Kazakhstan intends to bid for the 2026 FIFA World, subject to feasibility discussions with the government, the country’s FA president said on Wednesday.  

"We are discussing this issue with the government of my country to assess what are our chances,” Kazakhstan FA president Yerlan Kozhagapanov told L’Equipe.

Growing at an average of 5.4 per cent per annum, Kazakhstan’s is the largest economy in Central Asia. Its second largest city, Almaty, is currently bidding to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. 

"Our country is developing rapidly, our economy is growing, so why not? We want to organise the winter [Olympic] Games in 2022, and we plan to engage in the race for the organisation of the World Cup 2026."

Kazakhstan is rich in oil but its national team has yet to qualify for a UEFA European Championship, let alone a World Cup.

The criteria for bidding for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be determined by FIFA’s executive committee on 30 May 2015. 

UEFA countries may be excluded from bidding for 2026, as Russia is hosting 2018. Asian countries will not be able to bid for 2026 as it immediately follows Qatar hosting the World Cup in 2022.

If it were to bid for 2026, Kazakhstan would likely be competing against the US, the world’s largest economy which also has a fast growing soccer market.

The host nation of the 2026 World Cup will be elected by 209 FA presidents at the FIFA Congress in Kuala Lumpur in May 2017.

Having led the bid for Glasgow’s universally-acclaimed Commonwealth Games and served as long-standing Honorary Secretary for the Commonwealth Games Federation, it came as no great surprise – except to her – when the news emerged that she was planning on running for the position of President of the Federation.

“It was made public much earlier than I was expecting it to come out, because we are not calling for nominations until May,” she told HOST CITY.

Despite this, she was happy to talk about her motivation.

“It’s the right time for me now because I have served for four quadrennials on the Federation as the Honorary Secretary.”

Her decision to stand was driven in part by changes to the Federation, which is being remodelled as a corporate structure with a President and three Vice Presidents. 

“The Honorary Secretary position ceases to exist, so I had to decide what to do,” she said. 

“One of the positions would be doing what I have already been doing and having done four quadrennials, it’s time for me to move – and the only way I can move is up.”

She revealed to HOST CITY that she has long had the ambition to lead the Federation. “It’s something I’ve always thought I would love to do.

“Having chaired a national sporting agency, sportscotland, with 350 staff and a turnover of millions, I know I can do it. I’ve been chair of Commonwealth Games Scotland and I’m also chair of the Commonwealth Advisory Body on Sport, so I have got experience behind me.

“The time is right for me to put my hat in the ring.”

Although she has not yet formalised a manifesto, she was happy to discuss the changes that she has in mind for the federation – particularly in relation to the role of the member associations. 

“We have to have a proper structure and good governance in place, to make sure that all the associations are more vibrant and more effective. 

“As far as I am concerned we are all equal; we all have one vote, irrespective of size or wealth. We have to deliver equally, across the board. 

“One of the things I want to ensure that we do is to communicate more effectively and more openly.”

With the 2022 Games now faced with just one bidding city, Durban – for which Martin is leading the evaluation commission – the Federation is looking at ways to boost the appeal of its major property.

The situation is analogous to the issues the IOC grappled with over the last twelve months as it handled its own 2022 Games crisis through the Agenda 2020 review of its bidding procedure. 

“I certainly want more cities to bid for the Games. We want to make it more appealing and we need to make sure that we keep it affordable,” said Martin.

“So one of the things we have to do is work very closely with the international federations to ensure that the sports and the events that we deliver are not cost- prohibitive.

“We’ve got to make sure that the events are accessible for the whole of the Commonwealth and that those bidding cities can deliver a good and successful Games.”

Although the Commonwealth contains many small countries that can’t aspire to host a

Commonwealth Games or Commonwealth Youth Games, there are still opportunities to host smaller events. 

“One of the things we want to try and take control of is to encourage the countries that cannot host either of those to host a Commonwealth Championship in a specific sport that they are good at.”

As a former athlete, Martin is keen for the Commonwealth Games Federation to boost the development of sport in the Commonwealth. 

“I want to make sure that Commonwealth sport offers more to athletes and to individuals in communities that we are working with. 

“I’ve got to ensure that we really make the most of all the opportunities that we have. We are a dynamic sporting movement and we do transform lives through sport.

“We’ve got so much potential in the Commonwealth; the momentum has started and we’ve got to keep it moving.”

Much of this momentum comes from Glasgow 2014, which was widely regarded as the greatest Commonwealth Games in history. Having led the bid, Louise Martin describes it as “a dream that took 12 years to come to fruition, and it did in a big way.

“I can’t believe it’s all over; it’s funny to say that it’s not there anymore, but everybody’s still talking about it. 

“It set the scene and we delivered exactly the way we wanted to deliver: athlete-centred, sports-led, we kept it small, we kept it the way that we in Scotland are – we didn’t try to emulate anybody.”

There may be some advice for Durban here. 

“Never try to be something you aren’t; don’t try and copy. Deliver for yourself; stay true to yourself and your own ambitions and everything will work out. 

“We proved it can be done, and I would encourage anybody to follow that example. Just believe in yourself and do it.”

Louise Martin is speaking at HOST CITY 2015 - the leading EU-based meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events - in Glasgow on 9th and 10th November.

On a diplomatic trip to Switzerland, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi met with IOC president Thomas Bach on Monday and underlined the government’s commitment to the Winter Olympic Games in 2022. 

Joined by IOC vice-president Yu Zaiqing, president Bach praised the China’s development of sport in and its leadership on the role of sport in development internationally. 

“China has a real vision about the importance of sport for education, for social cohesion and for international representation,” said Bach. 

“I would like to thank again President Xi for not only promoting the role of sport in China but also for supporting the mention of sport within the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.”

The UN Member States are expected to use the SDGs as goals and targets to frame their agendas and political policies over the next 15 years.

Bach also praised the “outstanding development of sport” in China under the leadership of president Xi Jinping.

The meeting took place in the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, shortly after the IOC Evaluation Commission’s inspection of Beijing’s bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. 

Wang reiterated that the Chinese government is fully supportive of the bid, assuring the IOC that all commitments made during the bidding phase would be implemented.

He was in Lausanne for negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme, along with Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s minister of foreign affairs, with whom Bach discussed Russia’s contribution to the UN SDGs and his upcoming visit to Sochi at the end of April. 

Bach also met with Germany’s foreign minister, Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier and discussed  the bidding procedure for the 2024 Olympic Games. 

As anticipated by HOST CITY last year, a bid from Britain for the World Expo 2025 has been confirmed. 

The UK culture secretary Sajid Javid said the need to boost the business events sector is a major driver for bidding for the World Expo.

The government is currently speaking with tourism bodies and the business events sector to decide on a location to put forward as a candidate for the World Expo 2025.

“Britain is renowned for putting on some of the biggest events in world sport, following the success of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Javid said.

Since 2012, London has twice been voted the world’s “Ultimate Sports City”.

However, London stands only tenth in the International Congress and Convention Association’s global ranking of numbers of business events hosted. 

Paris, Madrid, Vienna, Barcelona and Berlin make up the top five cities for hosting business events. 

America, Germany, Spain and France all host more business conferences and events than the UK, despite the fact that hosting business conferences and events brings GB£39.1bn to the country.

The UK’s intention to bid was announced as the government published its “Business Visits and Events Strategy” that seeks to attract some of the biggest global fairs and conferences to the UK’s cities. 

“I want us to increase our standing in the business events world and host more major conferences that can help generate growth for our economy and create jobs,” said Javid.

“Bringing the World Expo to the UK in 2025 would be a major coup and give us another great opportunity to champion the best of Britain to the world.”

The UK’s candidate city will be competing for the Expo against world cities such as Paris, which announced its intention to bid last year.

After selecting a candidate city, the UK will need to produce a candidature file that demonstrates its technical capability to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE).

Speaking at HOST CITY Bid to Win in October 2014, Dimitri Kerkentes, chief of staff at the BIE said: “We need to be able to be accountable, to say that when this project was approved to go forward to the voting stage we saw that you have the capacity to pull it off – whether it’s in four years’ time or nine months’ time – we saw that you have everything that’s technically required to host an Expo.”

The World Expo 2015 takes place in Milan from 1 May to 31 October. In 2020, Dubai will be hosting the World Expo. 

Bidding for and hosting a World Expo will again be a key topic of HOST CITY 2015, the largest meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events.

The chief executive of England Rugby 2015 (ER2015), Debbie Jevans CBE, has resigned for “personal reasons”.

She has led the Rugby World Cup Organising Committee since October 2012, almost immediately following her role as head of sport at London 2012. 

“This is the right decision for me to make at this time. I am immensely proud of the team and all that we have achieved in the time that I have been Chief Executive” Jevans said in a statement.

“Everything is in place to ensure that this is the best Rugby World Cup ever, and I am confident my team will deliver an exceptional tournament. The organisation is strong, there is a great team in place and I am really looking forward to watching the Rugby World Cup as a fan later this year.”

The 2015 Rugby World Cup is on track to break records for attendance and revenues. All aspects of tournament preparations are on or ahead of schedule, with over 1.9 million tickets sold to date.

She leaves a highly experienced event delivery Executive team in place, which will now report to Stephen Brown as the new Managing Director, who will work alongside ER2015 Chairman Andy Cosslett.

“On behalf of the ER2015 Board I would like to extend our enormous appreciation for all that Debbie has brought to the role,” said Cosslett. “Her legacy will be seen during and after the tournament is delivered, with a sporting event that I fully believe will be both memorable and inspiring, creating a step change in interest and participation for the game in this country.”

World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset said “On behalf of World Rugby I would like to thank Debbie for her vision, dedication and leadership in implementing everything we need for an exceptional Rugby World Cup and wish her all the best for the future.

“England 2015 is in record-breaking shape with a strong and experienced organising committee in place, all stakeholders fully behind a shared vision and tournament delivery tracking ahead of schedule. We are confident that Rugby World Cup 2015 will be the biggest and best to date.”

The European Sports Championships, which will bring together triathlon, swimming, rowing and cycling for the first time in Glasgow in 2018, is set to be a major boost to the profile of the sport due to the broadcast reach of the new multi-sports event, the leaders of the International and European Triathlon Unions told HOST CITY.

Expectations are also high of the host city of Glasgow.

“The reason we the ETU are so excited about Triathlon being part of the ESC in Glasgow 2018 is the opportunity it gives our sport to reach a much wider audience than we can possibly achieve on our own,”Renato Bertrandi, president of the European Triathlon Federation told HOST CITY.

“Joining up with other major sports like swimming, rowing and athletics means that we can benefit from the power of aggregation. Collectively we become attractive to the EBU and their support means that we will be able to reach the living rooms of television viewers in all European countries. 

“At a stroke this event will dramatically increase the profile of triathlon. In particular the screening of our innovative mixed team relay event will serve to enhance its credibility and help to cement its place in future Olympic Games programmes."

Hosting triathlon events will be one of many hot topics at HOST CITY 2015, with Antonio Fernandez Arimany, director general of the International Triathlon Union (ITU) to speak there again after the great success of HOST CITY Bid to Win in 2014.

“ITU, together with our European Continental Confederation, are supporting this 2018 EU Championships because triathlon is a growing sport and our strategy is to be present in all important multisport competitions,” Arimany told HOST CITY.

“Also the 2018 EU Championships will provide the sport of triathlon an important promotional platform of the sport, since TV broadcasting will be done around all the EU.”

The European Sports Championships also features athletics, which will take place in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium at the same time as the multi-sports events in Glasgow. The opening ceremony will also take place in Glasgow.

Arimany said he expects the event to be organised very well by its Glasgow hosts. 

“Regarding our expectations with Glasgow, we are very confident that the organisation will be on a very high level, because of the experience of Glasgow with the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and also because the British Triathlon Federation is involved in the delivery of the event in Glasgow.”

Beijing 2022 is anticipating at least US$858m of revenues as it seeks to host the Winter Olympic Games, the bid committee told IOC evaluation commission members on the final day of presentations. 

China’s economic growth is continuing to lead the world and the country is prioritising the development of sports, leisure and tourism, the bid committee said.

China has set a target for its sports industry to grow to 800 billion USD by 2025 through promoting sports businesses, developing sport facilities and opening up the market to consumer products and services. 

By 2022, the bid committee anticipates that the combined sports, culture, tourism, leisure, conferences and exhibitions industries will amount to about 20 per cent of GDP of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou region, which is being developed as a “Sport, Culture and Tourism Belt”.

US$660m of organising committee revenues would be raised through sponsorship. 

Beijing 2022 has already secured eight sponsors, including: Tencent Group, fourth largest Internet company in the world, Snow Beer, the world's bestselling beer brand, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the world’s largest professional service network, Beijing Bank, Beijing Automotive Group, Anta Sports, True Colour Stationary and Sandaogu Travel Company. 

The remaining revenue would be raised through the licensing and ticketing programmes.

Beijing 2022 is optimistic about ticketing sales, partly because the Games will coincide with the Chinese New Year festival and school holidays. 

The bid committee includes Olympic marketing experts who worked on Beijing 2008. 

“We guarantee that Beijing 2022 will meet the revenue targets, secure the best returns for the IOC TOP partners, as well as national partners, ensure full stadia with amazing atmosphere, in strict respect to all the IOC’s and IPC’s marketing rules,” said Mr. Chen Feng, former deputy director of marketing of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

In its bid to host the 2022 Games, Beijing is competing against the Kazakh city of Almaty, which the IOC evaluation commission visited in February and where sponsorship and marketing are newer concepts.

“The sponsorship landscape is evolving, and Almaty 2022 would help speed up this evolution,” said Alimzhan Akayev, marketing advisor to Almaty 2022 and marketing director of the Combat and Strength Sports Confederation of Kazakhstan.

“Almaty 2022, and the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan have agreed on a Joint Marketing Programme in order to optimise and protect the revenue-generating ability of the OCOG. All required guarantees were provided”.

Tokyo 2020 has signed Nomura Holdings as a Gold Partner in the category “Securities”.

 “I am delighted that today Tokyo 2020 has concluded a Gold Partner agreement with Nomura Holdings, Inc,” said Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori.

“Naturally, I look forward to the support that Nomura will provide as a Tokyo 2020 Gold Partner, but I also hope that the company will continue the vital role it is playing in the securities market, which forms the foundation of the Japanese economy.”

Nomura provides services to individuals, institutions, corporates and governments through its three business divisions: Retail, Asset Management, and Wholesale (Global Markets and Investment Banking). 

“We are proud to support athletes on their journey to the Tokyo 2020 Games,” said Nomura Group CEO Koji Nagai.

“The Olympic and Paralympic Games provide significant economic benefits to host countries and we see the Tokyo 2020 Games as the perfect opportunity to revitalize the Japanese economy. 

“By supporting athletes aiming for their personal best and companies adapting to a changing environment, we hope to contribute to the success of the Tokyo 2020 Games while fostering economic growth and social development in Japan.”

As well as helping to fund the delivery of the Games, domestic sponsors are a core component of Tokyo 2020’s marketing programme. They are accorded the rights to use Olympic and Paralympic designations and imagery including emblems, mascots and slogans. 

As Gold Partners, the top tier domestic sponsors, Nomura joins Asahi, Canon, Eneos, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Nissay, NEC, NTT and Fujitsu.

In addition to domestic sponsors, the IOC’s Worldwide Olympic (TOP) Partners – Coca-Cola, Atos, Bridgestone, Dow, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung, Toyota and Visa – also contribute to the financing and delivery of the Games. 

Another mega event emerged on the European sports calendar today with the announcement that Glasgow and Berlin will be hosting a new multi-sports championship in the summer of 2018. 

The European federations of athletics, swimming, cycling, rowing and triathlon have decided to coordinate their European Championships into a quadrennial 10-12 day event to maximise exposure. 

The 2018 European Athletics Championship will take place in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium as already planned, but it will now coincide with swimming, cycling, rowing and triathlon events in Glasgow. 

 “We are excited to be organising our European Championships in 2018 in Berlin in a coordinated way together with other leading sports in Glasgow,” said Hansjörg Wirz, president of European Athletics.

“Our aim is to build further on the heritage, profile and awareness of our existing prestigious European Athletic Championships.”

Glasgow will host all other sports and the Opening Ceremony, and there are plans to include golf in the event following the success of last year’s Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.

“Major events have become part of the bread and butter of our city’s economy and we can now look forward with tremendous excitement and focus to the next big thing on the Glasgow calendar,” said councillor Gordon Matheson, leader of Glasgow City Council.

The new mega event will be seen as a competitor to the European Olympic Committees’ European Games, which takes place for the first time this year in Baku.

The combined championships are expected to generate more than 2,700 hours of programming and reach a live television audience of more than 850 million television viewers.

“We are delighted to be associated with this ground-breaking project that will encompass the rich diversity of European sports in a competitive event of the highest quality, which we will bring to the largest audience possible in all of Europe on a free-to air basis,” said Jean-Paul Philippot, president of the European Broadcast Union.

Paolo Barelli, president of the Ligue Européenne de Natation (swimming) said: “With the support and commitment of the major free-to-air broadcasters around the continent, the European Sports Championships will further build the prestige of becoming a champion of Europe and act as a powerful inspiration for youngsters to participate in our sports.”

The event will receive funding from the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council as it is seen as a major opportunity to boost culture, tourism and business as well as sports in the host city. 

Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, said: “Last summer Scotland showed the world what a tremendous job it can do when it comes to staging major sporting events, with the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup both hugely successful. 

“As part of the legacy of those events, we want to attract even more top class sport to Scotland, and the European Sports Championships is certainly in that category.

“The European Sports Championships will be another chance for Scotland to prove it’s the perfect stage for top class events. Not only will this be a fantastic opportunity for Scottish sports fans to see some of Europe’s top athletes competing in our world-class venues, it will also be attract visitors from around the continent, providing a great boost to the economy.”

Around 2900 athletes are expected to come to Scotland as part of a total delegation of around 8200 people involved in the event. A further 1500 athletes will compete in Berlin. 

Swimming, involving nearly 900 athletes, will be staged at three venues with the main swimming event at Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow and the diving and synchronised swimming at the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh. The open water swimming competition is to be staged at Loch Lomond.

The new event marks the first time four cycling championships – track, road race, mountain-biking and BMX – have been staged together. 650 cyclists will compete in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, the Cathkin Braes Mountain Bike Trails, the streets of Glasgow and a new BMX track.

The world-class Strathclyde Country Park in North Lanarkshire will see 760 athletes compete in rowing and triathlon.

Hosting triathlon events will be one of the hot topics at HOST CITY 2015, with Antonio Fernandez Arimany, director general of the International Triathlon Union (ITU) to speak there again after the great success of HOST CITY Bid to Win in 2014.

SportAccord Convention has announced Filmmaster as Silver Partner to this year’s World Sport & Business Summit taking place from 19-24 April 2015 at the Sochi Expocentre, Sochi, Russia. 

Filmmaster is the producer of the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Ceremonies, as well as the Olympic and Paralympic torch relay, and recognised for staging some of the most exclusive sporting and cultural events worldwide. For the last 5 years, Filmmaster has been awarded Best Event Agency. 

Antonio Albete, CEO of Filmmaster Events commented: “Filmmaster Events is a leading global event agency that over the years has produced the main international sports events. This is going to be a big year for us, since we are involved in several sport and institutional events around the world and we will work at the production of Rio 2016 Olympic Ceremonies and Torch relay. We are really proud to be here for SportAccord Convention and would not miss this important event in the sport industry.” 

With 35 years experience and offices in Rome, Milan, Dubai, London and Rio, Filmmaster takes care of every phase including the creation, planning and production of events.

Nis Hatt, Managing Director, SportAccord Convention noted, “Filmmaster creates unforgettable events and moments people treasure. Their flair and brilliant mastery are hallmarks of their brand and we’re delighted to welcome Filmmaster to the SportAccord Convention World Sport & Business Summit.” 

The SportAccord Convention World Sport & Business Summit is a unique opportunity for key decision-makers in sport to engage with business leaders across 25+ industry sectors. The 6-day event features a 3-day Conference, dynamic exhibition, LawAccord, City Forum, the SportAccord Convention Village and Sports Demo Zone, the SportAccord Sport Awards, as well as hosting the annual general meetings of governing bodies of world sport. 

To register as a delegate visit www.sportaccordconvention.com. For further facts and insights on this year’s Convention, see The Preview.