Football Federation Australia (FFA) today announced a new set of broadcast agreements that will provide unprecedented coverage and audience reach for the Qantas Socceroos and Hyundai A-League.

The four-year agreements with partners FOX SPORTS, hospital Foxtel and SBS will provide Australian viewers with comprehensive, denture world-class coverage on multiple platforms, order including subscription TV, free-to-air TV, internet and digital devices.

FFA Chairman, Frank Lowy AC, commented on the deals: “FFA has been building the foundations for sustained growth with the success of the Qantas Socceroos, the consolidation of the Hyundai A-League and the popularity of our beautiful game with 1.7 million participants at the grassroots,” Mr Lowy said.

“Today, the new broadcast arrangements will give FFA an unprecedented opportunity to implement its strategic plans for Australian football.

“There’s never been any doubt that the game has a bright future in this nation, but today the football family can take comfort from the huge vote of confidence from our broadcast partners.

“FOX SPORTS, Foxtel and SBS are broadcasters who know football and care about the game. They will all be important partners in the exciting growth in the years ahead.”

Commencing from 1 July 2013, the new set of arrangements will deliver a total economic value of $160 million to Australian football. The economic value consists of $148 million in cash and $12 million in marketing support.

The average yearly licence fee for these broadcast arrangements is double the annual fee of the existing broadcast arrangements.

A renewed partnership with FOX SPORTS involving coverage of the Qantas Socceroos and Hyundai A-League is the key pillar of the new arrangements.

FOX SPORTS will provide exclusively live coverage of all Socceroos matches until 30 June 2017.

FOX SPORTS will continue as the primary broadcaster of Australia’s premier club football competition the Hyundai A-League, providing live coverage of all regular season and finals matches until 30 June 2017.

In addition, FOX SPORTS will be the Australian rights holder of the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015, broadcasting exclusively live coverage of the 32-match tournament.

FOX SPORTS CEO, Patrick Delany, said the new broadcast agreement secures football’s future as one of the giants of summer on Foxtel.

“We see football as an essential part of the FOX SPORTS summer offering and our vision, together with Foxtel and FFA, is for football to become part of Australia’s summer fabric, whether it’s going to watch a Hyundai A-League game or kicking the ball around in a park or on the beach,” Delany said.

“Our investment in the game is unparalleled – $160 million over the past eight years – we love the game, and we’ll continue to deliver the most comprehensive and entertaining coverage for fans through our live and high definition coverage of the Qantas Socceroos, Hyundai A-League, and Barclays Premier League, plus our weekly magazine lineup of Kick Off, Matchday Saturday and Sunday Shootout,” he said.

“The Hyundai A-League is one of the most interesting and emerging competitions in Australian sport. It is wholesome family entertainment and it is attracting interest like never before. We have tremendous optimism for the future of football in Australia and are really excited to work with the FFA and Foxtel to push the game into an even stronger position.”

The renewal of the FOX SPORTS and FFA partnership will extend the relationship to 12 continuous years.

FFA CEO David Gallop has hailed FOX SPORTS for its commitment to growth and investment in Australian football.

“Without the capital investment and promotional support of FOX SPORTS, football would not be in the healthy position it finds itself in today,” Mr Gallop said.

“In 2005, FOX SPORTS joined forces with football to help rebuild the professional game in Australia. That single decision helped change the destiny of football in this nation.”

Under the new arrangements, SBS will provide free-to-air coverage on a one-hour delay of all Qantas Socceroos FIFA World Cup qualification matches played in Australia and overseas from now until 2017.

SBS has provided free-to-air coverage of the Qantas Socceroos’ past two 2014 FIFA World Cup Asian qualification matches against Jordan (11 September) and Iraq (16 October) under interim arrangements.

Commencing in the 2013/14 season, SBS will provide live free-to-air coverage of the Friday Night Hyundai A-League regular season match and a one-hour delay free-to-air coverage of all finals matches.

SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid said SBS was proud to be part of a partnership that would give all Australians access to the Hyundai A-League and Qantas Socceroos.

“SBS has always championed the sports which unite communities and the world and with football being the world’s biggest game it is fitting that the Hyundai A-League and Qantas Socceroos will now have a free-to-air presence on SBS, building on our strong football pedigree,” Ebeid said.

“This deal is exciting news for football fans across the country and will give all Australians access to matches like never before.

“It’s a partnership which will help take the domestic game in Australia to the next level and SBS is excited to be working with the FFA and FOX SPORTS to help grow the game.

“Broadcast of the Socceroos will complement SBS’s FIFA World Cup coverage which SBS has the rights to all editions up to and including 2022.”

Mr Gallop has warmly welcomed SBS as another important partner in the growth story of Australian football.

“SBS will significantly extend the audience reach of our major games for the Qantas Socceroos and in the Hyundai A-League, with benefits for our fans, clubs and sponsors,” he said.

“The network has a long history of covering Australian football and today we open a new and exciting chapter together.”

Mr Gallop also welcomed Foxtel’s formal partnership with FFA in providing sponsorship and promotional support during the upcoming contract period.

“Foxtel recognises the value of football and its broad and diverse demographic family. The association will support Foxtel’s broad portfolio of football content,” he said.

Foxtel CEO, Richard Freudenstein, said that in 2005 Foxtel had backed FOX SPORTS and FFA to build a new vision for football and its broadcast in Australia.

“Eight years later we are seeing the fruits of a new summer sport with great young talent and international superstars – its young, cool and gathering interest from Australian families like never before,” Freudenstein said.

“It is our pleasure to again back FOX SPORTS and FFA with the addition of a new sponsorship aimed at grassroots football in Australia.”

Wie das Magazin Sponsors bereichtet, anabolics soll auf dem nächsten Bundestag des Deutschen Fußball-Bundes (DFB) im Oktober 2013 in Nürnberg der Beschluss gefasst werden, ask ein zentrales Leistungszentrum für Auswahlspieler zu errichten. Wert der Einrichtung: bis zu 40 Millionen Euro. Als Standorte kommen Frankfurt am Main, sale Köln, Duisburg oder München infrage.

Das Leistungszentrum soll mehrere Fußballplätze, ein Fitness- und Reha-Zentrum, eine Laufstrecke sowie Medieneinrichtungen beinhalten. Geplant ist, dass das Leistungszentrum von allen Nationalmannschaften sowie für die Ausbildung der Bundesligatrainer und der Schiedsrichter genutzt wird. Angestrebt wird eine Auslastung von mindestens 200 Tagen im Jahr.

Kölns Oberbürgermeister Jürgen Roters hatte sich bereits zu einem Informationsgespräch mit dem neuen DFB-Präsidenten Wolfgang Niersbach und DFB-Teammanager Oliver Bierhoff getroffen. Auch mit den anderen Kandidaten werden Sondierungsgespräche geführt.

Zustimmung finden die Pläne für ein Leistungszentrum unter anderem bei Franz Beckenbauer. „Der Hauptteil der Ausbildung wird weiter in den Vereinen stattfinden, aber der DFB kann viel mehr tun, wenn er ein eigenes Zentrum hat: nicht nur für die Nationalspieler, sondern für seine Talente, seine Schiedsrichter oder etwa im Bereich Management mit einem Lehrstuhl“, sagte der Ehrenpräsident des FC Bayern München. 

UK TV channel, Premier Sports has extended it’s deal to broadcast the NASCAR Sprint Cup for a further two years.

The pay subscribtion channel will also add coverage of the NASCAR Truck Series to its line-up next year.

“This is great news that we will again be in place come the Daytona 500 in February as the exclusive live UK broadcast partner for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for a further two seasons,” said Premier Sports general manager, Richard Sweeney 

“On top of continuing our exclusive coverage of the Cup, we have also struck a deal to show highlights of every Truck Series race throughout the two year extension.”

 

The Football League may have temporary saved Portsmouth by supplementing cash to the Championship side and allow the club to finish out the season.

There were fears that the Fratton Park club would be unable to fulfil their fixtures this term due to their financial woes after being plunged into administration for the second time in two years last month.

That could have thrown the competition into disarray, with Pompey’s results being expunged from the records and raising questions over the integrity of the league due to the impact on the promotion and relegation battles.

Administrator Trevor Birch revealed on Wednesday evening that the Football League had agreed to release a total of £800,000 to the South Coast side, in four payments of £200,000, which should stave off the immediate threat of closure.

Birch said: “I am pleased to confirm that there have been some positive developments at Portsmouth Football Club over the last few days. I have held constructive talks with The Football League, who have been incredibly supportive.

“The league will now resume payment of the club’s Basic Award monies which are normally paid on a monthly basis to all Football League clubs.

“For clubs in the Championship, they amount to around £200,000 a month. The league has confirmed that we will receive the four outstanding payments for the current season as and when they fall due, subject to any outstanding balances owed to other clubs.

“This money will go a long way towards plugging the club’s financial gap and allowing us to complete the season.

“This is clearly a very positive step but I wish to emphasise that we are not out of the woods yet.

“The additional money buys us more time but it does not solve the club’s problems and it does not guarantee the club’s survival.

“But thanks to this and other initiatives currently being considered by the joint administrators, which may include further player loans, we should be able to get to the end of the season.”

A Football League spokesman said: “As in all insolvency situations, The Football League is focused on the ultimate survival of the club for its supporters and the wider community.

“We will now continue working with the administrator to achieve a successful re-structuring of the club.”

by Ismail Uddin

The Rugby Football Union have announced they will stream live coverage of England’s remaining QBE autumn internationals on YouTube to 28 countries.

England tackle Australia at Twickenham on Saturday and then face South Africa and world champions New Zealand over the next two weekends.

In a first for international rugby, the matches will be streamed in markets outside the United Kingdom that currently do not broadcast the games, including Spain, Sweden, Russia, Turkey and Portugal.

Scottish Premier League Champions, Glasgow Rangers are looking for a quick sale to end their financial woes.

David Whitehouse, Joint Administrator, said: “We are announcing today we are accelerating the sale of Rangers Football Club.

“The Club is in a perilous financial situation and that should not be under-estimated. Regrettably, we have been unable to agree cost-cutting measures with the playing staff on terms that will preserve value in the business. We understand the players’ position as the scale of wage cuts required to achieve these savings without job losses were very substantial indeed.

“In view of this, we are faced with a situation of making redundancies within the playing staff on such a scale that would materially erode the value of the playing squad. We are striving to strike a balance where cost-cutting measures can be implemented but do not destroy the fabric of the playing squad to the extent that it will inhibit the prospect of a sale.

“However, no one should be in any doubt that in the absence of sufficient cost-cutting measures or receipt of substantial unplanned income, the Club will not be able to fulfil its fixtures throughout the remainder of the season.

“As a result, we are expediting the sale process and over the next few days we will be holding discussions with prospective purchasers who have declared their interest. The Manager, Ally McCoist will play an integral part in thesediscussions.

“If however it becomes apparent that the sale process cannot be accelerated there will be no choice but to implement very severe cost cutting measures at the Club.”

by Ismail Uddin

Indra Nooyi, generic buy chairman and chief executive of PepsiCo, has accepted an invitation to join the board of directors for the USA bid committee aiming to host the 2018 or 2022 Fifa World Cup, according to the US Soccer Federation.

Indian-born Nooyi is a renowned leader in the business world and oversees PepsiCo employees in over 200 countries.

Other members on the board of directors include New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg,comedian Drew Carey, former boxer Oscar De La Hoya, American soccer stars Landon Donovan and Mia Hamm, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, former U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger, director Spike Lee, actor Brad Pitt and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Chairman of the bid committee and president of US Soccer, Sunil Gulati, said: “Indra Nooyi has the same gift in developing and overseeing innovative corporate strategy as she does inspiring the people around her and everyone she meets.

“It’s that kind of leadership that will be important to our efforts, and for that reason we are fortunate to welcome Indra to our team. Indra and PepsiCo are also longtime friends of US Soccer so their familiarity with our mission will be extremely beneficial in the months ahead.”

 

The Scottish Premier League will continue to air on Gaelic TV channel, BBC Alba, after a new deal was struck.

It will see Clydesdale Bank Premier League games broadcast live on BBC Alba for the first time. BBC Alba’s previous deal was for delayed match coverage only.

Three live matches will be shown this season and three more during the 2013-14 season.

Delayed full match coverage of a further 35 games per season will be shown at 17:30 on Saturdays.

The first live game will be Ross County versus Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 2 January with kick off at 15:05.

Commentary for the games will be in Gaelic.

Neil Doncaster, chief executive of the SPL, commented on the deal: “This new partnership will allow us to reach far and wide into new audiences and communities across Scotland.

“The SPL already has two live television deals in place with Sky Sports and ESPN.

“We look forward to growing our relationship with BBC Alba to promote Clydesdale Bank Premier League football, and the Gaelic language, even further over the next two seasons.”

Alan Esslemont, head of content for BBC Alba, added: “The Clydesdale Bank Premier League continues to be hugely popular with fans across the country.

“We are delighted to be able to return live Clydesdale Bank Premier League football to free-to-air television throughout Scotland and the UK for this first time since 2004.”

Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) has acquired the final 30 per cent stake in football club Paris Saint-Germain, making the French Ligue 1 leaders wholly-owned by their Qatari investors.

The US investment fund Colony Capital sold its 30 percent stake in the football club, a company source said. 

The source said that the sale “was envisaged from the start” and comes after QSI had already bought 70 percent of Colony’s controlling stake in PSG a little less than a year ago.

Under the terms of the deal, Colony held an option to sell its remaining stake that it could exercise at any moment, the source added.

The financial news site Wansquare earlier said that the transfer price of the balance of Colony’s shares puts the club’s overall value at 100 million euros ($132 million) or 30 percent more than the price QSI paid last year to take control.

Colony said it would not be commenting when contacted by AFP.

PSG finished fourth in France last season, just missing out on the Champions League football tournament but securing a place in the Europa League.

They were also beaten by double-winners Lille in the French Cup final.

The cash-rich Qataris, headed by Nasser Al-Khelaifi who is also president of Doha-based Al Jazeera television, have set out plans for the French giants to challenge for the title in France as well as in Europe.

Al-Khelaifi was quoted as saying by Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper on Tuesday that he expected to invest 100 million euros on the transfer market in the years to come to build a strong team.

The figure was “normal for a top-ranking club” he said, adding: “We prefer to invest a lot and immediately. We will spend this amount for the next five or six years then the investments will slow.”

Among the big-money signings since QSI took over has been Argentina’s Javier Pastore, who was bought last year from Palermo for 42 million euros.

by Ismail Uddin

PERFORM, the digital sports specialist, has appointed Matt Kelly to the new position of managing director at PERFORM publishing.

Kelly will be responsible for building new audiences and revenue streams across a number of sports from January next year.

He will join form Trinity Mirror, where he is currently digital content director of Mirror Group and was in charge of the recently launched Mirrorfootball.co.uk and 3am.co.uk.

Kelly said: “I’ve had 16 brilliant years with the Mirror and am incredibly proud of everything the digital team has achieved here – particularly Mirror Football and 3am.co.uk, but now it’s time for a fresh challenge.”

PERFORM joint-chief executive Simon Denyer added: “PERFORM now generates and accesses more sports video, editorial and data than any other media company in the world so we wanted to bring someone in with creative drive and a proven track record to take these assets and create a range of new direct-to-consumer sports channels.

“Following the resounding success of ePlayer, which is now the world’s leading premium sports VOD broadcaster with 31 million unique users a month, we have hired Matt to launch and manage other new mass audience initiatives.”