biographies, amongst other products and services to the IWF. 

Infostrada Sports will also be delivering a selection of its renowned “Facts & Figures” to the IWF Media & Communications team around the 2014 World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Infostrada Sports will deliver a media guide, general statistical previews about the favourites, about the specific tournament and about historical results.

Infostrada Sports manages the world’s largest sports database, covering close to 300 sports worldwide. Over the past 15 years a data platform has been developed in order to centralise in one place and in a single format, the storage of sports results and biographical data of athletes, which can be exchanged through a universal protocol, thus providing turn-key solutions to its clients in professional sports such as the IWF.

“Infostrada Sports is delighted to enter into this ground breaking arrangement with one of the oldest and most respected international federations, to exchange data and ensure the best quality for media and sports fans,” said Danny Menken, CEO Infostrada Sports.

“We have a proven track record of delivering quality operations and first class content. With our unique services we take a huge issue off the shoulders of the IWF media office in providing media and the weightlifting community with the best possible content. At the same time we are proud that we will collaborate with the IWF to ensure their official results data forms the quality base of our data analysis.”

“Recently the IWF has significantly enhanced the sport presentation and the services to its media and public clients including its Social Media, appearance, branding etc. In addition to its traditionally available athlete database and result service on its website the IWF with this partnership is now able to satisfy the demand from its stakeholders with personalized content,” said Dr. Tamas Ajan, IWF President.

Gary Hetherington, Leeds rugby league CEO, has urged the National Rugby League (NRL) to push for an expanded World Club Challenge from 2015.

As Wigan prepare to represent Super League in the 2014 event in Sydney, Hetherington believes the time is right to press ahead with a six-club series to be held every two years, alternating between the two hemispheres.

“There was further dialogue between NRL and Super League executives during the World Cup and I would hope that can be developed now the season is up and running,” said Hetherington, who is on a working party set up jointly by the NRL and the RFL to consider the future of the annual clash of the champions.

Under the proposed scheme, the top three NRL teams from each competition would play their Super League counterparts over one weekend in February to determine both the World Club Challenge and a world series.

“While the NRL teams are over here on a two-week trip, they could also play a game against themselves or indeed against someone else,” Hetherington said.

“The World Club Challenge has been an absolute terrific competition and it’s firmly established in England.

“We’ve played in five out of six and had a huge crowd at every one of them so I think we’ve established over the last 10 years that it has got the public appetite and it’s generated good revenues.”

Wigan beat Brisbane Broncos in Brisbane in 1994, before the advent of Super League, to add to their home victories in 1987 and 1991, but the event has been held in England every season since it was re-introduced into the calendar in 2000.

Wigan will meet Sydney Roosters at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday 22nd February.

Samsung Electronics Australia has launched a multi-million dollar marketing campaign to leverage its global sponsorship of the Winter Olympics.

Samsung Electronics, ampoule the Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner in the wireless communications equipment category, sick has developed ‘Design Your Moment’, buy a collaboration between two of its ambassadors and up-and-coming Australian artists to help inspire the athletes in their pursuit for gold at Sochi 2014.

The company sponsors Australian Olympians Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin and Scotty James and Paralympian Jessica Gallagher. It’s also a partner of the Australian Olympic Team, providing all athletes and team officials with a Samsung smartphone.

‘Design Your Moment’ sees boarder cross snowboarder Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin work with music producer Sampology to create a new track, ‘Show Me’, which will motivate Chumpy before his steps out for his race at the Games. Graffiti artist Vexta has painted an eagle in a Melbourne laneway that signifies the sensation of flying, which halfpipe snowboarder Scotty James feels when he’s competing.

The marketing campaign is supported by a media campaign across outdoor, broadcast and digital outlets. Together with Network Ten, Samsung will also extend the broadcasting of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games on Twitter using its new Twitter Amplify service.

Samsung’s CMO, Arno Lenior, says, “Following the success of Samsung Stadium for the Lions series, and our nation’s love of Roy and HG, it seemed only fitting that we bring these iconic commentators back for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

“Samsung is very proud to be a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Games in the Wireless Communications Equipment category. We believe that the Olympic spirit can move people to greatness. Through this campaign, we hope to bring Aussies closer to the Games in engaging and creative ways so they can connect with inspirational athletes, innovative technology and exciting, interactive experiences.”

Dentsu Inc. announced today that it has been appointed by the Japan Professional Football League (J.League) as the league’s marketing partner for the five years from 2014 to 2018.

As a result, prescription Dentsu will sell marketing rights on an exclusive basis to companies involved in the sponsorship of J. League matches and tournaments.

In a staement Dentsu said: “By leveraging the sports business knowledge and know-how that it has cultivated over the years, allergy Dentsu will actively contribute to the promotion of the J. League and the marketing activities of corporate sponsors.”