Danish Club, FC Midtjylland have sold a 34% stake in the club and academy for a return of $17.3 million by Goa-based Dempo Group.

Besides 34% stake Dempo will also have presence on the board F C Midtjylland Holdings A S, the holding company for Herning and Ikast based club.

The Share Subscription Agreement shall take effect after the final approval of the shareholders of FCM Holdings A S at an Extraordinary General Meeting to be held on 15 September.

The deal is a long-term commercial and technical partnership between the parties, with Dempo investment strengthening the FCM capital base, and FCM committed to providing technical know-how to Dempo, which owns Dempo Sports Club, a first division I-League club.

The company is hoping the club can share its football expertise with an Indian club, and establish an academy in football-crazy Goa, in collaboration with Dempo.

Søren Bach, FC Midtjylland CEO, said: “It’s a historic day for FC Midtjylland and the start of a new era for the Club. The agreement enables us to add value to the continuity of our soccer team and retain our own playing talent longer. We can enhance the level of talent development, and begin truly to internationalize the Academy.”

Dempo Group chairman Shrinivas V Dempo said the agreement was aimed at raising the standard of Indian soccer.

“The investment marks the moment when intent turned into commitment. It’s kick-off time for the Dempo foray into truly international football. Our agreement is aimed at raising the playing standard of Indian soccer, and this tie-up with a first-rate European academy and team shall spur the development of the game even faster,” Dempo an avid football fan said.

Soren Bach, added: “This is how we capitalise on the football professionalism that FCM is known for. We must, among other things, help the Indians with technical support of their youth and senior players, exchange programmes for coaches and players between the two clubs and coaching and development in sport management.”

The deal has been facilitated and coordinated by the sports management company, New World Consulting, which specializes in bringing investments to sports. New World Consulting will be working closely with both FC Midtjylland and Dempo in Europe and India over the next two years to maximize the benefits to both sides from this investment.

“In fact, I see this agreement as historic also in terms of an era of commercial cooperation opening up between India and Denmark”, adds Shrinivas Dempo.

FC Midtjylland has been runner-up twice in the Danish Cup final, and finished second twice and third twice in the Superliga.

FIFA along with Coca Cola and in collaboration with Bogota City Council, pills Cali City Council, health Colombian government and Inter-American Development Bank (BID) are donating an estimated $1.1m to 1, story 400 children in both cities.

The donation will be channelled through the Colombianitos Foundation in Bogota and the SIDOC Foundation in Cali.

FIFA, Coca-Cola and the Inter-American Development introduced their Football for Hope programme with help from the Colombian government, supporting 1,400 underprivileged children aged between five and 18 and living in the neighbourhoods of Ciudad Bolivar in Bogota and Comuna 20 in Cali.

Local children will have the opportunity to play football in their free-time and start their life projects, develop social skills, lead a healthy lifestyle and acquire social values.

A team of psychologists, social workers and physical education instructors will be on hand to identify and tackle the problems afflicting these communities such as drugs, juvenile delinquency and domestic violence. The work they carry out will indirectly benefit over 5,000 people, including parents, other family members and neighbours.

Federico Addiechi, FIFA’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, said: “Thanks to the role it performs, its values, popularity and its universal appeal, football has a major responsibility to society as a whole, it is a pleasure for FIFA to join forces with committed organisations and to support programmes that promote togetherness, social integration and access to health and education services for children and youngsters in disadvantaged areas of Colombia.”

Ricardo Cortes, Coca-Cola’s Director for the Andean Region, commented: “Ciudad Bolivar and Comuna 20 are deprived neighbourhoods where social problems have been identified and which impact on violence and crime rates, the children who live in these areas have no sports facilities they can use or access to recreational programmes encouraging them to adopt a healthy way of life. Through Football for Hope we aim to make a difference and it is our pledge to develop these vulnerable communities by promoting active lifestyles, which are an essential component of our global platform Live Positively.”

Canal+ and Mediapro agreed a three-year deal to share the television rights ending a stalemate which threatened to delay the start of the La Liga season.

Spain’s secretary of state for sport Miguel Cardenal oversaw the negotiations, which settled the numbers of games each company could show on their individual platforms each week.

Mediapro will continue to show one match on their free-to-air channel each week and will control the international rights for La Liga.

“The agreement…establishes a viable model for the Spanish league and presents a stable scenario for football fans for the seasons 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15,” Mediapro said in a statement.

“The professional football league (LFP), for their part, guarantee the new agreement signed by both operators.”

A group of 13 first division sides had forced a meeting with the LFP on Tuesday to call for a settlement of the dispute saying that it created “a situation of serious legal insecurity”, and had threatened to postpone the season’s start.

The new La Liga campaign kicks off this weekend with champions Real Madrid at home to Valencia and Barcelona hosting Real Sociedad, both on Sunday.

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).