Eastern Europe

Lviv has become the latest city to drop out of the race to host the 2022 winter Olympic Games due to political and economic instability in Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced this (Monday) morning.

Serbian football club Red Star Belgrade has been banned from participating in the Uefa Champions League next season, while two Turkish clubs have also been barred from competing in the Europa League.

The Polish city of Krakow has withdrawn its bid for the 2022 winter Olympics after almost 70 per cent of voters decided against backing the tilt at the Games in a referendum staged on Sunday.

Kostiantyn Yelisieiev, Ukraine’s ambassador to the European Union, has called for Russia to face serious EU financial sanctions and lose the hosting rights to the 2018 Fifa World Cup national team football tournament over its annexation of Crimea.

FIBA Europe, the governing body for basketball in Europe, has granted a request by the Ukrainian Basketball Federation to postpone a decision on whether the EuroBasket 2015 national team tournament can take place in the country.

The European Athletics Council has awarded its 2017 Indoor Championships to Belgrade, while Tbilisi has landed the inaugural edition of the Youth Championships in 2016.

The Polish city of Swinoujscie will host the 2015 International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Youth Match Racing World Championship.

Krakow’s Deputy Mayor Magdalena Sroka has been appointed as the new leader of the Polish city’s bid to host the 2022 winter Olympic Games.

The European Triathlon Union (ETU) has said it remains committed to hosting its Sprint European Cup event in the Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk on May 24.

The European Handball Federation (EHF) has announced its hosting plans for the Men’s Euro 2016 national team competition in Poland, including an extended tournament playing schedule.

Krakow’s bid to host the 2022 winter Olympic Games has suffered a substantial blow after bid committee president Jagna Marczulajtis-Walczak was forced to resign from her post claiming a “smear campaign”.

Lviv officials have announced the Ukrainian city’s bid to host the 2022 winter Olympic Games is to be put on hold until after national presidential elections have taken place on May 25.

Generations For Peace volunteers in 15 countries led activities to demonstrate how sport can be used as a tool to bridge gender, religious and ethnic divides in their communities as part of Sunday’s first-ever International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP).

The World Curling Federation (WCF) has announced the hosts of the World Junior Curling Championships, European Junior Curling Challenge, European Mixed Curling Championship and World Wheelchair Curling Qualification Event for the 2014-15 season, with the Estonian capital of Tallinn set to host its first major event.

Krakow councillors have voted in favour of holding a referendum on whether the Polish city should host the 2022 winter Olympics, with a date of May 25 set to coincide with elections to the European Parliament.

German agency UFA Sports has signed long-term marketing partnerships with its local Bundesliga basketball team Hamburg Towers and Polish Ekstraklasa football club Wisla Krakow.