Jérôme Champagne has called for a strengthening of National Associations as he detailed his "programme for the twenty-first century FIFA" and reform of the the world governing body's Executive Committee.

The Frenchman today sent these two letters to all 209 of FIFA's members as he presses ahead with his campaign for the Presidency.

In the letters, Champagne outlined plans to set aside the majority of seats on the Executive Committee of FIFA for the Presidents of National Associations, in order to strengthen the overall power of these bodies.

He would also see these positions selected at the same time as the election of the FIFA President at the annual Congress.

"This would create, and it would be a first, a true 'governing majority' in favour of consistency," he said.

While these Presidents would be elected onto the FIFA Executive Committee, Champagne also outlined plans to see them lose their seats if they lose their domestic responsibility.

"Their replacement could be done by the President of the national association of the continent that was not elected but who received the next lowest number of votes in the initial election," Champagne added.

"Another option would be a new election at the next FIFA Congress for the remainder of the four years of the initial term."


Champagne has also highlighted the need for "a new equilibrium between the continents, fairer and more representative, in at least four areas."

These consist of the election of the President and the first vice-president together on the same "ticket", an additional seat on the Executive Committee for the five non-European continents, expansion of the FIFA administration across the globe and an immediate discussion on the allocation of the 32 World Cup spots.

The idea of the positions being elected on the same "ticket" would, according to Champagne, ensure "the legitimacy of the acting President if the elected President of FIFA were unable to continue to perform his duties."

He added: "It will also be a strong symbol of the universality of our organisation, and the duty to take into account the diverse needs of football across the planet."

The duo would have to be from different continents in order for this second point to become valid, the Frenchman explained.

In his letters, Champagne castigates that FIFA identifies $990 million (£613 million/€774 million) in administrative costs, but injected only $900 million (£557 million/€703 million) in development assistance.

He, therefore, promises to reduce administrative costs by five per cent and ensure the investment of this money go towards development aid, including building 400 pitches over the next four years.

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International Olympic Committee members Octavian Morariu and Patrick Baumann have been confirmed on the Olympic sevens discussion panel which will meet at the International Rugby Board (IRB) World Rugby Conference and Exhibition next month.

Others on the panel include former Argentina international Gus Pichot, who also serves on the IRB Council, the IRB's head of competitions and performance, Mark Egan, and Women's Rugby World Cup 2014-winning centre Rachael Burford for England.

The "Higher, Faster, Stronger" panel will be moderated by BBC World journalist and broadcaster David Eades.

Former international player Morariu stood down as President of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee earlier this year after ten years in charge, following a spell as President of the Romanian Rugby Federation from 2001 to 2003.

In July 2012, he was elected as President of the European Rugby Association and last year became only the fourth Romanian to be elected as a member of the IOC.

Baumann, secretary general of the International Basketball Federation, will join the panel to provide insight and advice on what it takes to be a successful Olympic sport ahead of rugby sevens debut at Rio 2016.

The Swiss has been an IOC member since 2007 and is currently leading Lausanne's bid for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games.


"Rio 2016 is less than two years away and we must make sure that we make the most of the fantastic opportunity we have to showcase rugby sevens to the world," said IRB chief executive Brett Gosper.

"The 'Olympic Rugby Sevens - Faster, Higher, Stronger' panel is the perfect platform to debate the challenges and opportunities as the momentum builds towards this vital moment for our sport.

"With one month to go to the IRB Conference and Exhibition we are delighted with the growing list of high-calibre speakers and partners.

"It's going to be a fascinating conference that offers valuable insights into the issues that really matter to the Rugby family and the wider sporting community."

The inaugural World Rugby Conference and Exhibition took place in the IRB's home city of Dublin, Ireland last year.

Next month's event is due to take place at the Hilton London Metropole on November 17 and 18.

As well as discussions on rugby sevens Olympic Games debut, other items on the agenda will include a discussion panel on the Rugby World Cup which will feature the likes of England 2015 chief executive Debbie Jevans and head of Rugby World Cup Limited Alan Gilpin.

The IRB will also rebrand to become World Rugby which will become the new title for the sport's governing body on November 19.

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Shamil Tarpischev is to be asked by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for his position after Serena Williams today accused him of being "sexist" and "racist" following remarks he made about her and sister Venus.

Tarpischev, President of the Russian Tennis Federation, called the American siblings the "Williams brothers" on a Russian television chat show earlier this month.

It led to him being fined $25,000 (£15,500/€20,000) by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour and suspended for a year.

Tarpischev has been a member of the IOC since 1994 and is currently part of its Entourage Commission, which deals with matters concerning the relationship between athletes, coaches, managers, sponsors and all other stakeholders that support athletes.

In a statement yesterday, Tarpischev called the Williams sisters, who have 25 Grand Slam titles between them, "outstanding athletes" but claimed the comment was "taken out of context" and was made "without malicious intent".

The IOC will now seek further clarification of the situation before deciding whether to take any action themselves, which potentially could include referring Tarpischev to its Ethics Commission.

"We take note of Mr Tarpishev's apology and the sanctions imposed by the WTA," an IOC spokesman told insidethegames.

"The IOC will first contact Mr Tarpishev to ask for his position before considering any next step."


Serena Williams, the world number one, today commended the WTA on its swift action in dealing with Shamil Tarpischev.

"Well, I think the WTA did a really great job in taking initiative and immediately taking actions," Williams, winner of 18 Grand Slam singles titles and four Olympic gold medals, said ahead of the WTA Finals in Singapore.

"His comments, I thought, were very insensitive,

"I thought they were extremely sexist as well as racist at the same time, and I thought they were in a way bullying.

"I just wasn't very happy with his comments and I think a lot of people are unhappy as well."

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Coach of the successful Trinidad and Tobago men’s hockey team at the FIH World League First Round Raphael Govia was very pleased with the team’s performance in Jamaica but added the squad must focus on their finishing going into other tournaments. T&T won the tournament and qualified for the second round of the FIH (International Hockey Federation) World League in Chula Vista, California, USA, next February.
Govia, a former national player, said: “I was a bit worried going into this (1st round FIH) tournament as I saw a few areas of goal scoring that I needed to sharpen up on.” The QPCC coach added that the boys were a bit rusty after the Commonwealth Games as they came back home to a mossy closed Tacarigua facility, where all their trainings take place. and he only had five to six sessions with the boys prior to our departure to Jamaica.
“I worked hard on finishing and the awareness in front of goal, as I recognised this was the area most critical in need of sharpening up,” Govia said. Govia said the surface in Jamaica did not give the T&T team the edge and in fact the uneven surface compromised T&T’s game.
“So our boys had to re-adjust to these conditions, as we are more accustomed to the faster consistent watered type pitches. We had a tough start versus Dominican Republic with 21 circle penetrations scoring none,” Govia analysed He said T&T rallied to win the match and prepared better for the ensuing games.
Midfielder Akim Touissant, who was moved to forward, played a significant role in getting the goals needed to advance while skipper Darren Cowie, Otis Oconnor and Aidan de Gannes kept the T&T defence locked.
In the middle, Solomon Eccles controlled the engine room and dictated our passes to our attackers, Shaquille Daniel was one of the hardest workers on the pitch while up front Kiel Murray and Tariq Marcano kept their opposing players busy. T& T’s Tournament MVP and highest Goal getter Akim Touissant also caused defences real problems.
“For sure as a team we must pay attention to our attacking skills and turn our many opportunities going forward into goals,” Govia said. Looking forward to CAC, the T&T team will depend heavily on the senior players connections with our younger ones.
“It’s very important for us that if we are to medal in this competition we have our full force of players as we will have the Cubans to deal with then Mexico.World League Round 2 will be another tough task ahead-- as the competition will be tough against teams on the circuit regularly with much higher rankings, The T&T hockey men outfit also has an assignment at the Pan Am Games in Canada next year.

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Steve Stoute has been re-elected chairman of the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) at its General Assembly held at the Hilton Hotel in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Stoute retained his position after Brian Lewis, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, had also contested the role.

Under the CANOC constitution, the chairman is elected once the seven Board members are elected.

Stoute's position is set to be reviewed after he has completed half of his four-year term.

It was the first time Stoute had faced a challenger since he took over as the founding chairman of CANOC, which was officially formed 11 years ago to represent the 26 National Olympic Committees based in the Caribbean.

CANOC has developed significantly as an organisation in that period of time and last year was awarded the Caribbean broadcast rights for Rio 2016 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

It plans to use any profit from the deal to help develop sport in the region.

The 72-year-old Stoute, President of the Barbados Olympic Association, took Lewis' challenge as a growing sign of CANOC's growing maturity and influence.

(From left to right) Angel Morales, Alfred Emmanuel, Brian Lewis, Steve Stoute, Donald McLean, Keith Joseph and Alphonso Bridgewater were elected as the new Executive of CANOC during the General Assembly at the Hilton Hotel in Bridgetown ©BOA(From left to right) Angel Morales, Alfred Emmanuel, Brian Lewis, Steve Stoute, Donald McLean, Keith Joseph and Alphonso Bridgewater were elected as the new Executive of CANOC during the General Assembly at the Hilton Hotel in Bridgetown  ©BOA

"We have reached the stage where it looks as if we will receive IOC recognition, PASO (Pan American Sports Organization) recognition and with the acquisition of the 2016 television rights, we are the only region in the world to have acquired Olympic television rights," he told The Barbados Advocate.

"This should provide revenues and enhance the profile of the organisation.

"So it is now something that other people will be interested in, and that is a healthy sign."

Lewis was, however, elected onto the CANOC Board for the first time, along with Alphonso Bridgewater from St Kitts and Nevis.

The rest of the Board is Alfred Emmanuel from St Lucia, Keith Joseph from St Vincent and The Grenadines, Donald McLean from the Cayman Islands and Angel Morales from the Virgin Islands.

"After some robust discussion we arrived at a consensus position that was acceptable to all seven members," said Lewis.

"We all gave our word to honour what we agreed."

The meeting, which was proceeded by an Olympic Solidarity Regional Workshop, was also addressed by IOC President Thomas Bach via a video link.

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