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Football / EPL: Fernandes buys QPR Posted: 18 Aug 2011 05:09 PM PDT Tan Sri Tony Fernandes having a chat with QPR manager Neil Warnock during a press conference at Loftus Road in London yesterday. — AFP picture Fernandes, the owner of AirAsia, secured his buyout after assuming a 66 per cent stake in newly promoted QPR from previous shareholders Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore. In a statement, Fernandes, who is also the team principal of Formula One's Team Lotus, said he will work alongside the Mittal family, who have retained their 33 per cent stake in the club.
"Everyone knows I've followed West Ham all my life, but I've always had a soft spot for QPR," Fernandes said. "Rangers were one of the first teams I watched as a child at Loftus Road. I've always wanted to be involved in football and the appeal of a London club, like QPR, was too good an opportunity to turn down.
Rangers were thrashed 4-0 by Bolton in their opening Premier League game on Saturday, prompting angry chants from sections of the crowd over the club's failure to make transfer funds available to manager Neil Warnock. Fernandes has reportedly signalled his willingness to bankroll increased transfer spending before the closure of the August window.
Fernandes warned yesterday, however, that his ambitions for QPR would be realistic. "I could easily say we're going to win the Champions League and the Premier League, but that's really not my style. I don't want to make big promises I can't guarantee. "I want the fans to be proud of what we're doing and be involved as much as we can. The fans pay good money and are stakeholders, so whatever we do, I want the fans to be proud. We'll do it in style and with integrity." — AFP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
Sportcheck: 30,000 people for bridge run Posted: 18 Aug 2011 05:06 PM PDT 2011/08/19 (From left) Allianz general insurance Malaysia CEO Zakri Khir, Penang Bridge International Marathon chairman Danny Law and Allianz Malaysia chief executive Jens Reisch at the event yesterday. — Picture by Fariz Iswadi Ismail The annual run has become Penang's signature event, bringing together amateur and professional runners from all over the world and is now set to surpass the 24,000 runners who took part last year. "Since 1984, the run has brought tens of thousands of people to Penang. Last year we had 24,000 participants and this year we are expecting 30,000. As of today (yesterday), we already had 9,000 people registering with us online," said PBIM chairman Danny Law at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday to announce Allianz Malaysia as the run's title sponsor.
"Also, the run is held at night and the full-marathon is flagged off at 2am. This gives runners the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful view of Penang island safely from the bridge." Besides the full-marathon, PBIM will also feature a half-marathon, a 10km run and a fun run for children. A Proton Saga is the main prize in a lucky draw, among other side activities.
"Allianz is proud to lend its name and support to a marathon that is taking place in Malaysia for the 27th time. We picked the Penang marathon as it is unique in nature. "We have a strong base of customers in the northern states of Malaysia so Penang was a natural choice for us," said Reisch, who will promote the run to the company's nearly two million customers.
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