West Ham’s ‘Mr Nice Guys’ in poll position for Europa League reward
May 8 – ‘Nice guys come last’, so the saying goes, but in UEFA’s world being a good corporate citizen wins your country an additional Europa League place.
World Football
Spanish crisis deepens as La Liga players threaten to strike over TV cash
By Mark Baber
May 8 – The crisis in Spanish football, which threatens to bring football to a halt in the country from May 16, has deepened with the player’s union (AFE) aligning itself with the federation (RFEF), calling for a strike to begin on May 16 – the Spanish league (LFP) has already declared strike action illegal.
MATCH exec Whelan is back in the game, bruised but not battered
By Andrew Warshaw
May 8 – Ray Whelan, the British director who was arrested and detained in Brazil after being wrongly accused of selling VIP World Cup tickets at inflated prices, is back working as a consultant for Match Services, FIFA’s official marketing partner, and is planning to write a book about the entire experience.
Honduras step up for U20 Women’s championship hosting
May 8 – Honduras have stepped up to host the second regional championship in the country in a year, with the CONCACAF Under-20 Women’s Championship 2015 this December. The championship will decide the three teams to qualify for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Papua New Guinea 2016.
Enfield Town head to Wembley HQ to appeal ‘Big Brother’ sanction
May 7 – Enfield Town, the tiny part-time club in the eighth tier of English football whose case against being docked three points for no other reason than being honest has made national headlines, will discover tomorrow whether they will be let off the sanction.
Slovakia’s MFK Kosice unveil €15m stadium project
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
May 7 – MFK Kosice have unveiled its plans to move to a new stadium under a project estimated to be worth €15 million. The Slovak side’s new stadium is expected to be completed in 2017.
Real Madrid, Barca and Man Utd top Forbes rich list at over $2bn each
By Mark Baber
May 7 – Real Madrid tops the annual Forbes list of the world’s most valuable clubs, for the third year in a row, with Barcelona and Manchester United still in second and third place respectively.
Greeks agree UEFA deal to keep teams playing internationally
By Andrew Warshaw
May 7 – The crisis in Greek football that led to a threat by UEFA and FIFA to throw them out appears to have been resolved after the country’s controversial new sports law, designed to crack down on fan violence, was submitted to parliament with the requisite adjustments.
Spanish federation suspends La Liga over government-backed TV sales deal
By Andrew Warshaw
May 7 – Spanish football has burst into outright warfare over plans to introduce the sale of centralized tv rights from 2016. The Spanish football federation has indefinitely suspended competition from May 16 in a dispute with the government over a new law on collective bargaining, effectively halting the final two rounds of La Liga and the rest of domestic football.
Newly promoted Union Saint-Gilloise protests against Belgian league reforms
May 7 – Newly promoted club Union Saint-Gilloise has written an open letter to UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino asking the support of Europe’s football governing body in protest against the structural reform of Belgian domestic football from the 2016/17 season onwards.
Chinese whispers suggest Aston Villa, Malaga and AC Milan will head east
By Paul Nicholson
May 6 – Spain’s Malaga are in talks to sell up to 95% of the club to a consortium of Chinese investors, according to media reports from China. Chinese money has also been linked with takeovers of Aston Villa in the English Premier League and AC Milan in Italy’s Serie A.
Beware the cyber warriors, they are coming to ruin you
By Andrew Warshaw
May 6 – One of the world’s leading sports security experts has warned that cyber attacks are the biggest growing threat to major football tournaments as well as other key sporting events.
English Football League hits prime-time with C5 and ITN Production deals
By Mark Baber
May 6 – The Football League on Tuesday announced the signing of broadcasting agreements with Channel 5 and ITN Productions which will see Football League highlights package being broadcast in the Saturday evening prime time slot, and ITN Productions replacing IMG as the League’s production partner.
UEFA Foundation for Children takes first steps
May 6 – With corporate social responsibility playing an increasingly powerful role in football to highlight humanitarian issues, UEFA has set up a new body designed to use the sport as a tool for social change.
STATS swoops to add Prozone to its growing global power play
By Paul Nicholson
May 6 – US sports data specialists STATS LLC has continued on the acquisition trail with the addition of UK-based Prozone, specialists in game and player performance tracking. Last September STATS acquired Bloomberg Sports. The enhanced capabilities of the group will lead to new product, and potentially real time stats for football clubs, ‘moneyball’ style.