Football Partnerships

By Alex Kotler

Relief: MLS and MLSPU reach agreement

Major League Soccer and the Major League Soccer Players Union have announced that an agreement, in principle, has been reached and that the 2010 will commence as scheduled.

While details of the agreement are not yet public, both sides announced their satisfaction and reaffirmed their respective commitments to growing the league.

Said MLS Commissioner Don Garber: “This new agreement allows us to work with our players to continue our mutual efforts to build the sport of soccer in North America. We worked hard during the past few months to develop a new agreement that addressed many of the players’ most important issues and look forward to a meaningful and productive new relationship over the next five years.”

“The Union is happy with this agreement as it addresses the core issue of players’ rights and we look forward to working cooperatively with the League going foward,” said Bob Foose, Executive Director of the Union.

What is your opinion? Will this be a temporary fix until 2014 or does it represent a solid foundation for the continued growth of MLS and domestic player development?

Read about it on MLSnet

Red Knights take page out of Barcelona manual

The Red Knights, a Manchester United supporters’ group pursuing a buyout of the Glazer family, are modeling their bid after Barcelona FC.

According to a report by SportBusiness, a £1.25 billion bid is set to be tabled by June. Details of the proposal suggest that around 30 wealthy investors would take control of Manchester United and later sell shares to fans - a structure similar to that of Spanish rivals Barcelona.

Although Manchester United chief executive David Gill has voiced his support for the current owners, who own his employment contract, the movement is gaining momentum and increasing credibility.

What are your thoughts? Is this a costly and futile effort or just the sort that football needs to remained grounded?

Meanwhile, despite all criticism levied on United’s ownership, the club announced a third overseas sponsor in one week - with MTN Group joining Telekom Malaysia and Turkish Airlines.

Read about the Red Knights in SportBusiness

Read about the sponsorship agreement in SportBusiness

BSkyB, MSG, ESPN put on their funky goggles

British Sky Broadcasting Group announced plans to launch Europe’s first 3-D television channel on April 3, starting with a match between Manchester United and Chelsea FC on Sky 3D.

In New York, MSG network - which broadcasts New York Red Bulls matches, along with New York Rangers hockey and New York Knicks basketball - will air an event this spring. ESPN will follow suit during the World Cup this June.

Are you ready for the 3-D invasion?

Read about it in MediaBuyerPlanner

Thinking of el futuro

Sixteen years in advance, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has announced his country’s plans to host the 2026 World Cup.

The nation won the right to host the 1986 World Cup, yet withdrew due to lack of funds.

Is it too early to think about 2026?

Read about it in USA Today

Preston NE taps PUMA to be kit supplier

Preston North End FC has announced a three-year deal with PUMA to serve as the official supplier of the technical and replica kits and training wear for the club.

Genesis Sports, PUMA’s licensee for PRO Teamsports for the United Kingdom and Ireland, will make apparel available over the coming months.

Read the release, and lots of quotes, in euFootball.biz

This week the All Party Parliamentary Football Group (APPFG) delivered a frank set of suggestions regarding the finances of top English football clubs, in publishing the findings of a six-year report. Speaking to BritSport Weekly, the Premier League expressed its disappointment with not only some of the Group’s suggestions, but also its exclusion from elements of the Group’s research.

The report complimented the Premier League on its status as the top domestic club competition in the world, but criticised amongst other things the levels of debt in English football. According to the report, debt is arising because of clubs being taken over using borrowed money, and clubs are increasingly building up debt in their own right by being run without any operating profits whatsoever.

Manchester United has debts of over £750 million and Chelsea £736 million, £578 million of which came from an interest-free loan from its billionaire owner Roman Abramovich. Prior to United’s takeover by the Glazer family in 2005, the European champions had no debt at all.

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By Phil Holland

Imagine a world where neither the Glazer family nor Messrs Tom Hicks and George Gillett had anything to do with Manchester United or Liverpool.

That utopian dream world for some supporters could have been a reality had new recommendations from the UK’s All-Party Football Group been introduced ahead of the controversial debt-laden takeovers at Old Trafford and Anfield.

Read the rest of the article

In some parts of the world, American International Group is better known for a shirt than for a bailout.

That would be the red shirt of Manchester United, soccer champions of England and Europe. A.I.G. signed a four-year, $100 million deal in 2005 to sponsor the team and have its logo on the uniforms. As a result, the logo has been seen by soccer fans all over the world.

With the U.S. government’s takeover of the troubled global insurance giant, through a $85 billion dollar loan from the Federal Reserve, United may soon have to find a new sponsor.

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