Europe

Vladimir Katrenko, a director of the Russian state Audit Chamber, has said there is an “urgent” need to improve the legacy plans for the venues of the Sochi 2014 winter Olympic Games.

The English Football Association (FA) has suffered a £34m (€41.8m/$56.9m) drop in income during a year in which the governing body set a record for the amount it re-invested in the sport.

Spanish Liga football club Barcelona will be able to strengthen its squad during the summer transfer window after Fifa elected to suspend a ban it had imposed on the Catalan giant.

The Slingshot Sponsorship agency has launched a new division that will primarily focus on commercial opportunities in the sports industry.

Sochi has submitted a bid to host the International Skating Union’s (ISU) 2017 World Figure Skating Championships as the Russian city looks to build a tangible legacy from its staging of this year’s winter Olympic Games.

Havas Sports & Entertainment (HS&E), the brand engagement agency of the Havas Group, has appointed Tove Okunniwa as the new chief executive of its UK division.

The JTA agency has received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade in recognition of the company’s recent growth in revenue and number of clients from outside the UK.

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 Jockey Club, the biggest commercial group in British horse racing, has announced record financial results for 2013 along with its largest-ever contribution to prize money.

This Saturday (April 19, 2014), Twickenham Stadium will play host to The Stinger – a top-tier English domestic rugby union game between London Wasps and Gloucester. Matt Cutler asked Wasps COO Jeremy Wilton about the benefits of hosting major fixtures away from their Adams Park home.

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 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Council has selected Kazan as the host of the 2016 World Junior Championships.

The French Tennis Federation (FFT) has announced that the 2014 French Open will offer total prize money of more than €25m ($34.5m), an increase of €3m in comparison with the 2013 edition of the grand slam tournament.

Italian football registered a six per cent fall in attendance during the 2012-13 season while the debt of Serie A clubs increased to €2.947bn ($4.1bn), according to an annual report by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).

Rugby Football Union (RFU) chief executive Ian Ritchie has questioned the compensation figure sought by English Premiership clubs with regards to England’s staging of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, pointing out that they stand to benefit from a home tournament.

The Superbike World Championship (WSBK) has announced that the Russian round of the 2014 motorcycling series has been cancelled due to ongoing political issues in the country.