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28 • Touchline • Issue 14
world sport
news round up
The National Hockey League (NHL)
announced the cancellation of all games
through the Christmas period as the
number of 2012-13 regular-season
matches lost due to the ongoing lockout
reached the 526 mark.
The figure of cancelled games represents 43% of the season,
with the League now reaching crisis point if it is to save the
campaign and avoid a repeat of the 2004-05 season, which was
lost in its entirety due to a collective bargaining agreement
(CBA) dispute. The loss of a further 104 games means that
action has now been suspended through to December 30, with
showpiece events such as the Winter Classic and All-Star Game
having already been cancelled.
When the NHL agreed to increase its make-whole offer of
deferred payments from $211 million to $300 million it was part
of a proposed package that required the union to agree on three
nonnegotiable points. Instead, the players’ association accepted
the raise in funds, but then made counterproposals on the issues
the league stated had no wiggle room.
The NHL wants to limit personal player contracts to five years,
seven for a club to re-sign its own player, and has elevated the
issue to the highest level of importance. The union countered
with an offer of an eight-year maximum length with the variable
in salary being no greater than a 25 percent difference between
the highest-paid year of the deal and the lowest.
The other sticking points the NHL demanded of the players are
a 10-year term on the new agreement, with a mutual opt-out
option after eight years, and no compliance buyouts or caps on
escrow in the transition phase to the new structure. The union
presented an offer of an eight-year deal with a reopener after
six.
usa
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga
has outlined the capital city of Nairobi
is preparing an ambitious bid to stage
Africa’s first Olympic Games in 2024.
Africa’s most recent Olympic bids saw the
Egyptian city of Cairo fail in its attempt to land the 2008 Games
won by Beijing, while the South African city of Cape Town made
a bid for the 2004 Games which was hosted by Athens.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is set to commence
the official bid process for the 2024 Games in 2015, with a host
city selected two years later. A Kenya House statement, reported
by Reuters, read: “Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, speaking
at the Kenya National House, announced that the Republic of
Kenya will be starting the process of pitching to host the Games
of the 33rd Olympiad in 2024. If successful, these Games will be
the first ever held in Africa.”
ken
The International Association of Athletics
Federations (IAAF) is seeking to build
on the success of the track events at
the London 2012 Olympics by launching
a new competition dedicated to relay
racing.
The first editions of the IAAF World Relays will be hosted by the
capital city of the Bahamas, Nassau, in May 2014 and 2015. The
two-day competition aims to bring together the world’s best
athletes, with a schedule that includes the traditional 4x100m
and 4x400m events, along with 4x200m, 4x800m and 4x1500m.
The IAAF said it is expected that the World Relays will be used to
qualify some teams for the World Championships and Olympics.
The event will be open to all IAAF member federations and will
have a prize fund of around US$1.4 million.
bah
The Scottish Premier League’s (SPL)
member clubs have unanimously agreed
to move ahead with their plan to expand
to two divisions of 12 teams.
“I’m delighted to say that we have
unanimously agreement in principle from the 12 SPL clubs to
the 24-18 team model,” SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster told
BBC Scotland. “We are looking forward to sitting down with the
Scottish Football League and the Scottish FA to talk about the
details. What we aim to have is a consensus model that cares for
all of Scottish football and that’s got to be objective.”
The 18 refers to the remaining SFL clubs who will not be
included in the top two leagues, which will split into three
leagues of eight teams midway through the season.
The SFL’s 30 member clubs last month unanimously voted in
favour of their own proposal to merge the organisation with the
SPL and create a new three-tier league system for the domestic
game. The plan foresees the introduction of a 16-team Premier
Division, a 10-team Championship and a 16-team First Division.
sco