The Business Of Sports

Still here

2010-10-12T17:12:00.000+05:30

yup...very much...just got tied down with the world cup and then work...but i am there...and am gonna make a honest effort to keep this blog alive

so in the words of Ali G - BOO YAH

Everton FC: Innovative Toffees look to crack lucrative Indian market

2010-04-11T11:01:00.006+05:30

Everton FC have struck a lucrative mobile phone deal in India as the club looks to meet the needs of an emerging fan base across Asia.

Sports marketing specialists Total Sports Asia helped the English Premier League side to secure a mobile content deal with Indiatimes, as the Toffees look to crack the potentially lucrative Indian market.

The new contract with Indiatimes has been agreed via TSA, Everton's licensed mobile content provider in Asia. Indian Blues will now be able to download, via web and WAP sites, Everton ringtones, wallpapers and videos of their favourite players straight to their mobile devices.

Everton is the first Premier League football club to partner with Indiatimes, which is the most popular internet and mobile service in India. However, the Toffees are not the first English club to eye the Indian market - Manchester United last year opened a restaurant in the country, while Tottenham Hotspur sponsored the Indian team at the Homeless World Cup in Milan.

Meanwhile, Everton's popularity across Asia continues to grow thanks to the Toffees' strong links with main partner Chang, who are based in Thailand. "The Everton fanbase is going from strength to strength across Asia and it is vital we reach as many fans as possible using a range of media platforms," said Mark Rowan, head of media and communications at Everton. "Mobile media is just one extension of the services we provide to communicate with our supporters across the world."

Julian Jackson, senior vice president of media at Total Sports Asia, added: "We are very pleased to conclude this deal in India and for Everton, as it gives them the chance to reach out to the millions of English Premier League Fans, that many other clubs have not had yet. Everton's professionalism has once again impressed us and is what made the deal possible."

TSA is licensed to distribute official Everton mobile content throughout Asia with the exception of China.

Source: http://www.leadersinfootball.com/business/707/

Lionel Messi , Wayne Rooney : If they can so can you

2010-04-11T10:42:00.003+05:30

Stayed awake to watch both legs of the Arsenal-Barca tie.It was heart breaking to see Wenger's young guns booted out of the the Champs league but on the other hand it was heartening to see Messi's performance.It gave me hope that there can be billions of IPL matches and Lalit Modi may reckon that IPL will be bigger than the EPL and football soon but, as long as the likes of Messi,Rooney,Ronaldo etc. have something to say about it football will always hold sway.You know that a performance is special when even the opposing team fans applaud and praise you.Right from Wenger , to the players to fans like me there is a general feeling in the Arsenal world that there was no shame in those losses and we lost to an exceptional team with an exceptional player.

On the other hand this Wednesday Rooney delighted the neutral with his mad dog perfromance against Bayern in the CL QF.it was obvious that he was playing in pain but the drive and hunger for being on the field was there for all to say.Rooney is an absolute delight to watch and i find him to be a very selfless player.

The structure of both these players makes for interesting reading that seems to tell kids around the world that "if we can so can you"

Rogan Taylor on Leaders in Football makes a very intersting point.

Genius in football very rarely occurs in players with the 'ideal body' for the modern game. If you're looking for tall strapping athletes in that supreme class of men who jostle for the 'greatest ever' mantle, you won't find any. What you will find is quite a few little fat guys, and skinny ones too; from Puskas to Pele, Cruyf to Maradona and, well, maybe Messi too.

This is an Argentinean boy with a growth hormone deficiency who arrived at Barca, aged 13yrs, where they picked up the bill for his treatment. Then there's Wayne Rooney, for whom the opposite was true: no problem with growth (or any other) hormones as a youngster. In fact, he looked a man before he was a teenager, but he looked (as many of the family of 'battling Rooneys' do) like a boxer, not a football player. He looks like the opposite; a muscled, squat, middleweight, almost square in shape. They say Liverpool FC turned him down as a kid on the basis of his body.

But Rooney is on the verge of greatness too; certainly the only English player in the running; a complete 'natural'. I was there at Goodison Park at his debut, and before he had sprinted five yards onto the pitch from the tunnel, he appeared more of a pro than many around him with years of top football under their belts. These days, his touch, pace, vision, shooting and passing are almost invariably superb. Almost impossibly, it seems, even aerial power is at his command, despite looking like a machine that could never fly.

It is this physical democracy that gives football its great charm - everyone has a chance, not just to play but to dream of being eventually in that special chamber where the greatest of all are gathered. Almost any kid in the world can look in the mirror at an unprepossessing body and think: I can make it - Messi and Rooney did.

It may be that the complete unlikelihood of ever being able to properly control a ball with the distant lumps on the end of your legs is the very aspect of the game which allows the most unlikely looking physical types to succeed at the very highest level. The fact so many millions of the rest of us around the world play the game willingly every week is a testament to human optimism.

In the end, football is like Peter Crouch - the miracle is that we can play it at all.

la liga players could go on strike just before el classico

2010-04-02T10:40:00.002+05:30

Just came across this article...Top teams from la liga could go on strike to help lower division teams to get their money.

****************************************

Panic stations. The eagerly-awaited return clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona on Saturday April 10 is at risk because of a possible strike of Spanish league footballers. This is not the first time the Asociacin de Futbolistas Espaoles has raised such a threat in support of player grievances and, given the games perpetual financial turmoil, it will not be the last.

Clearly, by picking the weekend of April 10/11 the union has found a target date which, it hopes, will concentrate minds. Spanish and Italian league players are among the most militant in Europe. This may surprise outsiders, considering these are the two leagues whose pay rates compete with the Premier League at the highest level.

Appearances, however, are deceptive.

When players in Italy and Spain threaten to take, or even take concerted industrial action the cause is not one which sees the likes of Del Piero and Francesco Totti or Iker Casillas and Leo Messi claiming higher wages themselves. Quite the opposite. The superstars line up in support of fellow footballers, usually in the lower divisions, who have gone weeks, maybe months, without being paid themselves.

The AFE claims that only 15 per cent of clubs in the lower divisions in Spain are up-to-date with wages payments. Remember the problems with Portsmouth in the Premier League earlier this season? The players were not being paid on time. But did any of their colleagues in other clubs seek to force the issue through industrial action? They did not.

Certainly the Professional Footballers Association worked hard to try to resolve matters which were, perhaps, a more rational way of moving forward in the derided English context. But perhaps the Premier League model is not as reckless as critics, particularly within UEFA, claim. The problem in Spain and Italy is that clubs football/financial models do not fall under similar corporate rigor as clubs in England.

In the case of Portsmouth, a formal path was evident by which the clubs inability to sustain its outgoings could be regulated and controlled all the way down into administration. The foresight of the PFA also means that player's contracts are virtually ring-fenced.

Footballers elsewhere do not benefit from such good fortune. The smaller Spanish clubs are notorious for delayed wage payments and only when the superstars become involved do the governing bodies start to sit up and seek solutions, albeit short-term ones. Such solidarity of purpose is, at the least, impressive.

Real Madrid's club captain Raul Gonzalez has long been on record as explaining the reasoning. As he said the last time a strike threat was raised: 'We all started in junior football, we all depend on football for our livelihood. Some of us have been very fortunate but that does not mean we forget our roots. Football is not only about the Real Madrid's and Barcelona's.'

Source: http://www.leadersinfootball.com/column/141/

Mohammed Salim - the first indian footballer to play overseas

2010-04-02T09:58:00.002+05:30

The Daily Telegraph had a great write up, and the Green Brigade Forum posted about Mohammed Salim, the first Indian to play in European Football. Of course, Salim played for Celtic. Here is his story:

Celtic were not only the first British club to win the European Cup, they were also the first European club to play an Indian and, what is more, he performed in bare feet.

The extraordinary story of how Mohammed Salim, an Indian from Calcutta,came to play for Celtic in the 1936-37 season has been unearthed by a Rhodes scholar.

Boria Majumdar, deputy editor of the International Journal of the History of Sport says: “It shows how in the days of the Empire Celtic broke barriers, living up to the ideal of the civilising mission and how this Indian in bare feet enchanted one half of Glasgow.”

Salim was born in colonial Calcutta in 1904. Majumdar says: “At that time, with Indian nationalists fighting for independence from British colonial rule, many Indians took to football to answer British jibes that Indians were not manly enough to rule themselves. The Indians played in bare feet and despite this they defeated English men in boots which was seen as evidence that Indians were not inferior to the British.”

By the mid-1930s Salim, a winger, was an essential member of Calcutta’s Mohammedan Sporting Club side, and helped them to claim five successive Calcutta League titles.

After the title win of 1936, Salim was invited to play two friendlies against the Chinese Olympic side. A cousin called Hasheem who lived in England, and was then visiting Calcutta, witnessed the first match. Having seen Salim’s exceptional display, Hasheem urged Salim to try his hand at European football.

Hasheem was so persuasive that instead of playing in the second Chinese friendly, Salim sailed with him on the City of Cairo for England. After a few days in London, Hasheem took him to Glasgow and Celtic Park.

Salim was surprised to note that all the Celtic players were professionals.
However, when asked whether he would be able to compete with them he nodded in approval. Salim’s confidence encouraged Hasheem to speak to Willie Maley, the Celtic manager.

Hasheem told him: “A great player from India has come by ship. Will you please take a trial of his? But there is a slight problem. Salim plays in bare feet.”

Maley laughed, the idea of a bare-footed amateur from India competing against Scottish professionals was difficult to believe. But Hasheem was persistent and the Celtic manager agreed to give him a trial. Salim was asked to demonstrate his skill before 1,000 club members and three registered coaches.

Salim’s ability, even in bare feet, astonished them. They decided to play him in a match against Hamilton.

Salim, in bare feet, proved exceptional helping Celtic win 5-1. In his second match against Galston, Celtic won 7-1 and his performance led the Scottish Daily Express of Aug 29, 1936, to carry the headline: “Indian Juggler – New Style.”

The paper wrote: “Ten twinkling toes of Salim, Celtic FC’s player from India, hypnotised the crowd at Parkhead last night. He balances the ball on his big toe, lets it run down the scale to his little toe, twirls it, hops on one foot around the defender.”

However, after a few months in Scotland, Salim began to feel homesick and was determined to return to India.

Majumdar was told by Salim’s son Rashid, who lives in Calcutta: “Celtic tried to persuade my father to stay by offering to organise a charity match in his honour, giving him five per cent of the gate proceeds. My father did not realise what five per cent would amount to and said he would give his share to orphans who were to be special invitees for the match. Five per cent came to £1,800 [colossal money then] but although my father was astonished, he kept to his word.”

Many years later Rashid wrote to Celtic stating that his father was in distress and he needed money for his father’s treatment.
Rashid said: “I had no intention of asking for money. It was just a ploy to find out if Mohammed Salim was still alive in their memory. To my amazement, I received a letter from the club. Inside was a bank draft for £100. I was delighted, not because I received the money but because my father still holds a pride of place in Celtic. I have not even cashed the draft and will preserve it till I die.”

Majumdar says Rashid has kept the cheque and a Celtic green and white jersey as a memory of his father’s days at Parkhead.

Indian Football : Not a crib but just some thoughts

2010-03-23T08:06:00.001+05:30

Last week I spoke with a friend who has deep rooted connections with a very stellar club of India,Mohun Bagan.

I did not know that Mohun Bagan has a similar business model to Bayern Munich i.e. it is majorly a public owned club and depends on contributions from these members for its functioning , expenditures and in return, the shareholders have voting rights and plus they have that special feeling of ‘owning ‘ a part of the club.

My mate’s family has been involved with the club for the past 30 years now. So obviously within a matter of minutes the discussion became very India centric.

Sunil Chetri’s signing with the MLS club , Kansas City Wizards was obviously the first thing we discussed. I think after Baichung Bhutia’s brief spell at FC Bury in England this is probably the biggest overseas signing for an Indian.With such a big population it is a bit strange that we can only boast of 2 players who have tried their luck abroad.

It’s always been a question in my mind as to why there are no talent scouts who visit India .Arsene Wenger for example has an army of talent scouts (allocated on a continent business) who travel the length and breadth of the world looking for talented young players, ranging from 12 year olds to experienced players who they then try to recruit into the Arsenal training academy in London.Wenger has scouts in places like Brazil, Ivory Coast, Russia,Japan, The European Continent…so why not in India ?

My friend was of the opinion that this is mainly because there are no agents to represent players here. Big European clubs usually never like dealing with players directly. They prefer an in-between who is well versed in business, negotiation skills and of course a deep rooted knowledge of the game. Unfortunately, here in India these sort of agent representation is almost nonexistent. Players usually try to put in their own money to contact clubs and agents from abroad and invariably end up losing all of it. We only get talent scouts from places like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka who come to take a look at the players. Apparently, there are a few certifications from FIFA that can be cleared in order to become an official agent but the handful of agents here are most probably not qualified.

I believe this is an important point. In a nation which even Sepp Blatter has termed the “Sleeping Giant Of Football” surely there would be quite a few youngsters out there with the talent to qualify for academies abroad. Secondly, I am sure 2 is not a true representation of the number of players who can be tried in foreign leagues. We do not need to look only at Europe and the US.I think the Japanese and Chinese leagues will also prove as invaluable experience for some of our players. I am sure if the price is right and they are kept comfortable and goal driven they would have no problems to play in these leagues.

For Indian football to improve we need to get a few of our players in foreign leagues. It’s only through this sort of experience that players can become conversant with new training techniques, technologies and strategies and then , most importantly bring this knowledge home.

So one thing we narrowed upon were : Lack of Agents who can represent players and hence lack of opportunities abroad

We then got talking about the academies in India and neither of us could name more than 4.

Tata Football Academy ( who are in a tie up with Arsenal FC), JCT Football Academy, Mohunbagan - SAIL football academy and a few local academies set up by some of the big Indian clubs.

But how much press coverage do you get about these academies. I consider me and a few mates pretty ardent followers of the game ( local and international) and even we could not think of many.

To make matters worse my mate narrated an incident which gave me a good feel of how bad things are.

When my mate was studying for his engineering he was next door to a training academy of a reputed Indian club. Purely out of interest he went about understanding how things are run there and found one major flaw. This academy was trying to attract children from the city to join the academy. Now we all know cricket rules the roost in cities. So forget children, a parent would think twice before sending his/her kid to a football training academy when all the moolah is in cricket. My mate felt that the target audience itself was wrong. Since Cricket is the sport of choice in the cities we should try to look at villages and the game should be introduced at grassroot levels here. The replies he got was

"bahut mahnat karna padega yaar" ( will be too hard)
"paisa tu dega?" ( will you fund this)
"dekh lena mene jo jo ladka choose kia he ye saal sab star hoga...kahin jane ki jarurat nehi he" ( all the lads I have chosen will be stars no need to go anywhere)
"tu kar sakta he to kar" ( if you can implement this go ahead)

So another conclusion : A lack of good academies and even those around lack a defined market and purpose. Plus I think the staff themselves lack belief in what they are doing. Grassroot level football is encouraged by all big clubs in the UK.

I did some more thinking on the same and came up with a few points.

More on this in the next post

The Official Biography Of Arsenal Footbal Club - Steve Stammers

2010-03-22T08:12:00.005+05:30

Some wonderful facts about Arsenal Football Club

- Arsenal FC was formed in a pub and the guy who thought of starting a football club was a Scot

- they were originally a south london club and then shifted north as it was thought to be commercially viable

- the first team to get an underground station named after a football team

- Sir henry Norris the chairman of the club was originally the chairman of Fulham and there was a time he was the chairman of both teams till the FA asked him to choose one

- Through the 30s Arsenal had a Chelsea type image..they were setting record transfers almost every year..they played a team in the FA once which was worth 2000 pounds and just the Arsenal players shoes was worth 1800 pounds at that point !!!

- Closely associated with both world wars since most team players were working in the ammunitions factory, a lot of players went to serve in the wars.During this team as a goodwill gesture stars from other teams stepped in to play for Arsenal ..including one Bill Shankly ( the great Liverpool legend)

- The legendary cricket player Dennis Compton and his younger brother Leslie both played for Arsenal.During the second world war Dennis Compton served in India

Just some of the wonderful facts contained in the beautifully written “The Official Biography Of Arsenal” by Steve Stammers

Stammers is a respected football journalist in London who has been writing for leading dailies for nearly 35 years now.He has a wealth of knowledge and wonderful way of writing.I finished this 300 + page book in just 2 sittings.

The best part of this book is that it is not just a celebration of a football club but a tribute to the working class's beautiful game.It talks about how football has been interlinked with the British culture from the early 1900s ,through the two world wars, the swinging sixties, through the seventies and eighties till what it has become today.

In fact the story of football in the UK is quite similar to that of hockey in india except that unfortunately in our case hockey got lost in layers of bureaucracy and the general public was ignored.Of course everyone wanted to make a buck out of football in the UK too but public interest was never forgotten ( similar to the Bundesliga in Germany)

The best part about this book is apart from the brilliant way in which the history of the club unfolds before your eyes you also get a glimpse into how football in Britain was affected through the ages because of

- the two world wars
- unemployement
- hooliganism through the 80s
- the Munich Air Disaster
- The Heysel and Hillsborough tragedies
- professionalism
- entry of foreign players into the league

Wonderfully written,almost like a fairy tale, the outstanding classic photographs of the club,London,Highbury, supporters and of course players greatly enhance the reading experience.

I think this is one of the best football books i have read.If you are an Arsenal supporter you should read this and if you are not i still encourage you to read it. You will fall in love with the beautiful game all over again.

Oh Yeah ! i am back

2010-03-22T08:05:00.003+05:30

was caught up with work and and a whole host of other activities including being lazy but now i am back and what a day to be back

Pune has an IPL team...yesterday Sahara Pariwar accquired rights for Pune's very own IPL franchise for a whooping 1702 crores making Pune the costliest IPL team ever.Even Lalit Modi was surprised at the amount the new Pune and Kochi teams fetched.Initially when he made the claim that in 5 years IPL could be bigger than EPL there were a few scoffs but if things continue like this anything can happen.

feels wonderful to be back....and yeah i'm bigger,badder and better as well this time round

Why were Real Madrid not having their sponsor names yesterday ?

2010-02-17T18:54:00.002+05:30

Just watching the Lyon vs Madrid UCL game.
I noticed that Real jerseys did not have their sponsor names...did a little bit of research and found this link which says

The logo of Real Madrid's primary sponsor, bwin.com, will not be on the team's shirt during tonight's match against Olympique Lyonnais. With sports betting soon to be deregulated in France and the framework for granting licenses already under design, bwin, a world leader in online sports betting, will be permitted to request a license during the adjudication process.

EPL team wants IPL franchise

2010-02-16T20:04:00.001+05:30

A “top three” English Premier League club is considering buying a stake in one of two new teams in next year’s Twenty20 cricket Indian Premier League, according to IPL chief Lalit Modi.

“There is a football club, a very famous football club in the UK, very interested in bidding,” Modi told UK newspaper The Times yesterday.

“[They are] probably one of the most famous football clubs — that’s all I can say. Probably top three. They are interested in taking a stake.”

Source:http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171943/epl-team-wants-ipl-franchise?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=feb16

World Cup 2010 : Team Watch

2010-02-14T22:42:00.003+05:30

Here are the teams i have reviewed so far

Group A
South Africa
France

World Cup 2010 Team and Player Watch - France

2010-02-14T11:55:00.008+05:30

Today, we turn our attention to France.

Group: Part of Group A along with Mexico, Uruguay and South Africa

The coach Raymond Domenech will really have selection headaches (of the good kind) considering the embarrassment of talent that this country boasts of. Brilliant French players ply their trade all across Europe from England to Spain, Italy and Germany.

The French Football team and Thierry Henry in particular received a lot of bad publicity for the manner in which they just about qualified for the 2010 spectacle. A lot of neutrals will be against them and they will not be getting a lot of support in South Africa. France won the World Cup in 1998 when they had hosted the tournament and made it to the finals of the 2006 World Cup in Germany where they lost to Italy.

A quick scan of the potential players who could make the cut reveals that ‘Les Blues’ have it in them to make to the knock out stage but will struggle after that.

Goal Keepers

Fabian Barthez’s exit from the big stage and an aging Gregory Coupet has left the door wide open for a young set of goal keepers like Steve Mandanda and Hugo Lloris to make a mark in the national squad. But the lack of a seasoned goalie might prove to be the proverbial chink in the amour.

Defenders

The French Defense is a little unbalanced in my opinion. Evra and Abidal will be competing for the left back position and should have it covered.
Willy Sangol’s departure means Domenech needs to fill the right back role.Bacary Sagna and Francois Clerc seem to be the likely options but both lack experience in internationals.
It’s in the centre of defense that France could really struggle. Gallas will be nearing 33 come June and will really find the pace hard to handle in. the knock out stages.Since Thuram is retired now i don’t think that players such as Escquede,Boumsong etc. will be able to establish a good partnership with Gallas in manning the defense.

This is the back 4 that played in the 2006 World cup finals

Abidal Gallas Thuram Sangol

I don’t think France have found the replacements for the 2010 edition

Midfielders

Ribery,Flamini,Malouda,Nasri,Diaby,Ben Afra,Lass Diara.,Sissoko,Govou. There are a lot of options in the midfield and I think Ribery will have a big part to play in the French campaign. After a lay off of 3 months he has just started getting back into groove at Bayren Munich and is showing all signs of being in rich form by the time the World cup starts.

Patrick Vierra will most probably make it to the squad for the World Cup if he continues playing the way he is with Manchester City.But he again will find the going tough in big games and again I think France are yet to identify someone to replace him.

Strikers

This could be the year when Karim Benzema steps out of the shadows of Thierry Henry and Anelka and makes a name for himself at the international stage.Anelka has been outstanding with Chelsea this season but he will require support. Henry should be used as a scoring substitute and not be give 90 minutes. His performance at the international stage has not really been effective.

The biggest problem with France in my opinion is Raymond Domenech.

According to me he is over dependant on established but aging players like Anelka,Henry,Vierra,Abidal etc. and does not like to give young and upcoming players a chance.I do not think enough time has been invested by him in finding and grooming replacements to the players who have retired.
Domenech's management style has raised eyebrows amongst players and fans. A keen amateur dramatist and astrologer, Domenech has admitted to distrusting Scorpios, such as Robert Pirès. This led to the choosing of Vikash Dhorasoo who played an important part in qualifying but not in the finals. He later fell out with Dhorasoo after he made a behind the scenes film called "substitute." His decision to leave out FC Barcelona star Ludovic Giuly in favour of Franck Ribéry, and subsequent refusal to explain that decision, left many French players and fans mystified .His exclusion of Roma back-bone defender Philippe Mexès has also raised a few eyebrows. Mexès, named "Hope of the Year" in 2000 and being a starting defender for Roma since his arrival to the team, still has to participate in a competitive senior tournament under Domenech.

Strengths : Experience of a few players and quite a creative midfield
Weaknesses : Defense and judgement of the coach

Verdict: France should make it to the knock out stages and have a very decent squad on paper.But I think the retirement of a few key players and the lack of replacements will pose a problem.France will not go too far in the knock out stages.

Other teams reviewed by me

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_national_football_team
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43946/index.html

Gunners fans in for a treat with new initiative at Emirates Stadium

2010-02-14T11:48:00.000+05:30

Arsenal, the English soccer club, has partnered with Sony Professional to launch Arsenal TV Matchday+.

The application, which fans can download to their Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) or PSP Go, will enable them to access enhanced content services wirelessly from their seat at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal's home ground.

This service will provide Arsenal fans with access to a range of viewing options, including live action, video and slow-motion replays from selected camera angles, team sheets, player profiles, the Premier League table, match stats and interactive options, such as voting for the man of the match.

Arsenal fans will be able to experience the first live game to be broadcast using the Arsenal TV Matchday+ application when it launches later this month. For a one-off £10 fee fans will have access to view the rest of this season's home Premier League games. Access to games being played in the 2010/2011 season will go on sale at the end of this season.

Source:http://www.leadersinfootball.com/business/671/

Study finds no link between alcohol sponsorship in sport and drinking

2010-02-13T20:08:00.002+05:30

There are no significant statistical correlations between sports sponsorship awareness and attitudes to alcohol use, according to research by Cardiff Business School’s Dr Fiona Davies, published by the International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship.

The study found that boys with sporting interests appear to be influenced towards drinking and drunkenness by the traditional macho sporting culture rather than the presence of alcohol sponsorship, and involvement in sport had no impact on girls’ attitudes to drinking.

Source: http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171921/study-finds-no-link-between-alcohol-sponsorship-in-sport-and-drinking?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=feb12

World Cup 2010 Team and Player Watch - South Africa

2010-02-10T20:15:00.022+05:30

With the world cup just round the corner i thought it would be a good idea to introduce the teams that have made it to the spectatcle and also highlight some players to watch.I'll also be trying to highlight the strengths and weakneses of the teams involved.

We'll start today with the host country : South Africa

Group : Part of Group A along with Mexico,Uruguay and France

'Bafana Bafana' as the host nation is fondly called has indeed come a long way from being banned by FIFA in 1962 to becoming the first African nation to host a football world cup in 2010.IPL 2 and the Confiderations cup in 2009 were wonderful advertisements for South Africa's readiness and capabalities to host tournaments of such magnitude.SA is all set to cash in on this once in lifetime type oppurtunity and various local industries are relishing the prospects of thousands of tourists coming to their shores for a holiday.
But will the host nation have enough to cheer about on the football pitch ?

I believe that the star performers for SA will be the one who play in other leagues since they would have seen players from all over the world and will be conversant with their strategies and weaknesses.

Strikers

Benny Mcarthy has 83 caps for SA and has spent time with Ajax,Porto,Blackburn Rovers and now West Ham.
Considering he is 32 he will most probably play as a shadow striker and might not be playable for the enire 90 minutes. The forward with the next highest number of international caps is Katlego Mphela who has 20 appearances to show.
The attack is definitely inexperienced.

Midfielders

Steven Piennar has been a real workhorse for the Everton midfield and considering he is 27 will be keen on a good showing in the world cup. Again, the SA midfield looks quite inexperienced and young and will definitely struggle against the likes of Mexico and France.

Defenders

The pick would be the skipper Aaron Mokoena who has the maximum number of caps (99).Known for his tough tackling, which even his country teamate Piennar experienced in an Everton – Portsmouth game.
32 year old Matthew Booth might also get a look in considering his 6 feet 6 inches frame. Due to his height he is considered one of the most important players when meeting opponents with tall players

South Africa are coached by Carlos Alberto Parreira. A wily and experience coach who was in charge of the Brazil team in the 2006 world cup.

Strengths : Home advantage
Weaknesses : Young squad with very limited exposure to world football and players.

Verdict: Unfortunatley i think the host team will not make it to the next round based on paper statistics and assuming France do not commit hara kiri

Other teams reviewed by me

Additional Articles:

Piennar beleives South Africa can advance beyond the group stages

Sources:

http://www.fifa.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_national_football_team

ooA

2010-02-05T19:47:00.002+05:30

Out of action that is

i have been having this flu which i have not been able to shake off since Monday
Hoping that i will be better come Monday...a win at Stamford bridge will surley make me feel better

Pompey get YET another owner

2010-02-04T21:26:00.005+05:30

Portsmouth have their fourth owner of the season - and could have a fifth before the current campaign is over.

Balram Chainrai has assumed control from former owner Ali Al Faraj after exercising a clause in their agreement over a £17m loan made to the Saudi.

BBC Sport understands Chainrai is keen to sell once the club is stabilised.

Now Chainrai, 51, has taken charge after his company Portpin took over Al Faraj's 90% shareholding in the south-coast club.

"Chainrai has invoked a clause in a loan contract he struck with the club's third owner this year, Ali Al Faraj, giving him the right to take over 90% of the shares should they default on repayments to him," added Farquhar.

"He recently loaned the club £15m to £20m to help get them through their current financial crisis, which still isn't resolved.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8497491.stm

Rene Higuita and Sammy Hyypia

2010-02-02T19:59:00.021+05:30

Two very intersting articles on the Beeb.

Rene Higuita retires: Most people would recognize Rene for that "in your face" scorpion kick that would have made his manager's heart skip several beats.

I still remember him for that Italia 1990 world cup match against Cameroon when Roger Milla stole the ball from him nearly midfield and celeberated near the corner flag.

The wildman finally walks away from football.Don't think there are any charcters like him anymore.

Talking about characters Sammy Hyypia ( ex Liverpool defender) might be part of the Bayren Leverkusan team that goes onto win the Bundesliga this year feels Phil Minshull.

My money is still on Bayren Munich though...think there is too much class in that team this year.They have 7 consecutive wins now and are just two points Leverkusan.

Pick of the weekend fixtures

2010-01-29T14:35:00.004+05:30

Games i will be keeping an eye on

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich vs. FSV Mainz (8 PM IST ) on NEO SPORTS Sat 30th Jan
Serie A : AC Milan vs. Livorno (8 PM IST) on NEO SPORTS Sun 31st Jan
EPL : It's the biggie . Arsenal Vs Manchester United ( 9:25 PM IST) on ESPN Sun 31st Jan

Arsenal VS Manchester United : in 3D !!!

2010-01-28T16:13:00.002+05:30

Yup It's finally here.Came across this post in the Arsenal forum that i haunt.

-----
Sky has announced that it will launch Sky 3D, Europe's first dedicated 3D TV channel, this April.

As part of the final preparations for this ground-breaking launch, Sky will preview the new service with a world first this Sunday (January 31), becoming the first TV company anywhere to broadcast a live 3D TV sports event to a public audience.

The Premier League clash between Arsenal and Manchester United will be filmed in 3D and broadcast over the Sky platform to selected pubs around the UK and Ireland, with their customers becoming the first audiences anywhere in the world to experience live Premier League in 3D.

To support this landmark broadcast, the nine pubs - located in London, Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin - have been kitted out specially with some of the first '3D Ready' TV sets to reach the UK and Ireland.

As 3D TVs become more widely available, Sky will roll out its 3D channel to hundreds of pubs from April, allowing football fans across the country the opportunity to experience a live Premier League match in 3D each week.

To make the 3D preview a reality, Sky Sports will produce two edits of its live coverage of Sunday's game at the Emirates Stadium, one for its HD channel feed and another dedicated to 3D.

The 3D broadcast will be supported by Sky's dedicated 3D production team and purpose built 3D outside broadcast truck, which will enable live mixing between camera positions, slow motion replays and the use of innovative 3D graphics. There will also be a dedicated commentary team to support the 3D edit.

Articles Worth Reading : 28 Jan 2010

2010-01-28T15:41:00.005+05:30

:Sony replaces LG in German football Japanese electronic company Sony has replaced Korean counterpart LG Electronics as a premium sponsor of the German Football Association from 2010 to 2012.

Dubai opens $1.25 billion horseracing complex:Dubai today opens the 4.6 billion-dirham ($1.25 billion) Meydan horseracing complex that can hold 80,000 people and includes a 290-room five-star hotel.

And today's must read

Simon Jordan remains popular at Palace : Crystal Palace going into administration is not surprising. The shocking state of the club's finances has been known for a while. What is a surprise is the outpouring of sympathy from Palace fans for Simon Jordan. Ignore the angry emails to news outlets. Have a look on some of the Palace message boards instead. Fans who have been frustrated with Jordan's reign have been describing the sadness they feel for a man who may have lost everything in an ultimately vain attempt to make a success of the football club he loves.

Articles Worth Reading : 27 Jan 2010

2010-01-27T12:20:00.008+05:30

Prime Minister Gordon Brown warns football over debts:Prime Minister Gordon Brown has issued a warning over football finances by saying some club debts are "too high".
Mr Brown, a shareholder in Scottish side Raith Rovers, urged owners and managers to consider the supporters.

Crystal Palace go into administration:Championship side Crystal Palace have gone into administration after a season beset by financial difficulties.Clubs entering administration are automatically docked 10 points, which would see Palace drop from ninth place to two spots above the drop zone.

Todays Must Read

Politics in football - Sepp Blatter and technology :After fully manifest against the deployment of technological resources in the game, Sepp Blatter said yesterday the possibility of studying the implementation of video technology (repetition of moves) in the near future.

By his own will be discussed in March at the next meeting between FIFA and the International Board (the only body in the world that can change the laws of the game). In truth and in sporting terms, we may again see the World Cup in South Africa a goal with his hand that can decide a game or even the championship, however in the last 4 years Blatter did not have time or willingness to discuss the issue with International Board. How many really believe that any action will be taken?

In recent years football has been a tremendous development at various levels, greatly weakening values and certainties of decades, bringing the audience scams and schemes that discredited the game and the fans away from stadiums. The need for measures to resolve or mitigate these problems is urgent, for the sake of all the football industry.

Articles Worth Reading : 25 January 2010

2010-01-25T15:38:00.002+05:30

Manchester United raise £504m in bond issue: Manchester United have successfully raised £504m through a bond issue, which will cover most of what the club owe to international banks.

But Also

Bond issue “cost Manchester United £54 million”:Manchester United's £500 million raised last week through a bond issue cost the club £54 million, according to UK newspaper reports.

Liverpool owner sells baseball stake: Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks has agreed to sell his controlling interest in Major League Baseball side the Texas Rangers to a group headed by the club’s former pitcher Nolan Ryan and lawyer Chuck Greenberg.

OffTopic : How much football is too much football ?

2010-01-25T12:04:00.003+05:30

Ask me......

i was at my parents this weekend while my missus was at hers...

Saturday i walked 2 hours in order to get a few football books ...was able to get 3 pretty decent ones....walked back home

watched werder bremen V Bayren Munich 2-3
then Man united V Hull 4-0
continued watching Spurs Vs Leeds in FA cup 2-2
read a little of the football books i got
watched the first half of Juve Vs Roma

Sunday

Drove back home
Went to the gym
Watched Stoke Vs Arsenal 3-1
saw a little of Scunthrope United Vs Man City
And then continued reading the books till i dropped asleep

this clearly proves that without my wife i would have been a miserbale and dull guy whose idea of fun would have been to watch hours and hours of football on TV....i am sure this is the case with lot of lads i know...they would be nothing without their better halves

Articles Worth Reading : 22 Jan 2010

2010-01-22T15:40:00.004+05:30

Turkish Airlines seals Man Utd sponsorship:Turkish Airlines has agreed a three and a half year sponsorship deal with English Premier League champions Manchester United.

Udinese take Portsmouth to court:Italian football club Udinese is taking embattled English club Portsmouth to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for failing to pay for a player transferred between the clubs.(Sulley Muntari)

Today's Must Read

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/insideline/howtoplay.shtml

What is Sportdaq?

SPORTDAQ is a sports stock exchange game. Instead of shares in companies you buy shares in sports stars. To play you have to sign up. Once you're signed up we'll give you a cool ten thousand pounds (that's Sportdaq pounds, not real cash!).

The aim of the game: to make as much profit as you can by buying and selling 'shares' in listed sports stars. The person with the highest weekly percentage gain is crowned Top Trader.

Articles Worth Reading : 21 Jan 2010

2010-01-21T14:09:00.006+05:30

Manchester United debt hits £716m Debts at the parent company of Manchester United have increased to £716.5m ($1.17bn), according to its latest accounts.

Sportswear brands top sponsor recognition listSportswear brands adidas, Nike and Puma are the most recognisable football sponsors in the top five European markets, according to a new survey by Sport+Markt.

YouTube secures worldwide IPL broadcast dealVideo-sharing website YouTube will show live coverage of this year’s Twenty20 cricket competition the Indian Premier League (IPL) in every country except the US.

Transfer Window : 11 Days more to go and nothing much going on

2010-01-20T19:27:00.012+05:30

Beyond all the speculation and gossip that a few newspapers,websites and channels ocassionally create , the bottom line is that it has been a very slow January transfer window this year in England.

A quick look at the transfers that have happened and the only notable ones are

Sol Campbell [unattached - Arsenal] Free
Andrea Dossena [Liverpool - Napoli] Undisclosed
Patrick Vieira [Inter Milan - Man City] Undisclosed
Maxi Rodriguez [Atletico Madrid - Liverpool] Free

That's precious little movement considering the way teams in the EPL are being hit by injuries and the African player exodus that has occured due to the African cup of nations.

Now if we examine history we find

in Jan 2009

Arsenal: Andrei Arshavin (£10m initially, Zenit St. Petersburg)
Aston Villa:Emile Heskey (£3.5m, Wigan)
Blackburn Rovers:Gael Givet (loan, Marseille), El-Hadji Diouf (£2m, Sunderland)
Chelsea:Michael Mancienne (loan return, Wolves), Gokhan Tore (undisclosed, Bayer Leverkusen), Ricardo Quaresma (loan, Inter Milan)
Everton:
Manchester City: Nigel de Jong [SV Hamburg],Craig Bellamy[West Ham],Wayne Bridge [Chelsea]

2006 shows even more hectic activity

Jeremie Aliadiere [Arsenal - Wolverhampton] Loan
Theo Walcott [Southampton - Arsenal] £5m
Vasiriki Abou Diaby [Auxerre - Arsenal] Undisclosed
Emmanuel Adebayor [Monaco - Arsenal] Undisclosed
Dan Agger [Brondby - Liverpool] Undisclosed
Nemanja Vidic [Spartak Moscow - Man Utd] Undisclosed
Albert Riera [Espanyol - Manchester City] Loan
Maniche [Dynamo Moscow - Chelsea] Loan

Let's check 2005

Emmanuel Eboue [Beveren - Arsenal] £1.5m
Jiri Jarosik [CSKA Moscow - Chelsea] undisclosed
James Beattie [Southampton - Everton] £6m
Fernando Morientes [Real Madrid - Liverpool] £6.3
Thomas Gravesen [Everton - Real Madrid] £2.5m
Mido [Roma - Tottenham Hotspur] Loan
Nicolas Anelka [Manchester City - Fenerbahce] £7m

The writing is on the wall unless something drastic happens this looks to be the slowest and most drab January transfer window ever.
A sign of the times maybe ?

the top4 clubs are under 500 million pounds plus of debt and remaining clubs like Portsmouth are facing winding up orders from the tax man....

If this continues, we might not have January trnasfer window in 2011.

Articles Worth Reading : 20th Jan 2010

2010-01-20T18:51:00.004+05:30

Leaders in Football returns to Chelsea : The 2010 Leaders in Football conference will take place at Chelsea FC on October 6 and 7, with an expanded programme of events over two days and three nights.

Haitian sport hit by earthquake tragedy: At least 30 members of Haiti’s football federation, and at least seven Haitian Olympic athletes were victims of the earthquake which hit the country.

and today's MUST READ

The image rights of players:The monthly income of a football player is made up of several parts, including his / her salary, the bonus game and signing of the contract and the percentage of the image rights of the player.The latter is related to the use of player image in advertising campaigns and marketing activities of the club.

Off Topic: Hate days like today

2010-01-20T18:27:00.003+05:30

...when it's just WORK WORK and MORE WORK

Today Arsenal play Bolton at home...a 2 goal margin victory will see us go to the top of the table...looks like it's gonna be a real close race this time for the EPL and i am so happy that the Red and White is very much in the reckoning...

Unfortunatley, the game will not be shown here but i think the Spurs-Liverpool game is gonna be on today...should be quite a decent game and i might watch the first half as there would be updates of the Gunners Bolton game through out

COME ON YOU GOONERS !!!!

The IPL Auction that took place today...

2010-01-19T18:47:00.001+05:30

Kieron Pollard [West Indies] - Mumbai Indians (£458,000 tie-break)
Shane Bond [New Zealand] - Kolkata Knight Riders (£458,000 tie-break)
Kemar Roach [West Indies] - Deccan Chargers (£439,000)
Wayne Parnell [South Africa] - Delhi Daredevils (£372,000)
Mohammad Kaif [India] - Kings XI Punjab (£153,000)
Eoin Morgan [England] - Royal Challengers Bangalore (£134,000)
Damien Martyn [Australia] - Rajasthan Royals (£61,000)
Justin Kemp [South Africa] - Chennai Super Kings (£61,000)
Adam Voges [Australia] - Rajasthan Royals (£30,000)
Thissara Perera [Sri Lanka] - Chennai Super Kings (£30,000)
Yusuf Abdulla [South Africa] - Kings XI Punjab (£30,000)

Only 11 out of the 66 overseas players attracted successful bids, with England's Graeme Swann and all 11 Pakistan players left unsold.

Articles worth reading : 19 Jan 2010

2010-01-19T15:39:00.007+05:30

France's Thierry Henry escapes Fifa ban over handball: Striker Thierry Henry will not be punished by Fifa for his handball in France's World Cup finals play-off victory over the Republic of Ireland.

IPL is America-bound Indian cricket authorities will organise Twenty20 matches in the United States between Indian Premier League sides within the next 18 months.

World Cup ticket rethink amid low local interest: The organisers of this year’s football World Cup in South Africa are altering ticket sales procedures in an effort to boost weak local demand.

David Gold and David Sullivan seal West Ham takeover : Former Birmingham City owners David Gold and David Sullivan have taken control of West Ham.The duo bought a 50% holding, valuing the club at £105m, and will have the final say on all matters.

Articles worth reading : 18 Jan 2010

2010-01-18T12:06:00.006+05:30

BT aims to undercut Sky on TV sport viewing packages: BT says it is ready to enter a price war with Sky over the price charged for fans to watch premium sports events, including football and cricket, on TV.

Portsmouth threaten to sue Premier League over embargo:Portsmouth have threatened to sue the Premier League in a bid to get the club's transfer embargo lifted

Intel Sports Inventor: What an experience!!!.Thank you Neo Cricket and Intel

2010-01-10T16:12:00.004+05:30

We have just finished watching the Intel Sports Inventor competition on Neo Cricket.
What a tremendous and unforgettable experience it was to be part of the show.

I will always remember Jan 6th 2010 as one of the happiest days in my life.

When Manish Agrawal (who was also one of the contestants), my dad and me set off from Pune at 6:30 AM that day I was quite apprehensive on how the show would go and if I would be able to present my ideas properly. We reached Mumbai and then managed to get lost. Somehow after a lot asking around and directions from the Neo Cricket crew we reached the Neo cricket guesthouse.

It was such a pleasure to meet the other three contestants. There was Ram Babu who has been working on his idea (in parallel with his job) for the past five years, a young and confident lad from Delhi called Ankur and a jovial and interesting inventor from Nagpur , Manish Sahu.Manish Agrawal works in Pune and in fact stays just next door to my place.
Over a few cups of tea we talked about cricket, football, TV broadcasting rights, players , commentors, the general state of the game and of course about technology and our inventions. There was also the gripping Australia-Pakistan test as well that we were keeping tab of.

After an hour or so we traveled to Bandra to the set where the shooting was to take place. The first thing that struck us was the sheer beauty and magnitude of the set. We were all expecting it to be a small scale affair in a studio but here we were at an amphitheatre that was capable of seating a sizeable audience. It looked quite daunting. But luckily there were people from the Neo crew like Aayush and Aditya(he supports Chelsea, but still a great guy) who kept our morale high.

I also met RK (who hosts programs like “Dial C for Cricket” and “Extra Cover” on Neo Cricket ) and had quite an interesting conversation with him. He turned out to be a die hard Manchester United fan so obviously there was some friendly banter which infact continued even on the program.

We then had lunch in a small cabin and the conversations on sports continued. I learnt that quite a few of the folks at Neo have been state level players themselves in tennis, badminton etc. and was also really happy to see that they followed and were very knowledgeable in a lot of sports apart from cricket.

We then proceeded to the set again where there was to be a dry run on how things were to go in the program. It was here that I realized as to what goes into making a TV program and was probably the most exciting part of the day. For someone who watches a good amount of TV it was fascinating to see what goes on behind the scenes. The crew at Neo Cricket who were making the program struck me as highly creative, talented and focused.
You got the feeling that every second was valuable and the team was doing it’s best to be completely prepared. The team on the whole is very young and seemed very dynamic and vibrant. The word that best described them was ‘all business, no nonsense’.
The hosts RK and Archana looked so confident and cool it front of camera,it was as easy as breathing for them.
I’ve never seen any other TV crew before but having worked for 8 years in the service industry I think I can see sense when a team is enthusiastic and really believes in what it is doing. I think that was there for all to see.

Once we were done with the rehearsals the crew had arranged a few snacks and tea for us. While we were having our tea the person directing the show (I think his name was Rajvinder and his team) came to check if everything was okay and gave us a pep talk. There were a few glitches with the wardrobe but again Aayush was there to help us out.

It was nearly time for the shoot and the five of us could not bear the tension any more so we went back to the set and sat amongst the audience. We saw that there were people like Ayaz Memon, Marvin Attapatu , Akaash Chopra etc. in the audience and the butterflies in the tummy began to flutter a little bit more frantically.

Once the show started all the anxiety and nervousness went out of the window and the whole experience became highly enjoyable. The judges (Mr.Javagal Srinath and Mr.Prakash Bagri) were highly supportive and appreciative of our ideas.
Luckily, all 5 of us were able to explain our ideas quite well.

The show was executed really well (as I said I am a complete novice in TV production etc. but as an outsider you got the feeling that things went well).

Post the show it was really nice to see that fellow contestants as well folks from Neo (like Ayush and Aditya) were very supportive of the guys who did not win.
I think all 5 ideas were brilliant in their own right.

The evening ended with a wonderful party that Neo had organized for all the people involved with the show.Unfortunatley I couldn’t stay long as I had to be at work by 10 AM in Pune. :( .But since I had already had so much fun the whole day it really did not matter.

A special mention to Aayush who really helped bring my ideas to the fore during the shooting in Pune and for also guiding and helping us out during the shooting that day.

I do feel that the show should be continued and as I said in the post show interview “the next big invention in sports is definitely coming from India” and a program like this would help in the search for this invention.

More on the bond that Man United are set to issue

2010-01-10T13:41:00.005+05:30

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/mattslater/2010/01/fergies_bond_is_a_bind_for_eve.html

I really liked the following lines

"The truth of it is that there are very few "business models" in British football (Arsenal's springs to mind as an honourable exception). Proper businesses are not based on endless supplies of free money, whether that money comes from old-fashioned banks, clever-clever hedge funds, Arab sheikhs or Russian oligarchs. There is no such thing as free money. It always runs out or gets bored and goes home in the end.

Why Manchester United cannot spend anymore

2010-01-08T15:39:00.002+05:30

a really detailed analysis on how the loan noose is tightening around the red devils

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2010/01/can_man_utd_spend.html

Mediator fails to resolve Mayweather-Pacquiao dispute

2010-01-08T14:24:00.001+05:30

What a bout this would have been :(

Manny Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum says the proposed 'super-fight' with Floyd Mayweather Jr is off after talks failed to resolve the fighters' differences.

Pacquiao pulled out of the lucrative contest, which was scheduled for 13 March, after Mayweather demanded random drugs tests ahead of the bout.

The 'super-fight' was likely to have been the richest in boxing history.

With potential purses of up to £25m per fighter acting as a strong incentive, former judge Daniel Weinstein, who had helped resolve previous spats between the pair, was brought in as a mediator.

The duo had previously agreed all points of the contract apart from the drug testing and were said to be close to a deal after the mediation, but subsequent discussions on Wednesday led Pacquiao's promoters Top Rank to declare the fight was cancelled

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/boxing/8440821.stm

Intel Sports Inventor Update

2010-01-07T17:13:00.003+05:30

Man, i reached back in the early hours of today morning (5 AM) from Mumbai after the shoot and was in office by 10:30 AM

Absolutley drowsy and tried...am seing 2 screens...2 key boards and 4 hands ..the world is double at the moment...it's like being drunk

anywyas...i managed to make it to the top 3 and won an intel laptop plus a grand prize from intel( still not so sure what it is though)

i'll write a detailed post of my experience once i have had some sleep

clocks move so slowly when you want them to just just whizz by ...

whiz......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

City post second-biggest ever EPL loss

2010-01-07T17:10:00.001+05:30

English Premier League football club Manchester City posted a £92.6 million loss in the year to 31 May 2009.

The figure is second only to Chelsea’s £132.8 million loss posted in 2005

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171335/city-post-second-biggest-ever-epl-loss?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=jan07

The Intel Sports Inventor Competition gets better...

2010-01-01T19:14:00.004+05:30

Well, after i saw myself on TV for the first time and have managed to get an intel laptop i today got news that my entry has been shortlisted to the final of the competition.

I am quite looking forward to this because i need to present my idea to a TV audience and a judges panel that includes Javagal Srinath and the Intel India Head.

For that i need to make a presentation and stuff over this weekend...(good to be busy with such things)

It's going to be sometime next week..should be fun

Arsenal investor Usmanov asks Kroenke to reveal plans

2009-12-28T14:10:00.001+05:30

A spokesman for Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has called on fellow Arsenal shareholder Stan Kroenke to reveal his intentions for the club.

On Monday, US billionaire Mr Kroenke raised his stake to almost 30% - the point at which he would be forced to make an offer for the whole club.

A spokesman for Mr Usmanov's Red and White Holdings said Mr Kroenke should say if he intends to launch a takeover.

"Mr Kroenke has never taken the opportunity to reassure the fans and it would be good for the club's stability if he were to do so," the spokesman told the BBC.

Mr Kroenke bought 25 more shares in Arsenal this week for £212,500, or £8,500 a share, and is within 17 shares of the threshold that would force a takeover bid.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8427031.stm

I AM GONNA BE ON NEO CRICKET!!!

2009-12-20T14:06:00.005+05:30

unbelievable !!! just on Friday i posted that i have not won any thing in the intel inventor competition and on Saturday i got a call from NEO CRICKET saying my entry has been shortlisted.Furthermore,today a camera crew had come down to my place and i had to explain all my ideas using props and diagrams.It was really a great experience.This is going to be aired be on NEO CRICKET this week.

A five minute slot took 2 hours to shoot.Well, that's showbiz for you :)

I'll post in advance as soon as i come to know of the day and slots.

My entry in the intel sports inventor competition

2009-12-18T19:39:00.005+05:30

I had posted earlier that Intel was running a competition where you could suggest some revolutinary changes in a sport of your choice.there was a limit of 400 words.

here's my entry

"In spite of all the big money flowing into football, incorrect referee decisions continue to dog the game. Several crucial matches have been lost due to human error. From Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ to Thierry Henry’s handball on Nov 18 which, knocked Ireland out of the 2010 world cup, the financial impact of these decisions has increased manifold over the years.

<>>

Top Deals of the week

2009-12-18T18:48:00.002+05:30

Ticketmaster has been named an official ticketing supplier of the Football League and has become one of only four companies with 'approved ticketing supplier' status.

Wasserman Media Group will coordinate the sales process for naming rights to Tottenham Hotspur's proposed new stadium.

Advisers Media International and the Premier League have agreed a deal giving AMI exclusive broadcast and new media rights in 15 regions across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

BNP Paribas will continue its long-running sponsorship of RSC Anderlecht for the next four years after reaching a $23 million deal.

The Premier League has increased its broadcast revenue in Eastern Europe after the lucrative sale of rights for the next three seasons in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania.

http://www.leadersinfootball.com/business/647/

OFFF TOPPPPPIC :It's vacation TIMMMME

2009-12-18T18:44:00.002+05:30

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE weeee uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

woooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhh

am off work from today all the way to 4th Jan..

hurrrrraaaaay

The champs league Draws are out

2009-12-18T18:22:00.004+05:30

Inter Milan v CHELSEA
Lyon v Real Madrid
AC Milan v MANCHESTER UNITED
Olympiakos v Bordeaux
FC Porto v ARSENAL (woo hoo get in there ,son)
CSKA Moscow v Sevilla
Stuttgart v Barcelona
Bayern Munich v Fiorentina

All 3 english clubs play the return league at home...my final 8 are

CHELSEA
REAL MADRID
AC MILAN ...yes i have a feeling they will upset the apple cart
Olympiakos
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARSENAL FC
Sevilla
Barca
Bayren Munich

In terms of EUROPA this is what the draws have thrown up....

EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 32 DRAW
Rubin Kazan v Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Athletic Bilbao v Anderlecht
FC Copenhagen v Marseille
Panathinaikos v Roma
Atletico Madrid v Galatasaray
Ajax v Juventus
Club Brugge v Valencia
FULHAM v Shakhtar Donetsk
LIVERPOOL v Unirea Urziceni
Hamburg v PSV
Villarreal v VfL Wolfsburg
Standard Liege v SV Red Bull Salzburg
FC Twente v Werder Bremen
Lille v Fenerbahce
EVERTON v Sporting
Hertha Berlin v Benfica

Tiger Woods: The financial impact

2009-12-17T17:48:00.002+05:30

As expected figures have now started coming in on the Tiger drama.

News service Bloomberg has put a figure of $220m on the potential cost for the PGA Tour and Nike of the Tiger Woods scandal.

Bloomberg bases the figure on two estimates which say that, because of Woods' indiscretions and disappearance from the PGA Tour, television advertising for the PGA Tour may drop by 40 per cent and Nike stands to lose $30 million in sales.

The television advertising figure was estimated by Aaron Cohen, chief media negotiating officer at New York agency HOrizon Media. The Nike loss was estimated by Claire Gallacher, analyst at San Diego-based Capstone Investments Inc.

Test Cricket to get a face lift

2009-12-17T17:45:00.002+05:30

About time it happened...I have stated earlier too that test cricket is definetley the real deal

International Cricket Council (ICC) has said it expects day-night test cricket within two years and described a world test cricket championship as a "work in progress".

Reuters reports that ICC president David Morgan said yesterday: "I'd be be "surprised" if we don't see day-night test cricket within the next two years - surprised and disappointed."

The test cricket world championship is a bit further away from seeing the light of day. "The test championship is best described as a work in progress," ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said yesterday.

"We are aspiring to create some sort of test championships model and a working group was set up at the last chief executives' meeting on December 1 in Dubai. They will put together concepts for a test championship and we hope to consider a proposal at our next meeting in February."

Lorgat also said the ICC was aiming to reduce the amount of top level cricket matches played from next year.

Real Madrid is now a "brand"...

2009-12-16T20:08:00.002+05:30

....and they join Liverpool and Chelsea

Real Madrid has been declared a 'Superbrand' by the independent branding arbiter Superbrands at a gala award ceremony in Madrid.

Real Madrid received the status at the Superbrands Spain event, alongside other top brands Google, Heineken, L’Oréal Paris, Bimbo, Samsung and Campofrío.

Other European football clubs to have received Superbrand awards in their own countries include Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Liverpool, Juventus and Benfica

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171206/superbrand-status-awarded-to-real-madrid?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dec16

Off Topic : out of action

2009-12-16T14:59:00.002+05:30

yes i have been out of action cause there is so much ()#$*(%&*#%()&*()&#%(*%& work
anyways...2 weeks of leave starting this weekend....and i will be updating the blog regularly through the course of my holidays

wooo hooo

~ Zaphod Beeblebrox

off topic : here's an alternate look at the tiger woods debacle

2009-12-10T12:21:00.002+05:30

was expecting something funny from good ol' chris on this and he was bang on target

http://thefinanser.co.uk/fsclub/2009/12/tiger-woods-and-accenture.html

La Liga puts strike plan on hold

2009-12-07T16:02:00.000+05:30

Spain’s La Liga is to intensify discussions with the government over plans to scrap tax breaks for high-earning players

Spain’s top flight football league has threatened to suspend matches following a government decision to abolish a law that allows international professionals who earn more than €600,000 ($905,000) to pay only 24 per cent tax instead of the 43 per cent charged to local citizens.

La Liga’s general assembly said recent conversations with the government indicated a compromise can be reached

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171132/la-liga-puts-strike-plan-on-hold?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dec7

Adidas hoping World Cup marketing will rally global sales

2009-12-07T14:32:00.001+05:30

German sports apparel producer Adidas is hoping its sponsorship at the 2010 football World Cup and new products associated with the tournament will help slow sales in 2009 pick up next year.

In its latest financial statement, the Adidas Group reported Q32009 sales of $3.2 billion, down 7 per cent year-on-year. Operating profit fell 29 per cent.

The 2006 World Cup in Germany gave Adidas a huge sales surge, selling over 15 million balls around the time of the tournament. The company, which has produced the match ball for every World Cup since 1970, says pre-sales of the 2010 ball have already exceeded that volume.

Rival apparel brands Adidas, Nike and Puma compete fiercely with their respective sponsorship of the teams and players involved in the tournament. In 2008 Nike paid a reported $64 million a year to acquire the sponsorship of the French national team from 2011 to 2018, four times what Adidas was paying for the same sponsorship on a previous contract.

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171130/adidas-hoping-world-cup-marketing-will-rally-global-sales?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dec7

Sliverstone to host the British Grand Prix 2010

2009-12-07T14:30:00.000+05:30

Officials from Silverstone are holding a press conference today expected to announce that a deal has been struck with Formula One's commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone for the racing circuit to host next year's British grand prix.

According to UK newspaper reports an agreement was reached on Friday for Silverstone to host the British grand prix for a number of years from 2010.

Silverstone has been the front-runner to stage the race after Ecclestone ruled out Donington Park’s chances of hosting the race in October. The company re-developing Donington failed to show it had the £135 million funding required.

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171131/silverstone-announces-british-grand-prix-future-today?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dec7

The Bayren Munich business model

2009-12-04T18:50:00.002+05:30

While every other club in the premier league is rumoured to be taken over these days (or has already been taken over) , while real madrid screwed up the basic economics of trading and recruiting players, while the italian league is running to an empty house, the efficient German machine has been chugging along in it's typical no nonsense quite style.Last year the German FA boasted of the highest profit percentages and the maximum stadium attendance for the Bundesliga.

This week Bayren Munich announced their annual accounts for 2008 and have posted a 17th year of profits.A further testimony to the fact that the German FA is one the most forward thinking and pro-fan football association ever.

Some more facts that shows how Bayren Munich and the German FA are miles above any competition

http://www.leadersinfootball.com/column/61/

- Football is clearly recognised, in law and in action, as a national legacy; to be nourished and cherished as a loved child of the folk-family. Its cultural value is set too high to allow the outright predations of international capital to buy and sell 'ownership' of social institutions as precious as football clubs, as if they were trading baked bean factories.

This doesn't prevent significant investment in the clubs by commercial companies - but they can never own it. The Bayern Munich 'members' association is over 150,000 strong and, collectively, they own just over 80% of their club, with adidas and new investor, Audi, holding just under 10% each. Bayern were the fourth richest club in the world in 2008, generating revenues of $295m. The members group (FC Bayern München e.V.) even delivered a profit itself - nearly $1m - independently of their Club. What a thrill it must be for those member/fans to take their seats in the magnificent Allianz stadium and watch their team run out, thinking, 'this belongs to all of us..... forever'.

So what's this world cup worth ?

2009-12-04T15:41:00.003+05:30

EDIT: my 50th post....woo hoo

Football’s 2010 World Cup will see a total of $420 million in prize money handed out, a 61-per-cent increase on the last tournament in 2006.

FIFA announced the prize money after its Executive Committee meeting on Thursday on South Africa’s Robben Island, the site of the jail where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.

Bloomberg reports that the
- 2010 World Cup winner will get $30 million
- The runner-up will get $24 million,
- and all teams participating will get $1 million.

EDIT : And probably the most interesting fact.
Clubs who contribute players to teams competing in the World Cup will get $1600 per day, per player. This payment was agreed with clubs, who have promised not to pursue any claims or compensation through civil courts, but only through FIFA, or the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

At the executive meeting, FIFA also decided to keep the existing Olympics football tournament rules for the 2012 London Olympics, allowing teams to use players under 23 years old, plus three over-age players.

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171117/world-cup-prize-money-420m?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dec4

Pot Luck : The world cup draws

2009-12-03T18:11:00.000+05:30

I am sure this is all over the net but here it is on my blog

Pots for Friday's draw: eight groups of four countries to be drawn, each group containing one country from each pot.

Pot 1 (seeds): South Africa, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England

Pot 2 (Asia, Oceania and North/Central America): Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, United States, Mexico, Honduras

Pot 3 (Africa and South America): Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria, Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay

Pot 4 (Europe): France, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, Greece, Serbia, Denmark, Slovakia

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/8390084.stm

Usain Bolt to rock Delhi....EDITED

2009-12-03T18:00:00.000+05:30

Usain Bolt will be the star attraction at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, according to Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi.

Speaking at a Sports Breakfast held alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Port of Spain, Tobago, Kalmadi confirmed Bolt would take part in the October 3 to 14 event, the Times of India reports.

The announcement is a shot in the arm for the event, which has been plagued by venue construction delays and organisational problems. Kalmadi said that the preparations were on track and venues would begin to be completed by May.

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171076/bolt-boost-for-2010-commonwealth-games?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nov30

****************

Edit: As per the times of india today, Mt Kalmadi has denied any such confirmations.He alleges that his words were misinterpreted by the press.He has only spoken to Bolt's agent and had invited Bolt over.

Dubai ruler continues spending on racehorses (1.95 million dollars to be precise !!!)

2009-12-03T15:08:00.000+05:30

Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum has not let the credit crisis gripping Dubai curb his spending on racehorses, after he spent $1.95 million on eight foals at the Tattersalls sales in Newmarket, England

Bloomberg reports that the Sheikh’s main bloodstock adviser and buyer John Ferguson said: “The horse side of the business is the private enjoyment of Sheikh Mohammed, so therefore has nothing whatever to do with the government, or government funds and the restructuring.”

Ferguson said that the Sheikh Mohammed’s spending at this year’s December sale in Newmarket was around the same as last year. According to a recent report in UK newspaper The Times, the Sheikh is the biggest racehorse owner and breeder in the sport’s history, with about 700 race horses in training.

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171107/dubai-ruler-continues-spending-on-racehorses?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dec3

Edit:You've got to admit the guys got guts to pull a stunt like this

Indian football seeks IPL-style revolution

2009-12-02T19:56:00.000+05:30

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is considering inviting rich franchisees from the worlds of business and entertainment to buy its clubs in order to kickstart the growth of football in the cricket-mad country.

However, given the staggering amount of money such a project will involve, the AIFF is also keeping a third option open - which would see the existing I-League structure getting a brand-specific facelift, whereby the country's premier club tournament could be managed by a separate entity other than the AIFF, as per the AFC's Pro-League guidelines.

We had preliminary discussions with a few leading businessmen in the country and the project seems to have appealed to them,” said AIFF President Praful Patel. “Talks are also on for a media deal with a television company interested in broadcasting the event. But we don't want to jump the gun and are keeping several options open.”

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171101/indian-football-seeks-ipl-style-revolution?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dec2

Watford chairman Jimmy Russo loans £1m to stay afloat

2009-12-02T12:06:00.000+05:30

Watford chairman Jimmy Russo has loaned the club's parent company £1m for the club to survive the next month.

Russo paid the loan to Watford Leisure PLC on Friday but a statement to the Stock Exchange revealed they need £5.5m more to continue until the end of June.

The current loan will only be enough to cover the holding company's cash needs until 22 December.

The Hornets could need to sell players in January, with England under-21 keeper Scott Loach likely to leave.

If more funding is not available to the club, the board is expected to seek a suspension of trading in Watford Leisure's shares on the Alternative Investment Market.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/w/watford/8387626.stm

Man City biggest contributor to £70m EPL agents' bill

2009-12-01T17:03:00.000+05:30

Manchester City paid nearly £13 million to agents in year to end-September 2009, the most out of the English Premier League clubs.

Man City topped the list of clubs, which was published by the Premier League yesterday, with £12,874,283. Next was Chelsea, with £9,562,223, followed by Liverpool (£6,657,305), Tottenham Hotspur (£6,066,935), and West Ham United (£5,527,548). Champions Manchester United were well down the list on £1,517,393.

UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph said the payments represented just over 10 per cent of the clubs' total spending on player purchases in the January and Summer 2009 transfer windows. The clubs spent £682.3 million in those windows.
The payments covered fees paid to agents by clubs on behalf of themselves, and on behalf of players, when acquiring players and renegotiating contracts with players; fees relating to previous transactions that were amortised over the length of a player’s contract; and fees to facilitate the outward transfer of players.

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171086/man-city-biggest-contributor-to-70m-epl-agents-bill?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dec1

Editor : Not surprising that my beloved Arsenal has not even been mentioned here considering the stingy Mr.Wenger :)

2010. Is South Africa ready ?

2009-12-01T16:55:00.000+05:30

The chief executive of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Dr Danny Jordaan, has a lot on his plate at the moment.

So how is he feeling?

"I am feeling the tension," he says.

"But it is an extremely exciting time ahead of the World Cup draw - I am always on the go."

Preparations on track?

"We are happy with the state of World Cup preparations," he says, seated amongst the flowing plants of the plush lobby.

"Most of the construction of stadiums is now complete, and work on the perimeter of stadiums is now being carried out.

"We feel comfortable that everything at stadiums will be ready early next year, in fact we are now testing stadium capabilities, for example there was a game in Durban at the weekend."

When Fifa carried out its assessment report of progress following the Confederations Cup this summer it gave South Africa an overall rating of 7.5 out of 10.

"We are expecting roughly 450,000 supporters from around the world to come to South Africa next year, and we know they need a bed to sleep in and transport to and from venues," he says.

"The World Cup draw on Friday will help us to fine-tune our accommodation and transportation.

"Once the fixtures are revealed we will know what is required in each venue city. For example the demand to see North Korea play New Zealand will be less than for an England game."

However, he says that the organising committee has already decided it needs 1,000 more buses and 200 more aircraft.

Budget review

The organising committee had previously estimated a budget of 3.2bn rand (£263m, $431m) to run the World Cup, but he now admits they are "probably 10% over what we envisaged as our budget".

"We have been impacted by the global economic circumstances like everyone," he points out.

"We have to look at the budget further and carry out a final review, and are now engaged in that, but it does seem that there will be some budget over-runs."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8387006.stm

BMW sells Sauber back to founder

2009-11-27T18:13:00.000+05:30

German car manufacturer BMW has provisionally agreed to sell its BMW Sauber Formula 1 team back to team founder Peter Sauber.

The move comes after BMW cancelled plans to sell to Qadbank Investments

Sauber, who retained a 20% stake in the team when he sold it to BMW in 2005, will take complete control if they are allowed to race next season.

The sport's governing body, the FIA, is yet to confirm the team as the 13th entry for next season - the official entry list will be published on Monday, 30 November - but it is likely that Sauber's entry will be accepted given its history and reputation in the sport

BMW announced in July that they were pulling out of F1 and agreed a deal to sell the team to Swiss-based Qadbank in September.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8382659.stm

Qadbank, through their Munto Finance Company, has also bought England's oldest professional football club Notts County.

Dubai : The recession gets uglier

2009-11-27T17:50:00.000+05:30

From my fav blogger, Chris Skinner

***

People have talked about an L-shaped, U-shaped, V-shaped or even LUV-shaped recessions, but don’t believe them.

This is not a LUVerly recession, it’s a nasty one as demonstrated yesterday by the news that Dubai is deeply in distress.

The UAE's news will make this the internet, or WWW-recession

For the past three months Dubai's leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has always said there are no issues. He has adamantly claimed that he has made no mistakes and any rumours of issues between Dubai and Abu Dhabi are unfounded and the scaremongers should just "shut up".

So yesterday ends with everyone disappearing for the religious holiday of Eid al-Adha for a week in the Region - it finishes on December 1st - what does the Sheikh do?

Oh, he just says that the $80 billion worth of debt may be in doubt (btw, it’s probably twice that amount as that’s just hte official numbers) and could they postpone their mortgage payments on DP World and Nakheel, the two largest firms in Dubai.

DP World owns P&O (controversial buyout in March 2006) whilst Nakheel are the developers of the Palm Resort where David Beckman and other stars own properties.

Read on

http://thefinanser.co.uk/fsclub/2009/11/this-is-the-internet-or-wwwrecession.html

Top deals of the week

2009-11-27T16:43:00.000+05:30

Adidas will continue to supply kit for Belgian club Anderlecht after renewing their long-running deal for another two years.

Ligue 1 club Auxerre has finalized a two-year shirt sponsorship agreement with French desserts producer Senoble.

Arsenal has extended its agreement with performance analysis company Prozone for another season, its tenth.

Beximco, a Bangladeshi industrial group, has pledged its support for the South Asian Football Federation Championship, which will include international sides from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bhutan and hosts Bangladesh.

courtesy of : http://www.leadersinfootball.com/business/627/

Off Topic : Really, Really off topic

2009-11-27T15:26:00.000+05:30

Right, i've just had one of those "instant insanity" attacks i am famous in my mind for

This one deals with languages ..... i also blame the fact that for the past one month all i've been reading and listening to is the hitchiker's guide to the galaxyva

First i had this absolute crazy spell of Punjabi a couple of years back...both me and a friend could not speak Punjabi but we just used to add nonsensical words...it became a disease ...he has now moved onto another company(thank god) but whenever we meet up we always talk funny...

for example " I want to put my shirt in the washing machine" became " oh mainu wich sada naal shirt washing da machine main dalenda"

or "i think my manager is gonna really get pissed off with this bug i have created"
became " sadda naal manager mundya vich bahut marenda...munyda ne ganda bug intoroduce kiyenda"

Unfortunatley for my wife she is Punjabi....so sometimes when i want to irritate her i talk like this. Crazy i know....but i am not sorry...i blame the world we live in.

Now recently on one of TV programs i heard a bhojpuri version of jack and jill.....then the football group i am part of flipped on this and everything started ending in "va".

so anything i writva now for no reasonva or rhymeva seems to end in va.There is also some patternva in the way the va is added at the end of each wordva.

i just hope that this is not another long phaseva.i cannot bear to talkva funny anymore.

this again is becoming part of my systemva...i gotta get it out of me ....

hopefully this phaseva will die downva.pray for me

- one loveva

Liverpool's CL knockout : the financial impplications

2009-11-27T15:11:00.001+05:30

So liverpool got knocked out of the CL...what does this mean financially ?

Read on for some nifty stats ....

http://expresssport.blogspot.com/2009/11/liverpools-champs-league-exit-financial_27.html

Audi to buy stake in Bayern Munich

2009-11-27T14:25:00.000+05:30

German car maker Audi is to acquire a 9.09 per cent stake of Bundesliga club Bayern Munich in a three-step process between March 2010 and July 2011

Audi, which has been Bayern’s automotive partner since 2002, will purchase 2.5 million shares at a total price of €90 million ($135.64 million).

Bayern Munich AG is the sole owner of the Allianz Arena and the deal will help the club pay off the stadium, according to the Associated Press.
Sports apparel company adidas owns 10 per cent of Bayern.

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171053/audi-to-buy-stake-in-bayern-munich?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nov27

3 tests going on and...

2009-11-27T13:15:00.000+05:30

.....all 3 seem to be heading for a result.I think it's absolutley brilliant.
Test match cricket is the only type of cricket i really follow.

New Zealand Vs Pakistan, Australia Vs West Indies and India Vs Srilanka all most probably will end with a victory for one team.

Considering as per a recent poll that test cricket interest in India is at a paltry 7% i think eliminating draws is the first step to bringing up the popularity.

Everton stadium plan rejected by government

2009-11-26T18:31:00.000+05:30

Liverpool-based Premier League club Everton's plan to construct a 50,000-seat stadium in Kirkby has been rejected by the UK government because of the "negative impact" of the development on surrounding areas

The proposed £150 million stadium was to be the centrepiece of a huge retail development in Kirkby, a scheme driven by the supermarket company Tesco. However communities secretary John Denham is believed to have decided the impact of the retail park on neighbouring areas - with local authorities in Liverpool, St Helens and Sefton all objecting - outweighed the regeneration benefits for Kirkby.

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171048/everton-stadium-plan-rejected-by-government?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nov26

Off topic : Why is the Real Madrid Vs Barcelona game considered a derby ?

2009-11-25T19:27:00.000+05:30

Madrid and Barcelona are nearly 630 Kms away.Historically, derbies are when two teams from the same city ( or in close proximity) lock horns.So why is the 'el Classico' considered a derby.

A brilliantly written article from the BBC that sets up the big match on Sunday night

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/philminshull/2009/11/why_el_clasico_is_the_biggest_derby_of_them_all.html

We here in India will of course miss what could go onto to be the game of the footballing year since ESPN Star could not get rights to telecast the la liga

Another potential WTF ?

2009-11-25T19:17:00.000+05:30

9th Jun 2008

Alexandre Song has signed a new "long-term contract" with Arsenal.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/7444087.stm

25 November 2009 (today)

Arsenal midfielder Alexandre Song has signed a new long-term contract that will run until 2014.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8378745.stm

Europe's football finances 2007/08 (click on images to see full screen)

2009-11-25T18:26:00.000+05:30

an old article from the BBC but a brilliant read

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8081000.stm

Kroenke almost there with the Arsenal FC takeover

2009-11-25T18:19:00.000+05:30

Arsenal director Stan Kroenke has moved to the brink of the threshold where he would have to make an offer for the entire stockholding of the club.
The US billionaire has bought another 200 shares in Arsenal's holding company, at £8,500 each, taking his shareholding to 29.9%.

Mr Kroenke bought 100 of the shares from Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood.
He is nearing the 29.99% threshold, beyond which he would be forced to make an offer for the remaining shares

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8343943.stm

Indian cricket sponsorship receives “lukewarm response”

2009-11-25T16:20:00.000+05:30

The Indian the Cricket Board may be forced to reduce the base price for its major sponsorship deal after no companies bid before the November 23 deadline, following a tender released last month.

The BCCI’s sponsorship deal with Sahara ends this year. The board's tender, which offered a company the four-year major sponsorship of India’s four national teams, including the flagship men's squad, received no bids before Monday’s deadline.
It is believed the high base price was responsible for the lukewarm response and the Board will re-look at the price.
“The best bet will be to renegotiate with Sahara at the current price or maybe slightly lower, or re-tender at a lower base price. We have not taken a final decision on this,” said a BCCI source.

The BCCI had also announced in the tender notice that the bid forms would cost Rs five lakh ($10,800) each and the amount would be non-refundable.

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171042/indian-cricket-sponsorship-receives-lukewarm-response?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nov25

How refreshing is this ?

2009-11-24T17:41:00.000+05:30

Wigan's players are to personally refund Latics fans who bought tickets at the DW Stadium for the 9-1 hammering at Tottenham on Sunday

"We feel that as a group of players we badly let down our supporters yesterday," said Wigan captain Mario Melchiot via the official club website.
"This is a gesture we have to make and pay them back for their loyalty."

Refunds must be claimed on or before Friday 4th December 2009.
"The players have asked me not to release details of the amount [they will be repaying] but they wanted to make the gesture," Wigan's head of media and publications Ed Jones told BBC Radio 5 live.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/8374893.stm

FIFA to hold extraordinary general meeting

2009-11-24T17:36:00.000+05:30

FIFA, football’s world governing body, has announced an extraordinary general meeting in Cape Town on December 2 to discuss a series of pressing matters.

> Thierry Henry's handball in the World Cup play-off game against Ireland,
> the discovery of a match-fixing ring by German police and
>trouble surrounding the Algeria-Egypt qualifier are all expected to be on the agenda.

The executive committee was already due to meet on December 3 on Robben Island to discuss the draw to be held the following day.

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/171027/fifa-to-hold-extraordinary-general-meeting?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nov24

Come on Sepp...give us some concrete decisions...

off topic : i share my birthday with....

2009-11-24T15:19:00.000+05:30

- Arundhati Roy
- Ian Botham

but very interstingly with Ted Bundy ...the notorious serial killer ...woo hoo

British GP facing final deadline

2009-11-23T18:03:00.000+05:30

Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone says the fate of the British Grand Prix will be decided at a meeting on 9 December.

That is when the F1 Commission, which regulates the sport, is due to convene to rubber-stamp the 2010 race calendar.

"At the moment there is no British Grand Prix," Ecclestone told BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek programme.

Donington Park was set to host the British GP but was seemingly ruled out after failing to show it had the necessary £135m funding

But the focus is still on Silverstone, which has yet to agree financial terms and faces a warning from the sport that it must modernise its facilities in order to host the event again.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8371266.stm

For once a politician backs his words...

2009-11-23T17:46:00.000+05:30

Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor has made good on his vow to clean the national football team's boots after a World Cup play-off victory over Russia.
"I just cleaned the players' shoes - but I admit I did not clean them thoroughly," Mr Pahor told TV Slovenia.
Last month, he promised to carry out the task if Slovenia managed to win the play-offs to secure a place at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8368458.stm

FIFA World Cup draws : the basics

2009-11-23T17:35:00.001+05:30

My friend has made some very interesting observations in his blog about the world cup draws

http://expresssport.blogspot.com/2009/11/2010-fifa-world-cup-final-draw-whats-in.html

Well December 4th is the day and it's live on ESPNSTAR here in in India

Le Hand of Th14- Part 4 (images from the BBC)

2009-11-20T18:39:00.000+05:30

Le hand Of TH14 - Part 3

2009-11-20T18:23:00.000+05:30

And here are some reactions from the BBC

"I played with Thierry Henry for six years at Arsenal and I can assure you he was as honest as the day is long.Like Maradona, he knew exactly what he was doing and, for the Thierry I know, that is out of character but people will look at his handball in the build-up to France's extra-time equaliser, which sent them to South Africa with a 2-1 aggregate victory, and say he's cheated.

We've all done it on the pitch - the ball's gone past you, you're out of position, you stick your arm out, concede a free-kick and sometimes a yellow card. So I'm not surprised at all he stuck his arm out in the first place. That is not blatant cheating. But the second part, when he scooped the ball back, is the deliberate bit and that's what will taint his reputation"

- Lee Dixon, ex- Arsenal

"In 15 years of knowing him, he has behaved magnificently. I haven't seen him do anything badly wrong in his whole career so we can allow him one mistake.
It's similar to the situation with Zinedine Zidane - he's been sent off 14 times, some for things a normal person in the street might be in prison for. We always found an excuse for Zidane so why can't we find one for Thierry as well?
If this happened at the other end of the pitch for Robbie Keane, I'm sure he would have done the same. "

- Emannuel Petit, ex-Arsenal

"France were there for the taking and Ireland didn't do it. Same old story."
The Irishman, who made 65 appearances for the Republic as a player, continued: "If I'd been there in the dressing room after the game, I wouldn't be talking about the handball. I'd focus on why the defenders didn't clear it. They should've cleared it.
"I'd be more annoyed with my defenders and my goalkeeper than Thierry Henry. How can you let the ball bounce in your six-yard box? How can you let Thierry Henry get goal-side of you? If the ball goes into the six-yard box, where the hell is my goalkeeper?
"These are skills and lessons you learn as a schoolboy.
"Ireland had their chances in the two games and they never took them. They had chances at Croke Park (in the first leg) and they had chances on Wednesday.

- Roy Keane, Manchester United Legend

General Public Reaction from the BBC

"The clamour to award the Irish a replay will however open up a whole can of worms. Do England get a second chance for Diego's Hand of God? Do Spurs get a replay for Pedro Mendes' 'goal' at Old Trafford? Do the Welsh get another go following Joe Jordan's handball at Anfield in 1977?"

Anon via text: "Earlier in the game, Robbie Keane blatantly used his arm to control the ball. If he'd scored as a result, Ireland would be through. He was caught, Henry wasn't. So Ireland just aren't as good at cheating as the French. Try harder next time."

"The only person(s) who can be held responsible for this travesty is the referee and his linesman. 'If the ref don't blow get on with the show'."

Francois Bayrou, a former candidate for the French presidency: "In an ideal world, the match should be played again. I saw the match and like a lot of people I wasn't very proud, and like everyone else I asked why don't we have a video match official. It works in rugby and it works very well."

Leading French politician, Philippe De Villiers: "Raymond Domenech should express his public regrets and show a gesture of dignity towards Ireland. The moral of this match is that you can cheat as long as you don't get caught. The France team is going to be labelled for years as a team of cheats."

Stephen Fottrell, BBC News with Irish fans in Paris: "Wherever we go, the French are looking at us in an apologetic, embarrassed way. People at the hotel, cabbies, waiters - they are all pleased to be at the World Cup but sorry for how it happened. We've had them coming up, shaking our hands and saying 'We are ashamed'. When you pick up the papers here, it's obvious - the French robbed Ireland."

We knew in the stadium something was wrong. There were no replays inside but there was such a protest from the players, something was up. Shay Given's such a gent, so for him to go mad it was obvious. Following the game, there was a bottleneck waiting to get into the station and the fans were just chanting 'cheat, cheat, cheat'. Everybody still went out and still really enjoyed the night but they were gutted, devastated."

Former France international David Ginola on BBC Radio 5 Live: "I'm very embarrassed by the situation. I don't feel very proud to be French this morning. The Irish played very well and they deserved to go through as much as France, maybe more. I'm very surprised Fifa haven't mentioned anything about it - the whole world saw the handball. This is a pure injustice. Everyone in France, the press and everyone, says there should be a replay."

Le Hand of TH14 - Part Two

2009-11-20T18:14:00.000+05:30

Here is some snippets of news which traces the time line of this controversy

1. The Match Result

The Republic of Ireland suffered cruellest of World Cup exits as France went through with a goal which should have been disallowed for handball.
Thierry Henry clearly handled before playing the ball for William Gallas to score the equaliser which saw France win the play-off 2-1 on aggregate.

The debate will rage on about the goal that took France to the 2010 finals in South Africa and how the officials failed to spot such a blatant handball and will likely reignite the debate about video technology being introduced.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/8367418.stm

2. FAI decides to put in a request for a playoff to FIFA

3. FIFA rejects the plea and Irish hearts are broken

Fifa has refused the Football Association of Ireland's request for a replay of France's World Cup play-off win over the Republic of Ireland.A Fifa statement read: "The result will not be changed and cannot be replayed."
And the French Football Federation (FFF) has no intention of proposing a replay, BBC sport has learned.
With Fifa having rejected the Republic's plea, it was thought Ireland's only hope was if France themselves came forward and backed plans for a replay - but the FFF believes such a notion to be a nonstarter, BBC Sport understands.

Even politician's got into the act

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen called on Fifa, football's world governing body, to order a replay, saying he would raise the issue with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at a Brussels summit.
But France's Prime Minister Francois Fillon responded that the Irish government should not interfere in footballing decisions.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/8368100.stm

Le Hand of TH14

2009-11-20T17:55:00.000+05:30

Once again after so many years it's a hand that's hogging the headlines. Last time it was Maradona against England this time it's Thierry Henry against the Irish.

The background is that TH14 apparantley handled the ball before he passed it onto Gallas who went onto score a goal that effectively blew up Ireland's chances of playing in the world cup 2011.

I saw the goal and i think Ireland had a case.In my book there should have been a replay.Some people wanted Henry banned but would that really do justice to Ireland ?
The game of football has been crying out for technical advancements.Imagine the fact that 2 people( the referee and linesman) have caused 4 years of planning and investment to come to naught.

Intel Sport's inventor competition

2009-11-19T18:01:00.000+05:30

Intel is running a competition where by you can propose some futuristic improvments in various sports

The site is http://www.cricketnirvana.com/sportsinventor/submit_idea.aspx

i submitted my entry today.....i seriously hope i win a laptop\

in either case i will post my entry once the results are made official

Dudu signs a new deal with Arsenal FC

2009-11-19T12:55:00.000+05:30

Arsenal striker Eduardo has signed a new long-term contract at the club.

"I am very pleased to have signed a new long contract with the club," he said.

"I'm very happy and I hope to stay at Arsenal for as long as I can. This period is good for me now. I feel strong in my body and I feel ready to play 90 minutes every three days if it's needed."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/8367304.stm

WTF for today

2009-11-13T13:29:00.001+05:30

Derby County midfielder Robbie Savage suffered embarrassment after turning up at an airport where his side were due to fly to Amsterdam for a friendly with his wife's passport

WTF moment of the season

2009-11-10T14:54:00.001+05:30

During the Chelsea - Man U game there was a dude in the stands who was brushing his teeth !!!
I mean it might have been 5 PM and just behind Carlo Ancelloti this guy in a leather jacket and shades is brushing his teeth at Stamford Bridge !!!!

WTF !!!!

Spanish League faces strike fears

2009-11-06T16:08:00.000+05:30

Players in Spain's La Liga could take strike action over a planned tax hike for its top-earning foreign stars.
The government wants to raise the rate for overseas players earning more than 600,000 euros from 24% to 43% in 2010

The Liga de Futbol Professional (LFP) argues the increase will stop leading players from coming to La Liga. But the government argues that it is promoting "tax equality" in a recession which has seen unemployment levels in Spain approaching 20%.

Its proposal would amend the so-called "Beckham Law", named after the England midfielder and former Real Madrid player. The law was approved in 2002 to make hiring foreign high-earners in all fields easier, and to make Spain more attractive to the specially qualified or skilled.

The new measure, to be implemented on 1 January, will not affect foreign players already in Spain such as Real's Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka or Barcelona's Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8345593.stm

Primer on football club take overs

2009-11-06T14:50:00.000+05:30

From the BBC

-Once someone reaches a 30% shareholding in a company they are deemed by the Takeover Panel to have "effective control" of the firm and must then make an offer for the remaining shares

- The price offered cannot be lower than the highest price the offerer has paid for shares in the firm in the previous 12 months

- If, after the offer has been made, the offerer has more than 50% of the shares they are deemed to have been successful in their takeover and legally in control
If an offer is unsuccessful and the 50% shareholding level is not breached then the offerer cannot come back with another takeover attempt for 12 months, unless invited to do so by the company

Football club debt targeted by new UEFA rules

2009-11-04T20:07:00.000+05:30

Michel Platini, president of UEFA, has said European football’s governing body will next week begin creating new rules to regulate clubs’ finances.

Full article : http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/170861/football-club-debt-targeted-by-new-uefa-rules?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nov04

Stan Kronke to rule Arsenal FC ?

2009-11-04T19:59:00.000+05:30

US businessman and sports team owner Stan Kroenke has increased his stake in English Premier League club Arsenal to 29.6 per cent, just 0.4 per cent short of that required to force an obligatory takeover bid for the club

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/170858/kroenke-ups-arsenal-stake?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nov04

As a die hard supporter of the club i think Kronke is a better person to takeover the gunners than his immediatte competitor Usmanov. Unlike the American investors in a few other EPL clubs i find Kronke quite genuine.I read a couple of his interviews and you get the feeling that he is indeed trying to pave a way for the club where by he is able to balance the finance and the trophies. I think he is also got a very good working relationship with Arsene Wenger.

So all in all...good news if you support the red and white

Edit: The following statement was released by Plus Markets this morning:

On 4th November 2009, Arsenal Holdings plc (the "Company") received notification that on 4th November 2009 KSE, UK, Inc ("KSE"), a company controlled by Stan Kroenke, a Director of the Company, acquired 200 ordinary shares of £1.00 each in the Company ("Shares"), at a price of £8,500 per Share.
Following the acquisition, Stan Kroenke has a beneficial interest in, and controls voting rights over, 18,594 Shares, representing 29.9% of the issued Shares. 100 of the Shares acquired by KSE were sold by Peter Hill-Wood, the Chairman of the Company.Following the sale, Peter Hill-Wood has a beneficial interest in, and controls voting rights over, 400 Shares, representing 0.6% of the issued Shares.

My old man's view on the India- Aussie series

2009-11-04T19:47:00.000+05:30

My dad is an ardent fan of cricket.There are very few people i have met in my life with his indepth knowledge of the game.Today he asked me to post this on my blog so here goes.

"This is about the ongoing 7 match one day series between india and Australia.First of all why play 7 matches.Australian coach Tim Neilsen and skipper Ponting become wiser after 4 games have been played by stating that it is all for TV & media rights.If they feel so strongly now why did they not give their opinion to Cricket Australia before this tour was finalized and put their foot down.But they won't as if they had Neilsen would not have got his booty and Ponting's place in the KKR team for the IPL 2010 edition would be in doldrums.Even a die hard cricket fan like me finds this series as too long,boring and possibly going the India way 4-3.It is 2-2 now.On 5th Novemeber it will become 3-2 in favour of one team.in the 6th game it might become 3-3.And in the final game in Mumbai India will in all probability will win a "cliffhanger" to "clinch" the series 4-3 and the cricket mad Indian public will burst crackers till beyond midnight and disturb the peace of old and sick people and the poor dogs"

The most influential person in the global sports sector in 2009

2009-11-03T20:01:00.000+05:30

My favourite website ran a survey to identify who was the most influential person in sports for 2009

you can view the results at
http://www.sportbusiness.com/poll/vote-now-for-sports-most-influential-2009?utm_source=sbisbi&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=09JMIP/01a

Though i think just 500 people or so voted ,the list makes a good reading.

Spurs submit Application for new stadium

2009-10-27T19:10:00.000+05:30

London-based Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur has submitted planning application for its new stadium in hope to be playing there by 2012.

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/170802/spurs-stadium-plans-move-step-closer?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=oct27

Courtesy: www.sportsbusiness.com

For England and Fabio the road does not end with the world Cup 2010

2009-10-27T17:10:00.000+05:30

At the moment Fabio Cappelo and England supporters might be totally focussed on the upcoming world cup in South Africa in 2010. But a look at the ages of the players in the squad will make you realize that the road won't end in South Africa.

Agbonlahor, Gabriel 23
Barry, Gareth 28
Beckham, David 34
Bridge, Wayne M. 29
Brown, Wesley M. 30
Cahill, Gary J. 23
Carrick, Michael 28
Cole, Ashley 28
Cole, Carlton M. 25
Crouch, Peter J. 28
Ferdinand, Rio G. 30
Foster, Benjamin A. 26
Gerrard, Steven G. 29
Green, Robert P. 29
Hart, C. Joseph J. 22
Heskey, Emile W. 31
James, David B. 39
Johnson, Glen M. 25
Lampard, Frank J. 31
Lennon, Aaron J. 22
Lescott, Joleon P. 27
Milner, James P. 4 23
Robinson, Paul W. 29
Rooney, Wayne M. 23
Terry, John G. 28
Upson, Matthew J. 30
Wright-Phillips, Shaun C. 27

In fact by the 2014 world Cup more than half this squad would have retired ( or else would be too old to play, not everyone can be a Beckham)including the likes of Stevie G, Lamps, Terry who are lynchpins of the current team. Additionally, England would lose poachers like owen , hesky and the experience of rio,upson, robinson,james ( if he plays at 43 it would be a miracle)

Most probably Rooney would be made captain but a study of the current crop of English players in the EPL would make one realize that the 2010 team would leave some big boots to be filled.
So for Fabio and England post the 2010 world cup it's going to be a long and winiding road till 2014. We might start seeing Fabio in attendance at Second division games as well post 2010 !!!.

Real MAdrid V AC Milan...tonight !!!!

2009-10-21T17:11:00.000+05:30

hopefully is a good game....CR9 won't be playing today cause he is injured.

For people in India, Champ's league is the only time when we get to see the la liga clubs

Unfortunatley for us ESPN-STAR did not win the TV rights to telecast the la liga games..

Most probably i think the Spanish clubs have jacked up the telecast rights which ESS could not afford.

A huge market for sports business in India ? Here's proof

2009-10-13T15:19:00.000+05:30

Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell has warned Delhi it faces a major challenge to be ready to host next year's games.

Last month Fennell criticised the Indian organisers, saying construction delays posed a serious threat to the games

International experts are to be brought in to assist the Indians in areas such as logistics, ticketing and operations.

Courtesy: http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/170698/fennell-india-behind-schedule-for-commonwealth-games?utm_source=sbinsl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=oct13

Begs the question that do we have well qualified people here who understand and have studied subjects like crowd safety, logistics, stadium promotion / construction, what it takes to fill up stadiums etc....Looking at where we are with the CWG does not look to be the case.
Pune, hosted the youth CWG just last year and we were in the same state with 2 months to go.Then there were was a crash and burn type approach used and we just about met the deadlines.Some of the targets that were set were never met. A failure in execution and of course the budget was seriously overrun by the time the games reached here.the same thing has happened in Delhi as well.A successful project is one which meets all the given requirements withing the preset time line and budget.Everything else is a failure.

Sports management like any other subject requires the study of a strong body of work as well as valuable experience and guidance.That statement in bold above clearly shows that there are experts abroad while we don't have any job profiles in the areas mentioned.
Considering our place in cricket and the fact that we are trying to promote sports like hockey,football,volleyball etc. we need to host a lot of 'successful' tournaments.

The CWG in Delhi is definitely not a trend setter....

Edit: As an afterthought. I had recently gone to watch an i-league football match between Pune FC and East Bengal at the balewadi stadium.Just as half time approached there was a heavy shower and because of the way the stadium has been made the rains actually started pouring on the 8000 odd people who were present there.The crowd then started going helter skelter in search of some dry patch ( me included ) . But there were none.Not only did all the people get wet but if the 8000 was 12000 this could have been a serious threat in terms of a stampede.

Off Topic : Election Day tommorow

2009-10-12T19:12:00.000+05:30

It's election day here in Pune tommorow and though we are working i am gonna be going to cast my vote befoew work...pity i know nothing about the canidates.