Inside World Football - Page 1058 of 2202 - For the Business of Football

Belgium football in chaos as police swoop on 44 locations in matchfixing probe

By Samindra Kunti

October 11 – Belgian football has been rocked by a wide-ranging investigation into financial fraud and match-fixing. The federal prosecutor’s office said that 44 searches of premises in Belgium and 13 abroad had been staged by 220 officers in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia. Club Brugge coach Ivan Leko (pictured) spent the night in jail and top agent Mogi Bayat was also arrested.

Integrity

Ronaldo’s lawyer says rape claim is based on ‘fabricated’ documents

October 11 – Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyer has issues a firm rebuke of the rape accusations against the Portuguese player, saying the documents backing up Kathryn Mayorga’s claims have been “completely fabricated”.

Europe

UEFA boost Nations League prize money with winner to get €10.5m

October 11 – With UEFA’s 55 nations entering their second and third rounds of Nations League fixtures the European governing body has announced a 50% increase in solidarity fees and a similar boost in prize money for group winners.

esports

Denmark’s top tier clubs to compete in new launch eSuperliga with pro players

October 11 – Denmark’s Superliga is launching its own esports championship with the top tier clubs set to begin play in the eSuperliga on November 5.

Concacaf

Panama dump Mexico out of France 2019 contention, Jamaica and Costa Rica still in hunt

October 11 – Panama broke Mexican hearts with a 2-0 win in the Concacaf Women’s Championship, dashing Mexico’s hopes of qualifying for a third consecutive women’s World Cup. The United States hammered Trinidad and Tobago, consolidating their position of supremacy in the region.

Football Marketing

VfB Stuttgart take first Chinese steps with Guangzhou R&F

October 11 – Bundlesliga’s VfB Stuttgart is the latest German club to open up links in China, signing a five-year contract with the Chinese Super League club Guangzhou R&F to develop youth players and train coaches.

Football Marketing

Man City checks in with FanCompass’s off-line data capture to drive sales leads

October 11 – Digital fan engagement and data capture specialists FanCompass has launched Check In, an engagement product specifically designed to digitally capture offline fan data.

Football Marketing

Fanbox to deepen club/fan relationship with behavioral marketing platform

October 11 – New sports technology businesss Fanbox has launched a behavioral marketing platform for clubs that it says will change the way they interact with fans for good.

FIFA

FIFA launches global plan to boost women’s competitions and participation to 60 million

October 10 – FIFA has launched a major initiative to expand the women’s game worldwide with the unveiling of the governing body’s first-ever ‘global strategy’ for the women’s game, with the aim of creating an international women’s club competition and doubling the participation of women in the game to 60 million by 2026.

Africa

CAF cancels Sierra Leone’s Ghana fixtures throwing AFCON qualification into doubt

Sierra leone players

October 10 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has cancelled the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Group ‘F’ double-header between Sierra Leone and Ghana.

Finance

Wembley £600m sell-off under threat as Khan accused of corrupt practices at Fulham

Wembley calling?

October 10 – The English FA’s controversial proposed sale of Wembley Stadium for £600 million to Fulham’s American owner Shahid Khan could be scuppered amid emerging allegations of “systemic corruption” at the club.

Broadcast

Fanfoot picks up $150m Brasileiro OTT rights for platform launch in 2019

October 10 – Brazil’s top league, the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, has agreed a $150 million international streaming deal with sports tech startup Fanfoot which will launch its OTT platform in 2019.

Football Asia

FIFA goes into extra time with Pakistan FA to align statues and organise elections

October 10 – FIFA has extended the mandate of the current Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) administration until March 2020, but with the requirement to organise fresh elections, bringing the PFF statutes in line with the FIFA statutes.

esports

Celtic join Barca, Schalke and Monaco in Konami’s eFootball.Pro league

October 10 – Serial Scottish champions Celtic are set to test their league dominance skills internationally and join the eFootball.Pro eSports league alongside FC Barcelona, Schalke 04 and AS Monaco.

Football Marketing

Bundesliga launches Player of Month award with fan voting on EA Sports platform

October 10 – Germany’s Bundesliga has joined forces with official licensee EA Sports to launch a new ‘Player of the Month’ award. Fans will vote for their player of the month on the EA Sports FIFA 19 website (bundesligapotm.easports.com).