Man Utd dials in Emtel for content deal
February 6 – Manchester United has added Mauritius telecom specialist Emtel as its first official partner in the country.
Premier League
Spurs bid to unlock the Chinese puzzle
February 6 – Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur has launched a Chinese language website on Chinese internet giant Netease’s web platform. The site went live in the build up to this weekend’s North London derby.
Premier League closes Jan window with £130m spend and 114 deals done
By Mark Baber
February 4 – Premier League clubs have spent an estimated £130 million in this year’s transfer window, probably equivalent to last year’s spending (based on figures for individual transfers leaked to the media) with about half the total spending accounted for by Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City.
Liverpool return Down Under for pre-season tour
February 4 – English Premier League club Liverpool will head for Australia for the second time in three years for their pre-season tour in July, playing games in Adelaide and Brisbane for the first time.
Exclusive: Chelsea may net £8 million gain from deadline day dealings
By David Owen
February 3 – Chelsea may have boosted this year’s profits by close to £8m as a result of the club’s deadline-day dealings in which it effectively swapped one attack-minded wide man for another. The Premier League leaders brought in Colombian World Cup star Juan Cuadrado (pictured) from Fiorentina for a reported £23.3 million, while selling German World Cup winner André Schürrle to Wolfsburg for a reported £22 million.
West Ham in FIFA trouble over playing Sakho with FA Cup spot in jeopardy
February 3 – English Premier League club West Ham are facing a FIFA inquiry over the withdrawal of their Senegalese striker Diafra Sakho from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Red Devils bank on Swissquote sponsorship
January 27 – Manchester United have signed their first online financial services partner, aimed at exploiting their estimated 659 million fanbase worldwide.
Gunners fire themselves into Indonesian record books
January 27 – Two teams, 770 players, 9 hours, 97 goals and a world record. Arsenal FC broke new boundaries in Indonesia last weekend with the country’s longest non-stop football match ever.
Swansea City eye £20m buy of Liberty Stadium
January 22 – The prospect of Swansea City buying the Liberty Stadium, which they have shared with the Ospreys rugby team since 2005, from the current owners, Swansea City Council, have increased with the club saying they would welcome discussions on a sale.
Man Utd rolls the dice with first social casino games partner KamaGames
January 21 – Manchester United has announced Irish casino game maker KamaGames as the club’s first official Social Casino Games partner. KamaGames is a specialist in developing games for mobile and is targeting United’s global fan based, claimed by the club to number 659 million followers.
Huth trips over tweets and lands up with a misconduct charge
January 15 – The pitfalls of professional footballers using social media for the wrong purposes have again been underlined after an English Premier League defender was charged with “aggravated misconduct”.
Manchester clubs bet on Asia with lottery deal and LIVE event
January 14 – Asia is proving fertile ground for the Manchester clubs from the English Premier League. City have broken into China with local lottery provider DJI Holdings, while United have announced the second day of the club’s UNITED: LIVE fan party will take place in Jakarta, Indonesia January 31.
Gerrard winds down Liverpool career as he lines-up US move
January 5 – Former England captain Steven Gerrard says his decision to leave Liverpool and become the latest footballing icon to further his career in the United States was the toughest decision of his life.
Hammers nail down profit as move to Olympic stadium approaches
By David Owen
January 4 – West Ham United, the east London club gearing up to move to the Olympic stadium in 2016, has become the latest Premier League outfit to report substantially improved financial results on the back of increased broadcasting revenue.
New York fury as Lampard misses MLS season start to stay in Manchester
By Andrew Warshaw
January 2 – The increasing practise of experienced European, especially Premier League, stars moving across the pond to Major League Soccer for a final career hurrah has come under fresh scrutiny as a result of Frank Lampard’s controversial decision to temporarily snub New York City.