Arsenal have announced their financial results for the year ended May 31, ailment 2016.

Group profit before tax was £2.9 million (2015 – £18.2 million), while turnover from football increased to £350.6 million (2015 – £329.3 million) with strong growth in broadcasting supported by commercial activity

• An additional £15.8 million from broadcasting driven by Uefa Champions League, record level of Premier League live coverage and second place prize money.

Commenting on the results for the year, the club’s chairman, Sir Chips Keswick, said: “We enjoyed a season of progress both on and off the pitch. Looking ahead, the new broadcast revenue has provided a further competitive stimulus to the Premier League, which was already the best and most closely contested league in world football.

“We know that the competition will be even tougher this season. Accordingly, we have made further significant investment into what was already a very competitive squad. As a result, we can and do look forward to the 2016/17 season with optimism and confidence.”

The club’s chief executive officer, Ivan Gazidis, added: “We are in a strong position to continue moving forward at every level of the club. On the pitch we have an outstanding squad. Off the pitch we have developed our infrastructure across all aspects of our operations to ensure we have the right assets and skills to progress.

“I am confident this progress, coupled with strong underlying values, will bring the success we all seek. Our ultimate ambition is clear: to win major trophies and make Arsenal fans at home and around the world proud of this great club.  Proud of our values, proud of the way we act and proud of our team.”

Leicester City Football Club have announced leading global sport betting company 12BET as an Official Betting Partner for the 2016/17 season.

12BET offers competitive odds across thousands of events and after sponsoring the likes of Sevilla, Swansea City and Newcastle United, a partnership with the Premier League champions further enhances their reputation.

Leicester City Heads of Partnerships Harj Hir said: “We’re delighted to enter into a partnership with 12Bet, who have a fantastic record of sponsorship in sport. As one of the leading global betting companies, we look forward to working with them over the coming season.”

12BET spokesman Rory Anderson added: “In becoming Champions, Leicester City completed perhaps the greatest story in Premier League history. It was a remarkable achievement that captured the imagination of football fans across the globe. We are simply delighted to be a key partner of the Club.”

Ryan Bertrand has helped launch ‘Footiemoji’ an app for football fans with branded emojis for teams and players.

The IOS app is the brainchild of Bertrand and business partner, Louis Bell, with whom he founded Silicon Markets, a fintech brokerage based in London; 

Having determined the concept, Bertrand mentioned the idea to Fonte and Terry, both of whom immediately offered to back the venture. 

Speaking to iSportconnect Bertrand said: “I had the idea- I have an entrepreneurial mind-set, I’m always thinking of ideas; not a day goes by when I see something and think ‘there’s an app for this or an app for that.’”

“This is a bit of a craze in the US at the moment there’s various high-profile people releasing apps at the moment and I felt there was nothing like this for football.”

“I thought why not create a set of emojis for football fans, something they can share, have a next level of messaging.”

“People are expressing themselves more through pictures rather than text – I hope people enjoy it and have fun.”

Bertrand was speaking at the launch event held by ENS at The Ice Tank in Central London.

He was keen to point out he hopes a lot of other footballers will look at what he’s done in creating an app to consider what they will be doing after football, while also explaining how he managed to get Jose and John on board.

He continued: “I hope a lot more football people do keep an eye on their future and see a career after sports, you hear the odd horror story and that’s never nice to see – I hope this will be a growing trend.”

“It was nothing formal, we’re friends and I still chat to John, it came up in conversation he said it would be fun and they went for it.”

“I think we’re looking forward in perhaps version 2 of the app to have sponsors, firstly we want to establish we’re the guys to go to for football emojis and the second step is partnerships we can create to enhance the app for the user.”

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The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Sports.ru, medicine Russia’s leading sports website, have announced the launch of NBA.com Russia, the NBA’s new, official online destination in Russia.

Hosted in a dedicated section of Sports.ru and the Sports.ru mobile app, NBA.com Russia features a range of multimedia content including videos, highlights, localized editorial and real-time statistics.

Fans who visit NBA.com in Russia will be automatically redirected to Sports.ru/NBA.

Sports.ru will also operate Russia’s first official NBA VKontakte page (http://vk.com/official_nba) and Twitter account (@NBA_RU), providing fans with engaging up-to-the-minute content.

“We are excited to partner with Sports.ru to launch the NBA’s first official online destination in Russia,” said NBA Vice President – Russia, David Watts.

“As one of Russia’s leading sports news platforms, Sports.ru will provide fans with an enhanced NBA experience through localized editorial and around the clock content across digital and social media.”

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FIFA have been urged by sponsors such as Coca-Cola to undergo an independent reform ahead of today’s Executive Committee meeting. 

The soft drinks brand confirmed that it wrote a letter to world football’s governing body asking for a reform to be conducted by “one or more eminent, impartial leaders”.

Full story HERE.

By Christian Radnedge

The organisers of the Rio 2016 Olympics insist that preparations for the Games are more than 55 per cent complete and maintain they will be finished on time and on budget.

Joaquim Monteiro, ambulance president of Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic office, and Carlos Arthur Nuzman, president of Rio 2016, gave an update on the Games project at the Pan-American Games in Toronto, Canada.

Despite fears over the vast amount of construction work going on at the four Olympic clusters in Rio, Monteiro assured reporters that there were no concerns about being ready for the start of the Games on August 5.

“All works are on time, according to schedule and within the planned budget,” he said adding: “More than half of the Olympic facilities are ready.”

Concerns that Rio would not be ready on time were exacerbated by frequent delays to construction projects for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. But the South American nation’s sports minister George Hilton, who was also at the press conference, said that the doubters were proved wrong last year.

“We will make a monumental Olympics,” Hilton said. “It will be important that our stay here [in Toronto] we can learn a lot, to be able to also develop some actions that will guide the events of the next year in Rio. And I want to take this time to learn from experiences. There was a feeling that we would have problems at the World Cup and it was a success.”

In February, the International Olympic Committee visited Rio to check on preparations and said they saw “solid progress” on work but that the city was entering the most intense phase with aggressive deadlines on the golf course and velodrome specifically.

The coordination commission visits Brazil again next month for the ninth visit which will be almost precisely one year before the Games.

By Christian Radnedge

FIFA made a payment of $5m to the Football Association of Ireland to prevent legal action from the body after they were beaten controversially by France in a World Cup play-off in 2009.

The claims come amid the ongoing crisis in world football’s governing body, with president Sepp Blatter announcing he is to step down despite being re-elected, a widening investigation into corruption allegations by the US Department of Justice and a separate investigation by Swiss authorities into the awarding of hosting rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Drawing 1-1 in Paris, the Republic of Ireland were 16 minutes and a penalty shoot-out away from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa when Thierry Henry handled the ball in the build-up to William Gallas’s extra-time equaliser.

With France going through on that contentious decision, FAI chief executive John Delaney said he had believed there was a case for compensation

“We felt we had a legal case against FIFA because of how the World Cup play-off hadn’t worked out for us with the Henry handball,” Delaney said in a radio interview with Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ.

He added: “We came to an agreement. It’s a very good agreement for the FAI and a very legitimate agreement for the FAI.”

A FIFA spokesman admitted the payment, but insisted the $5m was a loan granted for the building of a stadium in Ireland.

“FIFA granted FAI a loan of $5million for the construction of a stadium in Ireland. At the same time, UEFA also granted the FAI funds for the same stadium,” the FIFA statement said.

“The terms agreed between FIFA and the FAI were that the loan would be reimbursed if Ireland qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Ireland did not so qualify. Because of this, and in view of the FAI’s financial situation, FIFA decided to write off the loan as per 31 December 2014.”

Northern Ireland’s Jim Boyce, who retired as a FIFA vice-president last week at the congress in Zurich, said “I’m absolutely astounded. I have never heard anything as ridiculous in my life.

“If a payment of $5m has been paid because of a handball and threatened legal action, then I hope a full investigation will be carried out into this and any other such arbitrary payments.”

Blatter Moves Ahead With Reforms

Meanwhile, Blatter has maintained he is continuing with a “comprehensive programme of reform” for FIFA.

In a statement, the 79-year-old explained how he had met with Domenico Scala, independent chairman of the audit and compliance committee, to decide on the next steps forward following his announcement this week.

“I had a good, constructive meeting with Mr. Scala to establish a framework for action and a timetable. I am pleased to take advice and guidance from Mr. Scala,” Blatter said.

“I want a comprehensive programme of reform and I am very aware that only the FIFA Congress can pass these reforms. Furthermore, the Executive Committee has a particular duty to share the responsibility of driving this process.”

FBI Investigation Now Includes Brazil 2014

The investigation into corruption in FIFA now includes the awarding of the hosting rights to the 2014 World Cup to Brazil.

That means the FBI are now scrutinising three of the past five World Cups and the award of the next two as well.

Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S Paulo is reporting that US authorities are looking at the links between FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke and former Brazilian Football Confederation president Ricardo Teixeira in regards to Brazil winning the hosting rights in 2007 unopposed.

The Brazilian was also a member of the FIFA exco and was not one of the 14 indicted in the US investigation, but his colleague and successor Jose Maria Marin was one of several detained in Zurich.

Teixeira fled to Miami in 2012 after being named in a Swiss prosecutors report as having taken bribes for World Cup marketing rights along with then-father-in-law, and former FIFA president, Joao Havelange.

However reports say Teixeira is now back in Rio de Janeiro having put up his Miami home for sale at $12m.

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The first iSportconnect Digital Media and Technology Masterclass of the year will take place tomorrow and the anticipation is building for what should be the best edition to date.

The event, therapy in association with Seven League, medic will be held at the Grange Tower Bridge hotel, ed London, and due to huge demand the event has reached its capacity and is now FULL.

Representatives of major sports teams, clubs, federations, governing bodies and brands are expected to be in attendance.

An extremely impressive and diverse panel has been put together which should make for an engaging and insightful afternoon.

Panel 1: Football – Do big names win big off the pitch?

– David Sternberg, Head of Media, Manchester United

– Jerry Newman, Head of Digital Marketing & CRM, Chelsea FC

– Joaquim Cardona, Head of Digital Business, FC Barcelona

Moderator: Richard Ayers, Seven League

Panel 2: How is digital captivating rugby fans and driving engagement in World Cup year?

– Murray Barnett, Head of Broadcast, Commercial & Marketing, World Rugby

– Tom Kingsley, Director, Sports and Sponsorship, EY

– Mike Norrish, Executive Producer, BT Sport

– Tom Lister, Marketing Manager, Rugby Football Union (RFU)

Moderator: Alex Chamberlen, Omnigon

Panel 3: Can Technology make real what marketing dreams of?

– Damian Smith, Head of Information Technology, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)

– Bruce Bale, Head of Social Games and Development, Sky Betting & Gaming

– Hywel Sloman, IT Director, Arsenal FC

– Mark Lichtenhein, CIO – Head of Television, Digital Media & Technology, PGA European Tour

Moderator: Steven Harrison, Exponential-e

Panel 4: Fresh perspectives from cross-sector experts in other entertainment industries

– Matt Locke, Director, Storythings

– Alice Taylor, CEO, MakieLab

– Martin Talks, Founder, x10 Army

Moderator: Richard Ayers, Seven League

In Association With:

Event Partners:

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David Chung has been re-elected to serve a fourth term as president of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC).

The decision was made at the 23rd OFC Ordinary Congress in Papua New Guinea today. 

Chung has been the OFC president since November 2011.