MENA

Jerusalem in Israel has secured hosting rights to the ‘Big Start’ of the 2018 Giro d’Italia cycling race, according to the Cycling Weekly website.

BeIN Media Group, the Qatari broadcaster, has hit out angrily at media reports suggesting beIN Sports channels are being blacked out in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) as a consequence of the Saudi Arabia-led economic blockade of Qatar launched on June 5.

BeIN Media Group, the Qatari broadcaster, has hit out angrily at media reports suggesting beIN Sports channels are being blacked out in the Middle East and North Africa as a consequence of the Saudi Arabia-led economic blockade of Qatar. Frank Dunne and Robin Jellis report. 

The European Union of Gymnastics (UEG) has awarded hosting rights for its 2019 European Acrobatic Championships and the 2020 European Rhythmic Championships to Israel and Ukraine, respectively, while the body’s executive committee members have voted in favour of continued participation at the European Games multi-sport event.

Fifa, football’s global governing body, has released the full report by former ethics investigator Michael Garcia into the controversial bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which will be hosted by Russia and Qatar respectively.

Allegations surrounding Qatar’s successful bid to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup have been published by German newspaper Bild, which claims to have obtained the “suppressed” 2014 report by investigator Michael Garcia into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

The organising committee for Qatar’s staging of football’s Fifa World Cup in 2022 has dismissed suggestions that the ongoing diplomatic crisis in the Gulf state will have a detrimental impact on preparations for the event.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino believes that Qatar’s hosting of football’s 2022 World Cup will not be scuppered by the ongoing diplomatic crisis in the Middle East.

World football’s governing body Fifa has said it is in “regular contact” with the local organising bodies for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as the diplomatic crisis involving the Gulf state raises questions over the status of the many sporting events it hosts.

India’s Premier Futsal tournament will expand beyond its homeland for its second season, with a deal agreed for the finale to be held in Dubai.

The Israeli city of Netanya has been announced as the new host of the Federation of International Lacrosse’s Men’s World Championship in 2018, while the FIL has hired former US Olympic Committee (USOC) chief executive Jim Scherr as its first CEO.

The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) is to lay off a significant portion of its staff due to budget cuts.

The International Judo Federation (IJF) has cancelled plans to stage its 2017 Junior World Championships in North Korea, with the event now set to be held in Zagreb, Croatia.

The Appeal Committee of world football’s governing body Fifa has moved to overturn the one-year ban imposed on Qatari official Saoud Al-Mohannadi by the adjudicatory chamber of its Ethics Committee after deciding that insufficient evidence was present in the case.

LaLiga, the organising body for the top two divisions of Spanish football, has continued its brand-building exercise by partnering with the Sela Sport agency to exploit its commercial rights in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), which is responsible for delivering the stadia and infrastructure for football’s 2022 Fifa World Cup, has said it has succeeded in reducing its budget by at least 40 per cent and has claimed progress in improving workers’ welfare.