IMG-Dutch soccer league extend association

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IMG has extended its 17-year association the Netherlands’ premier domestic soccer league, the Eredivisie, until the end of the 2021/2022 season.

Deal covers Dutch soccer league’s exclusive online rights for a further four years. The sports and entertainment company will continue to hold the global media rights to the competition till 2021-2022 season, while it has now taken the exclusive live online broadcasting rights.

“We are proud to renew our partnership with IMG, honouring our long-term relationship since the year 2000,” said the Eredivisie’s commercial director, Alex Tielbeke. “With IMG as our trusted partner, we are confident we will further expand the international reach of the Dutch league in the years to come.”

IMG Media’s senior vice president, Michael Mellor, added: “The Eredivisie is world-renowned for its entertaining and attractive football, and for consistently producing some of the most talented players in Europe. We are delighted to have extended our relationship with the league past the 20-year mark and will continue to help expand the market for Dutch football across the globe.”

Only two points separate Feyenoord and Ajax at the top of the Eredivisie table as the league enters its final round of matches this weekend.

Raina’s rare birthday gift to daughter: ‘A charity foundation’

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05/15/2017

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Suresh Raina has made daughter Gracia’s first birthday the most meaningful a father can think of. The cricketer and wife Priyanka Chaudhary Raina have announced a charity GRACIA RAINA FOUNDATION to mark the first birthday of Gracia.

The foundation will work on the mission to ensure ‘healthy child and safe mother’. The idea is to create awareness on the mother-child health and well-being, while also providing them opportunities for sustainable livelihood. Rainas’ charity will work with expectant mothers and their families, make them aware about mother-child health issues to enable them make right decisions about themselves and the child.

Ironically, the country each year witnesses 13.40 lakh child mortalities under five years of age. World’s 26% neo-natal deaths take place in India. Mental health and wellness of pregnant women is a critical determinant for good health and survival of children. Various studies have documented the ill effects of mental stress, depression, anxiety on adverse pregnancy outcomes. The foundation will educate and spread awareness on these crucial aspects of mother-child health and happiness.

MOTHER-CHILD HEALTH MISSION
“Gracia Raina Foundation aims to provide support and effective solutions to ensure maternal and new born wellness by implementing a self-sustained model. The idea is to empower, engage and facilitate women by enhancing their capabilities. Our model is one of creative collaboration, creating a supportive environment for all women,” says Priyanka Raina.
The foundation aims to deliver a development model for young mothers via its various social impact endeavors. The Foundation also aspires to build partnerships between businesses, NGOs, and individuals with diverse perspectives and resources to address and solve critical issues affecting individuals and communities, from combating the effects to improving the lives of women.

Priyanka has been involved with initiatives such as PAALNA with RED FM and The Delhi NCR Food Bank Network. She has also visited an NGO in Chandigarh, Nanhi Jaan and collaborated with BIG FM to raise awareness for special needs children. GRF plans to partner with the government, bilateral agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector, where they collaborate with other organizations and work in areas such as mental wellness, discovery, integrated delivery, nutrition, family planning, childhood infectious diseases, policy and advocacy, and communications.

Suresh Raina added: “This is a something very personal to me and my wife and to announce it on our daughter’s birthday is very special. My wife has been working towards this and has put in a lot of time and effort and I fully support her endeavors. With this foundation we hope to shed light and help women & babies across the country.”

North-South Korea can co-host FIFA World Cup: Report

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05/15/2017

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Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu has claimed that South Korea could co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup with China, Japan and neighbours North Korea.

Chung, elected to FIFA’s ruling council during last week’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Congress in Manama, Bahrain, revealed that there is a “good possibility” if the four nations have a discussion. He was reported as saying by his country’s news agency Yonhap that North Korea would come on board once the three other nations had agreed to co-host, says an insidethegames.biz report.

This is despite the well-publicised tensions between North Korea and South Korea. “If South Korea, China, and Japan decide to stage the World Cup, it can be really appealing to others in terms of financial conditions,” Chung said. “We have a very attractive football market.”

Chung, the younger cousin of banned former FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon, was elected to the FIFA ruling council earlier this month. He claimed following his election in Bahrain that FIFA President Gianni Infantino also has positive thoughts on neighbouring countries co-hosting the World Cup.

The Swiss-Italian has tentatively backed a joint bid from Argentina and Uruguay for the 2030 edition to mark the centenary of the first-ever World Cup in the latter country in 1930. It is already the favourite to land the event.

Chung added that if South Korea is not able to host the World Cup, he wants the country to stage the AFC Asian Cup before his seven-year term as head of the KFA ends in 2020.

Last week, Liu Xiaoming, the ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the United Kingdom, said that hosting the FIFA World Cup is one of the East Asian nation’s football dreams.

The FIFA Council has decided on last week not to put amendments to the FIFA statutes – including possible changes to the World Cup rotation policy – forward to the Congress. Had the changes gone through, it would have been seen as a boost to China’s potential bid for the 2030 World Cup.

Under current rules, confederations must wait until two editions after they last hosted the event to bid again. The event cannot be staged in the same region more than once every 12 years.

Qatar is due to host the 2022 World Cup, meaning Asian nations are not eligible to enter the bidding race until 2034 as things stand. In October, the ruling Council confirmed the 2026 tournament would not take place in Europe because Russia is hosting next year’s edition. Asia last hosted the World Cup in 2002, when Brazil triumphed in a tournament co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.

Zidane brand ambassador for Paris’ Olympic bid

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France’s former football captain Zinedine Zidane has been introduced as the latest ambassador by Paris 2024 to promote its bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Zidane appeared in a video shown in Paris to coincide with the opening day of the IOC Evaluation Commission alongside former team-mate Laurent Blanc and Karim Benzema, another French international and who now plays for Real Madrid, the Spanish club Zidane coaches.

Also appearing alongside them is Tony Estanguet, the three-time Olympic canoeing champion, now co-chairman of Paris 2024. All four men are posing with their fingers in the shape of the Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris 2024, say French media reports.

Zidane, 44, had also backed Paris’ last bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, when they were beaten for 2012 by London.

More controversially, Zidane also supported Qatar’s successful bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. “I was involved in several bids, but this one is really close to our hearts,” said Zidane.

Zidane was capped 108 times by France during a career of which the highlight was scoring twice in his country’s victory in the 1998 FIFA World Cup against Brazil at the Stade de France in Paris,

Meanwhile, IOC’s evaluation commission hailed the Paris 2024 bid presentation as ‘exceptional’ and ‘well detailed’ at the end of the opening day of a three-day visit to the French capital on Sunday.

“Our friends of Paris 2024 presented us with an exceptional and well-detailed bid presentation,” Patrick Baumann, chair of the commission, told a news conference. Baumann, however, was careful not to put Paris ahead or behind its only rival, Los Angeles, which was visited by the evaluation commission earlier this week.

The commission’s visit officially started on the day French president Emmanuel Macron, a fervent supporter of the Paris bid, took power.

An air of uncertainty has been hanging over the bidding process with the IOC considering a proposal that would mean the 2024 and 2028 Games both being awarded on Sept. 13 during a congress in Lima.

While Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti softened his stance on the subject this week by saying “any Olympic win is an Olympic win”, his Paris counterpart Anne Hidalgo on Sunday said that Paris was ready “right now”.

Pressed by the media on the matter, the Paris team and Baumann said only 2024 was being assessed.

“We are still in a process where we assess a potential candidacy for 2024,” said Baumann. “2024-2028 is not a matter of discussion.”

“We didn’t discuss at all the 2024-28 topic,” said Paris 2024 co-chair Tony Estanguet, who would head the Local Organising Committee (LOCOG) should the French capital be awarded the Games a century after it last hosted the sports extravaganza.

Paris unveiled another high-profile supporter in former France soccer great and Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane.

“I was involved in several bids but this one is really close to our hearts,” said Zidane, now a Paris 2024 ambassador.

Other additions to the list of official supporters were former France soccer coach Laurent Blanc and Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema.

The IOC evaluation team will be taken to almost all the potential Olympic venues on Monday before another day of discussions with the bid committee on Tuesday.

SportFootball-ISLNewsLatest NewsTrending U-17 World Cup final for a mere Rs 48!

Under-17 World Cup final can be watched live in the stadium for a mere Rs 48. The under-17 World Cup director Javier Ceppi has confirmed that a 60% discount is offered on the low-price tickets. The final is slated to be played at Kolkata on October 28.

The under-17 football World Cup will be held in six cities — Kolkata, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi, Guwahati, Kochi and Panaji — from October 6 to 28.

The City of Joy will host 10 matches, including the final. Some of the tickets for all the 10 games are available at Rs 480 for all the 10 matches. The next category is priced at Rs 960 for the season, whereas watching all the 10 games from even better category three blocks will cost Rs 1920.

A limited number of ‎tickets in blocks will be available from 19:11 on Tuesday from the fifa.comwebsite, it was announced in Kolkata.

‎These tickets will be available till July 7 when the draw will be made. After the draw, team delegates will visit all six venues.

After the draw, tickets sales for individual matches will start. Initially, there will be a 25% discount on the marked price. Closer to the tournament, these tickets can also be bought from ticket windows.

‎Ceppi said these limited number of tickets available from Tuesday to July 7 will also help identify the real football fan because they won’t know which matches they are going to see. “We will give out the name of the city which buys the maximum number of tickets,” said Ceppi. “The 60% discount is available only for the first phase of ticket sales.”

‘Happy with progress in Kochi’

Ceppi also said he is happy with the progress made in Kochi where work had been behind schedule. An arrangement has been reached to have the shops that fringe the stadium closed 10 days before the first match there, he said.

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BCCI SGM unanimously clears India’s participation in CT

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has unanimously authorized the acting Hony. Secretary Amitabh Chaudhary to continue negotiations with the ICC in the best interest of the BCCI. A special general meeting also held in New Delhi on Sunday also resolved to keep the legal option open.

The SGM also decided unanimously that the Indian cricket team will participate in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. The All-India Senior Selection Meeting will be held tomorrow in New Delhi to pick the team.

The BCCI was told by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators to get a mandate from its members to empower Amitabh Choudhary to negotiate the financial terms with the ICC.

CoA, which met the BCCI State association representatives on Saturday, has also told the representatives of the state units that negotiating with the world governing body to raise their demand to $570 million is out of question. They were told that the best way to combat the situation is to avoid a confrontationist approach. “The members were told that if they had any problem with the finance bit, they would have to take up the matter at the ICC’s governance level,” a state association member, who attended the meeting, has said.

The CoA, however, reemphasized the India will send its team for the Champions Trophy. In fact, the issue of Team India’s participation in the ICC tournament was not even included in the SGM agenda. Putting an end to all the speculation, BCCI on Sunday cleared India’s participation in the ICC Champions Trophy in England and Wales at its Special General Meeting in New Delhi.

It was decided that no legal recourse will be taken against the ICC as dictated by the Committee of Administrators (CoA). The team for the event, starting June 1, will be selected in the next 48 hours.

“It was a unanimous decision that the Indian team will be participating in the Champions Trophy. We will not take any legal recourse in the matter. Mr Amitabh Chaudhary and CEO Rahul Johri will negotiate with ICC,” a senior office-bearer told PTI

Saina in a new role, know why is she quizzing, and whom?

Saina Nehwal has turned a quiz master. No. Not a professional. But for a professional duty. As part of her commitment to one of her sponsors Edelweiss Financial Services.

The London Olympic Games bronze medallist Saina is playing a quiz master for the first time. She turns out in this new avatar at the Edelweiss Brain Bout 2017 grand finale.