Mumbai: FIFA has opened an invitation to tender (ITT) for the 2014 Fifa World Cup media rights in Spain.

These rights cover TV, IPTV, internet, mobile and radio transmissions for Fifa?s flagship competition, which will be held in Brazil in 2014.

Media companies can request the ITT from the following address: europe-media-tender@fifa.org. The request needs to state the names and titles of those who will interact with FIFA in the procedure. Following a question and answer period lasting from 15 March until 11 April 2013, Fifa adds that it must receive all submissions by 12 April, whereupon negotiations with preferred bidders will open.

MUMBAI: Is gambling in sport good for business? Will 2012 be another year of headline convictions and corruption in a major competition? Is betting an integral part of commercial success, or a risk to the competitive integrity of the sport industry? What?s next for gambling in sport?

These questions and many more will be debated at the Global Sports Forum Barcelona 2012 (GSFB), from 7 ? 9 March, as ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat joins Fifa head of security Chris Eaton, and Norbert Teufelberger, Co-CEO of online gambling company Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment for a panel discussion on ?Gambling in sport.?

Eaton, who recently estimated that ? 300 billion- ? 500 billion is gambled on sport across the globe every year, has been involved in international criminal investigations for 40 years. He joins the panel to discuss his view that as many as 70 per cent of bets placed on sport fixtures go through unregulated and unregistered bookmakers, which is threatening the integrity of professional sport.

Havas Sport and Entertainment president, CEO Lucien Boyer who is also the general commissioner of the Global Sports Forum Barcelona, said, ?Gambling and corruption in sport remains a top priority for governing bodies across the globe, with three Pakistan cricketers convicted of spot-fixing and Fifa appointing Chris Eaton to a new head of security role in 2011.?

?In such a big year for sport, the GSFB 2012 is leading the way in tackling the issues that are of vital importance to the future of the sport industry and we are delighted to welcome five of the industry?s leading experts to the Forum. We will be investigating how sport can manage legal gambling and eradicate the illegal bookmaking culture to protect the industry we all know and love.?

Lorgat recently highlighted the danger illegal gambling posts to sport, telling BBC Test Match special that spot fixing in cricket is ?the most significant issue we need to tackle.?

?You cannot underestimate the value of protecting your integrity and the reputation of the game and if that was to go, we?ve got no game. I think we have shown we will not rest until we do tackle the issue,? Lorgat told the BBC.

Lorgat, Eaton and Teufelberger will also be joined on the panel by John Abbott, Chairman of the Interpol steering group for the Interpol ? Fifa initiative to reduce corruption in football, and Warren Phelops, gambling policy representative for the European Sponsorship Association.

MUMBAI: FIFA president Sepp Blatter is set to make his second visit to India next month as the world body looks to develop the largely untapped market which has been realising its potential off late.

Blatter, who had last visted India in 2007, will touchdown on India on 9 March.

"Blatter?s visit shows how much importance FIFA is giving to India," All-India Football Federation (AIFF) vice-president Subrata Dutta said in a statement. "The world body?s support in building the right kind of infrastructure in the country has been beyond our expectations."

Four football academies supported by FIFA are being built in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi, Dutta said.

According to Dutta, the AIFF?s plans to bid for U-17 World Cup in 2017 will be a real changer if all goes through as per plans.

"If India becomes the host nation, we will get a direct entry into the tournament," said Dutta. "It will encourage more kids to play football and take it up as a career option. It will also enable us to develop a quality structure for the sport."