A monthly compilation of interesting business news related to soccer. October 2011.

Chelsea look to buy Stamford Bridge freehold to keep their options open – October 4th

Chelsea are looking to buy the freehold for the land on which their Stamford Bridge stadium is situated as they look to relocate the club.

…their 41,800-seater stadium is dwarfed by some of their main rivals such as Manchester United and Arsenal, limiting the amount they can generate from match day revenues.

Full Article >> Inside World Football

Premier League hit by TV case – October 4th

The Premier League may face an upheaval in how they sell their TV rights after the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of a pub landlady who used a foreign decoder to show live matches at 3pm on Saturdays.

The ECJ said in a statement: “A system of licences for the broadcasting of football matches which grants broadcasters territorial exclusivity on a member state basis and which prohibits television viewers from watching the broadcasts with a decoder card in other member states is contrary to EU law.”

Full Article >> Football365

Managerial changes cost clubs £99m last season, says LMA – October 5th

Premier League and Football League clubs spent almost £100m changing their manager last season.

According to figures released to the BBC by the League Managers Association (LMA), the cost of compensation, legal fees and ‘double contracts’ amounted to £99m.

Full Article >> BBC

European Parliament expected to support La Liga collective TV deal – October 8th

The European Parliament is set to put forward a motion which will pressure La Liga to introduce a collective television deal in order to tackle the dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain’s top division.

Individual television rights deals are negotiated by Spanish clubs at present, meaning Barcelona and Real Madrid, with the largest fan bases and who can count on the support of 57 per cent of football fans in the country – according to a 2007 survey – can rake in far more revenue than any rival.

Full Article >> InsideWorldFootball

FA reveals true cost of bid – October 10th

England’s failed 2018 World Cup bid cost £21million – some £6million more than had been widely reported, according to the latest FA accounts.

The bid for the tournament ended in disaster last December, attracting only two FIFA members’ votes including that of British FIFA vice-president Geoff Thompson.

Full Article >> Football365

Liverpool threaten breakaway from Premier League’s TV rights deal – October 11th

The deal that shares television’s billions equally between Premier League clubs is facing its biggest threat to date after Liverpool announced they would lead a challenge for overseas TV rights to be sold on a club-by-club basis.

Liverpool’s managing director, Ian Ayre, has insisted the break-up of the established broadcasting deal, worth £3.2bn in total to all Premier League clubs for 2010‑13, is “a debate that has to happen”, with the Anfield club in favour of the Spanish model that allows Barcelona and Real Madrid to negotiate individual contracts that dwarf their domestic and European rivals.

Full Article >> The Guardian

Barry Fry unhappy with new compensation plan for young footballers – October 20th

The 72 Football League clubs voted on Thursday to accept radical proposals to overhaul the academy system.

They had been told by the Premier League they would lose funding if they opted against them.

Full Article >> BBC

Fox Sports wins World Cup soccer bid – October 21st

FIFA cashed in on a $1.2 billion bonanza from United States broadcasters Friday, striking World Cup deals with Fox, Telemundo and Spanish language radio.Fox won the English-language U.S. television rights for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, outbidding incumbent ESPN and NBC for soccer’s showpiece tournament.

Fox agreed to pay around $425 million for the two-tournament package, a person familiar with the bidding told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the figure was not made public. It also secured English-language radio rights.

Full Article >> ESPN

FIFA reveals anti-corruption reform plans – October 21st

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has unveiled a raft of reforms aimed at restoring credibility to world football’s ruling body, which has been hit by a succession of scandals over the past decade of his tenure.Accusations of corruption came to a head in the lead-up to last December’s vote to award hosting rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, with two high-echelon officials banned for life.

The fallout continued last week as Caribbean Football Union members were suspended and fined for their involvement in the cash-for-votes scandal which saw Blatter’s only election rival banned for life before the June 1 ballot.

Full Article >> CNN

Super League scraps expansion proposal – October 21st

The Greek Super League has scrapped its proposal to expand the top flight from 16 to 18 teams, the league said on Friday.

League officials had announced on Tuesday that they intended to put forward a plan to increase the number to solve the problem of selecting which clubs would take the places of Olympiakos Volos and Kavala who were both demoted to Greece‘s second tier in July for their involvement in match-fixing.

Full Article >> Yahoo Sport

WPS aims to survive more turmoil – October 27th

Late last year, Women’s Professional Soccer found a way to keep going without the active involvement of John Hendricks, the owner who had launched the WUSA of the early 2000s and kept the Washington Freedom afloat in the five years between pro leagues.

Now, WPS has decided it can go without owner Dan Borislow, who bought a majority stake in the Freedom from Hendricks, moved the team to South Florida, renamed it after his core product magicJack, stocked it with world-class players, and clashed with the league throughout a tempestuous season.

Full Article >> ESPN

Dubai investment bank opens football fund – October 31st

Dubai-based United Investment Bank (UIB) has announced the launch of a football fund, which aims to offer an alternative to traditional investment opportunities.

The Royal Football Fund is aiming to raise US$200 million from institutions and high-net worth individuals in the Middle East and other emerging markets. The Fund will concentrate its resources on acquiring the economic rights of young players – in partnership with clubs and agents – in Latin American, African and European countries with a track record of developing talent. However, it is also targeting equity investments in listed football clubs and the promotion of games and related marketing, broadcast and media rights.

Full Article >> Soccerex