Europe

Spanish Football League (LFP) president Javier Tebas has spelled out the financial ramifications of the proposed strike action for the domestic game, denouncing the move by the Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE) and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) as “illegal”.

Organisers of the Pro12 pan-European rugby union club competition have rejected suggestions that Italian clubs Zebre and Treviso could be kicked out of the competition with immediate effect.

Euroleague Basketball has announced that the 2016 edition of its Final Four end-of-season men’s showpiece event will take place in the German capital, Berlin.

Spain has become the second Formula One host to extend its race contract this season, with the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya confirmed as the venue for the Spanish Grand Prix until 2019.

Italian Serie A football clubs AS Roma and Inter Milan, along with French Ligue 1 team AS Monaco, have agreed to pay fines and reduce the size of their squads in European competition under the latest round of settlements announced through Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

European basketball stakeholders have reiterated their opposition to the International Basketball Federation’s (Fiba) plans to instigate calendar reform and have called for further talks with the global governing body to find a “suitable solution”.

Sailing’s World Match Racing Tour has confirmed the addition of new events in Russia and France for the 2015-16 campaign.

Paul Smith, a former executive at Chelsea and the IMG agency, is part of a group that has approached a number of investors in an effort to drum up support for a potential £150m (€202.6m/$228.4m) takeover of English Premier League football club Aston Villa, according to UK broadcaster Sky News.

Ohio University’s Master of Sports Administration programme has today been named the best postgraduate sports management course in the world by SportBusiness International for the third time.

Euroleague Basketball has announced a new economic distribution model for its top-tier Euroleague competition and the introduction of a Financial Fair Play (FFP) system.

Fifa has hit out at German rights partner ARD after the public-service broadcaster aired a documentary surrounding the bidding process and preparations for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Russia and Qatar.

English Premiership team Wasps has hailed the success of a retail bond scheme it recently launched on the London Stock Exchange, with the rugby union club having reached its maximum target of £35m (€47.1m/$53.4m).

The International Cycling Union (UCI) has revealed that the Astana Pro Team, home of reigning Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali, retained its elite WorldTour licence because it has stayed clear of doping scandals this season.

Ladies European Tour (LET) chief executive Ivan Khodabakhsh has outlined plans for floodlit golf and tournaments running from Sunday to Wednesday as innovations designed to drive interest in the women’s game.

US sports technology, data and content company Stats has sealed its latest acquisition after agreeing a deal for UK-headquartered athlete tracking and sports performance analytics specialist Prozone.