Inside World Football - Page 1456 of 2236 - For the Business of Football

FIFA discloses $122m loss – and Blatter’s $3m+ pay package

FIFA-headquarters

By David Owen

March 18 – And the answer, ladies and gentlemen, was $3,634,857. With the annual deficit widely expected, much the liveliest interest in FIFA’s just published 2015 financial report was always likely to concern disclosure of former President Joseph Blatter’s famously undisclosed remuneration. And there it is in unsparing detail on page 65, revealing not just his gross salary – $2,964,379 – but also how a variety of additional components,

FIFA

Final roll of the dice? Blatter goes to CAS to get his name cleared

Sepp Blatter bruised and battered

March 18 – He may not be able to get his old job back but Sepp Blatter remains determined to clear his name in retirement.

FIFA

South Africans say FIFA’s Borbely broke promise on releasing match-fixing detail

South Africa 2010

By Andrew Warshaw

March 18 – The South African authorities have accused FIFA’s ethics committee of reneging on a promise to consult with them before making public any decisions regarding the notorious pre-2010 World Cup match-fixing case.

FIFA

Brussels court rules out Doyen appeal. TPO stays an ‘illegal’ activity

Scales of justice

March 18 – The Brussels Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Doyen Sports Investments, the Belgian second-division club Seraing United and the Spanish Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (LFP) against FIFA, UEFA, the Belgian FA and FIFPro that sought a temporary injunction to suspend the worldwide ban on third-party ownership.

Liverpool vs Man Utd: old passions never die, but they do get sanctioned

March 18 – Liverpool and Manchester United, fierce rivals on and off the pitch, as anticipated have been charged by UEFA following crowd trouble during their Europa League last-16 second leg on Thursday.

Football Marketing

Don’t do it…Fans scorn Nike’s England and US national team kit designs

By Mark Baber

March 18 – Nike’s kit launches for the England and US national teams were met with scorn from fans and media on Thursday, whilst panic-stricken executives cancelled the launch of the Brazil shirt in Rio due to unwarranted concerns about demonstrations.

Europe

New road block hits Brussels EURO2020 stadium build

Brussels Eurostadium

By Samindra Kunti

March 18 – The construction of Brussels’s EURO2020 stadium has hit a new snag: a public road on the lot bookmarked for the venue may cause a delay of six months. UEFA wants construction to start this year.

FIFA

South Africa slams FIFA’s $10m bribe claim as ‘contemptible’ and demands retraction

Fikile Mbalula

By Andrew Warshaw

March 17 – Furious at FIFA’s explosive revelation that bribes were paid to secure the 2010 World Cup, South African authorities hit back today by accusing football’s world governing body of seriously distorting the facts in order to protect its victim status.

Concacaf News

Rodrigues exits CONCACAF race but issues warning to Caribbean

Mark Rodrigues

By Paul Nicholson

March 17 – Mark Rodrigues, the US-based Guyanan football entrepreneur, has pulled out of the race for the CONCACAF presidency leaving just three candidates – Canadian FA president Victor Montagliani, Caribbean Football Union president Gordon Derrick and Bermuda FA president Larry Mussenden.

FIFA

Teixeira says he will hold on to his money but threatens to sue FIFA

Ricardo Teixeira_08-03-12

By Andrew Warshaw

March 17 – The backlash against FIFA’s restitution request for tens of millions of dollars in order to restore its battered reputation and put it back on a financial even keel has begun with Ricardo Teixeira, the notorious former head of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), threatening to sue for damages in a counter action.

Europe

Beckenbauer ends Sky TV contract as pressure mounts

Franz Beckenbauer_31-10-12

March 17 – Franz Beckenbauer, under increasing scrutiny over the mysterious SFr10 million payment made during Germany’s 2006 World Cup bid campaign which he led, has asked to be released from his contract as an expert analyst and commentator for Sky Deutchland’s football coverage.

Beckenbauer’s appearance as a Sky expert as part of the broadcaster’s live coverage of Wednesday’s Champions League game between FC Bayern Munich and Juventus was his last indefinitely, the network announced.

Sponsorship

Pogboom! Paul Pogba secures €40m deal with Adidas

By Mark Baber

March 17 – Adidas finally confirmed on Wednesday morning that Paul Pogba has agreed what is believed to be a 10-year, €40 million deal with the company.

Europe

Man Utd’s Shaw, Martial and Januzaj wave flag for investing in youth

March 17 – Under 22 players across Europe’s top 31 leagues are getting more playing than time in terms of percentage of minutes played, but the number of home grown U22 players breaking through in their countries of origin is in decline, according to the latest research by the CIES Football Observatory.

Football Marketing

In Britain football is more important than sex, clubs more exciting than jobs

By Paul Nicholson

March 16 – A survey by Champions League sponsor Nissan has found that football gets Britons (56% of them) more excited than sex; and that they spend more time watching football than participating in sex.

Broadcast

Virtually Live and STATS test first VR match on Scottish League Cup final

March 16 – Virtually Live teamed up with STATS LLC to test their virtual reality technology for the first time on a European football match in Europe covering the Scottish League Cup final on March 13 at Hampden Park – Ross County beat Hibernian 2-1.