Football Partnerships

By Alex Kotler

Sufferin’ Becks-a-tash

AC Milan, LA Galaxy and England international midfielder David Beckham is out of the 2010 World Cup.

The global sports icon sustained an injury to his Achilles tendon in a match this Sunday, costing him a place on the English National Team for this summer’s tournament. Although considered more of a bit-part player at this stage in his career, his experience - both on the field and in front of camera - will be missed by his teammates.

A surgery performed today in Finland will determine the extent of the injury, which will almost certainly close the door on his international competitive career. What also remains to be seen is how and whether the injury will impact his endorsement deals, some of which may have World Cup clauses or activation initiatives.

What do you think? Will his commercial arrangements take a massive blow?

Read more Beckham’s injury

Barber puts his Whitecap on

Paul Barber, former Executive Director at Tottenham Hotspur and current CEO of USSF Division II side Vancouver Whitecaps, was officially introduced at a press conference last Wednesday in British Columbia.

The two-time guest on the Football Partnerships podcast counts the opportunity as his third dream job - the first being his role as Marketing & Communications Director at the FA and the second at his boyhood club of Spurs.

We wish him the best of luck in his new post.

Read more and watch the press conference video

Put a cap in it

Outgoing chairman of the Football League, Lord Brian Mawhinney, posits that a salary cap is inevitable.

According to an interview by the BBC, as reprinted in the Guardian, Mawhinney said that “the business model of professional football in [the UK] doesn’t work, it’s broke and you see that reflected in the administrations and all the rest of it.”

UEFA president Michel Platini also champions restrictions on spending throughout European. Meanwhile, in the United States, Major League Soccer - which imposes a salary cap - is involved in mediation proceedings with the MLS Players Union over a collective bargaining agreement which threaten to derail the start of the season in two weeks.

Which position is preferred? A system with limitless spending or one that imposes fiscal responsibility measures at the expense of globally competitive salaries?

Read more from Mawhinney

North Korea take home field advantage in South Africa

The North Korean National Team will apparently have home field advantage when they take on the Ivory Coast on June 25th at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.

According to the JoongAng Daily, North Korean workers are raising much needed capital for the rogue state by helping to build this 43,500-seat stadium and others.

“[An estimated 1,000] North Koreans have been put to work on four to five stadiums that require renovation, including Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, where the opening and closing ceremonies, plus the final will be staged,” said one source said.

What are your thoughts?

Read about it in the JoongAng Daily

Assauer lets comments out of the closet

Former Schalke boss Rudi Assauer has gone public with his opinions that gays have ‘no place’ in football.

The outspoken German went on to say: ‘If a player came to me and said he was gay I would say to him: “You have shown courage.” But then I would tell him to find something else to do.’

Despite rumors and whispering, there are zero openly gay footballers in England and Wales - out of 4,000 total players. Assauer’s opinions do little to encourage any to step forward.

Should Assauer ‘find something else to do’?

Read about it in the Daily Mail

By Alex Kotler

Putting the ‘no’ in technology

Football and technology do not mix, at least not while FIFA is stirring.

Following the Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) last Saturday in Zurich, FIFA announced that goal-line technology would not be explored further.

Seen as a gateway to inviting technology into other areas of the sport, FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke commented: “If we start with goal-line technology then any part of the game and pitch will be a potential space where you could put in place technology to see if the ball was in or out, whether it was a penalty and then you end up with video replays.”

Supporters of technology need only to point to the weekend’s match between Birmingham City and Portsmouth when Liam Ridgewell’s scoring chance was ruled as save.

What are your thoughts? Sound decision? Bold move? Unfair to the victims of human fallibility?

Read about it from FIFA

ESPN makes an accented choice for World Cup broadcasts

Sports network ESPN has selected a star-studded starting lineup for its US broadcasts of the 2010 World Cup: Ian Darke, Adrian Healey, Derek Rae and Martin Tyler.

The move has drawn ire and support, as some take issue with the lack of American accents in the mix and others argue that the quality of the play-calling will outshine any sentimental or patriotic decisions.

Perhaps it’s all the more reason for the USMNT to show up on 12 June.

Read Jack Bell’s coverage in the Goal blog as well as the comments

Putting the clamp on South Africa

Extensive measures are being taken to ensure security at the 2010 World Cup.

According to SoccerexBusiness Daily, Interpol - the international criminal police organization - will send its largest-ever team to help with security from June 11 to July 11. Further, the South African government will spend approximately $173 million on security, including the training of 44,000 police personnel.

The news comes amidst reports that up to 40,000 sex workers will enter South Africa during the tournament.

Will the World Cup be safe for visitors? Will the world see an aggressive spread of HIV? What are your thoughts?

More on prostitution in South Africa

Putting the clamp on South Africa

The first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, participated in a free youth soccer clinic for kids in Washington, DC last week, promoting soccer as a way of fighting childhood obesity.

The event marked the partnership between the US Soccer Foundation and the National Alliance for Hispanic Health. A 25-city tour will follow, providing free health screenings and contacts for families to connect with local soccer programs.

Read about it in the Wichita Soccer Examiner

Keeping it Real

According to Deloitte, which recently published its annual Football Money League, Real Madrid sit atop the earnings table, having generated annual revenue in excess of $543 million dollars.

To put it into perspective, that would account for over 152 million McDonald’s Big Macs, as priced at $3.57 in February of 2008. Current pricing for Big Macs are unavailable and would further make such tabulations less ridiculous in principle.

Read more in Soccer News

By Alex Kotler

PlayBeautiful | The 2010 World Cup Experience

PlayBeautiful LLC is pleased to announce the official launch of PlayBeautiful | 2010 World Cup, an interactive, community-driven pop-up experience coming to New York City this summer for the entirety of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

Featuring real-time match viewing of every World Cup game, live demonstrations by the soccer industry’s top performers, video game competitions, film screenings, private events and an unparalleled retail environment, PlayBeautiful will be the top destination for residents and visitors to enjoy all of the excitement of soccer’s signature tournament.

“PlayBeautiful will provide New York City residents and visitors with a one-of-a-kind World Cup experience,” said Alexander Kotler, Executive Director of PlayBeautiful and Founder of Football Partnerships.

Please visit www.playbeautifulnyc.com for more information, follow @iPlayBeautiful on Twitter and join the PlayBeautiful group on Facebook for updates.

Gunners shooting down the debt-load

SoccerexBusiness Daily are reporting that English Premier League side Arsenal FC have reduced their debt from £332.8 million to £203.6 million, thanks in majority to £96.6 million in revenue generated by the sale of 261 apartments at Highbury Square, site of the club’s former stadium.

Said Arsenal non-executive chairman Peter Hill-Wood, in response to servicing the debt and a £10.7 million profit increase year on year: “How we will use this surplus remains undecided but, in addition to investing in the team, I think we will examine investment in club projects and infrastructure, both in and around Emirates Stadium.”

With English Premier League clubs owing 56% of Europe-wide commercial debt it becomes all the more difficult to point a finger at Arsene Wenger, an economist by trade, for his buying policy.

MP & Silva becoming “King of the Jungle”

SportBusiness is reporting an agreement between the Football Association of Malaysia and MP & Silva agency, whereby the latter will sell the international media rights of the Malaysian national football teams - the ‘Tigers’ - until 2016.

“As the home of Asian Football Confederation, Malaysia plays a prominent role at the heart of Asian football, and Malaysians are fervently passionate about football and their national team, and we are honoured to play a long-term role in the international distribution of Malaysian football,” said Nicola Antognetti, Vice President of Football Acquisitions at MP & Silva and a member of Football Partnerships.

What is the trajectory of Malaysian football in your eyes?

Read the original bit by Kevin McCullagh in SportBusiness

Tiring out all of Brazil

Continental AG, the world’s fourth largest manufacturer of passenger tires, has committed to serving as the Exclusive Tire Partner for the FIFA 2014 World Cup™ in Brazil.

Having recently reached an agreement to be an official sponsor of Major League Soccer, the German outfit is has its sights on expanding throughout the Americas.

“We have already laid the ground for worldwide marketing communication in the next few years by renewing the FIFA partnership through 2014. As a central communications platform, [professional] soccer has been shown to be extremely useful in enhancing brand awareness in our core markets and in contributing to a steady strengthening of our premium Continental brand’s market position,” explained Nikolai Setzer, Continental Executive Board member for Passenger and Light Truck Tires.

Is there value and/or ROI for Continental AG in being the ‘Exclusive Tire Partner’ of FIFA?

Read the original release here

English Premier League 24/7. Dear Lord.

EPL Talk revealed last week that the English Premier League will launch a 24/7 television service next season, with all content available for rights holders everywhere - except Great Britain.

Programming would include classic Premier League matches, news and discussion programs. By way of the Q17 rule, requiring all managers to attend in person and participate in post-match interviews, consumers can also expect more face time with Premier League gaffers. Sir Alex Ferguson on the BBC, anyone?

A host is yet undetermined, yet - like EPL Talk - Football Partnerships throws its support behind the little man of the one-liners, James Richardson.

Read the article by the Gaffer in EPL Talk

By Alex Kotler

Staying at the table

Despite postponement and building tension, the Major League Soccer Players Union and the league, Major League Soccer, continue negotiations.

Jimmy Conrad, MLSPU executive board member and Kansas City Wizards defender, intimated that a work stoppage is possible: “We feel like we’ve made a huge effort to be reasonable, to propose things that are within the confines of the single-entity structure. At this point they’re not even humoring us with something tangible.”

The president of MLS, Mark Abbott, released a statement Saturday, saying: “To characterize the league as not taking the players’ concerns seriously is just factually incorrect. What we have not made a proposal on and what the league is not prepared to do is to have free agency within the league. The league created its structure after really studying other efforts to launch professional soccer leagues in the United States, which unfortunately failed.”

Is the conflict rooted more in money or control? Or something else?

Have your say and read more in David Falk’s compilation in the Examiner

That’ll fix you!

Two Chinese football teams, Guangzhou GPC and Chengdu Blades, have been relegated to the second division from the top flight after club officials were found guilty of match-fixing and gambling.

Readers will recall CCTV 5’s recent blackout of the East Asia Cup match between China and Japan, said to be in part due to this scandal. Over 20 officials have been either arrested or detained, including the Chinese FA’s former chief, Nan Yong.

As noted by SportBusiness, Chengdu is owned by English Championship side Sheffield United.

Read slightly more about it in SportBusiness

Lowering ticket prices to raise attendances

According to Australia’s Herald Sun, FIFA is slashing World Cup ticket prices for South Africans as a means of ensuring full stadia during matches.

Up to 900,000 tickets, priced at approximately US$100, were reduced to less than US$20 and made available for purchase by local residents. Sources say that FIFA is concerned, particularly on the heels of the episode with the Togolese team at the African Cup of Nations, that attendences will be low.

What do you think? Should FIFA be concerned? Does the price reduction impact foreign ticket sales?

Read the original report (in Australian)

Seeking a Silva lining

MP & Silva, rights holders of the Italian Serie A and Serie B leagues, have retained IMG Media to cover rights distribution in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Turkey, Russia and the countries that were part of former Yugoslavia, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia.

The agreement will last through the 2012 season.

Who controls the rights where you live? How does this affect you?

Read about it in euFootball.BIZ

“__________” Stamford Bridge

Soccerex Business Daily reports that English Premier League side Chelsea FC has offered naming rights to Stamford Bridge stadium to Petrobras, Brazil’s public oil company.

It is understood that the firm has previously been approached by Manchester United and flirted with Real Madrid, however - as in the case of Chelsea - it has declined the offer.

How it may have all been different if the Robinho deal had gone through…

By Alex Kotler

Football’s Gamble

Theo Leggett, a business reporter for BBC News has published a fair survey of English football’s winners and losers, accounting for the sports main revenue streams and how clubs fall off the ‘financial tightrope’.

A point of interest is that, despite the recession, deals made in early 2009 reflected no signs of the faltering economy. Another is the gamble made by ambitious teams striving for promotion or tournament places within the league table, that may catapult a side upwards or, catatrophically, downwards.

Learn from Coventry City’s ‘community approach’ and read about Dr. Simon Chadwick’s suggestion that regulation may be a necessary evil to ‘protect [the clubs].

Read Theo Leggett’s article on Football’s Winners & Losers

It Takes Balls

Congratulations to four Baldwin-Wallace College men’s soccer student-athletes, Nate Smith, Russ Mika, Jamie Shipley and Zac Gaydosh, who have launched an initiative charged to provide soccer balls to the children in Haiti.

Their program, known as Soccer Balls 4 Haiti, set a goal of collecting a 250 new or gently-used soccer balls to send to the children affected by the devastating earthquake.

What are some of the soccer-related charitable programs that you are involved in?

Learn more about Soccer Balls 4 Haiti

Bartender, Another Round of “_______”!

According to research by Dr. Fiona Davies at Cardiff Business School, there is no significant statistical correlation between sports sponsorship awareness and attitudes to alcohol use.

In summary, boys with interests in sport are driven to drink by traditional machismo rather than by the presence of alcohol sponsorship. Girls’ attitudes are also unaffected.

The study will certainly be embraced by the football industry, which counts alcohol brands as a major source of sponsorship revenue. The pertinent questions on the flip side are (1) whether the absence of alcohol sponsorship would coincide with a decrease in alcohol consumption and (2) how would a decrease in sponsorship revenues from alcohol brands impact English football.

What do you think?

Have another pint and read more in SportBusiness

Togo appeals CAF ban

According to SoccerexBusiness Daily, “the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) has confirmed Togo’s appeal against the banning of its national team from the next two editions of the African Cup of Nations.”

The appeal will allow the Togolese national team to be included in this Saturday’s draw for the 2012 Cup of Nations qualifying. The formal request has been lodged by Football Federation of Togo (FTF), which will submit a written report to the court for consideration.

The Togolese team withdrew from the 2010 competition following a gun attack on the bus carrying the players and staff. Three people died in the assalut.

While the ban is purportedly a response against government and political intervention in football affairs, the question undoubtedly remains - is this necessary?

Be certain to wear your goggles…

Sports broadcast ESPN has announced that Sony will serve as an official sponsor of its new 3D network. Coverage will begin on June 11 when South Africa faces Mexico in the first match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The significance is that ESPN will enjoy rights to utilize Sony’s professional HD cameras to present programming to its subscribers.

But what will the googles look like?

Read the original source (with or without special glasses)