Soccerex is delighted to confirm that the Russia 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup Bid Committee has signed up to sponsor the networking cafe at both the Soccerex Asian Forum (28-29 July, Singapore) and the Soccerex Global Convention (20-24 November, Rio de Janeiro).

The Russian Bid Committee sponsored the cafe at each of the last two Soccerex events – the 2009 Global Convention and the inaugural Soccerex European Forum – and has chosen to extend their sponsorship to cover the remaining Soccerex events in 2010, in the build up to FIFA’s decision in December, regarding the location of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups.

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After expressing his support for the inaugural Soccerex Asian Forum (28-29 July, Singapore), Soccerex are delighted to confirm that the President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will speak at the eagerly anticipated event.

Mohamed bin Hammam (President, AFC), has commented that he is “delighted to welcome Soccerex and the Asian Forum. This is an event we cannot miss because the Forum is now an integral part of football. The AFC gives its full support to this event, and I personally look forward to being part of the Forum.”

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BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s National Games, which claim to be the largest multi-sports event in the world, should be reduced in size to prevent corruption and waste, according to a member of the advisory body to the country’s parliament.

The quadrennial games, first held in 1959 in Beijing when Communist China was isolated from most of the rest of the sporting world, remain the major way the government appraises the work of provincial sports authorities.

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KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian golf chiefs are threatening to withdraw their endorsement of the U.S. PGA’s first event in Southeast Asia over a clash of dates with an existing Asian Tour event in the country.

The $6 million Asia Pacific Classic, co-sanctioned by the U.S. PGA and Asian Tour, and the Iskandar Johor Open are both scheduled to take place in Malaysia from Oct. 28-31. “In my view, the timing is wrong. There cannot be two big golf tournaments going on in the country at the same time,” Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) president Robin Loh told Tuesday’s Star newspaper.

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MILAN (Reuters) – Italian teams Treviso and Aironi Rugby will join the Celtic League next season after an agreement was finally reached, officials said on Monday.

The idea to allow Italian sides to play in the Irish, Scottish and Welsh domestic league was conceived years ago but months of controversy had beset the proposal.

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LONDON (Reuters) – Spain is hosting more European Tour events this year than any other country and wants to protect that powerhouse status by winning the bid to stage the 2018 Ryder Cup, a leading official told Reuters.

Seven events are due to be held in Spain in 2010 and national golf federation (RFEG) president Gonzaga Escauriaza said in an interview his organisation owed it to all their tournament promoters to land the Ryder Cup vote.

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BEIJING (Reuters) – The Asian Tour is still keen to work with Chinese golf despite being dumped in favour of the new OneAsia Tour by the Chinese Golf Association (CGA) last year, according to tour chief Kyi Hla Han.

The CGA became a founder member of the controversial OneAsia before last season, breaking a long association with the Asian Tour, which fiercely opposes the new Asia-Pacific series. “We will continue to engage the CGA in dialogue. It cannot be denied China golf has benefited from the Asian Tour over the past few years,” Han told Friday’s China Daily.

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MUMBAI – Indian Premier League (IPL ) commissioner Lalit Modi yesterday gave reasons for its stand-off with television news channels and major news agencies who are boycotting the third season of the IPL3 event starting on March 12.

“We have no issues relating to the news coverage and have come to an agreement on this with the news channels. The area of disagreement is over the usage of IPL footage in post-match packages whose rights are with our broadcast partner (Sony),” he said at a news conference today.
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LONDON (Reuters) – Formula One will have 12 teams this season, instead of a planned 13, after a late replacement for the USF1 entry was ruled out by the governing body on Wednesday.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that USF1 had “indicated that they will not be in a position to participate in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.

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London, March 1 (PTI) International news agencies will be forced to skip this year’s Indian Premier League unless there is a change to the accreditation norms which govern journalist and photographer attendance.

News Media Coalition, an international body that monitors specific threat to editorial operations from excessive controls imposed by sporting events, said in a statement that IPL coverage would be affected unless there is a change to the media rules.

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