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 16, 2007              

Seattle Awarded MLS Franchise
MLS announced that Seattle will become the league's 15th team and begin play at Qwest Field, which will be downsized to accommodate 24,500 fans, in 2009. The team will be owned by Hollywood movie studio executive Joe Roth, Seattle Sounders Managing Partner Adrian Hanauer, actor Drew Carey and Vulcan Sports and Entertainment (VSE), the owner of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. The Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee authorized spending $45m on a stadium in Chester and other area projects, which means that most of the funding is in place for the $115m project that could prompt MLS to award Philadelphia a franchise. Finally, commissioner Don Garber indicated that MLS will not seriously consider Vancouver for expansion until a plan to build a new stadium is in place. Sources: ESPNsoccernet, the Philadelphia Daily News, and the Vancouver Sun.

CONCACAF Appoints New Deputy General Secretary
CONCACAF announced that Italo Zanzi will replace Jason Hughes as Deputy General Secretary. Hughes will return to his native England after 4 years of service, and Zanzi, who was vice president of International Broadcast Sales & Latin America/US Hispanic Marketing at Major League Baseball, will have responsibility for a range of activities including CONCACAF’s commercial program and communications. Source: CONCACAF

Becks Signs Deal With Armani
David Beckham has signed a 3-year endorsement deal with Giorgio Armani, worth an estimated $41m, to promote the fashion designer's new Emporio SS08 line of underwear. The advertisements will begin running on billboards and in fashion magazines in January. Source: Los Angeles Business

MLS Receives Mixed Diversity Grade
Major League Soccer ranks among the most racially diverse leagues in American professional sports but lags behind its peers in gender diversity, according to a report authored by Richard Lapchick, director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida.  MLS earned an A grade for racial diversity, behind only the NBA, but ranked last in gender with a D-plus.  MLS commissioner Don Garber claimed that the league's relatively small number of employees means that a few departures can lead to a wide fluctuation in percentages and expressed confidence that effective initiatives are in place. Source; Sporting News

Boca Announces Stadium Expansion
Boca Junior's board has approved redevelopment work at its stadium that will take the capacity of the Estadio Alberto J. Armando, better known as La Bombonera, beyond 60,000 from its current 57,395. Plans call for 5,000 new seats, with 2,800 of those in private boxes and the remainder in the stands, the extension the bathroom and restaurant facilities, and the construction a new section to exhibit the club's trophies. Source: SoccerEx

* Europe *

FA Denies Rumours Of Revising Home Internationals
The English Football Association denied that there have been discussions with other British countries about resuming the Home International tournament for the 1^st time since 1984. The statement, which did not dismiss the possibility of future talks, came in response to rumours that there would be interest because of the likelihood that no British country would qualify for EURO 2008. Source: Irish Examiner

Benelux Countries Will Bid For 2018 World Cup

Although president Sepp Blatter has stated that FIFA prefer that the World Cup be hosted by one nation, the Benelux countries announced they will bid for the 2018 event. Belgium and Holland successfully staged Euro 2000, and organizers have announced that there will be “one candidate and not with two separate organizing committees," which they hope will assuage Blatter’s fears, and argued that, “Belgium and the Netherlands can be a good example to smaller football associations."  Source: Guardian

Platini Addresses Controversial Issues

UEFA president Michel Platini spoke out on a number of issues this week. Although he was unable to convince Europe's five biggest football associations of the merits of his plan to hand domestic cup winners one of the spots awarded to the top placed domestic sides, he claimed that, “We can do that in three years.” He refused to throw his support behind any of the European countries bidding to host the 2018 World Cup: “If there are two or three European countries going to bid, they all have to convince me.” And he criticized the youth policies at Arsenal and Manchester United, argued that players need to be nurtured in their country of origin until they turn 20 or 21, and noted that England has regulations preventing clubs poaching young players from each other. Source: ESPNsoccernet

Spurs Win Approval For New Facility

Tottenham Hotspur has overcome vigorous opposition and won approval to build a $62M training ground on Enfield's Green Belt, north east of London. The project will see the construction of a two-story training facility, the demolition of a sports club and the appropriation of 11 hectares of agricultural land, which is part of the Forty Hall estate and currently used by Capel Manor College. Source: Enfield Independent

Man City Partners To Expand Globally
Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra this week revealed plans to make the club a global power, starting with academies in Thailand and China and link-ups with a host of clubs around the world - China's Shanghai Shenhua, Thailand's Chonburi FC, Australian A-league outfit Perth Glory, Grasshoppers Club Zurich of Switzerland, Thanda Royal Zulu FC of Durban and Russian side  FC Moscow. The clubs will exchange coaches, hold youth tournaments, strengthen commercial ties, and seek out joint marketing opportunities and initiatives. City, which already has China's Sun Jihai on its books, also handed trials to three Chinese as part of the link-up with Shenhua. They also signed a 3-year 7-figure sponsorship deal with Thai beer Singha where Singha will have “extensive stadium branding, advertising and promotional rights both in the UK and overseas,” and that the beer will be on sale at the City of Manchester Stadium. Source: Manchester City FCand Yahoo.com

Website Takes Over Club
MyFootballClub, a 20,000-member website-based consortium, has agreed to take over Blue Square Premier (formerly the Conference) club Ebbsfleet United  ionthe fifth tier of English football.  The first of its kind purchase was made possible by $72 contributions by each member, who now own equals share of the club, entitling them to vote on transfers and other issues.  Source: Tech.co.uk

Record Financial Figures For Watford
Watford FC announced a record turnover of $61m for the year ending June 30 2007. This increase, $44m on the previous year, was driven primarily by increased TV income from being in the EPL together with higher income generated from ticket sales and corporate hospitality. The profit on ordinary activities before taxation was $16.4m compared to an $11.5m the previous year. Source: Watford Observe

Prominent English Figures Express Concern About Foreign Influx
Although British Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe stopped short of backing the quota system proposed by FIFA president Sepp Blatter, he called for an independent inquiry into whether the number of foreign players in the EPL is having a detrimental effect on the England team. “I understand the complexities of the issues around freedom of movement and competition issues, but it just doesn't feel we have got the balance right at the moment and that we need to look at what is possible.” In a similar vain, Reading manager Steve Coppell has called on the EPL to limit the number of foreigners in the English game in the hope a quota of English players in each team's matchday squad will encourage clubs to develop homegrown talent and protect the league's identity. "We have to protect our own development. I think it's a necessity that over the course of the next couple of years, even if it starts with one English player per 16, we protect our identity by having a limited number of English players within our own environment.” Sources: ESPNsoccernet and Yahoo! Sport

Hicks Claims No Interest In Roma
AS Roma's controlling shareholder Italpetroli released a statement on the team’s official website saying the company had "been informed by a third party of the possible interest of an American businessman wanting to invest in AS Roma's capital," but Roy Winnick, a spokesman for Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks, denied he has any interest in acquiring the Serie A giant. "There is absolutely no truth whatsoever in the rumor that Mr. Hicks is even considering investing in Roma football club" Source: Yahoo! Sport

* Rest of World *

Problems With Stadium Construction In South Africa
Although World Cup organizers insist there is no threat to South Africa hosting the 2010 tournament, they have admitted that the deadline for completing two of the five stadia being built is “very, very tight.”  Plans to hold Confederations Cup matches at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth a year before the World Cup may have to be shelved due to construction delays.  Source: Graphic Online

Chelsea To Attend Conference in India
In the hope of developing cultural, business and sporting links between India and London, Chelsea announced that they will represent London next week at a conference in Delhi as part of the Indian capital's build-up to hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2010. The party will include lifelong Chelsea fan Sebastian Coe, the head of the London Olympic Games body, Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon, former Chelsea player Graeme Le Saux and London mayor Ken Livingston. Source: Xinhua.net