Qatar Airways board Barça shirt in $45m per season deal

barca flag

By Andrew Warshaw
March 6 – After more than a century without a commercial sponsor, Barcelona will break new ground next season by sporting the logo of Qatar Airways on its shirts – the starkest illustration yet of the club needing to embrace commercial reality as Qatar continues its drive to make inroads into European football. 

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John Yan:龙哥听不到集结号 The Dragon will not hear the bugle call

 English version

张吉龙,人称”龙哥”。但这”龙哥”只是一个花名,连江湖绰号都算不上。他曾经是亚足联第一副主席,也曾经因缘际会,由于国际足联高层的权力斗争,而升级为亚足联代理主席、国际足联执委,但他从来都不是”龙哥”,和龙头大哥的威势、前呼后拥的行头,相去十万八千里。行走在国际足球政治的江湖上,张吉龙谨小慎微、如履薄冰,在夹缝里为中国足球争取些利益,可他始终都是一个人在战斗。

张吉龙被”牺牲”、被”放弃竞选亚足联主席”,新闻并不是从国内媒体产生的。消息最早由法新社披露,然后其他亚洲媒体跟进,最后才流转到中国国内。当网络舆情一片汹涌,对于这样的”牺牲”和”放弃”,表达的不仅是不解,更是愤怒时,张吉龙已经在吉隆坡的亚足联总部收拾工作、收拾心情,虚席以待亚足联真正的主席主人了。他将回归到亚足联副主席的席位上,大概干到2015年任期期满。

体制内还有人羡慕乃至嫉妒张吉龙者——”他已经60岁了,本该退休,要不是他在亚足联有个职务,否则凭什么是他啊……”就退休年龄论,张吉龙比较其他体制内司局级干部,或许是幸运的,他能多干两年,只是这样的际遇,这样的含辛茹苦,这样的孤立无援,我不相信张吉龙会恋栈不去。

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West Ham say Olympic Stadium deal is near

Olympic stadium

By Andrew Warshaw
March 5 – After months of inconclusive meetings and several delays, English Premier League club West Ham could now be days away from finally securing agreement to move into the London 2012 Olympic stadium – and avoid it becoming a classic post-Games white elephant.

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AFC presidency race heats up as candidates declared and Al Serkal calls for withdrawals

al serkal

By Paul Nicholson and Andrew Warshaw
March 4 – One of the three west Asian candidates seeking to replace Mohamed bin Hammam and run football in the entire Continent until 2015 has urged his two rivals to step aside to avoid a potentially damaging split.

As the Asian Football Confederation announced a four-man race for the presidency on May 2, Yousuf al Serkel (pictured), of United Arab Emirates, said he is to ask the two other regional candidates bidding against him to stand down. Read more …