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Weekly Brief - 2007-12-07

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.

Current and past issues of the Weekly Brief can be found in our News/Information section under the "Weekly Brief Archives - 2007".    

* Americas *                                                                  December 7 2007

 

Whitecaps Propose Land Swap
The Vancouver Whitecaps and the Vancouver Port Authority are considering swapping land to make way for a $75m waterfront stadium. It could, however, take months to determine whether the land exchange proposed by the soccer team is of ‘comparable market value’ and to determine whether land obtained by the authority can be used for shipping and navigation purposes. Source: Canada.com

Prospective Owner Positive About Philly’s Chances
James Nevels, one of the financial backers of Philadelphia’s MLS expansion bid, said that he was “incredibly optimistic” that the Pennsylvania state legislature would commit $45m to help build a new stadium in Chester. “It isn't brain surgery. The numbers are there. We've got the market.” The numbers include the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association, which represents 200,000 players, and the ‘Sons of Ben’, a 1,000-member fan club, that has gathered 6,200 signatures on petitions and nearly 2,000 pledges to buy season tickets. Source: the Philadelphia Inquirer

Are The Rochester Rhinos In Trouble?
Although Rochester Rhino owner Steve Donner claims, “I've never been more confident about our long term future,” minority owner Christopher Wilmot resigned from the board because he no longer has confidence in the way the franchise is being run, and the city wants the Rhinos to do several things before they get a $4m state grant to finish building PAETEC Park. They must account for how the $19m in tax dollars already invested in the stadium have been spent, show how the $4m will be spent, and prove the Rhinos are financially stable. Source: 13wham.com

NJ Rangers Join USL
NJ Rangers FC officially announced that they will join the USL in 2008 with a franchise in the Premier Development League (PDL) as well as teams in the Super Y-League and USL Super-20 League. “We are excited about this opportunity to be a part of a well respected and organized entity in the USL,” said club President Aaron Balber. “The PDL showcases some of the best young talent in the country today and serves as a stepping-stone to the highest levels of soccer. Many of the players in the PDL will move on to fill the professional rosters of Major League Soccer, the USL 1st Division and beyond.” Source: Soccer 365 

* Europe *

UEFA Investigates Match-Fixing Allegations
Although no clubs or dates were specified, UEFA confirmed that they are investigating match-fixing allegations in 15 UEFA games. The German magazine Der Spiegel reported that matches may have included qualifiers for Euro 2008, the Champions League, UEFA Cup and Intertoto Cup, and alleged that most of the clubs involved come from countries in eastern and south-eastern Europe, including Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Georgia. Source: Channel 4

Real Proposes Modified Version Of G-14
Although Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon expressed “confidence in the current governors of UEFA” and maintained that, “If this new climate continues...we don't think the existence of an organisation like the G14 will be necessary”, he nonetheless advocated the formation of UEFA-sanctioned body consisting of 50 or so members that would address issues such as calendar coordination and the release of players for international duty. Source: official Real Madrid website.

Format Changes For Champions League
UEFA announced that the format of the Champions League will be changed to allow 3 more teams from England, Spain, and Italy to qualify automatically for the group stage of the competition. The major change, however, is a split in the qualifying competition to ensure that five champions from 40 lower-ranked nations will reach the Champions League competition. UEFA also said that the Final will be played on Saturday, rather than on Wednesday, beginning with the 2009 match in Rome. Source: Soccernet

Cardiff’s Court Case Postponed
Championship team Cardiff City's High Court case brought by creditors Langston, originally scheduled for December 7th, has been postponed until at least January 18th. Langston, who requested the postponement, is owed $49m, which it wants repaid now, but team officials insist the sum is not due until 2016. Source: BBC

Ipswich Board To Approve Takeover
The board at English Championship team Ipswich Town will formally approve Marcus Evans’ takeover at an EGM of shareholders on 17 December. Evans is set to take an 87.5% stake in the club, clear its $65m debts and inject an additional $25m. In a letter to shareholders, Ipswich chairman David Sheepshanks described the deal as “an extremely good outcome. We wanted to find someone who would maintain Ipswich Town's culture and values.” Source: BBC

Coventry Hope To Avoid Going Into Administration
Coventry City's board announced its intention to take the cash-strapped club, with debts totaling $75m, into administration. This would entail a 10-point deduction in the Championship, but the Sky Blues remain hopeful that a takeover by entrepreneur Ray Ranson and Sisu Capital will be completed before then. “This legal notice gives Coventry a 10-day window to complete the takeover talks” said the board's statement. Source: BBC

EURO 2008 To Generate More Than $2.1b
Even without England and its 40,000+ travelling fans, an 11-page report commissioned by MasterCard claims that the European Championship will boost the European economy by $2.1b. Euro 2008's impact will “include a rise in ticket sales, travel, food and beverage sales, merchandising, sponsorship revenue, advertising and use of telecommunications and new media services.” Source: International Herald Tribune

Everton Owner Defends New Stadium Plan
Everton owner Bill Kenwright defended himself against a barrage of criticisms over plans to move to a new stadium in Kirkby, just outside Liverpool’s city limits, rather than exploring other options: “Often as a chairman you get conspiracy theories thrown at you and you have to say, 'guys, I'm not an idiot, I'm also one of you. Don't you think if there was a possibility of XYZ, that I would be jumping at it’?” He indicated that the club is still considering renovating its Goodison Park stadium, but the cost is projected to be $200m more than relocating to Kirkby. Source: BBC

Takeover Rumours At Spurs
There have been official denials, but the Daily Mail reported that Tottenham are the target of an $800m takeover bid. Two consortia, one in Russia and the other in the Far East, have shown interest in trying to buy out Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and his fellow shareholders, and hope to put a deal forward that will be announced to the London Stock Exchange within 2 weeks. Source: The Daily Mail

Timing Of Mascherano Purchase Causes Rift At Liverpool
The Times (of London) reported that the question of when to purchase Javier Mascherano, who is presently on loan to Liverpool, has led to a rift between manager Rafael Benitez and American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett. The club and the Argentine have already agreed to personal terms, but the Spanish manager wants to finalize the deal now while the owners are not in a hurry because they have until May to exercise their option. Source: The Times 

* Rest of the World *

Becks Draws Over a Top Crowd Down Under
Nearly 32,000 fans, the highest total in New Zealand since their men’s team qualified for the 1982 World Cup, paid to see David Beckham - and the LA Galaxy - play a friendly against the Wellington Phoenix. Beckham scored a penalty and had an assist in the Galaxy’s 4-1 win in a match that saw the 2 sides field 18 reserves. Source: the New Zealand Herald

Brazil Giants Relegated
Corinthians, the 2nd most popular team in Brazil, was relegated after drawing 1-1 with Gremio on Sunday. The demotion marked the end of a disastrous year that saw the team lose 14 games and win only 10, ending 17th in Brazil's 20-team Serie A, while two former Corinthians directors were accused of money laundering and tax evasion relating to a 2004 deal between the club and UK-based investment group MSI. Source: Xinhua.net
 
* The Weekly Brief is published every Friday and delivered free via e-mail to registered users.
* FMMInternational is a London-based soccer consultancy with offices in New York and Beijing. For more information about our business, click here
* Interested in using the Weekly Brief for Press/Media Releases, then please contact us via info@fmminternational
* 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.