Ahead of the next Ryder Cup Which starts on the 30th of September 2016 through to October the 2nd 2016 at Chaska, Minnesota, US PGA captain Davis Love III has picked Tiger Woods alongside Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker as vice captains for the US team.
But its Tiger Woods Selection that’s creating all the Buzz, the former world number one who’s recently gone through surgery to correct a problem with his back as made a vow to play a part in helping the US team win the Ryder Cup, a feat that as becom difficult for the Americans in recent times based on the success of the Europeans.
The Europeans have won 8 of the last 10 Ryder Cup’s and Tiger want to contribute his quota not just as a ceremonial vice captain but actively as a player in 2016.
“This is something I want to do, I will continue to do whatever I can to help win the Cup back. Once I’m fully healthy, I’d like to try to make the team, too, but either way, I’m very excited to work with Davis, the other vice captains and the players to get a U.S. victory” He said in a statement.
If He eventually makes the cut, Woods will be competing in his 8th Ryder Cup tournament.
Tournament to be held from 15 to 22 October in Malaysia
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the squads and schedule for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier which will take place from 15 to 22 October in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The five teams competing in the event are regional runners-up Ireland (Europe), Nepal (Asia), Papua New Guinea (East-Asia Pacific), Uganda (Africa) and USA (Americas) and they will be bidding to win the tournament and book the final remaining place in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup which takes place from 22 January to 14 February 2016.
Uganda Head Coach Henry Okecho believes that it is important to start well as the side bids to qualify for its third U19 Cricket World Cup, having previously qualified for the 2004 (Bangladesh) and 2006 (Sri Lanka) tournaments.
Jagat Tamata Coach of Nepal, whose side faces Papua New Guinea in the opening round in Kinrara Oval on Friday, said: “We feel now the Nepalese team is mentally strong as well as physically fit and over the last two months our team has been very hard working in preparation.
Dipak Patel, the former New Zealand international and current Head Coach of Papua New Guinea hopes that his side can book its passage to India. “The PNG Garramuts are looking forward to the challenge in Kuala Lumpur. They have worked very hard in PNG with very limited resources and game-time.
One of the many players keen to make a positive mark and help his nation qualify for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup is Ireland captain Jack Tector who is hopeful of a successful tournament in what he admits will be challenging conditions. “As a group we are massively excited for the tournament. It gives us the opportunity to improve even further on the good things we did in Jersey.
Tournament Schedule:
15 October – Nepal v Papua New Guinea (Kinrara Oval), Uganda v USA (Royal Selengor Club)
16 October – Papua New Guinea v Ireland (Kinrara Oval), Nepal v Uganda (Royal Selengor Club)
17 October – Reserve/Rest Day
18 October – Papua New Guinea v Uganda (Kinrara Oval), USA v Ireland (Royal Selengor Club)
19 October – Nepal v USA (Kinrara Oval), Uganda v Ireland (Royal Selengor Club)
20 October – Reserve/Rest Day
21 October – Nepal v Ireland (Kinrara Oval), Papua New Guinea v USA (Royal Selengor Club)
22 October – Final (Kinrara Oval), 3rd & 4th Place Play-Off (Royal Selengor Club)
Match Officials: Graeme La Brooy (Match Referee), Tabarak Dar, Vinay Kumar Jha, Sarika Prasad (Mentor Umpire), Ahmad Shah Pakteen, Ian Thomson, Kalidas Viswanadan
Squads
IRELAND: Jack Tector (captain), Rory Anders, Andrew Austin, Varun Chopra, Sonny Cott, Adam Dennison, Aaron Gillespie, Joshua Little, Gary McClintock, William McClintock, James Mitchell, Tom Stanton, Lorcan Tucker, Benjamin White
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Sinaka Harry Arua, Ovia Boge, Jack Dairi, Arua Gau, Doura Iruna Gavera, Harry Christopher Gavera, Lohia Guba, Vagi Guba, Vagi Miria John, Vagi Karoho, Vagi Boko Kora, Sere Sam, Lou Vagi Toua, Nou Mavara Ako Toua
UGANDA: Derrick Bakunzi (captain), Brian Adriko, Frank Akankwasa, Zephania Arinaitwe, Trevor Bukenya, Joseph Byaruhanga, John Gabula, Abdalah Lubega, Simon Okecho, Collines Okwalinga, Ashiraf Senkubuge, David Wabwire, Steven Wabwose, Kenneth Waiswa
The International Olympic Committee today announced a two million dollar fund that will be made available to National Olympic Committees for programmes focused on refugees.
“We have all been touched by the terrible news and the heartbreaking stories in the past few days. With this terrible crisis unfolding across the Middle East, Africa and Europe, sport and the Olympic Movement wanted to play its part in bringing humanitarian help to the refugees. We made a quick decision that we needed to take action and to make this fund available immediately,” said the IOC President, Thomas Bach. “We have a long term relationship with the United Nations and with the UNHCR and we draw on their help and expertise. We know through experience that sport can ease the plight of refugees, many of them young people and children, be they in the Middle East, Africa, Europe or in other parts of the world. Our thoughts are with the many refugees risking their lives and the lives of their families to escape danger. ”
NOCs and other interested parties will be asked to submit projects to the IOC for funding. The fund itself is made up of one million dollars from the IOC and a further one million from Olympic Solidarity.
President Bach added that “because of the nature of the crisis the assessment of projects and the distribution of funds will be carried out extremely quickly. We are able to work on the ground with our partners in the National Olympic Committees and the expert agencies to get help to where it is needed most urgently.”
The IOC already works with a number of United Nations agencies to help refugees around the world. In April 2014 the two organizations signed a historic agreement aimed at strengthening collaboration.
The IOC has been working with the UNHCR for two decades and has already seen thousands of refugees benefit from sports programmes and equipment donated by the IOC.
Last year IOC Honorary President Jacques Rogge completed his first mission as Special Envoy of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General for Youth Refugees and Sport.
With the goal of raising awareness on the conditions of youth refugees and the impact of sport for their well-being, Rogge visited Syrian refugees currently living in the UN camp of Azraq, located in the desert 100 kilometres east of the Jordanian capital, Amman. The camp currently hosts more than 5,000 shelters housing some 18,000 refugees.
Since 2004, the IOC and UNHCR have organised a “Giving is Winning” programme. This global solidarity campaign allows athletes, officials and sponsors of the Olympic Games, National Olympic Committees , International and National Federations, and other Olympic Movement stakeholders to donate tens of thousands of clothing items to help refugees . The campaign has already collected over 170,000 items of clothing, which have reached refugees in 23 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe.
In 2013 and 2014, the IOC, Worldwide Olympic Partner Samsung and the UNHCR joined forces to distribute IOC Sports Kits to more than 180,000 internally displaced young people living in refugee camps in 20 countries throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America.
– Partners Biggest Live Global Sporting Event with Leading Global Media Company
– All Rights on All Screens Reaching Over 700 million People Across Europe
– More Games coverage than ever before across Free-to-Air, Pay-TV, Online and Mobile
– Reinforces Eurosport as the #1 European Sports Platform and pan-European Home of Olympic Sports
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that all TV and multi-platform broadcast rights in Europe for the four Olympic Games in the 2018–2024 period have been awarded to Discovery Communications, the parent company of Eurosport.
Today’s announcement kicks off a long-term partnership between the biggest global sports event, the Olympic Games, and leading global media company, Discovery Communications. With an average of 10 channels in every market and the #1 European online and OTT sports offerings, Discovery and Eurosport will deliver more coverage across more screens than ever before to over 700 million people across Europe. Discovery and Eurosport’s coverage will be augmented by strong free-to-air access and innovative partnerships with broadcasters and distributors to bring the Games to life like never before. In a world of increasingly “anytime, anywhere” viewing, the Olympic Games are an unparalleled live event that aggregate enormous audiences and capture the world’s attention in a way that continues to become more valuable for marketers, distributors and fans.
IOC President Thomas Bach
IOC President Thomas Bach said: “This is a significant agreement for Discovery and the IOC, and we are excited to have Eurosport, the pan-European home of Olympic sports, as a partner. This agreement ensures comprehensive coverage of the Olympic Games across Europe, including the guarantee to provide extensive free-to-air television coverage in all territories. Discovery and Eurosport have demonstrated a major commitment to the Olympic Games, to Olympic sports and to the future of the Olympic Movement. The revenue generated from this long-term partnership will be redistributed by the IOC across the Olympic Movement to support the development of sport around the world. Discovery and Eurosport have also made an exciting commitment to partner with the IOC to develop the new Olympic Channel across Europe. Above all, this agreement ensures that sports fans in Europe will be able to enjoy excellent coverage of the Olympic Games and Olympic sports, both during and outside Games time, on their platform of choice.”
Discovery Communications President and CEO David Zaslav added: “Today is a historic day as we proudly add the Olympic rings to Discovery Communications’ portfolio of offerings. The long-term programming commitment with President Bach and the IOC reaffirms Eurosport’s position as the leader in sports across Europe, and will significantly enhance Eurosport’s presence on all platforms. With Eurosport’s proud and long-standing tradition of broadcasting many winter and summer sports showcased during the Olympics, adding the Olympic Games, the greatest live event in the world, is a perfect editorial and strategic fit. But most of all, this new partnership is an exciting win for European sports fans as we will deliver record amounts of content across platforms to ensure the Olympic flame burns bright all year long.”
Discovery acquired the exclusive rights, valued at EUR 1.3 billion, across all platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription/pay-TV television, internet and mobile phone in all languages across 50 countries and territories on the European continent. Consistent with IOC and local market requirements, Discovery has committed to broadcasting a minimum of 200 hours of the Olympic Games and 100 hours of the Olympic Winter Games on free-to-air television during the Games period. Discovery will sub-license a portion of the rights in many markets across Europe.
Discovery’s 30-year history of being the global leader in non-fiction content makes the company uniquely positioned to capture and deliver the remarkable stories and characters associated with the Games not just every two years, but every year and throughout the year. With almost half of Eurosport’s existing programming being Olympic sports, the combination of its strong legacy in winter sports, cycling, tennis and athletics, and now the Olympic Games, will allow Discovery and Eurosport to engage passionate fans around these key sports 365 days a year. Discovery and Eurosport will have access to the Olympic emblems and the rich Olympic video library and archive to help solidify Eurosport’s position as the pan-European home of Olympic sports. The partners have also agreed to cooperate closely on the rollout of the IOC’s Olympic Channel, taking advantage of Eurosport’s #1 online sports destination – Eurosport.com – and leading OTT service, the Eurosport Player.
Juan Antonio Samaranch, IOC Executive Board Member and delegate IOC Member for European broadcast rights said: “We are delighted to have reached this agreement, which we believe will bring fantastic coverage of the Olympic Games and the Olympic values to the largest audience in Europe across all media platforms. Discovery and Eurosport will ensure the exposure of the Olympic Games through their own TV channels and media platforms, and, where relevant, by reaching sublicensing partnerships with other broadcasters in the various territories. Olympic fans will also benefit from comprehensive digital coverage on Eurosport’s leading pan-regional digital platforms.”
JB Perrette, President of Discovery Networks International, added: “We took control of Eurosport a year ago and embarked on a long-term mission to reinvigorate and strengthen its networks and brand. Today’s announcement is an incredibly exciting step forward on that journey. Eurosport’s unmatched technical prowess and ability to deliver the Olympic Games to 50 countries in 20 languages across multiple platforms is an important win for sports fans. We are thrilled and humbled to partner with one of the most recognised and powerful global brands, that not only delivers the biggest global event but also shares our company’s DNA of engaging and inspiring people in addition to entertaining them.”
The agreement covers the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang in 2018, and the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo in 2020, as well as the Olympic Games in 2022 and 2024, the host cities of which have yet to be elected.
Discovery and Eurosport boast unique assets and capabilities to bring the Olympic Games to more fans on more screens than ever before. With an average of 10 TV channels in every market, local infrastructure and teams on the ground across the region, and a 30-year legacy of developing great characters and stories, Discovery and Eurosport will bring the greatest sporting event to life like never before. Beyond free-to-air and PayTV channels, Eurosport Player, DPlay, Eurosport.com and Eurosport 360 will deliver more coverage and immersive experiences to passionate fans across all screens.
Discovery has acquired the rights in all territories in Europe except for the Russian Federation.
* Territories included:
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France**, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom**, Vatican City State
** 2022-2024 only (in France and the United Kingdom). Broadcast rights in these territories have already been awarded for the Olympic Games in 2018 and 2020:
Glasgow Celtic are the first team in Europe to complete a “Champions League” treble. This feat happened way back in 1967 managed by Jock Stein, Ajax Amsterdam Achieved same five years later in led by Ștefan Kovács in 1972 but the Football world had to wait sixteen years before the next treble happened when PSV Eindhoven under the guidance of Guus Hiddink Completed the treble in 1988.
Manchester United Became the first and only English Side to Complete the “treble” In 1999 managed by Alex Ferguson who’s later knighted by the Queen of England for his service to British Football. 2009 was the year Barcelona won what was termed an historic treble under the watchful eyes of Pep Guardiola, then this was followed by Italian Giants Inter Milan a year after in 2010 Led By Jose Mourinho.
2013 saw Bayern Munich join this elite group of clubs with “trebles” when the German team also pulled of the treble with Jupp Heynckes at the helm of affairs in the dug-out.
But No team has ever won the treble twice until last night in Berlin when the Catalan Side managed by Luis Enrique defeated the “Old Lady of Turin” by 3 goals to one to complete the “Treble”.
Juventus were also gunning for their first treble but this was not to be as a Superb performance by Barca ensured that the Spanish Giants Win their 5th Champions League trophy.
Luis Enrique, credit fcbarcelona.com
Treble winning teams:
The teams to have won the continental title and their domestic league and cup double in the same season are:
· Glasgow Celtic (1967) – managed by Jock Stein
· Ajax Amsterdam (1972) – managed by Ștefan Kovács.
· PSV Eindhoven (1988) – managed by Guus Hiddink
· Manchester United (1999) – managed by Alex Ferguson
. FC Barcelona (2009) – managed by Pep Guardiola
· Inter Milan (2010) – managed by Jose Mourinho
· Bayern Munich (2013) – managed by Jupp Heynckes
. FC Barcelona (2015) – managed by Luis Enrique
Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Leo Messi, Gerard Piqué, Dani Alves, Sergio Busquets and Pedro Rodríguez will also go into the history books as the first players to be part of this unprecedented “Double Treble” the above listed players were part of Guardiola’s treble winning team and were also an integral role in Luis Enrique’s treble last night at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany.
Xavi Hernández as also set a new UEFA Champions League appearance record, his half appearance makes it a total of 151 matches that he has played in the Champions League.
Following the terrible earthquake in Nepal last week, a ceremony was staged during the Qoros 2015 World Table Tennis Championships, to show table tennis’s support to the Nepal Table Tennis Team.
Support was provided from various sources including the ITTF Athletes’ Commission, Continental Federation Presidents, National Associations as well as the United Nations Sport for Development and Peace, and the International Table Tennis Federation.
The main theme of the ceremony was players supporting players.
“We can only imagine how difficult it is, of course, to the team and also to their country” Â Â, said Vladimir SAMSONOV, Chair of the ITTF Athletes’ Commission. He organized signed shirts from the world’s leading players to be donated to Nepal and received an offer from Belgium’s Jean-Michel SAIVE to conduct a coaching session.
“We are with them in their grief”, added Vladimir SAMSONOV. “You can still feel the sadness in here.
The table tennis world coming together to help Nepal.
Thomas WEIKERT, ITTF President, having already sought out the Nepalese earlier in the week, again expressed the condolences of the entire ITTF family, and stated his commitment to personally join them for the opening of the UNOSDP Project in November this year.
Additionally, the Presidents of all six Continental Federations – CAI Zhenhua (Asia), Khaled EL-SALHY (Africa), Ronald KRAMER (Europe), Juan VILA (Latin America), Tony KIESENHOFER (North America), and James MORRIS (Oceania) – agreed to donate a combined sum of US$ 10,000 to help with relief of Nepalese players and their families.
The International Table Tennis Federation and UNOSDP are to launch in the November a three year project worth over US$ 100,000 for the development of para table tennis in Nepal.
Young Sam MA, Co-chair of the UN International Working Group on People with Disabilities, himself an International Umpire, umpiring here in Suzhou was there to announce the support.
“We feel deeply sorry for the tragedy in Nepal; I was in Kathmandu last December to prepare a the project,” said Leandro OLVECH, the ITTF Development Director. “What we do today is just a small gesture to show that we’re with them; not only today, but also in the next three years by running a long term project.”
“The heart of the table tennis family is with the Nepalese inhabitants”, added Leandro OLVECH. “We give a small gesture and we will see what happens; we pray there are not so many deaths and everything will be fine; I’ve spoke to the coach and some table tennis players, thankfully, no one in their family was hurt.
“I would like to thank everyone from my heart, it’s almost like a dream to get some gifts and support from former champions and ITTF members”, said Shrestha NABITA, aged 23, a Nepalese female player. “It’s great that we can meet like this; you are taking care of our country, there is humanity in the International Table Tennis Federation.”
Notably, leading players from China, Germany, Korea, Japan, Sweden, Austria, Nigeria and Peru attended the ceremony as did ITTF Executive Committee members, SHI Zhihao, Masahiro MAEHARA and Petra SORLING,
China’s WANG Liqin, three times Men’s Singles World champion, and the Chinese Table Tennis Association were all on hand to present signed national team shirts from many past and present world champions, while representing Korea, Yang HAEUN, recently crowned World Mixed Doubles Champion was personally present to provide a signed training shirt to the Nepalese team.
Many other players also showed solidarity with the Nepalese including the Slovak Republic’s Para player Alena KANOVA, and Germany’s Petrissa SOLJA.
The European Equestrian Federation (EEF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the FEI.
The organization is headquartered in Brussels (BEL) and was founded in 2010.
A total of 43 of the FEI’s 133 National Federations are also members of the EEF, which is focused on maximising the potential and development of equestrian sport in Europe and globally.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the FEI Sports Forum 2015, which was attended by over 270 delegates, many of whom represented the FEI’s 27 National Federations based across Europe.
FEI President Ingmar De Vos (left) is pictured with Dr Hanfried Haring, President of the European Equestrian Federation, following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding at the FEI Sports Forum 2015 held at the IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland. (FEI/Germain Arias-Schreiber)
“On behalf of the EEF, I am very excited to take the next step forward in our relationship with the FEI”, said Dr Hanfried Haring, President of the European Equestrian Federation.
“For us, this is the beginning of a new working environment where a continental federation is joining forces with the FEI and improving the already fruitful cooperation. The EEF will continue to strive for its mission values now in collaboration with the FEI.”
“The FEI has worked closely with the EEF ever since the organisation was created,” said FEI President Ingmar De Vos.
“We are now looking forward to many more years of close collaboration with the EEF, and with the many other continental organisations we work with, as our sport grows within Europe and globally.”
FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015 – Leagues Update 2
Horse-and-rider combinations from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe have enjoyed some great competition during the FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015 qualifiers, with a particularly strong turnout in South America.
The Caucasian, South African and Central Asian leagues are also complete, and invitations to attend the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015 Final in Las Vegas, USA continue to be processed.
Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014:2015
South America
The South America South League was an impressive affair, with six legs staged between May and October 2014 in which 79 athletes participated, and it was Brazil’s Sergio Henriques Neves Marins who came out on top.
The first and fifth rounds of competition were held in Argentina, at Sol de Mayo and Buenos Aires, while the remainder took place in Brazil, visiting Sao Paulo twice and Porto Alegre once before concluding at Rio de Janeiro.
The winning rider sealed victory with four starts, and although runner-up, fellow-Brazilian Artemus de Almeida, counted two wins along the way, Sergio Henriques Neves Marins racked up 56 points to top the final leaderboard by a convincing seven-point margin. Uruguay’s Marcelo Chirico Ferreira finished third while Brazilian riders filled the next six places.
Henriques Neves Marins, a veteran of the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Jerez (ESP) in 2002 and the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, was in flying form throughout the 2014 season. The 45-year-old rider has found a consistently good performer in his 13-year-old horse Landpeter do Feroleto, and together they claimed team silver and individual bronze at last summer’s South American Games in Quillota (CHI) before coming out to clinch maximum points at the opening FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015 qualifier. They didn’t win that day, finishing second behind Jose Roberto Reynoso Fernandez, but claimed 20 points as their Brazilian counterparts were not in the hunt for points.
Henriques Neves Marins then joined up with Reynoso Fernandez, Artemus del Almeida and Francisco Jose Mesquita Musa to win the Nations Cup at CSIO4*-W at Porto Alegre in October, and rounded up the year with another good result at the last FEI World Cup™ Jumping leg to clinch pole position in the league.
Riders from Colombia and Venezuela battled it out in the South America North League in which 12 riders competed in the four legs. The first two qualifiers took place in Caracas, Venezuela while rounds three and four were staged in Bogota, Colombia. Riders could count results from three legs, but Colombia’s Camilo Rueda won with just two scores to count, and Colombians filled all of the top five places on the final leaderboard.
Santiago Medina finished second ahead of Juan Manuel Gallego in third, Juan Clavijo in fourth and Ricardo Alerto Villa in fifth spot.
Rueda was impressively consistent with his 13-year-old grey Holsteiner stallion, Cassaro, and finished with a final tally of 25 points ahead of Medina’s 23.
South African and Caucasian Leagues
The South African league began last May and ran through to October, embracing five legs. Visiting Midrand, Shongweni, Polokwane, Kromdraai and Port Elizabeth it attracted 38 South African athletes and Nicole Horwood clinched the league title ahead of Barry Taylor in runner-up spot, Shaun Neill in third and Dominey Alexander in fourth place.
Norwood kicked off with a 12th-place finish at Midrand riding Capital Colnardo, but she really got into her stride with victory at Shongweni with Capital Don Cumarco, the 12-year-old grey Belgian stallion she partnered for the remainder of the series and who has a great record as a three-time winner of the coveted South African Derby.
At Polokwane they lined up third, and at Kromdaai and Port Elizabeth they finished sixth and seventh respectively, accumulating 46 points which left them a full five points clear of their nearest rivals in the final analysis.
The Caucasian series consisted of three legs, and victory went to Azerbaijan’s Kanan Novruzov. The first competition took place at Tbilisi in Georgia and the remaining two rounds were held in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan. There were 11 athletes in action, and 10 of them collected points.
Novruzov made the perfect start with a win at the opening leg in Tblisi riding the 11-year-old bay Holsteiner gelding Concorde 57. The 24-year-old rider followed that with a fourth-place finish in Baku a few weeks later, and those two results were good enough to leave him a single point clear of series runner-up Alexandra Olejnik.
Of the 11 participating riders throughout the series only two hailed from Georgia, and riders from Azerbaijan dominated the final leaderboard, with Elmar Abdulayet finishing third ahead of Seyid Musayev in fourth and Patrick McEntee in fifth.
Thailand’s Siengsaw Lertratanachai won the FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015 South East Asia League (FEI/horsemovethailand.com)
Central and South East Asia
The Central Asian League was another three-leg affair in which 21 athletes from three countries – Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan – took part, and the winner was Kyrgyzstan’s Rinat Galimov.
The league opened in Tashkent, Uzbekistan with the second round taking place at Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan and the third at Astana in Kazakhstan, and Galimov got off at a great gallop with a win in Tashkent partnering her 13-year-old Swedish-bred mare, Charlize. The 30-year-old rider then repeated her success in Bishkek and was in an unassailable position by the time she arrived in Astana for the last leg, where she was just pipped for the honours by Kazakhstan’s Oleg Popelyaev who filled runner-up spot on the league leaderboard.
Uzbekistan’s Gairat Nazarov finished third in this series ahead of Kazakhstan’s Asset Tolkumbekov in fourth and Kamil Saitov in fifth place.
It was a close-fought battle for the South East Asian title which went to 18-year-old Siengsaw Lertratanachai by a narrow one-point margin over fellow-Thai rider Chewin Manathanya. All three legs took place in Pattaya, Thailand.
Lertratanachai was silver medallist at the FEI World Jumping Challenge Final 2013 in Caracas, Venezuela and finished fifth individually at the South East Asian Games at Naypyidaw, Malaysia in that same year. She was on the Thai team at the Asian Games 2014 in Incheon, Korea and, like so many other champions this season, her success in the FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015 South East Asian League began with a win at the opening leg. Partnering the 13-year-old AES mare, Viranka B, she then went on to finish third and fourth at the two remaining competitions, but she was stalked all the way by Manthanya who finished third at the first leg but then came out to win next time with Blue Boy. It was nip-and-tuck at the final leg which was won by French rider Mathilde Montginoux ahead of Sweden’s Helena Gabrielson.
In the end, Letratanachai’s faster eight-fault result gave her fourth place ahead of 31-year-old Manthanya in fifth, and that result would count as riders used their best two scores to decide the final standings.
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the world governing body for the two sports, announced today that Eurosport 2 will be the exclusive broadcaster across Europe for the newly announced Europe versus Japan Series, where the first-ever “Europe” continental baseball team will make its historic debut in a two-game series, hosted by Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), on 10-11 March at the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome.
Eurosport 2, which broadcasts to 73 million households in 18 languages across 51 countries, has obtained the rights to the WBSC Europe vs. Japan Series across all broadcast platforms, including internet and mobile devices in all languages.
“The WBSC is proud to partner with an industry leader like Eurosport and showcase this exciting new international baseball competition, the new Europe baseball brand, and its athletes to audiences across Europe,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. “This is a major milestone that helps to mark baseball’s evolution and appeal as a global sport.”
WBSC leadership also hailed the broadcast agreement, and the continued wave of developments and growth, as highlighting baseball and softball’s universality and steadily increasing popularity across key targets, such as Europe, particularly as WBSC and its key stakeholders remain committed to and hopeful of returning the bat-and-ball sports to the Olympic Games.
Following baseball and softball’s steady rise in popularity in Europe, WBSC unveiled plans in early February to establish the “Europe” branded baseball team; leading sports performance brand Asics has since become the official kit sponsor for Team Europe.
Team Europe, which will be guided by Netherlands and Italy team managers, and Samurai Japan revealed their rosters earlier this week and consider the upcoming match-up in March as a key opportunity in the preparations leading to the 2015 WBSC Premier 12™, with the same Tokyo Dome set to host the Premier 12 semifinals and finals.
Top ranked Japan, No. 5 Netherlands and No. 11 Italy have all qualified for the inaugural Premier 12 that will feature the Top 12 baseball nations in the world and will take place this November in Japan and Taiwan.
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the world governing body for the sports, today unveiled the team rosters for the Europe versus top ranked Japan two-game baseball series scheduled for 10-11 March at the Tokyo Dome.
WBSC also announced today that sportswear brand Asics has become the official apparel sponsor of the newly established “Europe” men’s baseball team.
Under the sponsorship agreement, Asics, a leading sports performance brand, will outfit Europe with a complete set of official competition apparel, including uniforms (home and visitors), hats, shoes, belts, jackets, undershirts and pullovers — and training suits and running shoes for the team’s historic debut versus Samurai Japan.
“The WBSC couldn’t be more pleased to partner with a leading, high-performance sports brand, like Asics, to help guarantee a successful launch of this new type of competition in which Europe will make its debut,” said Masaru Yokoo, WBSC Baseball Marketing Director. “This is a great day for our sport and another key step forward that highlights baseball’s rise and potential in Europe as a viable and attractive property.”
As baseball/softball’s popularity steadily increases in Europe, WBSC announced plans two weeks ago to summon the first-ever united European baseball team to provide an additional platform with which to raise the profile and showcase the brand of baseball in Europe.
The official look and apparel design for the Asics-backed Europe team will be unveiled next month in Tokyo.
Phenom Shohei Ohtani (100+ mph fastball with NPB’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters) will likely be one of the Samurai selected to help Japan battle for the 2015 Premier 12 World Title.
TEAM ROSTERS
World No. 1 Japan, under manager Hiroki Kokubo, will go with a 26-man roster that features players and national heroes from all 12 of Nippon Professional Baseball’s (NPB) clubs, led by Hiroshima Carp and the Softbank Hawks, each of which has four players making it on the National Team.
Nineteen of Japan’s 26 players were on the roster for the Japan vs. MLB best-of-five series last November, won by hosts Japan.
Europe’s head coach, Steve Janssen (Netherlands National Team manager), selected his roster of 28 players from five countries (by world rank): No. 5 Netherlands, No. 11 Italy, No. 17 Spain, No. 18 Germany and No. 27 France. (See Europe’s full Roster.)
The 2011 World Champions, Netherlands, take the honour of having the most players selected (15) to represent Europe, including 10-time Major League Baseball Gold Glove winner Andruw Jones, who played the past two seasons with NPB’s Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and played for the Netherlands in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
Italy will have six players heading to Tokyo to represent Europe, including NPB’s Orix Buffaloes pitcher, Alessandro Maestri, while Spain (4), Germany (2) and France (1) will also have a presence for Europe.
“I have either been their coach or have coached against them in international competition, and I think our coaching staff has put together a solid roster and talented group,” said Janssen. “It’s a huge honour and great opportunity — and responsibility — for our players to enter the stage wearing the ‘Europe’ jersey, competing against the No. 1 ranked country in the world in their home. This is baseball…this is what it’s all about.”
World Baseball Softball Confederation
CPBL UMPIRES TO OFFICIATE EUROPE VS JAPAN SERIES
WBSC also revealed that umpires from the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) — a WBSC Associate Member — will officiate and oversee the two-game series to ensure neutrality, highlighting the WBSC Family’s shared vision to grow the sport globally and safeguard the integrity of the game.
NPB — the second highest-attended major sports league in the world in 2014 (approx. 23 million) and also a WBSC Associate Member — is the host of the Europe versus Japan two-game series.
The first-ever baseball team representing “Europe” will be established and will make its historic debut in a two-game series against the top-ranked Japanese National Professional Baseball Team in Tokyo next month, Riccardo Fraccari, President of the World Baseball Softball Confederation, announced.
The WBSC “Global Baseball Match-Up 2015” between Europe and world No. 1 Samurai Japan will be played from 10-11 March at the iconic 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome, marking the first time an entire continent is represented in an official international baseball competition.
Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) — the second highest-attended major sports league in the world in 2014 (approx. 23 million) and WBSC Associate Member — will host the Europe vs. Japan two-game series.
“This is an unprecedented and historic event that signifies baseball’s expansion into a totally new competition format,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari, “and, I am confident that this new type of international baseball competition being rolled out by WBSC will be exciting and highly appealing to the players, fans and key stakeholders.
World Baseball Softball Confederation
“I would like to thank NPB Commissioner Katsuhiko Kumazaki for his important role in not only realising but sharing and strengthening this vision.”
The world governing body leader said the establishment of the continental selection will unite Europe’s top baseball players from among the 43 European nations in which WBSC has a Member Federation.
“It will be a great source of pride and validation for those nations whose players are selected to represent Europe, and this new concept that we are realising will provide an additional platform with which to raise the profile and brand of baseball in Europe and within each respective nation,” said Fraccari.
The official look and apparel design for Team Europe are under development and will be unveiled in the coming weeks.
In preparation for the series, the leader of top-ranked Samurai Japan, Hiroki Kokubo, is in the process of touring the training camps of various NPB clubs in Japan to evaluate talent, in order to build up a collection of stars for his roster.
Kokubo, who guided Japan to victory over Team MLB in a best-of-five series last November, stated weeks ago that he will assemble a “Dream Team” with Japan’s biggest names in baseball for the inaugural WBSC Premier 12™ Professional World Championship that will take place in November in Japan and Taiwan; the Samurai leader will use the match-up against Europe to further solidify and test his National Team leading to the Premier 12.
Kokubo said: “Considering the WBSC Premier 12 coming up, I think this match-up with Europe, feeling each other out, will be important.”
Europe will make its world debut under current Netherlands National Team manager, Steve Janssen, who led the Netherlands to the 2014 CEB European Championship.
“It is a tremendous honour and great responsibility to lead Europe,” said Janssen, “and playing against one of the best teams in the world is going to be a very exciting and challenging first test.”
Italy’s National Team manager, Marco Mazzieri, who advanced Italy to the quarterfinals of the 2013 World Baseball Classic, will also be an integral part of Europe’s coaching staff and will work closely with Janssen in selecting the players who will represent the first-ever Europe team at the Tokyo Dome in March.
Both Janssen and Mazzieri will also be leading their respective National Teams at the 2015 WBSC Premier 12, as No. 5 Netherlands and No. 11 Italy are among the top twelve (the “Premier 12”) nations in the world that will be featured and make up the new flagship event.
Ticketing for the Europe vs. Samurai Japan Series opened yesterday (6 February), while team rosters will be revealed in an upcoming announcement.
World governing body WBSC announced today a landmark agreement that awards Tainan City, Chinese Taipei the hosting rights of the next three editions (2015, 2017, 2019) of the WBSC Under-12 Baseball World Cup, which is the only international baseball tournament in this age group (11-12 years old) to feature National Teams (along with the U12 World Cup continental qualifiers), and is the only world championship tournament in all of sports at this age level.
Cuba at the Inaugural 2011 U12 Baseball World Cup. WBSC
WBSC also revealed the qualified nations and dates for the 2015 U18 and U12 Baseball World Cups — the highest and most elite competition platforms for baseball players in these age groups.
WBSC leadership hailed the latest breakthrough agreement on the U12 World Cup, which follows last week’s major announcements on WBSC’s new flagship professional world championship — Premier 12™ — as key indicators that baseball and softball’s National Team international competitions, which are exclusive to WBSC and its Members, continue to gain a foothold among athletes, hosts, fans, broadcasters and sponsors in the sporting world’s highly competitive marketplace.
While traditionally awarding each edition of the Baseball World Cup to new host countries, WBSC leaders cited the sustainability, reduced costs and streamlined operational planning in awarding Tainan the next three editions of the U12 World Cup, which will also maximise returns and the legacy for the host city, WBSC leaders said.
The new approach, specific to the WBSC U12 World Cup, which WBSC leaders regard as having “tremendous potential to mature into one of the baseball’s biggest international showcases”, will present new opportunities to enhance and tailor long-term partnerships and sponsorship strategies for all concerned stakeholders, WBSC officials highlighted.
2015 WBSC U18 Baseball World Cup XXVII — Japan
It was also announced that the 2015 WBSC U18 World Cup will be staged from 28 August – 06 September, with the “Mecca of Japanese Baseball” — historic Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya built in 1924 — serving as an iconic backdrop for the world’s best 18-year-old baseball players and future superstars.
KOR vs USA at the 2013 U12 Baseball World Cup.WBSC
Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) is adjusting the Hanshin Tigers’ home schedule at the legendary 47,000-seat (Hanshin) Koshien Stadium to accommodate and further add to the prestige of the WBSC U18 Baseball World Cup — and to honour the best young baseball players in the world and help drive a magical in-stadium fan-experience.
The nations heading to Koshien Stadium have been finalised after the first-ever U18 World Cup continental qualifiers in Africa (Mera, Kenya) and Oceania (Auckland, New Zealand) concluded this past weekend. The historic qualifiers were regarded by WBSC leadership as “key breakthroughs in baseball/softball’s global evolution that unite the U18 Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania continental championships”.
The U18 World Cup in Japan will feature seven out of the Top 10 nations in the world, and eleven out of the Top 20, making for one of the most competitive U18 World Cups on record.
The powerful bloc of U18 World Cup qualified nations represents a global footprint that spans across the entire western hemisphere, Africa, Asia, Central and Southern Europe, and Oceania:
Americas (North-, Central- and South America, and the Caribbean): Two-time defending U18 World Champions No. 2 USA, No. 3 Cuba, No. 7 Canada, No. 12 Mexico and No. 16 Brazil.
Africa: No. 29 South Africa
Asia: No. 1 Japan, No. 4 Chinese Taipei, No. 8 South Korea
Europe: No. 11 Italy and No. 20 Czech Republic
Oceania: No. 14 Australia
2015 WBSC U18 Baseball World Cup
WBSC officials are confident the 2015 U18 World Cup’s broadcast and online/mobile reach will surpass the record broadcast numbers of its 2013 U18 World Cup predecessor — which had a potential broadcast reach of 144 million homes and potential online/mobile reach of 20 million, based on reports furnished by leading media rights agency and WBSC broadcast partner MP & Silva. WBSC leaders base forecasts on the strength of the 2015 U18 World Cup nations, as well as the current positive audience growth trends for international baseball properties that feature WBSC’s Members’ National Teams.
U18 Global launching pad for future stars
The biennial U18 world championship showcase has featured some of the biggest names in the sport, such as Canada’s Brett Lawrie, Japan’s Yu Darvish and Shohei Ohtani, South Korea’s Shin-soo Choo, Cuba’s Yasiel Puig and Aroldis Chapman, and USA’s Justin Upton and Buster Posey, among countless others. The most recent generation of rising stars include Cuba’s Jorge Soler, USA’s Francisco Lindor and Canada’s Dalton Pompey, all of whom played at the 2010 U18 Baseball World Cup in Thunder Bay, Canada (which will return as host for the 2017 WBSC U18 Baseball World Cup).
World Baseball Softball Confederation
2015 WBSC U12 Baseball World Cup III — Nations and Dates
The third edition of the U12 Baseball World Cup, which will showcase the best 12-year-old baseball players in the world, will take place from 24 July to 2 August in Tainan City, with the United States, “Team USA”, entering as the defending U12 World Champions.
The twelve nations qualified for 2015 U12 Baseball World Cup represent a global expansion that includes a first-ever representative from Oceania:
Americas: No. 2 USA, No. 3 Cuba, No. 10 Venezuela, No. 12 Mexico, No. 13 Panama and No. 16 Nicaragua Asia: No. 1 Japan, No. 4 Chinese Taipei, No. 8 South Korea Europe: No. 27 France and No. 32 Russia Oceania: No. 14 Australia
Added excitement will surround this year’s U18 and U12 World Cups, which kick-off the 4-year world rankings cycle — as points earned from these events will be the first to go toward the world rankings that will eventually determine the qualified nations for the 2019 Premier 12™ Pro Baseball World Championship.
Logos, groupings and tournament schedules for the U18 and U12 Baseball World Cups will be unveiled in future announcements.
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