Axpo Super League Swiss soccer club Neuchâtel Xamax are set to be purchased for an undisclosed fee by Bulat Chagaev, order one of the main financial backers of Russian Premier League team Terek Grozny.

The sale from existing president Sylvio Bernasconi is expected to be ratified during the club’s general assembly on May 12 and Chagaev stated: “I’m very happy to lead Neuchâtel onto the path of national victory. With a motivated and well-prepared team, discount we will quickly accept the most incredible challenges in Europe, starting with the Champions League.”

In December 2010, Chagaev was named vice president of Chechen Republic-based Russian Premier League team Terek Grozny, whom he played for during the 1980s. Since then, he has invested more than US$4 million into the club and helped to attract the signature of renowned Dutch manager Ruud Gullit as head coach, who personally thanked Chagaev for helping him to secure the post.

Sports.ru quotes Chagaev, when commenting on the takeover, saying: “I have decided to buy Xamax because I love football. How much did I have to pay? You’d better ask those who sold the club – I don’t remember. I just wanted to buy Xamax and I bought it.”

All 2012 Herbalife World Football Challenge matches will be broadcast in the U.S. on ESPN, health FOX Soccer, buy Univision Deportes Network and Univision Radio, while TSN, Sportsnet and RDS will be the event’s broadcast partners in Canada, it was announced today by Major League Soccer (MLS) and CAA Sports.

In the U.S., ESPN networks, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN3, will televise five matches. ESPN2 will kick off the Herbalife World Football Challenge broadcasts on July 18 live from Seattle’s CenturyLink Field, when three-time defending U.S. Open Cup champion Seattle Sounders FC host UEFA Champions League winner Chelsea FC.

FOX Soccer will broadcast four Herbalife World Football Challenge games, including the August 5 match in Las Vegas between Spain and Mexico’s current league champions, Real Madrid and Santos Laguna, respectively.  For the July 22 match, the FOX Soccer broadcast will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a special pre-game show. Spanish language network FOX Deportes will air three matches. See below for broadcast times.

Univision Deportes Network, a national MLS broadcast partner, will broadcast one Herbalife World Football Challenge match, the first-ever soccer match at the new Yankee Stadium on July 22 featuring Chelsea FC and France’s Paris Saint-Germain.

In Canada, TSN and RDS, as well as Sportsnet, will be the official broadcast partners of the 2012 Herbalife World Football Challenge.  TSN and TSN2 will air four matches, including the ever-growing rivalry between the current MLS champion LA Galaxy and La Liga champions Real Madrid on August 2.  RDS2 will air the July 22 New York match.

Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific will air the July 21 event at Rogers Centre, when four-time defending Canadian championship winner Toronto FC hosts Liverpool FC of the English Premier League.  The complete broadcast schedule is below.

The 2012 Herbalife World Football Challenge currently features 11 teams playing nine matches at eight venues across North America July 18 through August 11. The clubs currently confirmed to participate in the competition include UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea FC, La Liga champion Real Madrid, Scottish Premier League title holder Celtic FC, Mexico’s Primera Division champion Santos Laguna and European powerhouses Liverpool FC, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan, as well as Major League Soccer’s (MLS) current champion LA Galaxy, four-time MLS Cup champion D.C. United, three-time defending U.S. Open Cup champion Seattle Sounders FC, and four-time defending Canadian championship winner Toronto FC.

English nPower Championship soccer club Queen’s Park Rangers have gained promotion to the Premier League, winning the league title in the process, after it was revealed on Saturday that they would not face a points deduction this season or next after breaching transfer regulations.

The club were found guilty of two of the seven charges they faced regarding the transfer of Argentinian midfielder Alejandro Faurlin in 2009 and consequently fined £875,000 (US$1.43m).

The verdict unveiled at the weekend came just an hour before the kick-off of the final game of the season versus Leeds United, with QPR still fearing a points deduction of up to 10 points which would have seen them drop into the league play-offs, ending the possibility of Cardiff or Swansea moving into an automatic promotion place at QPR’s expense.

The decision not to dock the west Londoners points was made by an independent tribunal convened by the Football Association (FA) who imposed a fine of £800,000 ($1.31m) for a breach of FA Rule E3 – which relates to bringing the game into disrepute – and a fine of £75,000 ($122,740) for breaking Rule A1, which outlaws the use of unauthorised agents.

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Related Discussion – QPR and Alejandro Faurlin – can someone enlighten me?

 

Liverpool Football Club today announced that ESPN will televise two U.S. matches on Liverpool FC’s 2012 North America Tour presented by Standard Chartered in over 50 countries and territories in the United States, malady Latin America, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, and the Pacific Rim.

“World football has experienced consistent growth in the U.S. over the last two decades and ESPN has played a critical role in that growth through its award-winning coverage and analysis, and by providing Barclays Premier League fans with live access to key matches across its network”

The live broadcasts of both the July 25 AS Roma vs. Liverpool FC match at 6:30pm ET and the July 28 Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool FC match at 1pm ET will air on ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPN Deportes in the United States.

The deal was negotiated by Fenway Sports Management, the sales and marketing arm of Fenway Sports Group, parent company of the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC, Roush Fenway Racing and New England Sports Network.

Liverpool FC Chief Commercial Officer Billy Hogan, said: “World football has experienced consistent growth in the U.S. over the last two decades and ESPN has played a critical role in that growth through its award-winning coverage and analysis, and by providing Barclays Premier League fans with live access to key matches across its network. This partnership will allow our U.S. supporters to see the club live in action this summer and presents a signature opportunity to introduce Liverpool football to new audiences across the globe.”

After completing a drawn out takeover bid for Scottish Premier League champions Rangers this weekend, new owner Craig Whyte has insisted his acquisition represents the best possible deal for the club.

David Murray’s record breaking 22-year association with the club effectively came to an end after Whyte agreed the buy-out after six months of negotiations. The Independent Board Committee (IBC) of Rangers have however, expressed concern over the deal.

The IBC stated: “The IBC and Wavetower (a company set up to complete the transaction) have differing views on the future revenue generation and cash requirements of the club and the IBC is concerned about a lack of clarity on how future cash requirements would be met, particularly any liability arising from the outstanding HMRC case.”

Whyte responded by saying: “The statement from the board is complete and utter nonsense and actually they know it is nonsense. I think maybe certain individuals have different agendas and obviously people enjoy their positions with the club and don’t necessarily like change.

“The guiding principle from the outset has been to get the right deal for Rangers. I know the time this has taken has created a lot of frustration, but it was vital we secured a deal that meant we could maximise investment in the team and that is what has been achieved.”

Murray added: “I have had the privilege of being the majority shareholder of our great football club for over 22 years. During this time, we have seen many highs and lows together, and I trust that the successes will continue for many years to come.”

Streaming media innovator Octoshape announced today that it has been chosen by Digiturk, order Turkey’s premier Satellite TV provider, generic for Internet video streaming services for the Turkish Football League and various other Digiturk online content offerings.

“We are honored to partner with Digiturk to further improve the overall content viewing experience of a brand as strong as Digiturk”

With Octoshape, troche Turkish consumers will be able to enjoy a significantly improved user experience without buffering for high quality video and advanced features like Digital Video Recording (DVR), preventing viewers from missing a moment.

Digiturk has elected to use Octoshape’s Infinite HD-M federated multicast broadband TV platform for linear over-the-top (OTT) video distribution. This technology enables the quality, scale and economics of traditional broadcast technologies over the Internet. Telco and cable operators that are part of the Infinite HD-M federated network are able to receive signals via native IP Multicast in a way that allows them to easily manage large volumes of traffic without needing to upgrade their Internet capacity.

“We tested many technologies and service offerings to find the best quality experience for our audience,” said Hatice Memiguven, Chief Officer of Technology and Operations, Digiturk. “Octoshape offered the best overall consumer viewing experience, including a pathway to enhanced functionality and the ability to scale our broadband audience in a sustainable fashion.”

“We are honored to partner with Digiturk to further improve the overall content viewing experience of a brand as strong as Digiturk,” said Michael Koehn Milland, CEO of Octoshape. “Infinite HD-M continues to underscore the benefits for large media broadcasters. Our unique combination of quality, scale and economics enables Digiturk to facilitate both the consumer experience and successful business models they require.”

English Premier League soccer club Liverpool have said that they will reveal a £20m (US$32.85m) loss for the last full year of the reign of former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Despite revenues rising to £184m ($302.2m) in the 12 months to July 2010, net debt increased to £123m ($202m), incurring interest payments of more than £17m ($27.9m).

US company Fenway Sports Group, formerly New England Sports Ventures (NESV), bought the club in October of last year club for £300m ($492.6m) and since paid off £200m ($328.4m) of debt.

The latest accounts do not include the debt repayment, nor do they include income from the £80m ($131.4m) four-year shirt sponsorship deal agreed with Standard Chartered in September 2009.

Despite the loss, Liverpool’s managing director Ian Ayre sought to reassure fans that the club had a bright future, stating: “Since the end of the last financial year, Fenway Sports Group has paid off £200m of acquisition debt from the previous owners, dramatically reducing interest payments as a result and meaning we are able to invest more revenue in the team rather than servicing debt.

“We have also enjoyed significant commercial growth since these accounts were finalised, including our shirt sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered, which was the largest partnership contract in the club’s history.”

BBC has agreed a two-year deal to air Wales international football for the first time in eight years on its BBC Cymru Wales channel. 

The programmes will also be live on the BBC Sport website.

Wales’ friendly against Bosnia-Hercegovina on 15 August will be the first match shown, followed by the 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Croatia, Serbia, Scotland and FYR Macedonia.

Rhodri Talfan Davies, director of BBC Cymru Wales, said: “Sport is one of the major things that defines us as a nation and I’m delighted that BBC Cymru Wales will be showing television highlights of Wales’s home football internationals once again, complementing our existing radio and online coverage in English and Welsh, and giving the audience the best of Welsh sport on all platforms.”

The television highlights coverage for home matches is in addition to live broadcasts which have been on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and online for many years. Both radio stations and online will continue to cover all Wales’ games, both home and away. The programmes will also be available on BBC iPlayer.

Geoff Williams, head of sport for BBC Cymru Wales, said: “We know from our existing coverage that there is a real passion for football in Wales, and we are thrilled to be able to follow Chris Coleman and the Wales team on television, as well as radio and online.

“Coverage of the Welsh international team will complement our existing coverage of the Welsh Premier League and Welsh Cup, and we look forward to bringing action, analysis, news and views to our audiences for the next two seasons.”

Jonathan Ford, chief executive of the Football Association of Wales, said: “The Football Association of Wales is looking forward to a close working relationship with BBC Cymru Wales. We all recognise the high quality of sports coverage on BBC radio and television and we know this will be of benefit to Welsh football at all levels.

“It is an exciting time both on and off the field. We are about to embark on a World Cup qualifying campaign with the aim of reaching Brazil in 2014 and Welsh football supporters will be able to enjoy the journey with the highlights on BBC Wales television and live coverage on BBC radio.”

Scottish newspaper the Scotsman has reported that David Murray is likely to sell Rangers Football Club Plc (RFC), anabolics the Scottish soccer champions, generic for one pound (US$1.64) in order to facilitate a takeover by businessman Craig Whyte.

The report stated that Murray had been aiming to recoup the £6m ($9.85m) he paid in 1988 for a 93 per cent stake.

However, anesthetist selling the Glasgow-based club for a token sum is a way of ensuring the transaction is completed. The newspaper claimed that the takeover may be announced today, May 6, once a single outstanding issue has been resolved.

While Murray’s stake has a current book value of £10m ($16.4m), the club owes £22m ($36.1m) to Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LLOY), making his shares effectively worthless, the newspaper said.

UEFA have awarded all free-to-air media rights to Armenia TV for the UEFA Champions League in the period between 2012 and 2015 in Armenia.

Each matchnight, case public broadcaster Armenia TV will broadcast one live match, tadalafil as well as the weekly highlights programme.

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