English soccer giants Manchester United are looking to sell a significant stake in the club help pay off its gross debts of US$850m, the BBC has reported.

It is understood the club has lodged a listing application with the Singapore Stock Exchange and they want the listing completed by the end of the year.

The club, owned by the Glazer family, were removed from the London stock market following their takeover in 2005.

A partial share sale, of between 25% and 30%, would mean that no outside person could take control of the club, whilst providing the Glazers money to pay off the debt accrued when their takeover was financed.

The flotation would also be an opportunity to see what value the stock market puts on Manchester United, with an overall valuation of the club of anything up to £1.7bn.

Analysts have also seen a Singapore listing as an aggressive move by the club to create an even stronger presence in Asia, who reportedly comprise 190 million of the club’s 300 million fans worldwide.

ESPN and The FA have reached a six-year multimedia agreement for rights in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands for The FA Cup, England’s men’s Senior and Under-21 team matches and the annual FA Community Shield sponsored by McDonald’s match.

Starting in November, the sports media company will televise up to 59 FA Cup matches per season – including exclusive coverage of The FA Cup Final. Coverage each season will include matches from the First Round Proper through to the Sixth Round Proper, replay matches from each round, the Semi-Finals and The Final – one of the top global football events each year. All matches will also streamed live and on-demand on ESPN3.com for Foxtel subscribers. 

The deal includes rights across television, internet, broadband and mobile.

The FA’s Head of Broadcast Mark Shannon commented: “We are delighted to announce our new partnership with ESPN in Australia and New Zealand. The FA is aware of just how popular and well supported both The FA Cup and the England teams are in those regions and in ESPN have found a partner that shares that passion. ESPN’s already strong football portfolio makes it the perfect home, with the world’s oldest domestic cup competition now sitting side by side with the Champions League.”

Michael Walters, vice president of programming, ESPN international, added: “The FA Cup is the world’s oldest football knockout tournament, making it a truly unique competition with a rich heritage that reaches back more than 100 years and across all of English football. Every year, it delivers some of the greatest drama and storylines in global football, and captures the passion of sport. It will be a great addition to ESPN’s expanding schedule that includes some of the world’s best football and top sports events from around the world.”

Malaysian Entrepreneur Tony Fernandes CBE has completed his takeover of Queens Park Rangers Football Club buying a controlling 66 per-cent of the shares.

Fernandes’ company Tune Group have bought a majority stake in the Club, buying out previous majority shareholders and Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone.

Fernandes, 47, founded of AirAsia, who is also the team principal of Formula One’s Team Lotus, and his business partners, have a controlling stake of 66 per-cent and will work alongside the Mittal Family, who have retained their 33 per-cent stake.

Speaking to the QPR website, Fernandes said: “I lived in Uxbridge Road for many years and grew up around the area.

“Everyone knows I’ve followed West Ham all my life, but I’ve always had a soft spot for QPR.

“Rangers were one of the first teams I watched as a child at Loftus Road.”

Fernandes will take the role of Chairman of QPR Holdings Ltd and be joined on the board by joint Tune Group owner Mr Kamarudin Bin Meranun, one of Malaysia’s most successful business tycoons who added: “The opportunity to get involved with the Club was mentioned to me by the previous owners and here I am.

“I’ve always wanted to be involved in football and the appeal of a London Club, like QPR, was too good an opportunity to turn down.

“It’s funny how life has a way of spinning things round. It goes full circle sometimes.

“QPR is a raw diamond and hopefully I can contribute into turning it into a diamond.”

Amit Bhatia, who will resume his position as Vice Chairman of the Club, said: “I’m very excited to welcome Tony to QPR and having spent considerable time with him, know that we share the same vision and values.

“We have discussed in great detail how to restore pride at the Club and I’m very pleased with the outcome of these discussions.

“It was a very difficult decision to resign from the board when I did, so I’m thrilled to be back and would like to thank all those who supported me and my family and look forward to serving the Club to the best of my abilities again.

“Tony and I will work alongside each other to try and make this season as exciting and successful as possible. I love this Club and this is a very happy day for me.”

Fernandes added: “I have ambitions in the long term.

“I could easily say we’re going to win the Champions League and the Premier League, but that’s really not my style. I don’t want to make big promises I can’t guarantee.

“I want the fans to be proud of what we’re doing and be involved as much as we can. The fans pay good money and are stakeholders, so whatever we do, I want the fans to be proud. We’ll do it in style and with integrity.

“I’m keen to create a good Academy, so that there’s a constant supply of players. We’re in a fantastic part of London and we should be bringing kids through.

“The third aspect is to be a strong partner in the community and to make a difference in the community.

“Of course you don’t go into anything in the sporting world and not want to be the best, but these things take time and I’d rather let the results speaks for themselves.”

ESPN3 is set to air the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 in the US after it was confirmed by ESPN STAR Sports, viagra 100mg ICC’s global broadcast partner.

And as a part of the build-up to the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 India legend Anil Kumble will travel to the United States this weekend for a series of events promoting the tournament being held in Sri Lanka between 18 September and 7 October 2012. 

Kumble will ring the NASDAQ closing bell on Friday in New York City. On Sunday hundreds of thousands of people will take the streets for the annual India Day Parade through the city, herbal where fans will have a chance to see the Indian legend with the ICC World Twenty20 2012 trophies on the ESPN3 float. 

The annual India Day Parade, which will be held in New York by Federation of Indian Associations (FIA), is a big celebration for the India community in the United States and also includes other prominent Indian celebrities like actor Saif Ali Khan. 

Kumble was thrilled to be leading the efforts to promote the sport to cricket fans in the US ahead of the ICC World Twenty20. 

“Twenty20 has for long been considered a product fit for an American audience. I am therefore thrilled to be part of the first major celebration of cricket in the USA for ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012. I am also particularly excited about getting an opportunity to ring the closing bell at NASDAQ and to be part of the India Day Parade on the iconic Madison Avenue,’’ said Kumble. 

Kumble also believes live coverage of the tournament at no additional cost to fans will help spread the game to a bigger audience. 

“Cricket has also always been a huge draw among the expat Indian population in the USA. So the live coverage of ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 on ESPN3 in the US will help us get our great game to a bigger and wider audience,” added Kumble. 

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson added: “The fact that cricket fans in the United States will be able to get free-to-air coverage on ESPN3 is a significant development for the growth of cricket in this important market. There can be no one better to spread the word about the excitement and energy of cricket – and Twenty20 cricket in particular – than Anil Kumble. I am sure that he and all those attending the annual India Day Parade on Madison Avenue – one of the most famous streets in New York – will have a memorable time.”

LA Liga will finally get under way this weekend after intense negotiations led to an agreement.

A resolution was reached on Thursday afternoon by the Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP) and Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE).

The AFE announced earlier this month that players from the top two divisions in Spain would go on strike for the first two rounds of the 2011-12 season unless an agreement with the LFP was reached.

The AFE wanted a guaranteed fund to protect players’ wages in the event of their clubs being declared insolvent and they claim clubs in Spain owe around $72 million in unpaid salaries to more than 200 players from the end of last season.

But, a statement on the AFE website confirmed the matter was now resolved.

”The committee of the AFE and LFP have reached an agreement that ensured, through various means, the salaries of footballers,” it read. ”After the meeting today between the AFE and the LFP, the strike scheduled for Friday August 26, Saturday August 27, Sunday August 28 and Monday August 29 is off.

”Here at the AFE, we thank for their understanding and patience all those who have been affected. Finally, and most importantly, we want to thank all the non-Spanish and Spanish players who play in our championship.

”We want to convey how proud we are of them all and the unprecedented unity and solidarity they have shown at a time when many of their colleagues were struggling.”

There was no coercion last week as negotiations failed ultimately leading to the scheduled opening round of Primera Division and Segunda Division fixtures being postponed at the weekend.

The first week’s fixtures are scheduled to be played on December 28, but this may procure another problem as players’ contracts ban them from playing during the festive period.

beIN SPORT, denture the new 24-hour network dedicated to live and exclusive coverage of the world’s best international sports in English and Spanish, look today announced it will be carried from its inaugural telecast which began August 15 on DISH Network, the third-largest pay-TV provider in the nation.

DISH subscribers will have access to beIN SPORT’s exclusive coverage as it kicks off the new fall season’s best soccer matchups, including games from top European leagues such as Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, France’s Ligue Un, South American World Cup Qualifiers and Copa America 2015.

“Our association with beIN SPORT makes DISH the undisputed pay-TV leader in Latino sports,” said Dave Shull, DISH senior vice president of programming. “beIN SPORT is bringing together the best games, from the best leagues from around the world onto one channel.”

beIN SPORT is available on DISH’s America’s Top 250 (AT250) in English and on DISHLatino packages as beIN SPORT E, a Spanish-language version. In addition to its linear TV network, select beIN SPORT content will be available on DISHOnline.com exclusively for DISH TV customers.

“DISH recognizes that we have assembled one of the greatest exclusive collections of leagues, title cup matches and original sports programming that simply can’t be seen on any other channel. beIN SPORT is the ultimate international sports destination,” said Yousef Al Obaidly, managing director of beIN SPORT. “With electrifying stars and unmatched play, the avid fan to the all-around sports enthusiast will love our network.”

Soccer fans are the biggest spending tourists in Britain, order according to VisitBritain, the national tourism agency.

More than 750,000 people came to Britain to watch Premier League matches last year and they spent, on average, 38 percent more than other tourists at US$980 million.

Manchester United’s Old Trafford was the most-visited stadium, drawing 114,000 overseas fans. Liverpool’s Anfield (89,000), Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium (88,000), Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge (54,000) and Tottenham’s White Hart Lane (38,000) rounded out the top-five destinations.

Richard Scudamore, chief executive officer of the Premier League, said in a statement: “Nothing quite beats the excitement of match day, being inside a full Premier League ground and seeing a competitive match in the flesh, so it’s very encouraging to hear that so many international visitors want to experience football in this country.”

About 40 percent of visitors going to a match said attending a sporting event was the main reason for their trip. The largest number of visitors came from Ireland (164,000), followed by Norway (77,000), USA (56,000), the Netherlands (41,000) and Germany (39,000).

RTVS and NOVA Group have secured broadcast rights to 2012–15 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League games in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Public broadcaster RTVS in Slovakia will screen the best Wednesday UEFA Champions League game live each matchweek on its :1 channel as well as a Wednesday highlights programme on :2.

With regard to the UEFA Europa League in Slovakia, arthritis RTVS will show the best game live each matchweek on :2 followed by a highlights programme. NOVA Group has been granted the rights to all remaining live matches, denture including the final, on a co-exclusive basis, and will broadcast each matchweek one live game per kick-off slot on NOVA Sport.

In the Czech Republic, further to the recent announcement of the award of the best UEFA Europa League live game each matchweek to public broadcaster Czech TV, NOVA Group has secured the rights to all remaining fixtures, including the final, on a co-exclusive basis and will transmit on its channel NOVA Sport one live match per kick-off slot.

All rights have been granted on a platform-neutral basis, with the rights also being exploited on the internet, via the RTVS and NOVA Group websites, and on mobile.

Manchester United’s American owners the Glazer family are taking into consideration a possible sale of some shares in Singapore to cover off the growing debt they have with a possible net income of $1billion.

Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) is working on the transaction, which may take place this year. The Premier League team had been considering Hong Kong for the IPO but now favors Singapore, although no final decision has been made.

The Glazer’s are considering many financial options with initial public offering (IPO) just one of many. Another would be selling off a minority stake, probably no more than 25%.

A 25% equity should bring in a region of $657 million.

The Red Devils went on sale on the London stock market in 2005 until it was eventually bought by the glazers.

A partial sale share would mean that no outside person could take control of the club, while also providing the Glazers with much needed revenues towards paying of the club’s debt.

The Old Trafford outfit are very popular in Asia with an estimated 190 milion fans compared to the rest of the world where they have 300 million.

 

Viasat Broadcasting, part of the Modern Times Group has renewed it’s exclusive pay TV broadcast rights and acquired online rights agreement with the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Viasat has also acquired the exclusive free TV rights for Latvia, from the start of the 2012-2013 season and until the end of 2014-2015 season.

Viasat will broadcast more than 180 KHL games every season on its pay TV sport channel Viasat Sport Baltic in the three countries. The amount of games shown will increases by more than 50% under the new agreement. Viasat has held the rights for KHL since 2009.

Kaspars Ozolins, CEO of MTG Baltics, said, “It is another major step for Viasat in the Baltics to have prolonged and expanded the rights for this popular sports property as we always aim to provide our viewers with the best sports events available. Ice hockey is enormously popular in Latvia and KHL is the strongest hockey league in Europe. Latvia’s Dinamo Riga is the country’s most high profile sports team due to their consistent strong achievements in the KHL.”