By Andrew Warshaw
April 22 – England’s failed 2018 World Cup bid has come under fresh scrutiny with the revelation that a company run by the son of one-time 2018 Board member Sir Dave Richards secured commercial deals to provide merchandise to promote the bid.
The marketing firm Glue Creative Production Solutions, owned by Sir Dave’s son, also supplied material for the Premier League as well as the Swiss-based Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL), both of which are chaired by Sir Dave.
Sir Dave was a director of Glue until December 31 last year and suggestions of a possible conflict of interest are being taken so seriously that the issue could be raised at next week’s Parliamentary inquiry into football.
According to Glue’s website, both the Premier League and Football League are clients.
The company openly promotes its business with the football world though there is no mention of Sir Dave.
The company does claim, however, that it was asked by the England 2018 bid team “to produce a range of promotional merchandise to be given away at various events in the UK and also during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The items were to be given to children, adults and also VIPs.
“Adults received pin badges, pens and leather hand tied coasters, (pictured) with the VIPs receiving premium pens and hand-made Italian calf leather moleskine notebooks packaged in exclusive branded wrapping.”
Glue was also asked to create a new trophy for the national league of Thailand.
Intriguingly, the head of the Thai FA is Worawi Makudi, a FIFA Executive Committee member whose vote England constantly coveted during their 2018 campaign.
The revelations were first published in the Yorkshire Post but in an interview with insideworldfootball, Sir Dave’s son, also called Dave, insisted his conscience was totally clear and that there were no vested family interests.
He said it was totally wrong to infer that the company, based in the family’s home town of Sheffield whose turnover is understood to be around £600,000 ($991,000), had made any money on the back of his father’s position.
“We supply gifts to a whole raft of people, it’s our bread and butter,” Richards said.
“Sport represents an insignificant amount of our turnover.
“My dad hasn’t been a director since December of last year and isn’t a shareholder.
“He has no influence over the business and no active role within it.
“Do I see a conflict of interest?
“No.
“Neither myself nor my business partner think we have done anything wrong.”
Sir Dave was not available for comment.
Nor was the Football Association while the Premier League said Sir Dave had never taken part in any decisions related to Glue.
The Premier League insisted that it had no contract in place with Glue but in a statement admitted there had been dealings with the company.
“They have in the past provided us with an ad-hoc service for small-scale orders of Premier League branded corporate gifts as many other small suppliers have,” the statement said.
Richards Junior told insideworldfootball that the order placed with England’s 2018 World Cup bid was commissioned by the London-based communications and marketing agency Unspun.
“That’s who we were given the work by,” he said.
“They were the ones who specifically placed the work with Glue.”
Contacted by insideworldfootball, however, Unspun spokesperson Jenny Simmons who, according to the company website managed the “invitation logistics for the official launch event of England’s 2018/2022 World Cup bid”, refused all comment.
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