IT'S OFFICIAL, TOKYO WILL HOST 2020 SUMMER OLYMPICS

 

Around 100 members of the International Olympic Committee took part in the vote to select a city today in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with candidate cities Istanbul and Tokyo making it through to the final round of voting. The Japanese city won the vote 60-36.

 

Tokyo had been the favourite to win, and won the first round of voting, despite recent controversy surrounding a recent radioactive leak at the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant. Bid leader and IOC member Tsunekazu Takeda had told those voting that the city would be a "safe pair of hands and more," with a budget of $4.9 billion — far lower than Istanbul's $19.8 billion budget.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, shows the name of the city of Tokyo elected to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.



In total, three cities went to the Argentinian capital earlier today to make short presentations explaining why they should be host. Madrid went out in the first round of voting, and another round was held as no candidate had secured the required majority. The Spanish capital had touted the fact that 80% of its venues were already ready and only $1.9 billion was needed for construction, but concerns about the Spanish economy may well have hampered its bid.

 

Istanbul was considered a wild card choice by many, not just because of its large budget but also because of violent anti-government protests in the city earlier this year and a doping scandal among Turkish athletes.

 

It will be the third time Tokyo has hosted the games, having previously hosted in 1940 and 1964. Neither Istanbul nor Madrid have hosted before.

The 2012 Summer Games were held in London, U.K., while the 2016 Summer Games are due to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

 

 

 

Members of the Tokyo 2020 delegation celebrate after Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Olympic Games during the 125th IOC session in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013

History Of World Record Transfer Fees In Soccer.

It's official the worst best kept secret in the football world is out. Gareth Bale with his move from Spurs To Real Madrid is now the most expensive footballer in the world at £85M. he will earn a reported £300,000 per week.(mind boggling innit?)   

 

Here's a brief history of the world record transfer fees...

From Alf Common, the first £1,000 player, to Johan Cruyff's £922,000 deal to sign for Barcelona, to Bale's £85.3m move to Spain, huge figures have been spent by clubs looking to land the world's best players.

Common's move from Sunderland to Middlesbrough in February 1905 was the first time a player had ever been transferred for a £1,000 fee. The forward went on to help Middlesbrough stave off relegation to Division Two that season.

Liverpool's Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez has been a big talking point of this summer's transfer window but it was his Spanish namesake who was making headlines in 1961. The midfielder moved from Barcelona to Inter Milan for a fee of £152,000 and helped the Italian side to three league titles and two European Cups.

Barcelona were involved in a record-breaking fee again in 1973, but this time they were the ones doing the spending. The Spanish giants spent £922,000 to bring in Cruyff from Ajax and the Dutch forward spent five years at the Nou Camp - winning one La Liga title and the Copa del Rey.

Two years after Cruyff's move to Barcelona, the record was broken again as football saw its first £1m player when Italian Giuseppe Savoldi moved from Bologna to Napoli for £1.2m.

Only one player has broken the transfer record twice and that honour belongs to Maradona, who in 1982 moved from Boca Juniors to Barcelona for £3m. The Argentina legend's time at the Nou Camp was short-lived, however, as two years later Napoli paid £5m to bring him to Italy.

An Italian team was behind another record in 1992 when Jean-Pierre Papin moved from Marseille to AC Milan. The France striker helped the Serie A side to two league titles before leaving for Bayern Munich in 1994.

Alan Shearer's move from Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United in 1996 caused a stir with the much-coveted striker choosing to return to his hometown club in a £15m deal instead of joining Manchester United. No English club has broken a world transfer record since.

Portuguese star Luis Figo stunned football when he left Barcelona to join Real Madrid in 2000. Real had to pay their bitter rivals £37m to land Figo, who helped them to two La Liga titles and the European Cup in 2002 - the last time the Spanish giants won the competition. The move was also the first of five world transfer records broken by Real.

They would beat their own record a year later by signing France midfielder Zinedine Zidane for £45.6m from Juventus. The World Cup winner ended his career in Spain after adding a La Liga title and European Cup to his honours list.

The summer of 2009 saw Real shock world football not once, but twice. Not happy with landing Kaka from AC Milan for £56m, the Spaniards also brought in Cristiano Ronaldo for £80m from Manchester United. Ronaldo has gone on to be regarded as second only to Lionel Messi as the world's best player.