People convicted of sports match-fixing in New Zealand "will face up to seven years in prison under new legislation passed by the country's government on Thursday." The Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill "was part of a raft of measures introduced by New Zealand's government in the past 12 months in an effort to combat corruption in sports" (REUTERS, 12/4). ... The World Anti-Doping Agency and Pfizer Inc. "signed an agreement on Wednesday that will see the U.S. drugmaker share information on products that could be used as performance-enhancing substances by athletes." As part of the agreement, "medicines in development will be reviewed by Pfizer scientists to identify substances with a probable or high risk of abuse in sport" (REUTERS, 12/3). ... The Top 14 and Pro D2 rugby clubs received a total of €2.5M more from the French National Rugby League (LNR) in '13-14 than in the previous season, the LNR announced Tuesday. The LNR redistributed €54.6M to 30 professional clubs, "which accounts for 70%" of its €78M budget in '13-14. LNR President Paul Goze stated that in '12-13, "this percentage was 67%." Furthermore, the estimated LNR budget for '14-15 "was finalized" at €120M ($148.4M), against €115.5M announced at the League General Assembly in early June (SPORT 24, 12/2).
