Soccer News & Notes – March 28, 2011

Brazil to get tough in World Cup build-up
Monday, March 28, 2011

Brazil’s government plans a "name and shame" approach to accelerate the country’s preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

The Financial Times reported that Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (pictured) will introduce the system to put pressure on various levels of government to maintain adequate progress in implementing projects ahead of the tournament and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Miriam Belchior, Brazil’s Minister of Planning, told the newspaper: "When you publish the information you make all of those implementing the projects responsible because they are exposed if there is a delay. Our idea is to have a joint evaluation with the federal, state and municipal governments. This first meeting is to discuss the situation and how we’re going to do it – how we’re going to ensure it (the World Cup planning) is done in time."

There have been concerns over the rate of preparations ahead of Brazil’s two upcoming mega-events, particularly with regard to the World Cup in just over three years’ time. Brazil will spend US$13.3 billion on preparations in 12 cities for the World Cup, while the Olympics budget will be $2.8 billion.

Source: SoccerEx Business Daily

Elias Figueroa emerges as possible FIFA presidential candidate
Monday, March 28, 2011

Former South American player of the year Elias Figueroa has emerged as a possible new candidate for the FIFA presidential elections in June.

The former Chile defender, 64, told Reuters that he was the choice of a group called FIFA Change to stand against Blatter in the June 1 vote. Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed Bin Hammam confirmed his candidacy just over a week ago.

"This arose through a group in England and other parts of Europe who wanted to present someone as a candidate for FIFA and they called me to join a committee which later decided I was the most suitable person as a candidate," Figueroa told Reuters.

"I really didn’t want this to be known (yet) but the news came out," said Figueroa, who added that he would confirm this week whether he would stand. "If I accept I know I’ll face a rather difficult scenario but nothing is impossible…I know very good things have been done in football but we also have some proposals."

Source: SoccerEx Business Daily

FIFA’s not anti-gambling – legal chief
Monday, March 28, 2011

FIFA’s director of legal affairs, Marco Villiger, has insisted world football’s governing body is not anti-gambling.

Villiger was speaking on the final day of the Sports Funding, Sponsoring, and Sports Betting Congress, which was organised by FIFA subsidiary Early Warning System GmbH. A key advisory organisation to European football body UEFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) both recently raised the prospect of bookmakers making financial contributions to sport.

However, Villiger explained that FIFA is only concerned with protecting the integrity of the game, rather than cause trouble to legal betting companies. "Nobody has anything against gambling," said Villiger. "Our goal is to protect the integrity of sport and to fight against practices that undermine it. Fraud and match fixing are threats to the core values of sport."

FIFA founded Early Warning System GmbH in 2004 with a view to monitoring the market closely and detecting any irregular betting activities. "Everyone has to contribute if we’re going to safeguard the integrity of sport," said Villiger. "In that regard we welcome the initiative of the IOC, which has brought together representatives from national governments and associations and stakeholders in the sports betting market to form a working group whose brief is to find solutions that can lead to the implementation of more effective measures."

Source: SoccerEx Business Daily

THE WORLD’S TOP SOCCER CLUBS FACE OFF THIS SUMMER IN THE 2011 WORLD FOOTBALL CHALLENGE
CAA Sports and Major League Soccer Join Forces for the Return of the World Class Soccer Club Competition

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (March 25, 2011) – This summer, the world’s top international clubs will come to North America to compete in the 2011 World Football Challenge, one of the largest soccer events ever staged in the region. Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-flight professional soccer league in the U.S. and Canada, and CAA Sports, a division of Creative Artists Agency, the world’s leading entertainment and sports agency, have partnered to host the club challenge. The World Football Challenge, which will be played July 14 through August 6, includes teams from MLS for the first time. The competing teams, schedule, format, event sponsors, and ticket information will be announced in the coming weeks. Televisa, a founding partner of the inaugural World Football Challenge, will remain involved in 2011.

"By all measures, the inaugural World Football Challenge was a big success: introducing some of the top international clubs and players to existing and new American fans of soccer, multiple sold-out matches, blue-chip sponsors, and a world-class broadcast partner in ESPN," said Michael Levine, co-head of CAA Sports. "We are thrilled to team up with our friends at Major League Soccer, who have done an incredible job elevating awareness and building enthusiasm for soccer in the U.S., to amplify the fan experience and bring some of the brightest stars and biggest teams together in the World Football Challenge."

"We are pleased to have MLS clubs compete in this summer’s World Football Challenge, and our teams embrace the challenge of competing against top international opponents," said Will Wilson, MLS executive vice president. "We have worked closely with CAA Sports in the past and are proud to partner with them to produce this innovative event for soccer fans throughout the region."

In 2009, CAA Sports unveiled the first-ever World Football Challenge, which brought four of the best soccer teams in the world – Chelsea Football Club, AC Milan, FC Internazionale Milano and Club America – to the U.S. to compete in the six-city, round-robin tournament at some of the most recognized stadiums, including the Rose Bowl, the Georgia Dome, MT&T Bank Stadium, Gillette Stadium, Stanford Stadium, and Cowboys Stadium. The tournament, which played to sold-out crowds in several cities, gave soccer fans the unprecedented opportunity to see global superstars play live in the U.S. and experience first-hand the fast-paced, skillful competition that has made soccer the most popular sport in the world.

For further information, please visit www.MLSsoccer.com and www.worldfootballchallenge.com.

Source: MLS

Bulgaria eyes Euro 2020 bid
Fri, 25/03/2011
Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) president Bobby Mihaylov has stated his "desire" to enter a joint bid with Romania for UEFA Euro 2020.

Mihaylov, who this week became the first Bulgarian to be elected on to UEFA’s Executive Committee, outlined a plan to host junior level tournaments before stepping up to European football’s showpiece event in nine years’ time.

"We know it’ll be better to first stage some junior European Championships and then to bid for the senior men’s tournament," he told reporters. "We have many friends in Romania and will take it step by step before bidding to host the Euro 2020 finals with them."

Romania has prior history in expressing an interest in the European Championships having abandoned plans to bid for Euro 2012 due to a lack of financial backing from its government.

The likes of Belgium, the Netherlands and Turkey are all reportedly interested in bidding for Euro 2020, with joint bids from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, along with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia also said to be in contention.

Source: www.sportbusiness.com

Argentina and Uruguay to joint bid for 2030 FIFA World Cup
Fri, 18/03/2011

The governments of Argentina and Uruguay have confirmed that they will support a joint bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

A bid from the two countries has long been on the cards and has the emotive pull of coinciding with the centenary of Uruguay’s staging of the inaugural World Cup in 1930, a tournament the host nation won by defeating Argentina 4-2. Argentina also triumphed on home soil in 1978 and the Foreign Ministers of both countries have now placed their full support behind a tilt at 2030.

"We have agreed to set up a bi-national committee to support the initiative together with the national football associations to promote the candidature of Argentina and Uruguay for the 2030 World Cup," said Argentina’s Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, in quotes reported by Reuters.

Argentina Football Association president Julio Grondona has welcomed the news, but has warned that the financial considerations of staging a World Cup would need to be studied carefully.

"I believe that we can be well-placed to host it, we will just have to see what demands are put on us," Grondona told Argentine newspaper La Nacion. "We would not hold a tournament which will enslave our country. If the demands are more than we can meet, it is best not to go through with it."

Source: www.sportbusiness.com

FIFA president Blatter to face Bin Hammam challenge
Fri, 18/03/201

FIFA chief Sepp Blatter is to face the first challenge to his presidency in nearly a decade after Mohamed Bin Hammam confirmed on Friday that he would stand against the Swiss incumbent in the June 1 elections.

Bin Hammam ended months of speculation and innuendo by stating at a press conference at the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Kuala Lumpur headquarters that he would seek to end Blatter’s 13-year reign. Blatter has not been challenged since 2002, when he defeated Confederation of African Football president Issa Hayatou by 139 votes to 56.

"Today after careful study, consultation and consideration, armed with my love and passion for football, believing that our game is about fair competition, I have decided to contest," said Bin Hammam. The Qatari head of the AFC has been outspoken in his criticism of FIFA’s practices since his country secured the hosting rights to the 2022 World Cup in early December.

Despite acknowledging Blatter’s contributions, Bin Hammam added that it was time for "new faces, new blood". He continued: "There is a time limit for everyone. I hope that Asia is going to be united behind me, but also the other confederations where I enjoy a lot of friendship and relationships, I hope also those people are going to support me."

Bin Hammam proposed that the 24-man FIFA executive committee, which was hit by scandal in the build-up to the December 2 vote on the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments, should be replaced by a 41-member board. He also said he would hope to set up a new transparency committee and spread FIFA’s income more evenly across the globe.

Blatter told reporters on Thursday: "I still feel full of energy and I’ve not yet finished my work in FIFA. I’m now in the 13th year of my presidency, and the 36th year working within FIFA, so I’m available to the congress. If there is competition there is competition. I have support from different Asian associations, but I must have the support of the whole FIFA family."

Source: www.sportbusiness.com

AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam makes World Cup pledge
Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Mohamed Bin Hammam has claimed he will make the bidding process for future World Cups more transparent if he secures the FIFA presidency, while his approach for the top job in football has been slammed by a former top official of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Bin Hammam’s charm offensive is now in full swing following Friday’s confirmation that he would stand for the presidency and challenge incumbent Sepp Blatter. The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups came in for criticism after two FIFA Executive Committee members were suspended and four other officials were sanctioned.

"We need to explain decision making (and) people are making decisions that affect millions," Bin Hammam told BBC Sport. "We belong to the people (and are) acting on behalf of them." The AFC president added: "It’s reasonable and logical to vote openly – it happens in other organisations, why shouldn’t it happen in FIFA?"

Meanwhile, Peter Velappan, a Blatter ally who was the AFC’s general secretary from 1978 to 2007, has stated that FIFA would be "doomed" if Bin Hammam is successful. Outlining that Blatter’s succession by the Qatari would be "detrimental", Velappan poured scorn on the AFC president’s pledge to bring more democracy, transparency and integrity to FIFA. "These are the very things he has not done in AFC," he told the Associated Press. "There is no democracy in AFC."

Source: SoccerEx Business Daily

Bin Hammam denies division claims
Mon, 21/03/2011

Mohamed Bin Hammam has rejected claims that his tilt for the FIFA presidency could create a schism within world football’s governing body.

Bin Hammam, head of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), on Friday confirmed long-running speculation that he would run against Sepp Blatter for the top job in football.

Formerly strong allies, Bin Hammam and Blatter’s relationship has been strained of late and Franz Beckenbauer, who is soon to step down as a member of the FIFA Executive Committee, has expressed his fear that the June 1 election could create a "dangerous situation" which could "split FIFA into two camps".

Bin Hammam’s candidacy includes proposals that the 24-man Executive Committee should be replaced by a 41-member board, that a new transparency committee be established and FIFA’s income should be spread more evenly across the globe. Stating that he expects a clean race against Blatter, the AFC chief outlined his belief that the presidential battle will not lead to divisions within FIFA.

"I am a huge fan of Franz Beckenbauer," said Bin Hammam, in quotes reported by Reuters. "He is a football legend, one of my favourite people in life. But why should FIFA split if two candidates are running for the presidency?"

He added: I always respect my competitors. President Blatter is a colleague and friend. I won’t create or encourage any environment that will divide the football family."

Source: SportBusiness.com

UEFA steps up corruption battle
Tue, 22/03/2011

UEFA has continued its fight against corruption in football by approving the establishment of a network of integrity officers around Europe, while Ukraine’s preparations for Euro 2012 have again been called into question.

The news came following the conclusion of UEFA’s latest Executive Committee meeting in Paris on Monday. Committee members approved the recommendations made by the working group on corruption/match-fixing which focus on establishing the network, which will involve all 53 national associations, and fostering collaboration with state authorities.

UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino told reporters: "In the countries where it has been possible to fight effectively against match-fixing, it has been possible only thanks to the support of the authorities. We cannot do this by ourselves as we are only a sports organisation. But what we can do is act very strongly. If you don’t eradicate the cancer before it starts to grow, then it can become a danger, and we will not permit it to become a danger."

In other news, Infantino has confirmed that stadia in Kiev and Lviv are unlikely to be completed by a June deadline for the tournament Ukraine is co-hosting with Poland. Ukraine has hit a number of hurdles in its preparations for Euro 2012 with a severe lack of private investment cited as one of the main reasons behind the delays.

According to a report from the Interfax news agency, the Ukrainian government originally targeted private investors for 80% of the funding for infrastructure development. However, that figure has only reached 14% leaving the cash-strapped government to finance the remainder.

Despite Ukraine’s problems, UEFA’s general secretary has stated the delays in Kiev and Lviv will not affect preparations for the tournament. "They (the stadia) will be ready by October at the latest and there will be enough time to test them from the month of October," Infantino told reporters. "We knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. But in the end it will be a magnificent celebration of European football."

Source: SportBusiness.com

Russian PM Putin to oversee Russia’s World Cup preparations
Mon, 21/03/2011

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will head up the supervisory board for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, it was confirmed on Friday.

Putin played a key role in Russia’s successful bid for the tournament and will lead a board that will also include First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and St Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko.

A statement released on the government’s official website read: "Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed an executive order approving the membership appointed to the Observation Council of the autonomous Russia 2018 Organising Committee non-profit organisation."

In other World Cup news, the re-opening of one of the tournament’s official stadia is set to be delayed until 2016 after development plans were altered. Petrovsky Park, home of Dinamo Moscow, is set to undergo a lavish redevelopment transforming it into a 45,000-seat venue.

The US$1.5 billion project is set to include ice hockey and basketball facilities, along with residential and hotel developments. A concert hall has now been added to the plans, with the sports and entertainment segment of the project now expected to take up only US$500 million of the budget.

"We felt that the football team only plays about 15 home games each year, each of which attracts maybe 15,000 people," Dinamo chairman Andrei Peregudov told Russian newspaper Vedomosti. "It wouldn’t be possible to recoup the stadium costs only through football matches. Therefore we plan to stage hockey and basketball games at the highest level, and will create a small arena and concert hall."

Source: SportBusiness.com