World Football Archives - Page 654 of 846 - Inside World Football

Birmingham City’s Yeung found guilty of laundering $93m

carson yeung

By Andrew Warshaw
March 3 – After months trying to clear his name, Carson Yeung, the Hong Kong businessman who bought English club Birmingham City, faces a lengthy jail term after being found guilty of five counts of money laundering by a court in Hong Kong. Last month Yeung resigned as a director of both the club and its parent company Birmingham International Holdings Ltd (BIHL) as he awaited the verdict of a trial that had lasted 50 days having already lost two appeals to get it thrown out.

Archive

UEFA ready for war as early FFP figures indicate club battles to come

uefa flag

By Andrew Warshaw in Geneva
March 1 – Almost a third of the teams that entered UEFA’s two club competitions this season are in danger of breaking financial fair play regulations. UEFA administrators and legal experts revealed today that 76 clubs out of the 237 who started in the Champions League and Europa League were being probed for potentially failing strict break-even rules.

Africa

Ghana bank rolls out $10m sponsorship, but one player will certainly miss out

Ghana sponsorship

February 28 – The Ghana Premier League, which has signed Ghana’s First Capital Plus Bank as its headline sponsor, is rolling out a number of marketing initiatives to support the partnership. The bank will pay $10 million in five year deal, easily a record sponsorship for the league.

Archive

UAE and Czechs renew development co-operation

Yousuf al Serkal

February 28 – The UAE Football Association (UAEFA) and the Czech Republic (FACR) have renewed a signed a Memorandum of Understanding committing the two federations to co-operate and share expertise across a range of football related areas from administration to development and facilities.

Archive

Football as art: LA exhibition showcases the game’s creative side

andy-warhol-athlete-pele1

February 28 – The Beautiful Game is an increasingly overused expression; of course it is beautiful. It has a depth of beauty and meaning to football fans and players that is rarely communicated in words. But can this depth be expressed in art? The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) thinks it can.

Archive

FIFPro turns up pressure to end ‘obscene’ transfer fees and system

Philippe Piat

By Paul Nicholson
February 28 – World players union FIFPro has renewed its vehement criticism of the current transfer system following the latest FIFA Transfer Matching System (TMS) data which reported global transfer fees in 2013 of $3.72 billion, an increase of 41% on the previous year.

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UEFA releases Europa League final tickets for international sale

Turin 2014

February 28 – With the UEFA Europa League now entering the last 16 phase of competition, the first round of ticket sales for the final at the Juventus Stadium, Turin, on Wednesday May 14 have opened. Available exclusively on UEFA.com, the sales window will be open until March 25.

Archive

Gamers called to action for CONCACAF Interactive 2014 competition

CONCACAF interactive

February 27 – CONCACAF is building on the success of its interactive Gold Cup last year and has launched the CONCACAF Interactive 2014 (#CI14), calling for fan and gamers across the region to compete for the title of CONCACAF Interactive Champion, as well as an all-expenses-paid trip for two to be guests at the FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) Grand Final 2014 this summer in Rio de Janeiro.

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ICSS warns of phoney fake agents passing off as club officials

By Andrew Warshaw
February 27 – Phoney football agents are defrauding young players by demanding huge sums of money for fake trials and contracts at a raft of top clubs, including several in the English Premier League, according to an investigation undertaken by the Qatar-based International Centre for Sport Security.

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Poland’s Gornik Zabrze signs beer brand Lomza as new main sponsor

Gronik Zabrze

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
February 26 – Gornik Zabrze has signed a sponsorship contract with Browar Lomza, owner of the Lomza beer brand. The company is the new main sponsor of the Polish football club, Gornik said in a statement.

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Leeds takeover stalled as Cellino waits for Football League approval

Leeds United

February 26 – The takeover of Leeds United by controversial Italian agricultural entrepreneur Massimo Cellino has still not been approved by the relevant authorities, it has emerged. The Football League has said it “remains in discussions” with the club even though the 57-year-old Italian businessman exchanged contracts with current owners GFH to buy a 75% stake in the Championship club earlier this month.

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Dortmund bans fan after Nazi outburst during minutes silence

Dortmund fans

February 26 – Borussia Dortmund, last season’s beaten Champions League finalists, have banned a supporter from their stadium until 2020 for shouting “Sieg Heil” during a minute’s silence before last weekend’s game at Hamburg SV.

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Ukraine to shift US friendly to Cypriot venue

Ukraine fans and flags

By Andrew Warshaw
February 26 – The political crisis in Ukraine has forced the country’s March 5 friendly against the United States, scheduled to take place in Kharkiv, to be moved to Cyprus due to the unstable and often violent situation.

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Athletico join Barca and Real in race for naming rights cash for new stadium

Athletico Madrid new stadium plan

By Matt Scott
February 26 – Spain’s three leading clubs are exploring major naming-rights partnerships to support their new-stadium construction projects, according to the sponsorship agency Euromericas Sport Marketing.

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Sluggish PUMA gambles on an injection of pace

By Matt Scott
February 26 – Puma, Europe’s second-largest sportswear manufacturer, has suffered a damaging drop in sales amid what its chief executive, Björn Gulden, has described as “a challenging year”.