Russia

SportAccord Convention has announced that David Hill, senior executive vice-president of News Corporation, will be a keynote speaker during this year’s event in Saint-Petersburg from May 26-31.

Gazprom chairman Alexey Miller has stated his confidence that the proposed Unified Football League (UFL) will launch next autumn with the full backing of UEFA.

The National Hockey League (NHL) and International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) concluded a two-day meeting on Friday without reaching an agreement on participation in the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, however both parties are hopeful an understanding can be reached ahead of next year’s Games.

Russian Olympic Committee vice-president Akhmed Bilalov will be dismissed from his position after President Vladimir Putin criticised delays in delivering the ski jump facility for Sochi’s 2014 Winter Games.

Russian authorities have rejected claims from a human rights group that migrant workers are being exploited as part of Sochi’s huge infrastructure development drive for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge is confident PyeongChang will deliver a successful 2018 Winter Olympics despite financial challenges surrounding one of its main venues, while the Russian government has announced that Sochi’s 2014 Games will cost in excess of US$50 billion.

Pauline McVey, analyst for SportBusiness Intelligence, looks at televised sport in Russia and considers the impact of the decision by the Russian Premier League to launch its own football channel

Sochi 2014 has stated that fans wishing to buy tickets for the Winter Olympic Games will first have to register their personal details with Russian authorities.

Russia’s state Audit Chamber has moved to play down reports that Kazan’s organising committee for the 2013 Summer Universiade is on the verge of bankruptcy, but has admitted there are “questions” over the financial health of the organisation.

SportAccord Convention has announced that Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide CEO Kevin Roberts and Russian Olympic Committee president Aleksandr Zhukov, who also serves as First Vice-Speaker of the Russian State Duma, will be among the speakers during SportAccord Convention 2013.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a bill that is set to impose heavy fines on touts profiting from the sale of tickets for Sochi’s 2014 Winter Olympics, while also regulating hotel prices for the Games.

FIFA has confirmed that Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium will host the opening match and final of the 2018 World Cup after approving Russia 2018’s hosting concept for the competition.

Leading Russian clubs have pushed forward with their plans to create a new ‘Super League’ including teams from neighbouring countries, stating that the new competition could be launched as soon as 2013-14 and has the backing of UEFA.

SportAccord Convention has announced that all three gold partners from the 2012 event in Québec City have renewed their agreements for the 2013 event in Saint-Petersburg.

Sochi 2014 has enhanced its preparations for the Winter Olympic Games by signing up two new official suppliers in the shape of Contemporary International (CI) and Karcher.

The Russian government had thrown its weight behind a proposed football league that would unite clubs from across the former Soviet Union.