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Weekly Brief - 2007-11-09November 9, 2007
The Weely Brief, highlighting recent soccer industry stories from around the World is provided to San Francisco Seals Fans courtesy of FMMInternational See below for more information regarding FMMInternational.
* Americas * November 9, 2007
Wizards Leave Arrowhead
Kansas City Wizards will play home games for the next two seasons at Community America Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan, home to the T-Bones minor-league baseball team, while Arrowhead Stadium is being refurbished. The Ballpark will be renovated, upping the seating capacity to 10,000, but the clubs long-term plan is to secure $143m in funding to build a stadium with 12 adjacent soccer fields at the site of the former Bannister Mall in southeast Kansas City. Source: Kansas City Star
Becks Tops Player Rich List
David Beckham was the highest placed player in FourFourTwo’s annual ‘British Football Rich List’, with his $183m in assets nearly triple that of 2nd placed player Michael Owen’s $67m. Club owners dominated the list, with Beckham ranking just 34th, but its interesting note that players occupied 21 of the top 100 spots compared to just nine in 2004. Source: FourFourTwo
Maracana Renovation Requires Joint Administration
A study ordered by Rio's state government, done by the US consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, concluded that a “joint administration” comprising two local clubs and the Brazilian football confederation (CBF) would be the best management choice for renovating the Maracana in advance of the 2014 World Cup. Flamengo announced a consortium with the Bonham Group and AEG Worldwide to fight for exclusive rights to manage the historic stadium, but Booz Allen Hamilton also stated that the joint administration would only be economically viable to “at least two big clubs in Rio -- Flamengo and Fluminense.” Source: BigNewsNetwork.com
Sheffield Wednesday Explore Partnership With US Club
Sheffield Wednesday are negotiating with a US soccer club in Michigan as part an ambition to establish a soccer network across the Americas. The Owls, who already have partnerships with clubs in Vancouver and Argentina, hope that these 3 clubs will send their best young players to England for trials, while Wednesday could send over their youngsters to play in the American leagues, or even use the link-up to help injured players recuperate as the US season is played in the summer. Source: Yorkshire Post
* Europe *
Platini and G14 Reportedly Compromise
In a development that could have major implications, the G14 abandoned immediate plans to expand to 40 clubs and cancelled its annual conference, scheduled to take place next week in Brussels. The move came as Peter Kenyon, Chelsea's chief executive, said the club would exert influence from within UEFA, through its Strategy Forum, rather than join the organization of elite clubs. The Guardian reports that this decision, which could spell the end of G14 in its present form, represents a victory for UEFA president Michel Platini. Platini has allegedly withdrawn his proposal to have domestic cup winners enter the Champions League and will instead allow national associations to decide whether entrants should come from league or cup competitions. And the top 3 teams in England, Italy, and Spain will go directly into the group stage and the 4th-placed one will play two qualifying rounds. Source: The Guardian
EC Scuttles Blatter Quota Plan
FIFA president Sepp Blatter's proposal to reduce the number of foreign players competing in European leagues was dealt a crippling blow by the European Commission, which announced that imposing quotas on EU nationals is “direct discrimination,” The EC will consider imposing a quota on clubs to ensure they employ a minimum number of “home-grown” players, but provided these players are permitted to work in the European Union, their nationality will be irrelevant. Source: BBC Sport
Sheffield United Seek Compensation For Relegation
Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe announced that the club’s case for compensation following relegation from the EPL will be heard by a Football Association tribunal in 2008. Although last July the High Court refused to reverse the EPL arbitration panel's decision over ‘Tevezgate’, the clubs hopes to be compensated for what they claim was their unjust demotion. “If you say that the Championship play-off game is worth GBP60m ($126m) and Sheffield United's attendance last year was 31,000, with full hospitality boxes and restaurants and broadcasting income,” McKabe reasoned, “you would say compensation is around GBP50m ($105m)." Source: BBC Sport
Spurs, West Ham, and Liverpool Update Stadium Expansion Options
Tottenham stated this week that they will unveil specific plans to expand White Hart Lane ground 52,000 within the 1st 6 months of 2008. The project, which is projected to cost $630m, with half the finance being borrowed, will require the club to relocate, perhaps to West Ham’s Upton Park, though the club has not ruled building a new stadium on land just north of the present one. Spurs plans could be further complicated by the fact that West Ham announced that they have signed a contract with the London Development Agency to build a possible 60,000-seat stadium by 2012. Meanwhile, Liverpool’s revised plans for a new $1.7b stadium, scheduled to open in 2011, have been unanimously approved by Liverpool City Council planning committee. The plans, which were resubmitted because American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks were unhappy with the originals, include 114 executive boxes, twice the number in the original design, and will regenerate public land which stands between Anfield and Everton's Goodison Park. Source: BBC Sport
BBC and Sky Acquire Rights To Championship and Carling Cup
The BBC and Sky Sports haves secured the broadcast rights Football League and Carling Cup matches for $185m per season, which represents a 135% percent increase for the Championship, from the 2009 to 2012. Ten Championship matches will be aired live on the BBC every season, and the Carling Cup final will be simulcast live with Sky, and two semi-final legs shown exclusively live on the BBC. The BBC Sport website will also show goals from all Football League clubs. Source: BBC
* Rest of World *
Australian League Sponsor Negotiations Stall\
The Australian A-League faces a cash crisis because major sponsor Hyundai is reportedly baulking at Football Federation Australia's $18m asking price for a contract extension. News of the impasse hit just 24 hours after it was revealed the FFA has recorded a $10m loss for the past financial year. On a more positive note, Football Federation Australia announced that it plans to spend $9m to make Australia a “world leader in the world game” by overhauling its youth system. Plans include a national youth league, a woman’s A-league, an emphasis on having youth players participate in small-sided games and futsal, a unified national curriculum, and a greater effort to develop talent from country areas. Sources: FourFourTwo; Fox Sports
ESPN STAR Renews Contract With English FA
Figures were not released, but Asian sports broadcaster ESPN STAR Sports has renewed a multi-year exclusive agreement with England’s FA for broadcast rights to the FA Cup, England internationals and the FA Community Shield on multimedia platforms for three seasons from 2008/9. Broadcasts will be to 20 markets across Asia including China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea as well as Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Macau, Myanmar, North Korea, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Source: Live Soccer TV
African Star Urges CAF To Reschedule Nations Cup
Senegal captain El Hadji Diouf has urged the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to reschedule the Nations Cup so that it does not conflict with the European season. CAF maintains that the tournament cannot be moved to summer because that is Africa’s rainy season, but Diouf warned that players feel conflicted: “We are keen to defend the colors of our country and we are conscious of the importance of our national jerseys, but people must not forget that players have duties to their employers who pay big salaries. All our matches are important now if we are to save our place among the elite.” Source: BBC
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* The information contained herein is believed to be correct, but should not be relied upon as such. All financial figures should be seen as indicative only as they may have been converted from another currency.
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