A monthly compilation of interesting business news related to soccer. March 2012.

Debt crisis sees leading Peruvian club exit Primera Division – March 6th

The crisis in Peruvian domestic football has deepened after leading club San Martin pulled out of the Primera Division, citing its anger with the administration of the game.

San Martin’s action comes after the Primera Division got off to a shambolic start a fortnight ago amid widespread strike action. The Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) has been under pressure to act with players striking over unpaid wages and clubs fielding teams of youth players for the opening matches.

Full Article >> Soccerex

 

Qatari firm QSI buys remaining PSG shares from Colony – March 7th

Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), who bought 70 per cent of Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain last summer, has purchased the remaining shares in the company from Colony Capital.

The French website Wansquare broke the news, and news agencies have since confirmed the reports.

QSI’s takeover of PSG last year came as Al Jazeera purchased Ligue 1 television rights, cementing Qatar’s increasing role in French football.

Full Article >> Inside World Football

 

Will Teixeira’s ouster lead to change? – March 8th

Two years ago Ricardo Teixeira would have been entitled to consider himself the king of the hill.

 Teixeira, the long-term president of Brazil’s football association, the CBF, was also president of the 2014 World Cup Local Organizing Committee (LOC) — an unusual accumulation of functions. It was this conglomeration that made Teixeira a powerful man, surrounded by flatterers.

And yet Teixeira’s empire has crumbled with astonishing speed. On Monday, he announced his resignation from both the CBF and the LOC — a decision ostensibly based on the grounds of health but in reality part of a strategic withdrawal that has turned into something of a rout. He bowed out with a letter of excruciating self-pity.

Full Article >> ESPN

 

ECJ 1: football leagues 0 – March 12th

The ECJ says fixture lists are not protected by copyright – a decision that could cost leagues dear.

In recent years the UK football leagues have made millions of pounds in licence fees from media outlets, gambling operators and the fantasy football operators for the ­reproduction of fixture lists, relying on a 1959 decision holding that such lists were protected by copyright.

That income stream has been questioned following the recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgment in Football Dataco v Yahoo!. The ECJ’s decision, which remains to be applied by the Court of Appeal (CoA), may have broader implications for other lists of data, such as TV listings.

Full Article >> The Lawyer 

 

Portuguese Federation rejects league’s expansion plans – March 16th

The vision of Portuguese Football League (LPFP) president Mario Figueiredo to expand the Primeira Liga by two teams has suffered a major blow with the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) vetoing the proposal.

FPF president Fernando Gomes said the Federation rejected the proposal as it violated the credibility of Portuguese football and compromised the basic principles of open competition. “The FPF says no to the proposal by the Professional Football League (LPFP) that wanted, in practice, no club relegations this season,” Gomes said in a statement.

Full Article >> Soccerex

 

Qatar eyes talks over World Cup 2022 alcohol sales – March 16th

Qatar’s top World Cup 2022 official has said he sees no reason for selling alcohol at stadiums hosting matches during the tournament.

Hassan Al Thawadi, general secretary of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, said in comments published by The Associated Press that it was an issue that will be discussed with FIFA.

He declined to say whether it will sell alcohol at stadiums during the 2022 World Cup and would only would say the country was aiming to put on an event where “everyone will be able to have a great time, have fun and be exposed to Qatari culture”, AP reported.

Full Article >> Arabian Business

 

Premier League considering selling broadcast rights on pan-EU basis following ECJ ruling – March 20th

The rights to broadcast live English Premier League football matches could be sold on a pan-European basis following a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) last year, the Premier League’s chief executive has said.

Currently the Premier League licences the right to broadcast live games in the UK to Sky and ESPN. The broadcasters pay significant sums to be allowed to show the games and the games are also filmed and packaged for foreign audiences. Broadcasters abroad pay to show those games.

Full Article >> Out-Law

 

UEFA and EC in milestone agreement on financial rules – March 21st

UEFA and the European Commission (EC) closed any possible loophole that could be exploited by overspending clubs when they signed a joint agreement on Wednesday endorsing Financial Fair Play (FFP).

They said the FFP rules, drawn up by European soccer’s governing body, were fully compliant with European law.

The central principle of FFP is that clubs should “live within their means” or break even based on football-related income at least matching their soccer-related expenditure.

Full Article >> Sports Illustrated

 

Uefa agrees to double amount top European clubs will receive for releasing players for Euro 2012 – March 22nd

The cash for the 23-day-long European Championships finals comes after a breakthrough agreement between the European Clubs Association and Uefa was struck on Thursday.

It almost doubles the amount due to the ECA under prior arrangements, which were struck on the basis of the football clubs receiving €55 million from Euro 2012.

It also significantly improves on the Uefa payment of €43.5 million for Euro 2008.

Full Article >> The Telegraph

 

 

Del Nero selected to FIFA exec committee – March 22nd

Marco Polo del Nero of Brazil has been selected to FIFA’s executive committee as the replacement for Ricardo Teixeira.

CONMEBOL, the governing body of South American soccer, named Del Nero on Thursday. He is president of the Sao Paulo state soccer federation.

Teixeira resigned last week from his seat on world soccer governing body for what he said were “personal reasons.” He also quit under pressure from the presidency of the Brazilian Football Confederation.

Article >> Fox News

  

Rangers’ Ticketus deal still stands – March 23rd

Rangers’ administrators and Ticketus have both welcomed a ruling on the status of their contract following a court case that revealed the Ibrox club received two payments totalling more than £30million during Craig Whyte’s stewardship.

 A judge at the Court of Session in Edinburgh would not give directions on administrators’ request to tear up the contract because Duff and Phelps held back information on bids so as not to undermine the process.

Administrators welcomed indications they would have the right to refuse to honour the deal if it was in the best interest of creditors.

Full Article >> ESPN

 

London Olympic Demand Hurting Euro 2012 Soccer Hospitality Sales – March 26th

The organizers of the European Championships are struggling to sell corporate-hospitality packages for the three-week soccer tournament, as competition from the London Olympics and the event’s location in Poland and Ukraine crimps demand.

The quadrennial 16-team championship brings 1.3 billion euros ($1.7 billion) to soccer’s regional governing body UEFA, placing it behind just the World Cup and Olympics for revenue. It’s being played in eastern Europe for the first time, and starts about six weeks before the opening of the London Games.

Full Article >> Bloomberg Businessweek

 

Real Madrid-themed UAE island seeks investors – March 29th

The Gulf country that gave the world indoor skiing in the desert, a Ferrari theme park and a half mile-high skyscraper is back at it with plans for an entire resort island based around the brand of one of the world’s richest football clubs.

If all goes according to plan, the $1 billion Real Madrid Resort Island should open in January 2015 on a now nearly barren manmade island in the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, a little more than an hour’s drive north of Dubai.

There will be an amusement park and team museum, a 10,000-seat stadium, private beaches and a marina full of yachts. Luxury hotels and residential properties including high-end villas and apartments are part of the plan too.

Full Article >> Bloomberg Businessweek

 

Indian Federation states PLS is “dead” – March 30th

All-India Football Federation (AIFF) general secretary Kushal Das has confirmed that the proposed Premier League Soccer (PLS) is “definitely dead” for this season.

The ambitious league suffered a serious blow last month after organisers were forced to postpone the inaugural season due to difficulties in securing venues. Argentina’s Hernan Crespo and Italy’s World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro were among the stars confirmed for the tournament, which had been modelled on cricket’s hugely lucrative Indian Premier League and aimed to boost the development of football in India.

Full Article >> Soccerex

 

Berlusconi returns to AC Milan hot seat – March 31st

Controversial politician Silvio Berlusconi has once again returned to the helm as President of Italy’s Serie A reigning champions, AC Milan.

The country’s former Prime Minister – who resigned from that post last November – has been appointed by the club’s board of directors to return to the position he has held twice before, from 1986 to 2004 and 2006 to 2008.

Full Article >> Inside World Football