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* Americas * April 25, 2008
Negotiations Between Dynamo And Houston Get BoostThe Houston Dynamo's efforts to partner with the City of Houston on a downtown stadium received a boost when Texas Southern University expressed interest in playing its college football games there. The additional funds this would generate might help the Dynamo and the City who are in the midst of negotiations on a project estimated to cost $110m. The City has already purchased the land for around $15m, but Mayor Bill White claims the property can be used for a variety of projects should the stadium deal not be consummated. Source: My Fox Houston
German Club Announces US Tour
In the wake of a marketing and cooperation agreement between the Bundesliga and MLS that was reached 13 months ago, Borussia Moenchengladbach, which leads Germany's 2nd division by 6 points with 5 games left, will play exhibition games at FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids in July during a 10-day preseason training camp in the United States. Source: Sports Illustrated
EC Clears US Company’s 30% Purchase Of PSG
The European Commission said it has cleared US-based private equity group Colony Capital's proposed acquisition of a 30% stake in Paris Saint-Germain's holding company Colfilm. The purchase was cleared under the EU's ‘simplified’ merger review procedure for cases the commission believes do not pose competition concerns. Source: Forbes
WPS Owner Tries To Work Around Media Apathy
Peter Wilt, the 1st president and general manager of the MLS’s Chicago Fire and currently the CEO of Chicago’s Women’s Professional Soccer’s franchise, which will begin play in 2009, argued that American teams should make extensive use of the internet and blogs to keep fans informed: “Soccer in general, and women’s soccer in particular, still doesn’t generate the amount of traditional media coverage that allows other major league teams to inform their fan base so easily. We will need to be proactive to keep our fans informed and engaged. That is the motivation behind my blog. I believe the transparency of our organization through my posts gives our fans, and potential fans, a clear window into our team, clarifies misunderstandings, explains important (and not so important) decisions. This helps connect fans emotionally and helps them care more about the team. Source: Soccer Science
US Soccer Development Academy Receives Assessment
The Associated Press’s David Mercer wrote a lengthy piece examining the strengths and weaknesses of the evolving American youth system, focusing on the US Soccer Development Academy programs set up over the past year by the USSF to train the 2,500 or so American players. John Hackworth, technical director of the national academies, wants to bridge the vast gap between the kind of training US players receive and the no-nonsense grooming players get elsewhere. He claimed American players lack technical expertise and tend to develop bad habits playing for club teams that often emphasize winning over developing skills and games over practice. However, former Liverpool player Steve Nicol, who now coaches the New England Revolution, warned against too much practice: “You can have all this organization. The one thing you have to make sure when the players come into it, whether it's 2 days a week or it's 7 days week, is that the players enjoy it." Source: the Charlotte News & Observer
* Europe *
EC Officials Warn Against Foreign Player QuotasThe European Commission has warned Fifa not to seek "gentleman's agreements" to limit foreign players at soccer clubs. "EU laws are superior to any such gentleman's agreements," said one official at the EU executive. Another added, "Footballers are treated as workers and will always be treated as such, therefore must be allowed access to work in all member states by national authorities." Source: The International Herald Tribune
Report: Wembley Suffers Large 1st Year Losses
According to the Guardian, next month Wembley National Stadium Limited is expected to declare losses of more than $40m for its 1st year of operation, with a pre-tax deficit closer to $80m. The board is also expected to receive an update on refinancing negotiations with a consortium of banks, led by WestLB and Barclays, which will see the interest on the stadium's outstanding loan of $685m reduce from 8% to 7%. Sources claim the loss is a result of increased start-up costs in the 1st year of operation, the rush to be open in time for the FA Cup final last year, as well as increased security, stewarding and staffing costs. Source: The Guardian
England FA Moves Forward With World Cup Bid
According to a 63-page report given to FA board members, England's bid for the 2018 World Cup will focus on producing “a legacy which enriches the opportunities for football to flourish in all parts of the world,” and cost an estimated $30m. The board will now start the hunt for a chairman and chief executive and will set up a bid company similar to the one that achieved success with the London 2012 Olympics. Source: ESPNsoccernet
May Day Beckons For Leeds
The arbitration hearing into Leeds United's 15-point penalty has confirmed will be decided by 1 May, before the final game of the season, in order to avoid the complication a delay could cause with the League One play-offs. The Football League docked Leeds 15 points for going into administration (bankruptcy), but the club maintains that the sanction was unlawful. Source: BBC
MPs To Investigate Power Struggle At Liverpool
The All Party Parliamentary Football Group is to launch a new inquiry into the governance of English soccer, and the ownership crisis at Liverpool is one of the areas it will target. Alan Keen MP, chairman of the group, said, “English club football is enjoying great success in Europe at the moment. Yet many questions remain about the standard of corporate governance and whether it is best equipped to deal, at every level, with the long-term challenges of the game's future. This is the focus of the group's new inquiry. The group will examine case studies on governance, including Liverpool FC where the role of the owners has raised significant public concerns and overshadowed achievements on the field.” Source: ESPNsoccernet
Berlusconi Supports Possible Roma Takeover
The recently re-elected Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi announced that he is stepping down as president of AC Milan, and also that he has cleared the way for George Soros to mount a takeover of Roma. "Roma fans want a winning team, so if someone comes in who can put in the resources to build a winning team who will be protagonists in Italy and Europe, they will be enthusiastic and I hope things develop as they want them to. I don't see how I could get in the way of something like this." Source: The Guardian
England-Scotland Discussions Revived
Scottish FA chief executive Gordon Smith said that discussions about reviving internationals between England and Scotland are at an advanced stage. “I've had discussions with Brian Barwick about resurrecting the Scotland v England games and it's definitely back on. It might be 2010 before we get a game. The idea would be to establish some sort of relationship for one-off games or even have them biannually.” Source: ESPNsoccernet
Rotherham Takeover Candidate Withdraws Bid
A billionaire Russian businessman has withdrawn his offer to buy League 2 Rotherham due to failure to agree a deal to lease Millmoor. The bid was 1 of the 2 shortlisted, out of 5 received, for preferred bidder status by administrator Jeremy Bleazard. Source: BBC
Portsmouth To Submit Plans For New Training Ground
Portsmouth are to submit plans for a new 35-acre training ground in Gosport, which will cost $16m and be ready for the 2009/10 season. It will include 10 full-size pitches, with 2 set aside for use by the community, an indoor pitch available to local schools and a dedicated goalkeeping area. Source: BBC
Rovers Deny Takeover Rumours
Reports have surfaced that Chris Ronnie, the chief executive of JJB Sports, has put together a team of foreign and domestic investors, to negotiate with Blackburn Rovers about a possible $50m buy-out. But, while a well-placed Rovers source confirmed the trustees' advisers, Rothschild, ARE still in active talks with a number of parties in regard to a possible takeover, those discussions have not involved Ronnie. Source: The Citizen
Unnamed Club Sought Genetic Testing
According to Aberdeen University's Dr Henning Wackerhage, for the 1st known time an unnamed football club have approached a leading sports scientist in an effort to apply genetic research to their players. The club wanted to discern through a genetic test whether players had been born with the ACTN3 gene that is common to all top-class sprinters. Wackerhage refused to carry out the test, which is commercially available in Australia, and informed them that the World Anti-Doping Agency’s ethical stance against such testing should be binding. "My advice was that there are questions of legality, with an employer doing genetic tests on its employees," said Wackerhage, who also expressed concerns about maintaining confidentiality. Separately, after a series of tragedies in which players suffered heart failure during matches, Uefa has ordered every international player taking part in the European Championship in June to undergo cardiac screening and now hopes to extend the policy to club level. Sources: The Guardian and Fox Sports
* Comment: Blatter's Determination *
Given that genetic testing is already commercially available, it is a matter of time before clubs make extensive use of it. Some may have done so already. However unethical, the focus will likely be on testing children rather than adults. Clubs may be inclined to spend their resources developing top-class sprinters at the expense of those who lack that yard of pace. This may not be good for the evolution of soccer. There is an increasing emphasis on speed, work-rate, physical challenges and organization, all of which tend towards defensive caution. The powers that be should ask whether this in the best interest of the sport—aesthetically or commercially. Do we want to make it more or less impossible for a player like the Argentine Juan Roman Riquelme—consummately skilled and adroit but slow—to prosper?
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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.
