Europe Archives - Page 413 of 498 - Inside World Football

London Olympic Stadium begins refit amid new questions of ‘national interest’

Olympic stadium

By Paul Nicholson
November 21 – The remodelling of London’s 2012 Olympic Stadium in preparation for occupancy by Premier League club West Ham United started in earnest yesterday with the removal of the stadium floodlights in preparation for a cantilevered roof. At the same time a report from the House of Lords suggested that Football League Division 1 club Leyton Orient should be allowed “occasional” use of the stadium.

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Poland’s Ruch Chorzow unveils new €23m stadium design

Ruch Chorzow stadium design

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
November 20 – Poland’s Ruch Chorzow has selected the design of its new stadium. The club said that it expects to obtain planning permission in June 2014, with construction work at the 12,000-seat facility starting two months later.

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Gibraltar makes world debut with a draw against Slovakia

Gibraltar fans

By Andrew Warshaw
November 20 – All eyes may have been on the four nail-biting playoffs but the most historic European encounter Tuesday night took place in the Algarve region of Portugal where tiny Gibraltar staged their first full international since winning their 14-year battle to become UEFA’s 54th and smallest member.

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Champions League ‘worth every penny’ as BT lines up next assault on old order

BT Sport

By Mark Ledsom
November 20 – The head of BT TV insisted on Tuesday that the company´s audacious £897 million purchase of the UEFA Champions League broadcast rights earlier this month had been “worth every penny”, and also suggested that BT was ready to mount a similarly aggressive bid during the next round of bidding for the English Premier League TV rights.

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Rapid’s changed management aims to build a new Austrian empire

Rapid Vienna

By Paul Nicholson
November 19 – One of Europe’s most iconic clubs is undergoing a revolution, Viennese style. SK Rapid, better known to most European fans as Rapid Vienna, has a new president, plans for a new stadium and is targeting a new era as one of Europe’s top clubs in the world’s best city to live in according to Mercer’s latest Quality of Living ranking.

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CSKA Moscow owner lines up a stake in Slavia Prague

Yevgeni Giner

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
November 18 – CSKA Moscow owner Yevgeni Giner (pictured) is reportedly in talks with Ales Rebicek, owner of Slavia Prague, to buy the Czech football club.

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Tears and fears for Euro giants Bayern and Man Utd over financial results

euros

By Paul Nicholson
November 15 – It was a mixed bag of emotions amongst Europe’s elite clubs this week as both Bayern Munich and Manchester United announced club record financial results.

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Bulgaria puts its hard football face aside to embrace blind fan

Dobri 2

By Alexander Krassimirov
November 15 – Not all Bulgarian football stories are about owners at war, death threats to referees and violent fans forcing coaches to quit. The love of football by one Bulgarian fan has touched the hearts of the nation and his favourite club CSKA Sofia.

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Derby’s Pride Park renames to iPro Stadium in £7m deal

Derby County

November 15 – English Championship club Derby County are to rename Pride Park the iPro Stadium in a 10-year sponsorship deal worth £7 million. A deal that the club maintain is the highest ‘independent’ deal (ie not involving ‘soft’ ownership sponsorship) outside the Premier League.

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Widzew Lodz secure much-needed shirt sponsor and look to future

Widzew Lodz fans

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
November 14 – Poland’s Widzew Lodz has signed a sponsorship deal with local pharmaceutical company Aflofarm Farmacja. The logo of one of the drugs manufactured by the company, Braveran, will appear on its squad shirts.

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Austria hit by match-fixing scandal as police arrest three

Grodig fans

By Andrew Warshaw
November 14 – Austria is the latest European country to be hit by the global match-fixing scourge with a former international reportedly detained after apparently attempting to blackmail SV Grodig defender Dominique Taboga into manipulating one of the country’s top-flight games.

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SAP signs Bierhoff and signals intention to drive deeper into football

Oliver Bierhoff SAP Events Hoffenheim 2013 007 t450x300

By Paul Nicholson
November 14 – German data giant SAP has increased its foothold in football and signalled an intention to grow its business in the sports area with an expansion of its relationship with the German Bundesliga football club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and the addition of German national team manager Oliver Bierhoff as a brand ambassador.

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Lyon stadium construction begins in race to ready for 2016 Euros

Lyon Stade de Lumieres

By Paul Nicholson
November 13 – The foundation stone for the €250 million Grande Stade de Lyon was laid yesterday. The new Lyon stadium. also known as the Stade des Lumières, will be one of France’s 10 UEFA Euro 2016 venues and the race is now on to make sure the stadium is finished in time for the championships.

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Barca’s ‘reverse’ sponsorship deal with Unicef extended for 2 years

barca shirt

November 13 – Barcelona have agreed a two-year extension to its partnership with the United Nations Children’s fund, Unicef.

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Yeung money laundering trial continues, Birmingham City future in balance

carson yeung

By Andrew Warshaw
November 13 – Carson Yeung, the Hong Kong businessman who owns English club Birmingham City, has lost a second appeal to have his money laundering trial thrown out. A district court judge said Yeung wasn’t prejudiced by new evidence submitted by the prosecution during the trial which has been going for almost two months.