World Football Insider News

UEFA Partners Praise Champions League Refinements; Beckham Returns to Manchester

World Football Insider — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:20:45 GMT

(WFI) Key UEFA commercial partners have praised the "terrific" changes to this year's Champions League.

As well as changes to the group stage play off round, UEFA has extended the round of sixteen so that it is played over the course of a month, maximizing broadcast exposure. The final, to be staged in Madrid on May 22., will for the first time be played on a Saturday, with a week-long football festival preceding it.

Tonight Arsenal kick off the second legs of the newly expanded round of sixteen as they seek to overturn a 1-2 first leg deficit to FC Porto. Bayern Munich also travel to Fiorentina looking to defend a 2-1 first leg lead.

Speaking at the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester last week, ITV head of sport Niall Sloane praised UEFA's "positive thinking" and willingness to engage with its commercial partners.

"I think the changes have been largely positive for the broadcasters," said Sloane.

"The extension of the round of sixteen from four match nights... would have been even better for ITV and [UK broadcast partners] Sky to see Liverpool get through to get significant domestic interest every [match] night. But even so I think the idea is right and it should work very well for us.

He added that the movement of the final to a Saturday showed "even more positive thinking" from UEFA.

Paul Meulenjijk, head of sponsorship at Mastercard, one of UEFA's main Champions League partners, said that the "longer delivery period" of matches "certainly has a good impact for us".

He acknowledged that the staging of the final on a Saturday changed the game's commercial dynamic - for example, less European TV viewers are expected to tune in, but more from Asia - but he viewed the switch positively.

"The final is now on a Saturday and that allows us to look at it from a different angle as well," he said.

Beckham is greeted by fans and media at Manchester Airport today (All photos Getty Images)

"During the week we can take people out, but [on a Saturday] it's a family event - kids can come at weekends and it's a lot easier to do that. From that perspective it's a welcome change."

Guilaume Sabran, UEFA's marketing manager, promised that the final in Madrid would be a "week of celebration". It will include the inaugural UEFA Women's Champions League final and the Champions League Under-18 Challenge.

"We looked a bit at what other sports do," he said. "It will be more than one football game and one day. We will start the Saturday before and we will have a week of activity.

"We will monitor it. We will see if it meets the expectations of our sponsors, broadcasters and fans, but it's something we want to do in the future."

Sloane added: "In the last several years UEFA have shown a flexibility and willingness to work with broadcasters that is not always present in other sports associations and indeed football bodies."

"I think that that flexibility of thinking and being prepared to try stuff and engage in dialogue with broadcasters has been terrific for us."

Beckham back at Old Trafford
David Beckham makes an emotional return to Old Trafford on Wednesday when AC Milan will seek to turn around a 3-2 deficit against Manchester United.

The England midfielder was given a warm reception on his arrival in Manchester today ahead of what will be his first match back at the Theatre of Dreams since he left United for Real Madrid in 2003.

Ahead of the clash, Beckham labelled United boss Alex Ferguson "a scary man".

Years ago when he was still at United, Ferguson kicked a boot in a dressing room rage that reportedly caught Beckham above the eye giving him a nasty gash that required stitches. That incident came at a time when relations between the two had broken down and hastened Beckham's departure from the club that he has said he would have stayed at for his entire career given the opportunity.

But Beckham insists there is no ill-feeling towards Ferguson. "It will be good to see him again," Beckham told Match of the Day magazine.

"He's a scary man, but in a really good way. "He's played such an important role in my life, and during my time at Man United he was like a father figure to me and I will always be grateful for that."

Beckham said AC Milan face a massive challenge tomorrow night.

"To win at Old Trafford is a really big ask, but I love the prospect of big challenges and if I'm given the chance to play and prove what I can still do then that would be a great test for me and the team," he told the magazine.

With reporting from James Corbett and Mark Bisson
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England 2018 Finalizes Bid Book, Prepares for "Gruelling" Nine Months

World Football Insider — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:51:26 GMT

Ian Riley says some of FIFA's requirements are more onerous compared to the two previous bids he worked on (WFI)

(WFI) England 2018 technical director Ian Riley says the bid offers "the highest possible upside" for the "lowest risk" to FIFA, adding that the governing body's "evolving" technical criteria now places more emphasis on legacy and sustainability.

Riley, who is currently finalizing England's bid book ahead of FIFA's May 15 deadline, has vast experience in World Cup bid races. The South African previously oversaw his own country's successful technical bid for the 2010 World Cup, and its bid book in 2006 - when it was narrowly beaten into second-place by Germany.

Riley believes England's bid is a safe bet for FIFA. "Within our bid we will present a taste of current stadiums and new build," he told an audience at the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester last week.

"The low cost of completion and compliance this will produce would provide the lowest risk to FIFA and consequently the potential for the highest possible upside.

"Thirty million fans go to English football matches every season and there are three billion people who watch English football globally every year and we have the biggest football broadcast markets worth around $4 billion. So commercially, we provide a strong market place with low risk and potentially the highest upside for FIFA as a consequence."

Asked by World Football Insider how the race for 2018 differs from the two bids he has previously worked on, Riley said he believes that FIFA's main concern continues to be the stadiums, adding that its requirements are also evolving.

"The requirements are definitely becoming more refined and in some circumstances more onerous," he said.

"The critical emphasis that I've seen [compared to] the last two bids is more defined plans relating to legacy, environmental sustainability and certainly more defined plans relating to the social aspect of a World Cup."

Riley also spoke about the bid team's unrelenting pursuit of excellence and said that more details about its technical aspects would become apparent as the bid submission date approaches.

"We need to benchmark our technical bid at the highest possible level," he added.

"I still maintain that 274 days before the bid book is due is early and these things will evolve. The submission of the bid book in May is a key time when those [technical aspects] become in the public domain."

Anson feels momentum with England
England 2018 CEO Andy Anson has paid tribute to the bid's international president David Dein and detailed his gruelling itinerary for the rest of the year.

The influential former Arsenal vice chairman joined Anson's team last month, having previously undertaken informal lobbying missions for the bid.

Speaking after returning from a

Andy Anson is pleased with the momentum of the bid campaign (WFI)

visit to the Caribbean Football Union Congress - where, amongst other engagements, he and Dein along with bid ambassador David Ginola met with FIFA Ex-co members Jack Warner and Rafael Salguero - a visibly tired Anson hailed "a very good trip."

"We had a series of meetings with Jack and he was very, very welcoming," said Anson. "He gave us a lot of advice and we had an awful lot of fun with him as well."

Warner was scathing about England's bid last October, describing its bid delegations to FIFA Ex-co as "lightweight" - an apparent criticism of Anson and bid chairman David Triesman, who had previously carried out most lobbying work.

"I think he's only ever given us advice to move our bid forward," insisted Anson.

"What he told us out there was that we're making progress and he was pleased with the progress we're making. He gave us more advice, as he gave us advice last time. We listened to him. He's an influential and important guy in the world of FIFA."

Dein's presence, said Anson, had gone down well on the whistlestop visit to the Caribbean.

"He's a football guy. He was involved at Arsenal for 25 years. He's incredibly well known throughout the world of football. He's a very, very charming and personable guy. He's a professional in terms of presenting and selling the merits of our bid. He's an asset to our team and someone who will be a huge asset going forward for the next nine months."

Detailing England's schedule before FIFA makes it decision on Dec. 2, Anson said the next nine months promised to be "pretty gruelling".

His team's next challenge is finalizing the bid book, which will shortly be submitted to printers, and he said that for now it was "all hands to the pump" on that.

"Obviously there's a lot of content to go in there in terms of the infrastructure, the stadiums, the security, the telecoms, the technology, all the aspects of the technical bid that we've got to get into place."

Attention would then turn to the World Cup in South Africa, which Anson described as "a great opportunity to sell our bid", and the FIFA inspection visit in August. Beyond that the final three months of the bid race would involve extensive campaigning.

"It's really about getting the timing and the pace of the bid right," said Anson, who admitted that England may have started their campaign too early.

"We started before most of our competitors," he said. "So we had the first year pretty much to ourselves meeting members of the FIFA Executive Committee, presenting to them and talking about our bid.

"That may have been the right thing to do or it might not - we may have actually started too early with hindsight.

"Now we feel that events are really picking up. Yes, the competition are going and it's pretty intense, but we're definitely getting the pace right and it feels pretty good right now.

"I feel that the momentum is moving in the right direction, but there's nine months to go - nine months of hard, hard slog ahead."

With reporting from James Corbett
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The Monday Briefing - Premier League HD Content Service; MLS Talks Continue

World Football Insider — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:12:48 GMT

(WFI) World Football Insider rounds up the 10 things you need to know about the global football business today.

EPL launches HD content service for licensees
The Premier League is to launch a 24/7 high definition content service for its licensees outside of the UK and Ireland in August. The year-round offering will produced in the UK by the Premier League Productions division at IMG. It's the first time the EPL has produced a studio-based content service specifically for its licensees. Already confirmed is that content provided by the service will be broadcast across all of the Middle East and Africa and parts of Europe and Asia.
Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore, said: "We have worked hard to make interest in the Barclays Premier League global and we currently broadcast in 211 territories to a global reach of over 500 million. As we have grown so has the thirst from our licensees and prospective licensees to have more content from us. We have listened to them and the Premier League's content service is the response to that demand.

"Our content service will be at the vanguard of sports industry media development. We are moving away from a time where the people who buy our rights overseas are traditional broadcasters, to one where buyers can include telephony companies and platform operators who do not generate their own content. This new service gives them access to quality Premier League content 24 hours a day."

Chinese corruption probe expands
China's state media reports that the investigation into corruption is now looking into the involvement of referees and the women's game. It follows the arrests earlier this year of former CFA boss Nan Yong and senior officials Yang Yimin and Zhang Jianqiang, who were sacked over match-fixing and bribe-taking charges. The Beijing Times reports that a number of referees are believed to be in police custody, and new CFA chief Wei Di told the newspaper that corruption that has blighted the men's game has likely spread to the women's game: "Against the huge background of cracking down on match-fixing and gambling, it is not possible that women's football is a pool of clean water," Wei said.

MLS brings in mediator for talks with union
Major League Soccer and the MLS Players Union will meet this week in Washington, D.C. to continue collective bargaining agreement negotiations. As part of the meetings, both sides have agreed to invite George H. Cohen, the director of the federal mediation and conciliation service (FMCS), to serve as a mediator during talks.

Japan bid ambassadors
The Japan 2018/2022 World Cup bid committee has announced the appointment of one player from each of the 37 clubs in the J.League's two divisions - as well as one player from J2 Oita Trinita (based in Oita, one of the candidate Host Cities) - as bid ambassadors. The J-League 2010 season kicked off on March 6. This year marks the league's eighteenth season; organisers expect the league to hit its target of an annual aggregate attendance of 11 million spectators at official matches.

Rangers in takeover talks
Scottish Premier League leaders Rangers confirm that majority shareholder David Murray is in

One of the new bid ambassadors is Japan international Hisato Sato who plays for Sanfrecce Hiroshima

talks with UK property developer Andrew Ellis about a possible takeover. In a statement, the Glasgow club, who are believed to be more than 31 million pounds in debt, says discussions are at an early stage. The RFC board has set up an independent committee, comprising the chairman Alastair Johnston, John McClelland, Martin Bain, Donald McIntyre and John Greig, to consider any offers. "It is particularly important to the Independent Directors that any possible offer is able to demonstrate the capacity and commitment to provide a stable and sustainable future for RFC and the Independent Directors will want to understand fully the plans of any potential offer or in order to recommend the action that shareholders should take," the statement said.

Champions League final tickets
Tickets for the 2010 UEFA Champions League final at the Santiago Bernab�u stadium in Madrid on May 22 went on sale today exclusively via UEFA.com. UEFA has allocated 11,000 to the general public for the showpiece match, with the sales window closing on March 19. For the final, the stadium will accommodate 75,000 people. The finalist clubs will each receive 21,000 tickets.

Beckham returns
David Beckham returns to Old Trafford on Wednesday for the first time since leaving Manchester United seven years ago. AC Milan must overcome a 3-2 deficit to advance to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. The last time Beckham played a Champions League game at the stadium he scored two goals.

Football fundraising for quake-hit Chile
Chilean football authorities have suspended the national Apertura championship and closed a number of stadiums around the country due to structural damage in the wake of the devastating earthquake that hit the country last week. The Chilean National Professional Football Association (ANFP) is planning for a league comprising two rounds to be played through to the end of the year. Meanwhile, a raft of fundraising initiatives involving the country's clubs are being coordinated by the National Professional Footballers' Union (SIFUP). defending league champions Universidad de Chile are inviting fans to training sessions where they can have photos taken with the club's stars in exchange for food; in a similar scheme Santiago rivals Colo Colo have collected nearly 30 tons of food.

CAF awards
Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast) and Michael Essien (Ghana) are among the contenders hoping to be crowned African Footballer of the Year at the CAF Awards in Ghana's capital Accra on Thursday. Eto'o is seeking a fourth gong, after winning the title three times in succession between 2003 and 2005, The awards, now in their 18th year, will be sponsored by Globacom for the fifth time.

CAF reviews African Cup of Nations
The Confederation of African Football is convening a special symposium from March 23-25 in Cairo, Egypt to review the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola. CAF says the aim is to identify key challenges in the pursuit of developing the game on the continent and to see if the event can learn from other trends in the staging of international football events to help raise standards. The head coaches and technical directors of the 55 national associations affiliated to CAF are expected to participate in the workshop.

With reporting from Mark Bisson
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Arsenal Manager Reacts Angrily to FIFA Rejection of Goal-line Technology

World Football Insider — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:14:13 GMT

Wenger explained his disappointment with the decision on goal-line technology after Arsenal's 3-1 victory over Burnley (Getty Images)

(WFI) The International Football Association Board has ruled out goal-line technology to assist referees, prompting an angry reaction from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and former FA chief executive Brian Barwick.

IFAB, which rules on changes to the Laws of the Game, voted against the use of technology at its annual meeting at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich on Saturday. The decision was made after the governing body was updated on the use of Cairos, a system with a chip inserted in a ball, and Hawk-Eye, which is commonly used in tennis and cricket.

"Technology should not enter into the game. It was a clear, clear statement made by the majority of us," FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke told a news conference after the vote.

"Why should we have technology in a game where the main and unique parts should be the humans, players and referees?"

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger hit out at football's rulemakers, saying it was "beyond comprehension" that they were still opposed to goal-line technology.

"For me, it is difficult to understand, for one reason because you want as much justice as possible," Wenger was quoted by AFP after Arsenal beat Burnley 3-1 in the Premiership.

"I do not even think it is linked with the money factor. If you love football you want the right decisions to be made."

Former FA chief executive Brian Barwick added his voice to the chorus of protests over the IFAB decision. Noting his incredulity, he said "...hours of research put in, millions of Euros spent and exacting criteria met - and yet still the guardians of the game will not rubber-stamp the use of something that deals exclusively in fact."

Writing about the issue today in Britain's Daily Telegraph, he added: "I am a huge advocate of making the match officials' job easier not harder - and the adoption of goal-line technology would do just that.

"I have seen, first hand , whilst working with the German company Cairos how exacting and scientific the effort has been to create their system. And it works - instantly, every time - directly to the referee. Other companies, like Hawk-Eye, also rightly believe they have the system. Whatever, all of this work is now destined for the cutting room floor.

"The game is played to universal laws - but not to a universal standard, and not for universal prizes- and not to universal scrutiny.

Jonathan Ford of the Welsh FA and Patrick Nelson of the Irish FA backed FIFA's decision to reject the technology (WFI/ M. Falconi)

The best deserve the best - and whilst I genuinely agree in keeping the game 'human' - ignoring something to aid the search for proper sporting justice and dealing in fact- is ultimately self-defeating."

"Arrogance" of football's lawmakers
The IFAB's decision came on the day that Birmingham had a headed goal disallowed in their FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Portsmouth, a decision that would have been over-ruled if replays were made available to match officials as the ball had clearly crossed the line.

The use of technology was being considered as a tool to avoid referees' mistakes during the games, such as disputed goals that get routinely highlighted by TV replays. The video technology issue came under scrutiny last November when France striker Thierry Henry twice blatantly handballed in the lead-up to his team's decisive goal against Ireland in a World Cup play-off.

Speaking on BBC radio on Sunday, former international referee Graham Poll voiced his anger at the "arrogance" of football's lawmakers, questioning why they were so reluctant to see the benefits of goal-line technology.

"It's probably because of the level of arrogance. They feel that we have the best game, it's our game, the number one game and it's the same as experimenting with things like sin bins - 'Oh no, that's a rugby idea we wouldn't do that,"he told Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme.

Saturday's decision by IFAB to drop technology was opposed by the Football Association and Scottish FA, who had supported the idea of further experiments. But the Irish and Welsh FAs voted with FIFA. They later explained that their opposition to the technology stemmed from a desire to avoid disrupting the flow of the game.

Also during the meeting, IFAB members discussed a presentation on the use of additional referees, currently deployed in the UEFA Europa League, following the 144 matches played so far. Any decision on whether to allow an extra official behind each goal in future competitions worldwide was delayed to another meeting on May 17-18 following after the conclusion of the competition. The IFAB is also expected to discuss the role of the fourth official then.

During the meeting, IFAB also approved a proposal to let injured players from the same team who have collided to be treated on the pitch, while stretcher bearers will now only enter the field after a signal from the referee.

FIFA said the decisions approved on Saturday will come into effect on June 1, 2010.

The next IFAB's annual meeting will take place at Celtic Manor, Newport, Wales from March 4-6, 2011.

With reporting from Marta Falconi in Zurich and Mark Bisson
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On the Scene - Blatter Says World Cup Security Plans Can Be Trusted

World Football Insider — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:32:19 GMT

FIFA's Jerome Valcke and Sepp Blatter at the news conference in Zurich today (WFI/ M. Falconi)

(WFI) FIFA president Sepp Blatter says he has full confidence in the security planning in South Africa ahead of this summer's World Cup.

Blatter spoke Friday at the end of a two-day security workshop held at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich.

The meeting gathered police representatives from the majority of the 32 countries taking part in the competition as well as senior officials from the South African World Cup organizing committee, Interpol and the South African government.

"We reiterate our trust and confidence," Blatter told a news conference.

"We're now 97 days from kick off and I am sure this will be an event that will give us pleasure and emotions. Football is a fiesta, the World Cup should be a fiesta."

It is widely acknowledged that South Africa suffers from a high rate of crime and concerns were voiced about the safety of spectators and participants to the June 11-July 11 tournament.

Details on what security plans are being worked out were not disclosed at the news conference, but FIFA's secretary general Jerome Valcke told World Football Insider that the role of the security forces was not to be at the forefront, but rather to ensure safety while having an inconspicuous presence.

"The main point of this meeting was to share information on the plans for security. The main challenge at the end is that security is not seen and the event is just a sporting event without anything happening," he said.

"The main challenge is that the country is secure and that the people will never have the feeling that there's too much security. or not enough security."

Valcke said

Valcke hopes the security forces will not detract from fans enjoyment at this summer's World Cup (WFI/ M. Falconi)

that attendance by the South Africa's chief of army and chief of intelligence service had proved important for the workshop. He added that another security summit will be held in April in South Africa.

Interpol security chief Christopher Eaton, who took part in the workshop, said his agency was dispatching the largest ever team of experts to a World Cup. He also said that the sporting event will be "wonderful" and that security "will play a little role".

Bhekokwakhe Cele, the South African national commissioner of police, said Friday that the World Cup "is not a war".

"Security agencies and personnel will be there to support the players, the participants and the fans so that everybody can enjoy [themselves] as much as they can."

Cele also praised South Africa's efforts to work towards delivering a legacy in terms of safety. He said that the training and new equipment that South African police has received "will not go to waste".

The South African police personnel deployed for the tournament will number 188,000, he revealed.

"We are in the world's top three when it comes to population-to-police ratio. But the event itself has given us an extra edge. The South African government budgeted 1.3 billion rand ($175 million) specifically for security matters, technology, equipment and training," he told FIFA.com.

Cele insisted plans are in hand for security controls at the Fan Fests that were a big hit at Germany 2006 and are set for similar success in South Africa.

"The Fan Fest during the Final Draw in Cape Town has taught us a lot about how to plan for these things. We had planned for about 15,000 people, but in the end 55,000 turned up," he said. "We have also had games between Kaiser Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, a major derby match, to work on defining fan parks and public viewing areas."

With reporting from Marta Falconi
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Newsdesk - Premiership Clubs Dismiss Play-off Plan; Russian FA Chief Meets Platini

World Football Insider — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:35:45 GMT

(WFI) English Premier League clubs have rejected a proposal to introduce a play off for England's fourth Champions League place, despite a majority of clubs backing the proposal.

Reports suggest the proposal - first mooted last month - was narrowly rejected, with eleven votes voting in favour and nine against. Three more clubs needed to vote in favor in order to carry the plan.

Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea are all understood to have rejected a plan which threatened their stranglehold on the competition.

In five of the last six seasons they have taken England's Champions League places with their hegemony only once broken, by Everton in 2005. Even then Liverpool, who finished fifth, still qualified as holders.

But it is understood that concerns about fixture congestion and the competition's integrity saw other clubs vote alongside them. Fulham and Birmingham City, both currently placed in the EPL's top ten, were reported to have joined the 'big four' in rejecting the plan.

"The main topic of discussion was the Champions League play-off for that fourth qualifying place," said EPL ceo Richard Scudamore. "We gave a lot of discussion, a lot of detail, a lot of data. But there was not enough support to take the idea forward, so we won't be discussing that proposal any further."

The proposal received a mixed response among fans and clubs themselves. Some saw it as an impediment to the EPL's integrity while others a way of redressing the growing financial gap between the top four and the rest of the league.

While Aston Villa's manager Martin O'Neill described the proposal "interesting" and said it was worth considering, others were more dismissive.

"It's down to where you finish," said the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger last month. "You have to accept that the best four are in the Champions League. This year there's a massive fight, nobody's guaranteed to be in the top four. You can drop points anywhere and the gaps between teams are getting shorter and shorter."

Russian FA chief meets Platini
New Russian Football Union president Sergei Fursenko emphasised the importance of cooperation between UEFA and the RFS in a meeting with its president Michel Platini at the governing body's Nyon headquarters.

"We have had major discussions about the development of football. We are deeply involved in

Russian Football Union president Sergei Fursenko (Getty Images)

UEFA as part of the football family, because of the competitions and through the spirit of this organisation," Fursenko, who was voted in as president in February, told UEFA.com.

One of Fursenko's first tasks is to find a replacement for Guus Hiddink, the Dutchman who ended his four-year spell managing the Russia team with a 1-1 friendly draw with Hungary this week.

A Russian newspaper reported that Fursenko had met with England manager Fabio Capello last week to sound him out about taking over Russia. But Capello , who could expect to earn a �6.3m per year tax-free salary as Russia coach, is believed to be committed to staying with England until his contract runs out in 2012.

Fursenko also met with UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino and officials from UEFA's national associations division on his visit to Nyon. Discussions largely focused on assistance to Russia under the UEFA HatTrick programme.

Commenting on the initiative, Fursenko said: "We have to develop our association and our football. Help is very important for our country, because the climate is not so easy. It's very important to build artificial pitches."

Financial fair play on UEFA agenda
UEFA's financial fair play rules will be one of the hot topics of debate at its executive committee meeting and congress in Tel Aviv, Israel from March 23 to 25.

The regulations, which have yet to be finalised, are designed to stabilize club finances across Europe and reduce the yawning gulf between the moneyed clubs bankrolled by wealthy owners and smaller clubs.

Earlier this week, the European Club Association announced it had won some concessions to UEFA's initial proposals that will include a phased introduction of the initiative. Clubs must show they can break even by 2015 otherwise they will be banned from participation in UEFA's Champions league and Europa League competitions.

Releasing details of the agenda for the executive committee meeting, UEFA said it would receive an update on the Club Financial Control Panel activities. Other items up for discussion include UEFA's anti-doping regulations and the UEFA Women's European Championship format.

Delegates from UEFA's 53 member associations will attend the congress on March 25.

IFA Zurich dates
The International Football Arena Zurich conference will take place at the Dolder Grand Hotel from Oct. 25 to 26, it has been announced.

More details will soon be posted on the conference website:

http://www.international-football-arena.com/index.html

With reporting by James Corbett and Mark Bisson
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Zuma Meets England 2018 Bid Chief, Downplays World Cup Security Concerns

World Football Insider — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:34:01 GMT

Jacob Zuma, pictured right, with England 2018 CEO David Triesman, England manager Fabio Capello and bid ambassador John Barnes (WFI/ T. Moloantoa)

(WFI) South African President Jacob Zuma says England 2018 has a strong World Cup bid but stops short on offering his unequivocal support on a visit to Wembley Stadium.

Zuma met with bid chairman David Triesman at Wembley on Thursday following a trip to see the London 2012 Olympic Park in east London as part of his state visit to the UK.

Quizzed on whether he could guarantee South Africa's support of the England 2018 bid, Zuma, who is also head of the ruling African National Congress, refused to be drawn. He diplomatically proclaimed that "we believe that England will stage a bid strong enough to compel members of FIFA's executive to give great consideration to them".

Commenting on the 2018/2022 World Cup bid race, South Africa 2010 CEO Danny Jordaan, who joined Zuma at Wembley, said "it makes sense for 2018 to be a Europe-only affair".

Triesman told Zuma that the bid was continuing efforts to encourage even more English fans to travel to South Africa for the World Cup.

"We have had a close relationship with football in South Africa and on the rest of the African continent over many years; and are proud of the assistance we have provided in various programs to develop the game," said Triesman.

Triesman said that England's senior national team players had agreed to donate part of their pay from matches played recently towards the Street Child World Cup, which kicks off in South Africa on March 13.

Zuma downplayed security fears for visitors to South Africa this summer, a recurring topic raised by the media covering World Cup preparations due to the country's high crime rate.

He said that it "was expected that there would be some criticism of South Africa's preparations for the World Cup - but that we are proud of the notion that various government departments, the organizing committee and private sector stakeholders continued to work diligently and stay focused on the job at hand."

Jordaan told reporters at Wembley that they should remember that the media had criticized various aspects of security at a number of global sporting events, including the Seoul Olympics

Zuma joins Triesman and Jordaan at the press conference held at Wembley Stadium (WFI/ T. Moloantoa)

in South Korea and the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

He said that security concerns appear to have had limited impact on British ticket buyers.

"About 100, 000 tickets have been snapped up in the UK alone, and another 120,000 in the US - these buyers would not have shown so much confidence in our messages to them if they were so concerned."

Jordaan, an ANC stalwart and former member of South Africa's parliament, revealed that 700,000 requests had been received for the remaining 900, 000 tickets.

After a news conference, the dignitaries were joined on Wembley pitch by South Africa captain Aaron Mokoena and England 2018 bid ambassador John Barnes for a penalty shoot-out and to sign the 1Goal Charity

Olympics minister Tessa Jowell, London Mayor Boris Johnson, Jacob Zuma and Olympic Delivery Authority chairman John Armitt at the 2012 Olympic Park on Thursday (WFI/ T. Moloantoa)

board, signifying their support of the foundation's objective to utilize football as a tool to promote education in Africa.

Earlier on in the day, Zuma and Prime Minister Gordon Brown reached a resolution that South Africa will host a global summit on education during the World Cup.

Zuma insists 2010 preparations on schedule
The South African president was accompanied by an entourage of 12 government ministers to London's Olympic Park and Wembley Stadium. He met with London 2012 chair Sebastian Coe, Olympics minister Tessa Jowell, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Olympic Delivery Authority chair John Armitt.

Zuma quipped that he believed that the construction projects will be completed on time to host the Games in two years time. He said that organizers had no reason to be worried, and should pay little attention to negative criticism, just as South Africa had done in its preparations for the 2010 World Cup.

"I believe that miracles do happen, as people gave us no chance to complete the stadiums on time just a year ago. Now we are actually ahead of schedule."

Johnson welcomed Zuma to the Olympic site. "As South Africa passes its 100 days to go countdown to the World Cup it's an honour to host President Zuma at the Olympic Park and show our great progress with less than 900 days to go to the 2012 London Games," said Johnson.

"Hosting world-class sporting events is something South Africa and London have in common and it was useful to discuss our 2018 World Cup bid with the president and his delegation," he continued. "I wish him and South Africa the very best of luck this summer and hope he has an enjoyable and informative visit to London."

With reporting from Thapelo Moloantoa
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On the Scene - Soccer City Goes Over Budget; New Ticketing Strategy

World Football Insider — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:42:02 GMT

Johannesburg Mayor Amos Masondo talks about Soccer City costs at a press conference (WFI/ O. Obayiuwana)

(WFI) The construction cost of Soccer City, the venue of the opening and final matches of this summer's World Cup, has gone over budget by $133 million.

The stadium, which was formally handed over on Wednesday to Johannesburg Mayor Amos Masondo by Roger Jardine, the CEO of the Aveng construction group, had been originally budgeted to cost $295 million (R2.2 billion)

But Parks Tau, a Johannesburg City councillor, told reporters that the unexpected rise in the cost of building materials was responsible for the hike in costs.

Top officials of the South African Football Association (SAFA) were absent from the handing over, as they were in Durban for South Africa's friendly against Namibia, which ended 1-1.

With a capacity for 94,700 spectators, Soccer City, designed in the shape of an African calabash, is the 11th largest sporting arena in the world.

"This is an incredibly exciting moment for the Aveng Group, as we present a piece of African pride to the mayor of Johannesburg. We are ready for the World Cup and cannot wait for the games to begin so that we can showcase African ingenuity in design," said Jardine.

Originally constructed in 1987 but completely rebuilt over the last 30 months, the new arena has three seating tiers, 230 private boxes, 184 suites, 32 turnstiles and has parking facilities for approximately 19,000 cars within the perimeter of the stadium.

But as World Football Insider has already reported, work is still being done on the outer perimeter of the stadium, with a huge landscaping project now in progress.

Sibongile Mazibuko, executive director of the City's 2010 World Cup Office, revealed

South African football fans greeted the FIFA delegation at Soccer City (WFI/ O. Obayiuwana)

that the laying of data cables into the stadium had to be finished before pavements and landscaping around the venue can be completed.

"We are waiting for Telkom and Sentech to finish laying their cables before we pour concrete or lay tar on the roads. The BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) station along the Soweto Highway and all work around the stadium will be completed by the end of March," she claimed.

Mazibuko also said they hope to mark the opening of the imposing stadium with England playing a friendly against the 2010 World Cup hosts.

But a local tournament is scheduled to take place on March 26, with the semi-finals and finals of the Telkom Knockout tournament being used to test run the venue.

In a previous visit to the stadium on Feb. 26, Jerome Valcke, general secretary of FIFA, challenged critics of South Africa's preparations for the World Cup to "acknowledge" the "world-class" facilities available at Soccer City.

"In how many countries around the world can you see a stadium of the quality of Soccer City? Very few, I can say."

"At FIFA, we organise not just one World Cup over four years but twenty and I can tell you that it is one of the most beautiful stadiums I have seen over four years. And the good thing is that our technicians have been looking at the stadium. They have taken a look at the pitch and they are very satisfied with what they have seen," he said.

In a separate development, Valcke told World Football Insider that FIFA intends to devise a strategy to sell match tickets in states neighbouring South Africa, in order to ensure that the World Cup is truly "an African event".

"We intend to have mobile selling points in the countries that neighbour South Africa, to ensure that people in those countries keen on watching games at the World Cup, are able to attend. We will reveal the details of these plans in the next few weeks," he said.

With reporting from Osasu Obayiuwana in South Africa. Obayiuwana is the editor of the London-based African Football magazine

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Korea 2022 Reveals Host Cities; Garber Promotes US Bid; Indonesia Crisis

World Football Insider — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:07:59 GMT

President Lee Myung-bak met Platini during the UEFA chief's visit to Seoul where he signed a sponsorship agreement with Hyundai (Getty Images)

(WFI) Korea's World Cup bid committee reveals 14 stadiums in 12 host cities as part of its bid to host the 2022 finals.

The north eastern city of Cheonan and Goyang, located on the borders of Seoul, join the 10 cities ? Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejeon, Ulsan, Suwon, Jeonju and Jeju ? that hosted World Cup matches in 2002.

The committee received 15 host city applications but eliminated three ? Pohang, Cheongju and Muan.

The unveiling of the World Cup host cities comes three days after Korean President Lee Myung-bak met UEFA President Michel Platini to discuss his country's bid to host the 2022 World Cup finals.

Platini, who sits on FIFA's 24-man executive committee, was in Seoul to sign a UEFA sponsorship agreement with Hyundai. The car manufacturer signed up as automotive partner for the 2012 and 2016 European Championships.

"I hope Korea will host the 2022 World Cup finals. South and North Korea will be able to generate various symbolic effects through soccer," Lee was quoted by local media.

They were joined by Platini's fell ex-co member Chung Mong-joon, and Han Sung-joo, chairman of the bidding committee.

In January, Lee met FIFA president Sepp Blatter at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.

MLS chief promotes bid at Soccerex
Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber underlined the strengths of the US World Cup bid in his address to delegates at the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester this week

Speaking in a 1-to-1 interview, Garber dismissed the suggestion that US fans lack the passion of supporters in other countries, one criticism that came during what was regarded as a successful 1994 World Cup, still the best-attended tournament on record.

"In our World Cup bid we expect that there will be five million people that will attend games. That's a lot of people in a very short period of time," he told the Soccerex audience.

Emphasising the passion for football in the US, Garber said that last summer 75 international matches were held, in addition to MLS games, that attracted some two million fans in the space of just four weeks.

"93,000 came to see Barcelona play the LA Galaxy in the Rose Bowl in the middle of the week in the summer time in an exhibition game that didn't matter," he said.

He said recent research had revealed that 90 million people in US regarded themselves as soccer fans.

Garber said FIFA and its 24 executive committee members, who will decide the destination of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in December, recognised the passion of US fans as did the clubs from Europe who have travelled there for pre-season tours.

"The passion exists in our country. When you go to an MLS game it is special. The fans are engaging with the game the same way as fans around the world," he said.

Asked for his assessment of how the US bid was progressing in the 2018/2022 bid race, Garber declined to comment.

Don Garber at the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester (WFI/ M. Bisson)

"We have got 18 cities that have been part of our technical requirement bid. The average stadium size is 77,000. We would expect that we are going sell out every game," he said. "We would expect to have ticket prices at $200 or 250 per ticket.

"The cities are getting behind it in ways that we have almost never seen before, and the mayors and governors have been part of that process."

The US bid has assembled an impressive board of directors that includes former U.S. secretary of state Henry A. Kissinger, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, ESPN executive vice president John Skipper, film director Spike Lee and MLS founding investor Philip Anschutz.

Garber added: "We have put together this group of people representing all walks of life that hopefully will be able to get to those [FIFA] executive committee members and say 'hey, here's why it's good for the sport, not just good for the United States, to bring the World Cup back some time over the next eight or 12 years'".

Journalists move to oust Indonesia bid chief
Indonesian FA (PSSI) president and World Cup bid leader Nurdin Halid faces a further challenge as journalists lobby FIFA to bring his removal.

Halid has become a national hate figure after he was blamed for the abysmal performance of the national team. Indonesia's farcical efforts to host the 2022 World Cup finals have done little to add to his reputation.

The Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) says that it is taking steps to bring his removal as PSSI president.

Head of the PWI organizing committee, Sumohadi Marsis, told the Jakarta Post that it is calling on the PSSI to bring an extraordinary congress "with the main item on the agenda of rooting out Nurdin and his cronies from the association."

He added that the PWI's "Plan B" is to lobby the AFC and FIFA to bring Halid's dismissal.

With the PSSI considered a law unto itself, the latter measure may be more effective.

Halid ran the PSSI between September 2007 and November 2008 from his prison cell while serving a corruption sentence and is facing a further probe into his affairs.

His criminal past is in direct contravention of FIFA's Code of Ethics. This demands officials demonstrate "a high degree of ethics and integrity" and says that those with a criminal record are ineligible for office if the offence is incompatible with their duties.

The code also makes specific reference to "financial matters" of which Halid is ultimately responsible. The PSSI treasurer was last week arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife.

The journalists will take inspiration from their Mexican counterparts, who precipitated regime change at the Mexican FA (FMF) in the late-1980s when they uncovered irregularities in the FMF's governance. This included the doctoring of birth certificates to field over age players in Mexico's youth teams, for which the country were ultimately banned from international football for two years - a period that included the 1990 World Cup finals.

Nearly a month after the Indonesian government refused to provide FIFA with necessary letters of guarantee, Indonesia remains in the bid race after football's governing body refuse to confirm the country's disqualification.

With reporting by James Corbett and Mark Bisson
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Photodesk - 2010 Soccerex European Forum

World Football Insider — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:05:36 GMT

World Football Insider was on the scene at the just-ended Soccerex European Forum held in Manchester. (WFI)

(WFI) Representatives from 217 football clubs and 10 leagues attended the Soccerex European Forum. Also present were 2018/2022 World Cup bid teams from England, Japan, Qatar, Russia and the USA.

Over 1,200 delegates attended the Manchester event.

Manchester United CEO David Gill and Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber were among a host of high-profile speakers drawn from UEFA, football associations, clubs and other football-related organisations.

Next stop for Soccerex is the Asian Forum in the Raffles hotel, Singapore on 28-29 July.

Click here for exclusive photos from the Soccerex European Forum!

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