Football Partnerships

By João Gonçalves

Although professional sports tend to be immune from economic woes, the current global crisis is making some dents in all sports, including American soccer.

Earlier this month it was announced that the Arena Football League is taking a year off; the Houston Comets, the flagship of the WNBA, also closed down for good; the National Football League, probably the richest league in the planet, is laying off people and even NASCAR, which had seemingly been swimming in sponsorship deals, is making cuts.

At the central offices of the various leagues, cuts have been the order of the day as all major sports have been affected. NBA announced that it will cut its staff by nine percent, the NFL sliced off the same percentage of its workforce and Major League Baseball instituted a staff hiring, as well as a salary freeze, while cutting vacation in 2009 by 20 percent.

Read the rest of the article

FOX 26 Sports has learned that Harris County Commissioner El Franco Lee and Commissioner Sylvia Garcia sent a proposal this week to the City of Houston stating they will support the County in helping with financing of a downtown soccer stadium for the Houston Dynamo, pending approval of Commissioner’s Court, if the city meets certain criteria.

The Dynamo, who will provide the bulk of the financing, and the city of Houston were the initial partners in the $85 million project. The city would provide the land, near Minute Maid Park, and an additional $10,000,000 to help with financing. Money that would come from the tax zone created around the facility. Taxes that would not otherwise be raised or available.

Houston Mayor Bill White, who has pledged not to use tax money that is earmarked for other areas such as police and fire, later asked Harris County to provide $10,000,000 in financing from that same tax zone, known as TIRZ 15.

Read the rest of the article

UEFA has announced that partner broadcaster Mediaset will continue to provide coverage to Italy during the UEFA Champions League.

The package offered to Mediaset’s paid DTT business includes all live matches and highlights programmes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays of match weeks. This will also include the UEFA Champions League final and the UEFA Super Cup.

Monday, UEFA said, ‘UEFA is extremely pleased to announce this deal with Mediaset who have been a highly-regarded partner of UEFA since the beginning of the UEFA Champions League.’

Free broadcasters Rai and Sky Italia have already been awarded their own media rights package in Italy.

Article source

By JEFF DIVERONICA

Not for a third stint as a player, but to help area kids learn from Rochester’s professional soccer team.

The Rhinos have partnered with their all-time leading scorer, who retired after the 2005 season, so the area’s elite youth players will have more access to the franchise by joining the Doug Miller Rochester Rhinos Youth Academy. It’s open to boys and girls ages 9-16, even if they’re on another club team.

Miller, who lives in Greece, has operated the academy since 2005. His Doug Miller Soccer club also has 23 teams in the Rochester District Youth Soccer League.

Read the rest of the article

Coors Brewers agreed to extend their deal with the Football League to sponsor the Carling Cup, for a further three-years, from 2009-10 to 2011-12.

The agreement, which is the largest in the competition’s history, extends the relationship to fourteen seasons, with Coors having sponsored this competition for nine seasons through its Carling brand and a further five through its Worthington’s brand.

Football League Chairman Lord Mawhinney said: “This is excellent news and a further boost to a competition that is currently in its best shape for many seasons. The Carling Cup remains a highly-coveted piece of silverware and an important source of finance for clubs at every level of the professional game. This significant increase will enhance further the Cup’s reputation.

Read the rest of the article