Man City squad tops rich list with world’s highest average wage
April 17 – In a week when financial fair play (FFP) came under renewed scrutiny, Manchester City have emerged as the best paid squad in global sport, according to a new study.
News
Bullish ad spend report points to happy times ahead for football
April 11 – Football will be one of the main beneficiaries from a global growth in advertising rates, and commercial television will be the most dominant medium within that growth. For football’s rights holders that is good news as ad-driven TV stations will be able to afford premium rights, and sponsorship values will continue to grow as mass market audiences are delivered.
FIFPro turns up pressure for speedier reform of transfer system
By Andrew Warshaw
March 20 – The international players’ union FIFPro has again called on FIFA to reform the international transfer system which, it says, is failing the game and badly need to be addressed.
Mexico’s Gallos Blancos caught in middle of money laundering probe
March 7 – Mexican top tier club Gallos Blancos de Queretaro looks certain to be caught up in a government investigation into a corporate money laundering. The chief executive of Oceanografia, an oil services company being investigated by Mexican authorities, is the owner of the Gallos Blancos.
Football as art: LA exhibition showcases the game’s creative side
February 28 – The Beautiful Game is an increasingly overused expression; of course it is beautiful. It has a depth of beauty and meaning to football fans and players that is rarely communicated in words. But can this depth be expressed in art? The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) thinks it can.
FIFPro turns up pressure to end ‘obscene’ transfer fees and system
By Paul Nicholson
February 28 – World players union FIFPro has renewed its vehement criticism of the current transfer system following the latest FIFA Transfer Matching System (TMS) data which reported global transfer fees in 2013 of $3.72 billion, an increase of 41% on the previous year.
The end of the line or the start of a proper football journey?
By Paul Nicholson
February 14 – “Barrow’s Holker Street ground is no more. It is now the Furness Building Society Stadium, Wilkie Road. But on emerging through the turnstiles on to the terraces, it is difficult to see what substantive changes the Furness Building Society have actually made, beyond financing a new mundane rectangular administrative block at one end of the ground, from which the teams later came out,” writes Steve Leach,
TPO: A threatening or liberating force in football’s financial structure?
January 29 – Third party ownership of footballers’ economic rights is a hot issue that raises questions of integrity, money being siphoned out the game, and unbalancing of the football market. The big European nations generally hate it, the South Americans, in particular, embrace it. Lawyer Pāvels Tjusevs examines the business and draws some uncomfortable conclusions for football.
Exclusive: Inside the Champagne FIFA presidential bid
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
January 29 – Just over a week after announcing he was running for FIFA president, Jerome Champagne has given the strongest hint yet that he will withdraw rather than stand against Sepp Blatter – and that he would readily accept a new position under his former boss if he fails to land the top job.
Ossie Ardiles injured in Falklands car crash while on TV documentary shoot
January 22 – Former Argentine World Cup star Osvaldo Ardiles says he is “fine and doing well” after being admitted to hospital following a car crash in the Falkland Islands. Ardiles, 61, became a legend not only in his country after Argentina’s 1978 World Cup triumph but also at Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur where is regarded as one of the all-time greats, winning both the FA Cup and Uefa Cup.
Adidas and Nike face UK probe over ‘cartel’ accusations in UK
By Paul Nicholson
January 10 – Nike and adidas have been referred to the UK government’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT) anti-cartel unit following their decisions to supply major outlets only. So far, though, adidas have not been contacted by the OFT regarding an investigation.
Hitzlsperger out, coaching body launches LGBT advice section on website
By Paul Nicholson
January 9 – The messages of anti-discrimination and social inclusion of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people might be starting to get through as more high profile athletes and governing bodies are taking stands. Thomas Hitzlsperger became the biggest name footballer to come out as gay, while in the US the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America has added a ‘Gay, Lesbian and Ally’ page to its website.
New football deals to push 2014 TV sports rights to a bumper $24.2bn
By David Owen
January 6 – New analysis by professional services firm Deloitte foresees no sign that the premium sports rights “value bubble” is about to burst and predicts that growth in the value of global premium sports broadcast rights will this year accelerate by an eye-catching 14%.
Teixeira welcome turns cold in Andorran hiding place
By Andrew Warshaw
December 6 – Ricardo Teixeira, the disgraced former head of Brazilian football and not so long ago one of the most powerful men in world football, has apparently been forced to abandon plans to seek refuge in the tiny tax haven of Andorra.
China tops hosts list as countries buy in to impact of major event sports
By Mark Ledsom
November 20 – China has held on to top spot in an international ranking of major sporting event hosts published by the sports data research company Sportcal.