Inside World Football - Page 1428 of 2251 - For the Business of Football

Villar Llona makes his move: ‘The election is not about a manifesto but about the person!’

By James Dostoyevsky

July 8 – Angel Maria Villar Llona is a lot of things to a lot of people. He is President of the Spanish Football Association, RFEF. He is the Acting UEFA President. He is the Senior Vice President of UEFA. He is a Vice President of FIFA. He is the Chairman of FIFA’s Legal Committee. He is the Chairman of the FIFA Referees’ Committee. He is the Chairman of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup.

Football Marketing

Brand Messi takes revenue hit as EA Sports drops him from FIFA 17 cover

July 11 – Being a convicted tax fraud with a custodial sentence hanging over your head is bad for business, just ask Lionel Messi and his father Jorge. The FIFA, Argentina, and Barcelona golden boy – winner of five Ballon d’Or world player of the year awards – has been dropped from the cover of the upcoming FIFA 17 video game packaging.

Integrity

Spanish court dismisses Neymar case leaving third party owner to lick wounds

July 11 – Within days of the shock custodial sentence handed down to Lionel Messi and his father even though they won’t in all probability actually go to jail, a Spanish court has dismissed a fraud and corruption case against his Barcelona superstar teammate Neymar – and his father too.

Euro Championships

Euro 2016 organisers call for future collaboration to beat hooliganism dangers

July 11 – The head of the Euro 2016 organising committee wants better collaboration at future finals to prevent the kind of hooliganism that marred the early stages of the competition in France.

Football Marketing

Nike puts the predatory boot into adidas’ football dominance

July 11 – In the battle of the appareil brands US firm Nike is claiming major summer success over its European rival adidas at both the Copa America Centenario and the European Championships.

Euro Championships

Portugal shatters French dream and leaves nation, and Ronaldo, in tears

By Andrew Warshaw

July 11 – They only won one game in regulation time and didn’t have shot on target in the final until the 80th minute. Yet what Greece did to them 12 years ago in Lisbon, Portugal have now done to France: upsetting the host nation to become European champions and wrecking a nationwide party in the process.

FIFA

Blatter under the knife as CAS sets appeal date for August

11 July – Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s last-ditch appeal against his ban from football will be heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport on August 25.

Europe

Ronaldo invites Chantal Borgonovo to Euro final and joins battle against ALS

By Bernd Fisa

July 9 – Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese superstar and captain of his national squad, has invited the widow of the former Italian striker Stefano Borgonovo to attend Sunday’s Final of the European Championship, which will see Portugal go head to head with tournament hosts France.

FIFA

FIFA ticket whistleblower threatens FIFA with $40m lawsuit

By Andrew Warshaw in Paris

July 8 – A former FIFA ticketing partner says he is suing the organisation for $40 million “for business losses” in a dispute over World Cup packages.

Development

World Football Forum opens with focus on boom markets of China and India

By Paul Nicholson in Paris

July 8 – The World Football Forum opened in Paris this morning – the night after Parisiens had celebrated their victory over Germany in the Euro semi-finals with a long and hard street party – with a focus on the ‘new geography of football’. It seemed to be a case of while the ‘old’ football world is recovering from its hangover, the new football landscape is putting its marker down for the future.

Russia 2018

2018 stadia on schedule as campaign launches to win Russian hearts and minds

By Paul Nicholson in Paris

July 8 – With 705 days to go to the opening of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, organisers have said that stadia will be completed on time and that Russia will be ready to host “the best World Cup ever”.

Euro Championships

France and Portugal compete for €27m Euro jackpot, Les Bleus to get €300k each

By Samindra Kunti

July 8 – Les Bleus players stand to receive €300,000 each from the French Football Federation FFF if they win the European Championship against Portugal on Sunday.

Euro Championships

Euro 2016 final preview: France vs Portugal, a party waiting to happen

July 8 – No side ever wins a major football tournament without a modicum of good fortune and France arguably had theirs in the semifinal against Germany when they were outplayed for large parts of the game and were awarded a soft penalty.

Euro Championships

Whether France or Portugal lift trophy, Nike win Euro 2016’s Battle of Brands

By David Owen

July 8 – We will have to wait and see whether hosts France or Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal lift the European Championship trophy at the Stade de France on Sunday. But we can already say with absolute clarity that the US mark Nike has won Euro 2016’s Battle of the Brands.