Turkmenistan is hoping that the construction of a $5bn Olympic Complex in Ashgabat will open the door to more sporting events being held in the country. iSportconnect’s James Needham visited the capital for the International Sports Media Forum to learn more about the country’s ambitions.

Described as “the best kept secret in sport, anabolics ” Turkmenistan is using sport to help elevate their world status. The International Sports Media Forum was hosted in the country last week to introduce the international sports media to how much the country is growing and how sport is playing a key role.

When walking through Ashgabat, the capital city where a multi-billion dollar Olympic Complex is being built, it is obvious that they have a clear plan with nearly all buildings constructed from marble and teaming with lights during the evening.

However, things have not always been so rosy. The former Soviet state was under the dictatorship of Saparmurat Niyazov from their independence in 1991 to his death in 2006. The country has also held a questionable human rights record and its treatment of the press was voted second worst behind North Korea in 2012.

The sight of nearly 50 journalists from across the world descending on the capital city for the forum, hosted by Jon Tibbs Associates (JTA), is therefore quite remarkable and is a statement of intent from Turkmenistan to move away from the more negative aspects of their past.

$5bn Olympic Complex

An even bigger statement of intent comes in the form of the impressive $5bn Olympic Complex that is being built in Ashgabat. Built by Turkish construction company Polimeks and designed by London-based firm Arup, who have worked on major sports projects including London 2012, the centre will be used to host the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. Turkmenistan hopes that this event will be the springboard to more major events in the country. The games will mark the first time the tournament has been held in central Asia and will welcome 5,000 athletes from 62 countries.

The Olympic Complex is comprised of what will be 15 spectacular venues including the largest indoor Velodrome facility in the world, holding a respectable 6,000 spectators. A 5,000-seater indoor arena for martial arts and an 800 room luxury media hotel are also amongst the facilities in the first phase of the construction project. The first phase is now 86% complete and is due to open its doors in April 2014.

The remaining phases are set to be complete by March 2017 and will include a 15,000 capacity indoor arena, a 4,000 capacity tennis centre, an aquatic centre that will also hold 4,000 fans and a 5,000-seater indoor athletics arena. These facilities are surrounded by the athletes’ village which will be capable of hosting 12,000 competitors once complete.

A 45,000 capacity stadium is also a part of the plans, with the existing stadium, which is well past its sell by date, being demolished to make room for the modern facility. This will be capable of hosting FIFA and IAAF tournaments, providing Turkmenistan with an extra opportunity to host major tournaments.

A springboard to further events

Osman Karakus, the Project Coordinator for the Ashgabat Olympic Complex explained: “The Ashgabat Olympic Complex will not only provide world class facilities of the latest international standards but will also provide a legacy for the youth of Turkmenistan to be encouraged to take and improve their sporting prowess and to lead them to a healthy lifestyle.

“The facilities will also provide the local sports federations with well equipped, modern buildings to be able to implement their training programmes.

“In addition it is anticipated that these facilities will allow Turkmenistan to successfully bid and win the rights to further international events.”

High ambitions

The right to host further international events is a key priority for the country. The Olympic Complex will give Turkmenistan the platform to bid for future events, with the Asian Games in 2023 being seen as the likely stepping-stone after 2017. But what about after 2023? The Olympic Games is perhaps the final ambitious goal for the country.

When appointed in 2003, Azat Muradov (pictured below) was the youngest Secretary-General of any National Olympic Committee (NOC). Now he has the responsibility of putting Turkmenistan well and truly on the worldwide sporting map.

“Turkmenistan is a fast growing developing country and the Government pays great attention to sport,” said Murdov. “After 2017 we have a vision to host big likes, like the Asian Games and the Youth Olympic Games. The final destination for us is the Olympic Games, but first we have to gain experience.”

The Olympic Complex and hosting the event in 2017 will certainly allow them to gain that experience and the impetus will now be for Turkmenistan to continue to develop as a nation and to grow their sporting infrastructure.

If the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Game is a success and the Olympic Complex delivers what it is expected to, then Turkmenistan will perhaps no longer be the great secret that Jon Tibbs, chairman of JTA described the country as at the forum.

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Thomas Bach has urged the immediate publication of a sensational report lifting the lid on the extent to which sports doping was undertaken in Cold War Germany . . . not in the East but in the West.

The 800-page study by the Humboldt University in Berlin was commissioned in 2008 by the German Olympic sports federation (DOSB) and the Federal Institute of Sport Science (BISp); head of the DOSB is Bach who is favourite to become the next president of the International Olympic Committee.

However no-one had expected such shattering revelations about not only the injections given to West Germany’s 1954 World Cup-winners but a systematic, 20-year doping programme across all Olympic sports.

Such a programme was run, according to Doping in Germany from 1950 to today* with the knowledge of not only senior politicians but sports officials and doctors. Their work was funded with taxpayers’ money by the Interior Ministry.

A draft summary of the investigation was completed last year and the final version had been kept under wraps since April this year. Frustration at the ‘freeze’ over concerns of data protection issues and legal action, led to it being leaked last week to the Suddeutsche Zeitung. Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich is already coming under pressure over the delay in publication.

The report will be a major embarrassment for Bach who is favourite to be voted in as next IOC president in September in succession to the retiring Jacques Rogge.

Erfurt scandal

This is not the first domestic doping issue to have confronted him. Only last year, in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics, Bach had to deal with concerns over practices at the Erfurt Olympic training centre.

The Humboldt report casts a long shadow over West German sports achievement in the years of the Cold War. The SDZexpose describes it as showing that “doping was everywhere in West German sport . . . to a frightening extent.”

Initially the programme sought to disprove performance-enhancing qualities of anabolic steroids, testosterone and oestrogen. When the converse became obvious, such substances were issued to competitors including athletes and rowers.

The extent was not comparable with developments in East Germany – seven of whose track-and-field records stand to this day – but serious and widespread enough.

One witness told researchers of a conversation before the 1972 Munich Olympics when a senior sports ministry official said: “One thing matters above all else: medals.”

The allegation of such pressure on the sports medicine establishment has been denied by former Interior Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher. He said yesterday that such systematic doping was “completely impossible.”

As for football, the report alludes to stimulants administered to players in club football in the late 1940s, before West Germany re-entered international competition.

Needle sharing

In 1954 West German footballers preparing for the World Cup finals accepted injections of, they were told, vitamin concoctions. Within months of their sensational World Cup victory over runaway favourites Hungary (Das Wunder von Bern), many of the players had been taken seriously ill; jaundice was the common diagnosis.

The players had all been dosed with the same shared needle and syringe.

Only a minority, among them Alfred Pfaff – later captain of Eintracht Frankfurt’s legendary 1960 European Cup finalists – refused the jabs. Winger Richard Herrmann died of cirrhosis aged 39, just eight years later.

These injections, according to the Humboldt report, were not ‘mere’ vitamins but the methamphetamine Pervitin.

This was the so-called ‘Panzer chocolate’ or ‘fighter chocolate’ which was issued to combatants in the Axis and Allied forces during the Second World War. It was still widely available in Germany years later because more than 35m doses had been manufactured in the early 1940s.

Twelve years later three members of the West German team who finished runners-up to England in the 1966 World Cup tested positive for ephedrine. This was apparently passed off as a cold cure in a note to world football federation FIFA.

‘New generation’

German athletics chief Clemens Prokop, asked about the allegations, said the doping programme could have been a Cold War issue only. He added: “For track and field today I can largely rule out any such problems. Since the 1990s we have a new generation.”

Prokop may have forgotten last year’s controversy focused on the Olympic Training Centre in Erfurt which had been the acknowledged home of scientific abuse of athletes in the former East Germany.

There, between 2006 and 2011, some 30 high-level German competitors – including speed skaters, rowers plus track and field athletes – had blood samples irradiated with ultraviolet light and then reinfused.

This treatment, ostensibly to combat infection, had been developed under the East German state doping programme.

At Erfurt it was applied under the direction of Andreas Franke. He was a former medical partner of Horst Tausch who was jailed for 10 months in 2000 for providing Kristin Otto and 21 other former East German swimmers with performance-enhancing drugs.

Continuance of the UV practice by Franke was accepted because it was never considered doping as such. Clearly, however, it fringed a line which looks even thinner in the wake of the Humboldt report.

Open letter

Last year concern that Germany’s anti-doping authorities were dragging their feet over Franke’s work prompted a dozen high-profile campaigners to write an open letter to Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The 12 included Brigitte Berendonk (the No1 expert on East German sports doping), Olympic biathlon champion Antje Harvey and doping victim Andreas Krieger (who, as Heidi Krieger, had been a steroid-wrecked European shot champion).

Their letter was entitled: “Doping cover-up at the Erfurt Olympic Training Centre.” It stated: “For many years opponents of doping within sports and governmental organisations have come up against a granite wall.”

The letter suggested this had been a consequence of the defensive influence of political institutions within the government, the World Anti-Doping Agency and its cash-strapped German counterpart NADA (Nationale Anti-Doping Agentur).

All those suspicions and concerns about the ‘granite wall’ have now been enhanced by the Humboldt report.

Publication plea

DOSB chief Bach, a vice-president of the International Olympic Committee as well as a Games gold-winning fencer, reacted to the SDZ revelations from the Humboldt report by calling for its immediate publication.

He said: “I took the initiative for this study soon after the DOSB was founded [in 2006]. We wanted to have clarification about the doping history in Germany. Finding out about our heritage is essential for our zero tolerance policy against doping. A lot of this information is not new and was already published before by other scientists.

“We look forward to receiving the final report of the research and will take the necessary consequences after a careful study. In order to ensure full transparency we would welcome the publication of this final report.”

A special hearing of the parliamentary sports committee is expected to be summoned early next month after the summer recess. Green party sports specialist Viola von Cramon has warned that Minister Friedrich has serious questions to answer over suggestions of a cover-up.

Bach, as president of the Appeals Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, he knows no country is free of doping problems. Conversely now he has been offered an opportunity to demonstrate his leadership qualities.

His response may determine not only how German sport emerges from the scandal but his own future within the Olympic movement.

The full title of the report is:  Doping in Deutschland von 1950 bis heute aus historisch- soziologischer Sicht im Kontext ethischer Legitimation [Doping in Germany from 1950 to today from a historical and sociological perspective in the context of ethical legitimacy].

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Keir Radnedge has been covering football worldwide for more than 40 years, writing 33 books, from tournament guides to comprehensive encyclopedias, aimed at all ages.

His journalism career included The Daily Mail for 20 years as well as The Guardian and other national newspapers and magazines in the UK and around the world. He is a former editor, and remains a lead columnist, with World Soccer, generally recognised as the premier English language magazine on global football.

In addition to his writing, Keir has been a regular analyst for BBC radio and television, Sky Sports, Sky News, Aljazeera and CNN.

Keir Radnedge’s Twitter: @KeirRadnedge

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LONDON: The president of the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) has said that the IOC should not reinstate Wrestling to the 2020 Olympic Games if they are to keep to previous promises.

Wrestling was controversially axed from the Olympic programme for the 2020 Games and Wakeboarding is one of the sports looking to take its place.

Speaking exclusively to iSportconnect, adiposity IWWF president, Kuno Ritschard said: “I hope that all the IOC members remember what the IOC president said at the IOC Session in Guatemala before the decision was made to change the format of the Summer Games to 25 core sports.

Read the full article here >>

The London Olympics were magnificent and I don’t think there is any question that they demonstrated the positive effect a major Event has on a city. London in July/August was magical; the city was alive, people were optimistic, happy and energised.  On a personal note, London was a special privilege. I had the opportunity, with a small group of people who had all been involved in the design and delivery of Olympic Park, to line the tunnel as British Olympian Steve Redgrave ran through and into the stadium holding the torch during the Opening Ceremony.  I often thought back during the following weeks about  how far it had all come from the earliest planning years, when we were such a small team working  on the initial masterplanning studies in the Canary Wharf offices. What I liked best about the stadium during the Olympics were the crowd –the anticipation and excitement on people’s faces – it felt honest and hopeful and good.

Events are a very powerful tool for a city. Major Events such as a National Games, an Asian Games or a major business forum provide a tremendous opportunity for a city to position itself on a global stage. Take China for example.  The growth of smaller second, third and even fourth tier cities in China seems set to continue as millions of people move from the country into cities each year, in a trend expected to continue for a decade. Each city will need infrastructure to support the development of an urban community. A stadium and a convention centre are important parts of the development of a civic centre. The London Olympics and Paralympics are demonstrating just how significant major pieces of sporting infrastructure can be during such high profile Events.

Incheon in South Korea is good example of a growing city developing strategic events as part of a long term plan to establish an international reputation.  Incheon is one of Asia’s fastest growing cities, 30 minutes from Seoul, and the third largest city in Korea. In 2001 a state of the art international airport opened at Incheon, setting up  the city as a logistics centre of Northeast Asia, and it has become a major transit spot for business and holiday travelers from the US and Europe. In 2007, the city bid for and won 17th Asian games, and in 2009 staged the Asia Pacific Cities Summit, a gathering of Mayors and business leaders from across Asia.  Incheon’s civic leaders saw both sport as well as business as a chance to make a global impact.  Today, the new multipurpose stadium for the Asian Games is well under construction. It is located between the airport and Seoul and will be the first significant building people see when travelling to the South Korean capital.

The 60,000 seat athletics stadium took its inspiration from the London Olympic stadium. It embraces the temporary, as London did, and will reduce down to 30,000 seat football stadium after the Asian games. But this time, rather than reduce down the stadium size, we turned the idea on its head and the permanent build is a 30,000 seat one sided stadium with 30,000 temporary seats added on, to the East, North and South.

This approach has provided multiple advantages. Firstly, the obvious financial ones – reducing the building by two thirds means there are substantial savings in operational and maintenance costs. Secondly, the permanent seats could be sited in the optimal position for these sports, in this case forming the Western Stand. But perhaps the biggest advantage of designing this way is the freedom it has provided in terms of legacy, putting it at the forefront from the outset. So our plans have always been based on the community park that, post-Games, will replace the main temporary stand,  forming a traditional stadium hill, with plazas at the north and south ends. This will mean  atmospheric spectator viewing while a match is being played, and a green space for the public to enjoy at all other times.

Incheon wants its stadium makes a good impression when it is beamed out to the world during the 17 days of the 2014 Asian games. The stadium is often the first real image people have of a city, during a major event.  But the real success of Incheon stadium will be in its long term usefulness for its community.  That will be the true legacy for the 2.5 million people who make up Korea’s fastest growing city, and part of the real success of Incheon’s  strategic approach to hosting major Events.

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About Richard Breslin

The Basics

The new UEFA Financial Fair Play Rules (FFPRs) relate only to participation in the Champions League and Europa League, and not to domestic leagues as yet. Each club that believes it can qualify for that season’s European competitions must, prior to the beginning of that season, apply for a UEFA Club Licence. From the 2013-14 season, the licence stipulations will include adherence to the FFPRs. Until the 2013-14 season there are no sanctions for breaching the FFPRs.

The Football League has recently decided to adopt a version of the FFPRs for Championship clubs which will come into force in the next few years.

The FFPRs will therefore start to bite for UEFA competition from the 2013-14 season. The rules need to be borne in mind, however, from the 2011-12 season onwards because the 2011-12 and 2012-13 accounts will be used to determine a club’s license application in the 2013-14 season (the first monitoring period). See the table and explanation below.

Excluded Items

The rules incentivise investment in youth development and club infrastructure. Such infrastructure includes stadium and training ground development and expenditure on a club’s academy. UEFA is keen to encourage spending in these areas which means that any such running and financing costs are not included in the FFPRs break-even calculation. The idea being that the more the commercial revenue growth funded by long term infrastructure investment the larger the revenue will be to balance against expenditure.

Break-even(ish)

Although break-even usually means expenditure must equal revenue, there are the acceptable deviation provisions in the FFPRs which mean clubs do not have to actually break-even until 2018/19 season at the earliest.

The below table sets out for each monitoring period, the acceptable level of losses that are permitted through equity investment by an owner.

 

Acceptable Deviation Levels
Monitoring Period	Number of Years	Years Included			Acceptable Deviation (€m)
		T-2	T-1	T	Equity Investment	Non Equity Investment
2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19	2 3 3 3 3 3	N/A 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16	2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17	2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18	45 45 30 30 30 <30	5 5 5 5 5 5

 

In taking the first row as an example, the rules come into force in the 2013-14 season (the first monitoring period). The reason why this is important is because, in the first monitoring period, two years worth of accounts are used to assess whether a particular club can successfully apply for its UEFA Club License. Therefore a club’s accounts for years 2011-12 and 2012-13 are used to determine the license application.

The table shows that the acceptable deviations (i.e. losses) vary quite considerably. From the first 2013/14 monitoring period, an owner can invest up to €45m over two seasons in exchange for more shares in the club. It means an owner can after the 2013-14 season on average only exchange €15m worth of cash for shares each year to spend on transfers and wages etc. That figure is reduced to €10m per season (€30m over three seasons) for the 2015-16 season. If an owner does not put any money into a club by way of cash for shares, each club’s acceptable loss (by reference to the last column in the table) is a mere €5m over three years.

Conclusion

As you can see, once the FFPRs become incorporated into the UEFA License criteria, clubs will have to ensure they have done their sums to come within the acceptable deviation provisions. Exempting stadium financing and youth development costs along with allowing a degree of loss making for the first few monitoring periods gives clubs some breathing space to ensure rule compliance. Future columns will assess other rules which may have the effect of assisting clubs in adhering to the FFPRs.

Next time: Manchester City and Etihad: A breakdown of the deal from the Financial Fair Play perspective

Have a look at the FFW Financial Fair Play resource page to take a more in-depth look at the challenges that lie ahead for clubs. http://www.ffw.com/feature/financial-fair-play-rules.aspx

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About Daniel Geey

Daniel advises clients in the football industry. Such guidance has included advice on the Fit and Proper Person Test, ownership requirements, parachute payments and the football creditors rule, disclosure obligations under the relevant football authority’s rules, conflicts of interest and third party player ownership contracts. Daniel has also provided guidance on UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations and how the rules may affect the future financial planning of football clubs. He has also given briefings and spoken at workshops and conferences on the interplay between Competition Law, Football and Broadcasting.

Email Daniel at daniel.geey@ffw.com with any comments. Go to www.danielgeey.com to access a full range of his football law articles. Follow him on twitter at www.twitter.com/footballlaw and listen to his podcasts on http://www.ffw.com/people/search-all/g/daniel-geey.aspx

Daniel Geey’s

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LAUSANNE, Switzerland – SportAccord Convention is delighted to confirm that Mélanie Duparc, Coordinator from Smart Cities & Sport, will facilitate ‘City-to-City’ at this year’s #SAC2017 City Day on Tuesday, 4 April 2017 in Aarhus, Denmark.

 

Taking place in the European Capital of Culture with over twenty cities registered, and the 2024 bid cities presenting their short introductions at the afternoon session of the ASOIF General Assembly, City Day is always a popular event with delegates. Kicking off with City-to-City at 09:30-10:50hrs, this is an event for cities and regions only, and provides the perfect platform for free discussion on the challenges cities face when hosting sports events. Organisations who would like to take part in the City-to-City and take advantage of City Day should register at www.sportaccordconvention.com before the delegate fee increases to CHF 3000 (plus VAT) on 15 March 2017.

 

Cities and regions will have the opportunity to debate and share insights on two subjects which have been gathering momentum over recent months:

 

(1) Explaining the benefits to our population of hosting sport events: are we using the right arguments?

Cities will have the opportunity to discuss how to engage their population about hosting major events.

 

(2) Increasing sport participation through the organisation of a major sport event: great opportunity or wishful thinking?

This session will examine whether sport events really are a proper tool to help increase participation in a specific sport as well as identifying efficient strategies to achieve this. Cities will have an opportunity to share two key issues at the top of their minds when looking to host sport events.

 

Speaking about the session, Facilitator Mélanie Duparc said, “City-to-City enables cities to exclusively exchange and discuss the main issues they face when bidding for or hosting sport events. Our aim is to create a stimulating environment that will encourage dialogue between sport cities from around the world. This is what Smart Cities & Sport is all about and we will host this exciting City-to-City session with the same ambition.”

 

The City Forum will follow at 11:00hrs and focus on ‘Legacy Planning and Identifying Successful Hosting Strategies’. This is an event for cities, stakeholders, governing bodies, service providers and International Federations.

 

With cities being the main focus of the day, the Convention’s Official Schedule is packed with plenty of opportunities for cities to network and meet other delegates during the Convention including International Federations where bid city strategies are top of the agenda.

 

SportAccord Convention is a high profile gathering of key decision-makers focused on the business of sport. The 6-day Convention also includes the Plenary Conference, LawAccord, MediaAccord, a 3-day Exhibition, and is also host to the annual general meetings of governing bodies including SportAccord, ASOIF, AIOWF, ARISF, AIMS and Associate Members, and will also welcome a delegation from the International Olympic Committee.

Frankie Fredericks has quit his role as Chairman of the International Olympic Committee’s Evaluation Commission for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The decision comes after claims of corruption against Fredericks, who has already resigned from his role with IAAF due to the allegations.

The former Namibian sprinter denies any wrongdoing, but has decided to step down to allow the bidding process to remain unaffected.

The IOC Ethics Commission is investigating payments a company linked to Fredericks allegedly received three days before Rio de Janeiro was awarded the 2016 OIympic and Paralympic Games in 2009.

“I have personally decided that it is in the best interests of a good functioning of the IOC Candidature process that I step aside as chairperson of the 2024 Evaluation Commission, because it is essential that the important work my colleagues are doing is seen as being carried out in a truthful and fair manner,” read a statement from Fredericks.

Los Angeles and Paris are competing to host the Games, with a decision to be confirmed in September.

BBC Sport has secured rights to the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

The tournament, which will be held in France, will be covered extensively across BBC Sport’s multi-platform service.

The 2015 edition, which saw USA triumph over Japan in the final, was also shown on the BBC.

“We’re delighted the BBC will bring the biggest tournament in women’s football to the widest possible audience,” said director of BBC Sport Barbara Slater.

“Women’s football has grown significantly over the last few years and we are proud of the contribution we have made.

“France 2019 promises to be another fantastic showcase for the sport.”

Location: London, UK or Gibraltar

Closing Date: March 19, 2017

Overview:

As Business Development Manager within the Managed Trading Services (MTS) team, you will be responsible for the strategic plan and growth approach for sales and integration of newly acquired MTS customers.

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• Own and lead the sales process management, coordinating all key stakeholder communication
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• Lead for MTS in Request for Proposals (RFPs) and Turnkey Project commercial deals
• Responsible for the programme management planning and related processes
• Lead and manage the MTS Client Integration function MTS’ key liaison and interface to sales directors and assistants
• Support all MTS commercial and contractual processes
• Responsible for all MTS sales leads
• Acquisition KPI analysis, recording and performance tracking and reporting
• Presentation preparation and delivery 3rd party partnership and cooperation, notably with software service providers

YOUR PROFILE

• At least 2 years’ experience in Business to Business a role
• Demonstrable experience in Project Management
• Advanced in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Experience in producing and maintaining professional presentations
• Fluent in English
• Professional written and verbal communication
• Ability to work in dynamic international environment
• Analytical with a keen eye for fine detail
• Knowledge of the sports betting industry
• Tertiary qualification in business, administration, or similar discipline
• iGaming experience in any/all of Casino, Lottery, Sports

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• The opportunity to work at the cutting edge of global anti-match fixing efforts, for the company that monitors over 300,000 matches per year across 13 sports, and that partners with the likes of FIFA, NBA, World Rugby, ICC, NHL and ESL
• A chance to learn from leading experts in prevention, education and intelligence
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How to apply: visit https://www.sportradar.com/about-us/careers/jobs-list/