Europe

Alejandro Irarragorri, chairman and owner of Mexican Liga MX football club Santos Laguna, is the latest speaker to be revealed for the Leaders Sport Business Summit, which takes place on October 8-9 in London.

Lord Sebastian Coe has dropped out of the running to become the next chairman of the BBC Trust, the governing body of the UK public-service broadcaster, in favour of concentrating his efforts on securing the presidency of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

Borussia Dortmund is hoping to conclude a deal to sell a total of 10 per cent of the German Bundesliga club to two strategic partners by the end of September, according to managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke.

Brazilian football player Neymar was cast in the lead role of this year’s World Cup before being cast in plaster following a back injury in the quarter-final. Owen Evans looks at whether the Barcelona superstar can now follow in David Beckham’s footsteps to commercial superstardom.

Kazakh Cycling president Kairat Kelimbetov has stated his desire to bring the Tour de France Grand Depart to the country before 2020.

The International Aquatics Federation (Fina) has elected to move its World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships out of Israel due to the “unstable and unpredictable” situation in the region.

The Astana Presidential Professional Sports Club has hailed Vincenzo Nibali’s victory at the Tour de France as a validation of its nation-building through sport strategy, adding that it is now determined to build on this success through its other sports interests.

Fifa has said it remains committed to Russia’s staging of the 2018 World Cup, adding that it believes a boycott of the national team tournament would not be an effective means of reducing tensions in the region.

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has reported a profit of €2.18m ($2.97m) for its 2013 financial year and said that it again intends to waive its right to a state subsidy.

The International Rugby Board (IRB) has announced that the 2015 edition of its Junior World Championship under-20 national team tournament will take place in the Italian regions of Lombardia and Emilia Romagna.

Azerbaijan’s government has completed a deal to host a new Formula One race in Baku from 2016, with the agreement set to address concerns over the expansion of the motor-racing series’ calendar following this week’s confirmation of a return to Mexico next year.

Leading French Ligue 1 football club Olympique de Marseille has stepped up its battle against the city council over rental payments at the new-look Stade Vélodrome by announcing it will play its opening game of the 2014-15 season at Montpellier’s Stade de la Mosson.

German touring car motor racing series the DTM has selected Dutch circuit Zandvoort as the replacement host for the ninth round of its 2014 season.

OC Sport, organiser of the Extreme Sailing Series, has confirmed the French city of Nice as the host venue for the penultimate event of the 2014 season.

Owen Evans traveled to Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan, in July.

In the space of a week in May, Atletico Madrid won Spanish football’s top-tier and was seconds away from a famous UEFA Champions League victory. Dermot Ledwith speaks to the club’s commercial director Javier Martinez about the challenges and opportunities in capitalising on the new success.