New Spanish second division side Mallorca Owner ROBERT SARVER is set to appoint former Juventus striker ALESSANDRO DEL PIERO as sporting director of the club. Sarver and his consortium this week paid more than £15M ($21.9M) for a 77% majority shareholding in the Spanish outfit (Scotland DAILY RECORD, 1/7). ... ... U.K. Culture Secretary JOHN WHITTINGDALE has reappointed DEBBIE JEVANS, CHARLES REED, IAN DRAKE, KATE BOSOMWORTH and DAVID GOLDSTONE as board members of Sport England for second terms (U.K. Government). ... The Australian Turf Club expanded its exec team, with the organization appointing JAMES HEDDO and STEVE MCMAHON on Thursday. Heddo returns to Sydney as ATC exec GM of racing, a role "he has coveted since working at the Sydney Turf Club more than 20 years ago." McMahon will fill the new role of exec GM of strategic development in an expanded racing department. ATC CEO DARREN PEARCE: "We have been able to turn the business around in the three or four years and we are entering a growth and investment phase which gives us the opportunity to get two high quality individuals to join our team" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 1/7).
COACHES/MANAGERS: French Ligue 1 side AS Monaco announced CLAUDE MAKELELE as its new technical director. The former French int'l will assist VP VADIM VASILYEV with all sporting functions within the club (AS Monaco). ... PHILIPPE HERVÉ is no longer the head coach of French Pro A basketball club CSP Limoges. Two days after losing to German side Oldenburg, Hervé decided to step down from his position (L’ÉQUIPE, 1/7). ... Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) side Eisbären Bremerhaven promoted interim head coach CHRIS HARRIS to head coach. The 36-year-old "signed a contract until the end of the season." Harris took over as interim head coach after the club fired MULI KATZURIN in mid-November (SID, 7/1). ... Former All Blacks fullback KIERAN CROWLEY has quit as head coach of Canada "just two weeks after signing a contract extension" that would have taken him through the 2019 Rugby World Cup qualifiers. He said he was leaving "with immediate effect and would take up a post with a club in Europe, Rugby Canada said." Crowley, who had been in charge since '08 and led Canada to the 2011 and 2015 World Cup tournaments, last month signed a two-year extension that lasted until '17 (REUTERS, 1/7).
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