FIFA Ex-Co Ups Brazil 2014 Involvement; Azerbaijan, Bulgaria Resolve Lifting Row

FIFA Ex-Co Ups Brazil 2014 Involvement

FIFA’s Executive Committee will take a more hands-on role in preparations for the Brazil 2014 World Cup with South Africa 2010 CEO Danny Jordaan and his Russian 2018 counterpart Alexey Sorokin appointed as special advisers.

The new-look FIFA Brazil 2014 Organizing Committee convened Thursday in Zurich, its first meeting under new leadership following Ricardo Teixeira's resignation from the Brazilian FA, Brazil 2014 organizing committee and the FIFA Ex-Co.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who opened the meeting, welcomed José Maria Marin, Teixeira's replacement as the LOC chairman, and the newly appointed Ex-Co member from Brazil, Marco Polo del Nero.

A FIFA statement said its executive members would be more involved in Brazil 2014's preparations.

"To underline the significance of the FIFA World Cup for world football’s governing body, the complete FIFA Executive Committee is now, for the first time, part of this decision-making forum which is responsible for monitoring and organizing each edition of FIFA’s flagship event," the statement said.

FIFA said Jordaan and Sorokin were being brought on board as special advisers "to ensure that the committee benefits from previous experiences and future preparations".

The move is a concerted effort by Blatter to ease the burden of responsibility on FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, who has been blasted by Brazil's government for criticizing the slow pace of preparations. The Swiss also wants to ensure work is stepped up across the World Cup project, including the problem areas of host stadia construction and transport infrastructure, to deliver the Confederations Cup and World Cup on time.

For more on Thursday’s meeting, follow World Football INSIDER.

USA Track and Field CEO Search

USA Track and Field hopes to have selected its new Chief Executive Officer "well in advance" of the June 22-July 1 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.

The national federation made the announcement Monday, saying it resumed its search for the position, previously held by Doug Logan from July 2008 to September 2010.

In a statement, USATF says "nearly 100 candidates" submitted resumes. Candidate interviews will begin next month.

"Our board of directors is committed to engaging a strong, visionary leader who combines success in the sports business marketplace with the political acumen, knowledge of our sport and people skills that are so essential to being successful in this position," Stephanie Hightower, chair of the search committee said.

"We have everything we need to conduct this search thoroughly and expediently. Our athletes have shown they are ready for the Olympic Trials and Olympic Games. We want to ensure that as an organization weare ready as well."

The U.S. athletics team is typically the largest team at a Summer Olympics, larger than other national delegations by several orders of magnitude.

American athletes won 23 medals at the Beijing Games, viewed as a less-than stellar performance which many people attributed to a lack of leadership in the CEO position.

Resolution to Lifting Row

Boyanka Kostova and Valentin Hristov will lift for Azerbaijan at the 2012 Olympics after Bulgaria dropped its demands for more money on top of the more than $500,000 paid last November.

Bulgaria’s weightlifting federation had threatened to stop the transfers of allegiance if the payments weren’t made, prompting the Bulgarian Olympic Committee to ask the IOC and International Weightlifting Federation for clarification on whether the request for larger fees was admissable.

"Taking into account the IOC statement and a letter from the IWF, I should say we have no right to want more money for the athletes after already receiving a fee for them," Bulgarian Olympic Committee chairwoman Stefka Kostadinova was quoted Wednesday by Reuters.

Kostova is the reigning Youth Olympic Games champ in the 53-kg category, and Hristov won 56-kg bronze for Azerbaijan at last year’s world championships.

Table Tennis Awards 2015 Worlds

Suzhou, China will stage the 2015 World Table Tennis Championships.

The city, home to the ITTF World Tour’s Harmony Open since 2009, was awarded hosting rights by acclamation Tuesday on the sidelines of this week’s team world champs in Dortmund, Germany.

Also at the International Table Tennis Federation’s annual general meeting, LOCOG’s table tennis manager updated delegates on preparations for the Olympic competition in London, and federations from St. Maarten and Chad were accepted into the ITTF.

Nowwith 217 member countries, the ITTF is second only to the International Volleyball Federation FIVB.

Bikinis or Shorts for Beach Volleyball

Women’s beach volleyball players can choose to cover up a bit during Olympic competition in London.

New rules adopted by the International Volleyball Federation allow for "shorts of a maximum length of (1.18 inches) above the knee, and sleeved or sleeveless tops" in addition to the traditional bikinis worn since the discipline was added to the Games in 1996.

"Many of these countries have religious and cultural requirements, so the uniform needed to be more flexible," an FIVB spokesman told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

With a new qualification system no longer based almost entirely on world rankings, more countries than ever are expected to qualify for the Olympic tournament through Continental Cup competitions.

Wrestling Qualifiers

The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles is busy pinning down which athletes will compete in the 2012 Olympics.

Asia’s continental qualifying tournament kicks off Friday and runs through April 4 in Astana, Kazakhstan.

That follows a Pan-American qualifier last weekend in Kissimmee, Florida and a dual competition for Africa and Oceania earlier this month in Marrakech, Morocco.

Visit FILA’s website for the latest on which wrestlers are heading to the Games.

Qatar to Host Asian Hockey Tournament

Qatar will gain more experience hosting major sporting competitions with the 2012 Asian Champions Trophy.

The hockey tournament will bring teams from China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan and South Korea to the Al Rayyan Stadium.

Mohamed Nazer Abdul, secretary general of the Qatar Hockey Federation, said the tournament will be a "huge boost" for Qatar and hockey in the country.

"Conducting a major event like this will certainly increase the popularity of the sport," he said. "With plenty of Asian expatriates in Qatar, you can expect a full house and if there is an India-Pakistan clash, the euphoria can cross all levels."

Written by Ed Hula III and Matthew Grayson

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.