Soccer News & Notes September 3, 2010

FIFA’s six-person inspection team will arrive in N.Y. Monday for a four-day examination of the U.S. bid for the ’18 or ’22 World Cup. The inspection "will begin in earnest" Tuesday with "formal presentations" and a tour of facilities including New Meadowlands Stadium. The delegation will then head to DC and tour FedExField, followed by a visit to Miami and Sun Life Stadium. The visit will conclude in Texas, with stops to include Cowboys Stadium (WORLDFOOTBALLINSIDER.com, 8/31).

Meanwhile, GoUSABid.com has surpassed 1,000,000 signatures for its online petition in support of the USA Bid Committee’s efforts (USA Bid Committee).

Source: www.sportsbusinessdaily

Sharp appointment by UEFA to EURO 2012 sponsors list
Submitted by bernardopd on Fri, 03/09/2010

European football’s governing body UEFA has signed an agreement with Sharp that will see the Japanese electronics manufacturer become a sponsor of Euro 2012 and all other main UEFA national team competitions until 2013.

The deal is understood to be worth around $10 million.Toshishige Hamano, Sharp representative director and executive vice president, stressed that 2012 is the year Sharp celebrates its centennial anniversary.

“I am honoured we will have the opportunity to be a EUROTOP partner for UEFA EURO 2012 in the milestone year of our hundredth anniversary,” he said. “Through this sponsorship, we intend to boost Sharp’s brand value and work to further enhance our business in Europe.”

The announcement comes only a few days after Ukraine revealed its government budget to co-host EURO 2012 with Poland was cut by more than a fifth to $7 billion

Source: www.sportbusiness.com

Football League covers 72 clubs with free iPhone app
Submitted by bernardopd on Fri, 03/09/2010

The English Football League has launched its official iPhone application, free to download, with dedicated sections to all its 72 clubs.
Besides offering news, fixtures and statistics, other features of the app are the capacity to update fans’ Facebook and Twitter status and a score predictor tool that compares predictions between users.

A premium service that can be purchased for £4.99 per season will offer video match highlights 24 hours after the game and a Google Maps functionality that will help supporter find their way around any stadium in the country.

“Fans live and breathe football and want to be kept up to date wherever they are in the world at a time that suits them,” said Ian Ritchie, chairman of Football League Interactive.

“We designed the official Football League clubs’ iPhone app with this in mind, using innovative technology to deliver access to rich and interactive content.”

Source: www.sportbusiness.com

Russia 2018 World Cup bid – No racism in country
Friday, September 3, 2010

The head of Russia’s 2018 World Cup bid has brushed aside claims that there is a major racist problem with fans attending games in the country.

A banner was aimed at Nigerian striker Peter Odemwingie by Lokomotiv Moscow fans showing a banana and saying: "Thanks West Brom". But Alexei Sorokin, the bid’s chief executive, claims that the banner was not racist and the phrase ‘to get a banana’ is slang for ‘to fail a test’.

Sorokin said: "The Russian Football Union doesn’t accept any demonstrations of racism. I know that this banner applied to a certain player and to the manner of how he played in his last matches.

"Apparently fans were not happy with the fact that he plays better for Nigeria and worse for the club. That’s why they have shown their satisfaction after he left. And there is nothing racial in it.”

Source: SoccerEx Business Daily

FIFA hail Spain and attach countries
Friday, September 3, 2010

FIFA have hailed Spain for their part in winning the World Cup and indicated that African countries harmed their chances of winning the competition by employing a foreign coach.

FIFA, football’s world governing body, assembled a team of experienced coaches and former players to analyse the 64 matches which took place in South Africa and have released an official 289-page document to explain their findings.

Spain could not be praised highly enough for their entertaining style of play and are already being considered as one of the teams of the century.

In stark contrast, African countries were blamed for appointing the wrong coaches.

The report said: ”The coaches’ chances of success were limited by the fact that they often did not fully identify with the African culture, mentality and lifestyle or knew too little about these factors.”

Source: SoccerEx Business Daily