Inside World Football - Page 1784 of 2236 - For the Business of Football

Osasu Obayiuwana: South Africa must confront the bitter truth

Had Fikile Mbalula, South Africa’s angry minister for sport, possessed a statutory right to execute members of Bafana-Bafana, for their dismal performance at the last Championship of African Nations (CHAN), I have little doubt he would have been sorely tempted to use it.

I’m also certain that some equally irate fans would have gladly paid for the privilege of watching the deed being done.

Having failed to qualify for the knockout rounds of the tournament they were hosting,

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Zwanziger promises no ‘blind eye’ as EU hearing turns up heat on Qatar

Theo Zwanziger

By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
February 13 – One of FIFA’s most influential administrators today stepped up the pressure on Qatar to comply with international employment standards as the 2022 World Cup hosts came under fierce scrutiny at the European Parliament.

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Moroccan Ouaddou wins FIFA case as Qatar SC ordered to pay wages

Abdeslam-Ouaddou

By Andrew Warshaw
February 13 – FIFA has backed the case of former Morocco defender Abdeslam Ouaddou, the latest foreign footballer to claim he did not receive his salary whilst playing in Qatar and was not allowed to leave the country under its notorious kefala employment system.

Rolf Willi

Champagne?

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Man Utd report record results and set aside war chest for Summer

manU

By Paul Nicholson
February 13 – Manchester United announced another quarter of record financial revenue with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward confident that the club would still be able to sustain financial momentum even if it failed to qualify for the Champions League 2014/15 competition. He also indicated the club would be spending substantially in the summer looking to a long-term future as the first team is re-built.

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Spurs push deeper into Asia with AIA shirt sponsorship

Spurs and AIA shirt deal

By Andrew Warshaw
February 13 – Tottenham Hotspur are the latest top-flight English club to launch a major push into the Asian market by announcing a five-year multi-million pound shirt sponsorship deal with Hong Kong-based insurance giants AIA. The deal drives the club deeper into the Asian markets having recently launched a Chinese language add-on to its website as well as securing new TV deals in the region.

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New Chinese investor grabs a stake as Birmingham’s stock plummets

Birmingham City

By Paul Nicholson
February 13 – Birmingham International Holdings Limited (BIHH), the parent company of Birmingham City Football Club, is to sell 12% of its shares to Chinese advertising firm Beijing Triumph International Media Advertising Co for HK$45 million (£3.5 million).

Lee Wellings

Lee Wellings: Balotelli lies a crying shame

Do you want to find racism from football fans? Do you want to find racism from football fans in Italy specifically? It won’t take you long.

So no need to invent stories on the subject. Claims that Mario Balotelli was reduced to tears after being racially abused in Naples appear dangerous and counter-productive. Misguided and premature. This subject is too important to treat with such a lack of care.

One of the first things I was taught in journalism by the legendary Reg Hayter was ‘fact is sacred,

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Olympiacos donates aid to the earthquake victims of Kefalonia

kefalonia earthquake

February 13 – Olympiacos FC has made a €500,000 donation to the aid fund to support the residents of Greek island Kefalonia to recover from the devastating earthquake which hit the island two weeks ago causing substantial damage and leaving hundreds homeless.

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Dutch and Indians partner for sports pitches on the sub-continent

Amsterdam Arena

February 13 – India and the Netherlands government officials have signed a memorandum of understanding for co-operation on sports and sports infrastructure. The first fruit of the partnership is a Amsterdam ArenaA announcing Tenon Property Services Limited and Ecofirst Services Limited, a Tata company, as their local Indian partners.

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Twitter trolls force Cleverley to quit the social media network

Tom Cleverely

By Jamie Styles
February 13 – Tom Cleverley has shut down his Twitter account after his own fans abused him on the social media site. The news comes only a day after the midfielder spoke out about the online abuse coming his way and suggested that he has been made a scapegoat for Manchester United’s lacklustre season.

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#LoveJu promo harnesses social following for a match day happening

Juve choreography

By Paul Nicholson
February 12 – Italian league leader Juventus created a social media first last weekend when the winner of a competition run via its Facebook site had his design turned into a crowd ‘choreography’ as the teams for the Juventus vs Inter match walked out on to the pitch.

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Bulgarian mobile operators connect with leading clubs

litex mtel

By Alexander Krassimirov
February 12 – Bulgaria’s PFC Litex Lovech has signed a new sponsorship contract with Mtel, the largest telecommunications company in the country. No figure has been announced for the deal but the fee will rise depending on the success of the club.

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Allianz buys into Bayern with €110 million stake

allianz arena

February 12 – German insurer Allianz, after which Bayern Munich’s stadium is named, have taken an 8.33% stake in the European champions for €110 million, becoming the third strategic partner of the club along with Adidas and Audi.

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FIFA welcomes Qatar welfare standards report, union finds issues

Qatar construction 4

By Andrew Warshaw
February 12 – Steps by Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers to put in place improved conditions for migrant workers have been welcomed by FIFA but criticised by trade union officials despite being drawn up in conjunction with the International Labour Organisation (ILO).