UEFA Referees Committee Names England’s Mark Clattenburg as Referee For The 2014 UEFA Super Cup

Mark Clattenburg appointed for 2014 Super Cup English official Clattenburg in charge of the match in Cardiff

The UEFA Referees Committee has named England’s Mark Clattenburg as the referee for the 2014 UEFA Super Cup match between the UEFA Champions League winners, Real Madrid CF, and the UEFA Europa League winners, Sevilla FC, to be played at the Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on Tuesday 12 August (20.45 CET).

County Durham-born Clattenburg, who is 39, has been an international referee since 2006, and has so far officiated at a total of 46 UEFA fixtures in his career, as well as a considerable number of high-level English domestic encounters.

Last season, Clattenburg refereed five UEFA Champions League matches, including the quarter- final first leg between Real Madrid CF and Borussia Dortmund, as well as the UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg between Juventus and SL Benfica.

Mark Clattenburg-Referee For The 2014 UEFA Super Cup

He also took charge of the 2012 Olympic Games men’s football tournament gold-medal match between Brazil and Mexico at Wembley Stadium in London, and was an additional assistant referee at UEFA EURO 2012.

At the UEFA Super Cup match in Cardiff, Clattenburg will be accompanied by an all-English team of match officials. Simon Beck and Stuart Burt are the assistant referees, with Darren England acting as fourth official.

Two additional assistant referees, Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor, complete the referee team for the match.

ROWERS READY TO GO FOR 2014 WORLD ROWING JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS AS NIGERIA MAKES FIRST APPEARANCE

The entries for the 2014 World Rowing Junior Championships have been released. The event will take place in Hamburg, Germany from Wednesday 6 August to Sunday 10 August 2014.

More than 730 junior athletes, under the age of 19, from 57 nations will compete in the 13 different boat classes. Germany, Italy and the United States have entered the largest teams; they have entered all 13 events with a total of 49 athletes each.

The women’s single sculls has an impressive turnout and with 35 crews entered, it is the largest field competing at the event. The men’s single sculls has 32 crews entered and the men’s pair and men’s quadruple sculls both with a field of 27.

This is the first FISA World Championship appearance for Nigeria and Togo, who will both compete in the women’s single sculls, with Nigeria also entered in the men’s quadruple sculls.

The course is located on the Dove-Elbe Water Park, which was officially opened as a regatta course in 1985. It is situated on a peaceful arm of the Elbe River and has hosted numerous national and international rowing events including the World Rowing Cup in 2011.

For rowers to be eligible to compete at the World Rowing Junior Championships, they must be 18 years of age or under. A rower can compete as a junior until 31 December of the year in which he or she reaches the age of 18; after that date the rower is classified as an under-23 rower.

Some participants from developing nations are able to attend the World Rowing Junior Championships through donations from participants at the World Rowing Masters Regatta (whose participants are all over the age of 27).

Live race tracker, audio streaming, results, race reports, live blog and a photo gallery will be available throughout the junior championships on http://www.worldrowing.com.

Federations Cup 2014 : We Are Determined – Eguma

Dolphins’ head coach. Stanley Eguma insists his side is more determined than Prime to qualify for the Federation Cup final.

Dolphins play Prime on Thursday in Abuja in one of the semifinal games and Eguma says their determination knows no bounds.

“It’s different from the League. We have respect for our opponents, Prime, but we are not going to relent.

“We know victory can go either way but I do not think Prime will be an obstacle because we are very determined.

“I know it will be a very tough match though,” Eguma said.

To get to the semifinal, Dolphins beat Ingas 3-1, Kogi United 1-0, Elkanemi 1-0 and Lobi Stars 4-2.

The last four times Dolphins got to the semifinals they won- 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007 and also went on to win the Cup.

Dolphins have been in Abuja since Tuesday ahead of the game.

Stanley Eguma – Dolphins fc head coach

Will Dolphins prepare for penalties against Prime?

Prime FC have proved to be the giant killers of the Federation Cup and have won every game they have played so far via penalties.

But Dolphins, who made a giant killing run in 2001 to win the Cup as a 2nd division side will not underrate the underdogs or focus on penalty shootouts ahead of the game.

Prime have won every single game they have played in the competition via penalties, but coach, Stanley Eguma says that will not be his focus

“I will prepare for the game. I will prepare for all aspects and hope to win in regulation time, but if the game goes into penalties I will also be prepared for that too,” Eguma said.

The last time Dolphins won the Federation Cup in 2007, four games were won via penalty Shootouts.

Against FC Katsina, Dolphins won via penalties in the Round of 32; against Enyimba in the quarter final in Ilorin, Dolphins won via shootouts; against Sharks in the semifinal in Owerri, Dolphins progressed after full time ended 2-2 and in the final in Lagos against Rangers, Dolphins won via penalties after full time ended 1-1.

However, the last time a Dolphins game went to shootout in the Federation Cup was in in 2013 against Akwa Starlets in the Round of 64 and Dolphins lost that one.

FA Cup: Sunshine Queens Confident Of Final Spot

Sunshine Queens FC have expressed confidence they will scale past the semi-final stage of the Nigeria Women Federation Cup slated for The Confluence Stadium, Kogi State on Friday.

The Queens defeated Edo Queens 1-0 in the quarter-final in Abuja and will now battle Nasarawa Amazons in the semi-final for the final ticket.

Head Coach of Sunshine Queens, Kayode Olujohungbe has stated that his team as not favourites for the trophy but believes they can string a surprise on Friday to book a spot in the final.

“We’re prepared for any opponent, we train hard everyday, No injury worries in the camp so we’re ready.

“Nasarawa is a good team, but we are concerned with only ourselves. At this stage of the competition, we must present our best and take our chances.

“I have confidence in the team to pick one of the final tickets”, the coach said.

Sunshine Queens

KAZAN READY TO HOST 1ST HIGH DIVING WORLD CUP

Kazan, Russia will host the first FINA High Diving World Cup on August 8-10, 2014, bringing together the best high divers in action, one year after the successful staging of this new FINA discipline at the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain. A temporary tower is being erected on the Kazanka River, which will be used for the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, as well.

A total 34 divers, 25 men and nine women, coming from 15 nations – Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Luxemburg, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine and USA – will take part in the event, ready for eye-opening performances!

Two events are on the programme: a men’s competition in three rounds (August 8 and 10) and a women’s competition in one round (Aug 9). Men will perform five dives from the 27-metre high platform while women will take off at 20m, exhibiting three dives.

There will be required, intermediate and optional dives (with no limit of degree of difficulty). The top 12 divers, among men, will advance to the final.

Top qualifiers include world champions Orlando Duque (COL) and Cesilie Carlton (USA), and all medallists from Barcelona: Gary Hunt (GBR), current leader of the Red Bull World Series, Jonathan Paredes (MEX), Ginger Huber (USA) and Anna Bader (GER). All will be chasing their first World Cup title in Kazan.

KAZAN READY TO HOST 1ST HIGH DIVING WORLD CUP

Combat Added As An Official Supplier Of 2014 U-15 Baseball World Cup

The world governing body of baseball and softball, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), has announced a new partnership that brings on one of baseball and softball’s most iconic brands, Combat, as an Official Bat Supplier of the 2014 U-15 Baseball World Cup.

World Baseball Softball Confederation

The most elite selection of 15-year-old baseball players in the world will be representing their countries in the II U-15 Baseball World Cup — the highest level of competition in baseball for this age group — from Thursday, 31 July to 10 August across Sinaloa, Mexico.

As part of the agreement, Combat will supply its high-quality, high-performance bats to the National Teams for use in the eighty-three games of the world championship showpiece, and the Combat brand will have a presence around the competition venues in Culiacan, Los Mochis and Mazatlán.

“We are proud to partner with such an industry leader in innovation and performance, like Combat, to put its elite products in the hands of the world’s most elite and most exciting young baseball players, who will be united on their National Teams for the U-15 Baseball World Cup,” said WBSC International Baseball Marketing Manager, Masaru Yokoo. “And the Combat brand will also ensure that we not only meet the needs of the world’s top young players, but also the Baseball World Cup’s strict competition safety-standards.”

In heightened safety regulations enacted by WBSC’s International Baseball executives earlier this year, all bats to be used in the U-15 youth world championship must comply with the strictest of standards to ensure the maximum level of player safety.

Combat International Sales & Marketing Director, Dave McNally, commented:

“We are extremely delighted to partner with the WBSC and to have our product connect with baseball’s future stars on baseball’s biggest stage in this youth age group. We are confident the upcoming U-15 Baseball World Cup will be a premier platform from which Combat can further its position and brand awareness globally.”

The global spread of the 2014 U-15 Baseball World Cup, in terms of participating countries, will expand across Africa, the Americas (i.e., the Caribbean, North-, Central- and South America), Asia, Europe and Oceania.

2014 ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP FINAL QUALIFICATION SYSTEM PUBLISHED

The qualification system to the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final – the world’s pinnacle sailing regatta contested by the best Olympic class competitors – has been published.

Fleets of twenty boats in the Olympic events and Open Kiteboarding will race in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in and around Lulu Island off the UAE capital’s stunning Corniche from 27-30 November 2014.

The first qualification places will be awarded at the Santander 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships which takes place in the Spanish city from 8-21 September. The top ten finishers in each Olympic event will be rewarded with a spot on the Abu Dhabi start line.

The next places will be awarded based on the ISAF World Sailing Rankings issued on 22 September 2014. The top six highest ranked sailors who have not qualified at Santander 2014 will be awarded a place.

Two more spots will be up for grabs at the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao which will be held in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition venue from 12-18 October 2014. The highest placed finisher and highest placed Asian sailor, who has not already qualified, will take an ISAF Sailing World Cup Final spot.

Up to two places in each event may be awarded as wild card places at the discretion of ISAF.

The kiteboarding fleet at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final will be made up of 16 male and four female racers. The top two male and first female sailors qualified for a spot at the Delta Lloyd Regatta. At the 2014 IKA World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey the top five male and top three females will take spots on the start line.

The male winner of each Continental Championship (South America, North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania) will be also be awarded a spot. The remaining places will be awarded to the four highest IKA World Ranked individuals as of 10 September 2014.

ISAF WORLD SAILING

Click here to view the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final Qualification System.

2014-2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup
Qingdao – 12-18 October 2014
Melbourne – 7-14 December 2014
Miami – 25-31 January 2015
Europe1 – TBC
Europe2 – TBC
2015 Final Abu Dhabi – November 2015