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Lively support at Budweiser 2005 Shanghai Cup

The Budweiser 2005 Shanghai International Football Tournament has been won by Sevilla defeating Villarreal 2-0 in the final. Three top Spanish La Liga teams, Villareal, FC Sevilla and Real Zaragoza, participated in the football tournament that also featured Shanghai United - an all-star team of players from Shanghai’s four professional teams selected by fans online.

The largest Budweiser-sponsored event in China this year, the four-match soccer tournament was played in the Shanghai Stadium over 27, 28 and 30 July. It followed the Budweiser Manchester United Beijing Cup, featuring Manchester United and Beijing Hyundai, on 26 July at Worker’s Stadium.

The matches were broadcast live on Shanghai Television Station Sports Channel and DragonTV, as well as Astro in Malaysia. Total Sports Asia was the exclusive agent for bringing the Spanish teams to Shanghai.

According to Viva Shanghai bloggers, Jim and Tessa, Shanghai football fans were not satisfied by the composition of the all star team:

"As the first game featured a Shanghai all-star team, the Chinese fans were split between four sets of supporters. Unbeknown to me, the rivalry between these fans runs as deep as that between England’s Arsenal and Tottenham.

At the end of the first game, the tension boiled over as two sets of supporters became embroiled in small scale riot. With the police looking on, a minority of 100-200 fans chanted while hurling bottles at each other."

Premier League to cooperate with AFC on tours

The English Premier League is to talk to the Asian Football Confederation about ways to prevent English clubs from exploiting Asia through tours, AFC president Mohamed bin Hammam said yesterday.

Hammam said he supported comments by FIFA general secretary Urs Linsi, who accused European clubs of making money out of Asia and robbing the continent’s struggling domestic leagues of much-needed funds.

“I am supporting Urs. We are very concerned about European teams coming to Asia and leaving after collecting money without leaving any kind of legacy behind. They did not do anything to help national associations with any kind of football programmes. We have spoken to the Premier League and they agree that English clubs should not only come to Asia to play and leave but to play and leave behind some sort of contribution to football in Asia," Mr bin Hammam said, as quoted by Reuters.

The president said the AFC was unable to force European clubs to take a moral stand over their profit margins but warned that Asian fans would not be fooled judging by the lower than expected turnouts for some matches.

“I must stress that we are in no way against English or European teams coming to Asia,” he said. “Asians love English football. They are stars and role models for us so they have a moral obligation as well as a contractual obligation when they play here. They can have a very positive effect in the development of Asian football.”

Will Nakamura introduce Celtic to Asia?

"Amid the crush at Glasgow Airport, Shunsuke Nakamura could have been forgiven for feeling slightly suffocated. It is a condition he will probably have to get used to. Arriving with a £2.7m price tag is one thing. Being burdened with the role of saviour is something else", Glasgow's Sunday Herald reported.

"The Japanese playmaker stepped off his flight from Tokyo to find Celtic in crisis following their humiliating defeat in Slovakia. Gordon Strachan’s biggest summer signing now faces far from ideal circumstances to bed into an alien culture, let alone a new club."

Celtic has made it clear its expects him to deliver on the pitch rather than the balance sheet ... "He is here first and foremost for his footballing pedigree. However, the opportunities he will bring in terms of commercial spin-offs are of great interest,” said Peter Lawwell, Celtic's chief executive.

Given the gaggle of Japanese journalists at Parkhead for his unveiling on Friday, the commercial opportunities are clear. Like Shinji Ono at Feyenoord, Nakamura’s progress will be followed avidly back in his homeland. The Rotterdam club now have merchandising outlets across Japan and profit from television specials on Ono which are beamed back to his adoring fans.

“Celtic found the proverbial crock of gold when they convinced Nakamura and his agent to part with his image rights,” said Ken Matsushima, the editor of The Rising Sun News website which focuses on Japanese football. “Japanese fans take their football very seriously and they have plenty of money to plonk down on merchandise. Some of the hyperbole has been incredibly overheated, but Nakamura is a well-regarded internationalist with a strong fan following. Even if there are nine other Japanese players who attract equal merchandising attention, 10% of the market is still a huge pile of money,” he added.

According to the Sunday Herald, there is already talk of a Celtic tour to the Far East next summer and a link-up between Celtic TV and Sky/PerfecTV, an Asian satellite broadcaster.

Asia disappointed with many touring clubs

The Asian Football Confederation delivered a rebuke this weekend when it told visiting clubs to look beyond their commercial ambitions and help develop the sport regionally.

"European clubs have to remember that our national associations, players and fans look to them not as money-minded opportunists but as leaders and role-models in the game," AFC president Mohamed bin Hammam said.

The feeling of being let-down by the super clubs is resonating throughout East and South East Asia, AFP reported:

"The European clubs' gold-digging Chinese tours have stirred up resentment on the mainland. As well as pocketing millions of yuan for four-day visits, the clubs also spent more of their time busying themselves with commerical promotions and branding activities ... Are these prestige visits damaging Chinese football's long-term prospects and taking money out of the domestic game?," Beijing Today said in an editorial.

"Loyalty and true passion have been eclipsed by the lure of obscene salaries, agents' dirty manoeuvring and all the rest that makes up the ugly business side of club football ... Real Madrid and other wealthy clubs are the embodiment of much that is wrong in the game," The Nation newspaper of Thailand said.

No fewer than 12 European clubs descended on Asia in recent weeks, and ticket prices can be as high as two weeks' wages in China.

Manchester United saw attendances slip in Hong Kong and could only half-fill the Workers' Stadium in Beijing, as did Real Madrid. Real were unable to fill the 50,000-seat Tokyo Stadium in two attempts and Bayern Munich played there with half the seats empty, in a sign that the novelty of the annual tour may be fading.

Soccerex 2005 Exhibition approaching sell out

July was a record sales month for Soccerex 2005 (13-15 November 2005, Madinat Jumeirah. Dubai) and over 90% of the exhibition floorplan is now sold. This leaves only 12 exhibition stands for sale, and with offers in place, Soccerex is well on course to being the biggest and most vibrant business event ever staged on football.

The latest exhibitors signing up for Soccerex 2005 include: Sports Solutions Fantasy League, Icons, Pe-Be Grass, Al Kamda, AAA Elite Limousines, Arena & Stadium experts, Greenfields, Barco, Gablo, Schott, Uzin Utz, Hypsos, My Sports, Jebel Ali, Terraplas, Sheffield FC, Brixx Solutions, Exp Agency, Service Graphics Limited, Goal Striker, Interactive Communication, Performance Group International, RE:Media , Net Result, Ciber UK, Screen Dragon, 2R Entertainment, MediaPro, Rollabana, Oman FA, Sport and Technology.

For quick information on exhibiting or attending Soccerex 2005, contact Geoffrey Gold, Gold Group Asia/Pacific Ltd, accredited represetative for Asia and Australia: Email: soccerex@goldglobal.com. Singapore Fax: +65 6491-5020; Jakarta Fax: +62 (0)21 719-4025; Melbourne Fax: +61 (0)3 9923-6003.

'Socceroos' wait for AFC zone placement

The Asian Football Confederation has delayed until September a decision on whether Australia will join the East Asian or ASEAN zone when it formally moves from Oceania on 1 January, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

A two-day workshop in Kuala Lumpur this week kick-started the planning process for Australia's integration into Asia but it will be left to an AFC Congress in Marrakech, Morocco, on 11 September, to decide on the most fundamental issue of which of Asia's two regional zones will embrace Australia.

While the zone system does not affect the World Cup or Asian Cup qualifying procedure for the 'Socceroos', it does determine the draw for all other national teams. East Asia includes regional juggernauts China, South Korea and Japan, while ASEAN is a weaker zone competitively - something that would help the various youth, indoor, beach football and women's teams to qualify for FIFA competitions.

ASEAN has more members than East Asia, travelling costs would be cheaper and it hosts Asia's most lucrative regional tournament, the Tiger Cup, which would be an attractive second-tier event for the Socceroos.

Football Federation Australia chief executive John O'Neill, who attended the talks, said yesterday that FFA was in the process of doing more "homework" on the issue but at this stage did not have a preference. "We're happy to leave the final decision up to the AFC," he said.

Thailand's cautious welcome to Real Madrid

Thailand newspaper, the Bangkok Post, is not impressed with Real Madrid's preparation for the final game of its summer promotional tour against Thailand's SEA Games side at Rajamangala National Stadium this evening:

The fact that they return to this part of the world so soon after their previous visit two years ago proves that Asia is the favourite destination for European clubs to earn extra income. When the nine-time European champions came to Asia two years ago, they were heavily criticised in some quarters for having only one thing in mind - money.

Real Madrid planned to play in Malaysia but it was called off because the organisers felt that their asking appearance fee was too high. This matter irritated Asian Football Confederation secretary-general Peter Velappan, a Malaysian, who lashed out at the Spanish side labelling them ''blood suckers.''

During their previous visit, they were criticised for playing too many matches in a short period with some critics calling their pre-season campaign money-spinning. When Real players played Thailand, they were apparently exhausted after several games and some of their players looked like they were more interested in returning home. This time round, their schedule looks even worse and appears tailor-made to make as much money as possible in the shortest period.

Their match against Thailand will be their fourth in just seven days. The Spanish team's players has played every other day beginning with their first game in Beijing on Saturday which was followed by two matches in Japan on Monday and Wednesday ...

Thailand is again their last stop and many supporters are worried that Real coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo will rest too many stars and give chances to fringe players. The last time Real Madrid were here, Thai fans were disappointed that they did not see in action Portugal international Luis Figo and Brazil striker Ronaldo, who were both injured.

If they are not injured, the Brazilian coach should give some role to all his superstars in today's match which could be Figo's and England striker Michael Owen's last game in a Real shirt. Their appearance fee is said to be around 70 million baht, or nearly 800,000 baht per minute on the pitch, so the big-name players should do some work ...

... for the visitors, the match may be meaningless but at least they can help suffering people. Each goal they score against Thailand is worth 200,000 baht for the tsunami victims.

Unfortunately, some of their superstars including David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo have complained about the promotional tour of the US and Asia saying it has adversely affected preparations for next season. The last time Real Madrid visited Asia they also made a similar complaint after a stuttering start to the new season.

If the players are not happy with such a pre-season campaign, then they should tell their club bosses not to arrange a trip to Asia.

"Thailand should also think carefully before bringing in European clubs to play here in their pre-season tour of Asia," the newspaper concluded.

"The money paid to the Spanish giants could be more useful for football development in this country which is struggling to get funds for a new local league."

Bayern Munich "not tested" by Tokyo

German league leaders Bayern Munich made short work of FC Tokyo, defeating the J-League side 4-0 in their first pre-season game in Japan. Dutch international striker Roy Makaay opened the scoring in the Japanese capital in the 19th minute and Brazilian defender Lucio headed home the second ten minutes later. It was a comfortable win for the German champions, a fact that was underlined by further strikes in the second half from substitutes Paulo Guerro and Hasan Salihamidzic. Bayern coach Felix Magath told reporters, "It was a good night for us. I was very pleased with our performance. FC Tokyo were quick but I don’t think we felt like we were ever really tested properly," goal.com reported.

ManU go down to Kashima Antlers

Japanese J-League leaders Kashima Antlers have beaten English Premier League football team Manchester United, 2-1, in a friendly match in Tokyo. Japan national team midfielder Masashi Motoyama scored both goals for the home team. He opened the scoring in the fifth minute and then scored the game-winner in the 24th minute. United's Welsh midfielder Ryan Giggs tied the game at 1-1 in the seventh minute, finishing off a cross from Portuguese midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo nearly gave United the lead in the 14th minute but his shot hit the side netting. Right after that happened, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck the stadium, but the game was not interrupted.

Italy's ACF Fiorentina beat Cerezo Osaka, 3-0,

Aceh "dreams" of visit by Italian footballers

In the tsunami-devastated Indonesian province of Aceh, orphan children are regaining their love of life thanks to their passion for football. While the British football teams have been very active in helping the local population recover from devastation, the much loved Italian football players have never paid a visit.

Emphasising the cultural and natural beauties of Indonesia, Dali Tahir - the leading Indonesian expert of Italian football - appeals to Adnkronos International for a quick, healing visit by Vieri, Baggio or Del Piero.

“Baggio is Buddhist, he should visit the Indonesian temple of Borobudur in Central Java and then come to Aceh to make the province's thousands of orphans happy", suggests Tahir, in perfect Italian. “To bring Baggio or the Juventus team to Aceh would be a dream come true for the local population. Baggio is a national hero, as are Del Piero, Totti, Maldini and Vieri.”

Tahir, who admitted loving Juventus, is deputy president of the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) and regularly comments live on TV football premiership matches. Besides television, Indonesian fans of Italian soccer get the latest on their sporting heroes by reading Top Scorer, a review jointly published there with Italy's sporting daily, Gazzetta dello Sport.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the young Portuguese wing of Manchester United, was recently greeted by thousands of fans in Banda Aceh before going to Jakarta for a fund-raising dinner. Before him, Warren Borton, a former player from Newcastle United, spent a few days teaching kids to play in the destroyed stadium of Lamholm city in Banda Aceh.

No Italian football players have yet graced Aceh's battered shores. The last time an Italian team visited Indonesia, according to Tahir, was four years ago with Milan, Lazio and Sampdoria stopping by.

Meanwhile, in Aceh soccer is gradually returning to normality. In the last month FIFA has distributed 4,500 footballs and has organised football schools for children in refugee camps. A friendly tournament for eight semi-professional teams was held in Aceh recently under the name ‘Football for Hope’.

FIFA: money-spinning tours harm Asian leagues

The world football governing body, FIFA has joined the growing chorus of concerns about exploitation of the developing Asian market by some of the richest football clubs, particularly Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United, which use the European close season to visit the Far East with the aim of boosting their brands.

"I understand that a trip like this is good for the Bundesliga and for Bayern," FIFA general secretary Urs Linsi said at a pre-World Cup conference when asked about the German club's trip. "But what is the effect in Asia? The big leagues in Europe become popular in Asia but we get the feedback from the Asian countries looking to develop their leagues and they have problems. They need sponsorship income themselves but that is going to European clubs," Reuters quoted.

"It's a fact that in some Asian countries they are having to schedule their own matches to take into account the top European leagues, playing their games when there are no live broadcasts from England, Italy or Spain.

"The Asian football associations come to FIFA and complain that something is wrong. This is a question of solidarity. The big clubs are getting stronger and stronger and making life difficult for the smaller countries."

Real Madrid's current tour of Asia could net them a reported $25 million but players such as David Beckham have expressed concern about the physical toll of the travelling and changes in time zone.

Linsi said it was up to clubs to decide how to use the non-match periods on the international calendar but he said those taking part in promotional tours should not then complain of over-exertion of their players.

"If these rest periods are used for tours that can be useful for the club -- it can create fan loyalty, it can be great, but I don't think this is so good for the preparation of the players," Linsi said.

"The clubs cannot complain about overtaxing their players and they can't say they don't want to release players (for international matches)."

Crowds down for Real and ManU games

Manchester United chief executive David Gill last night insisted the club's popularity is not slipping - despite less than 25,000 fans turning up for the second match of their Far East tour. Although United's, three-country trip has been received far more positively than the Real Madrid outfit they have followed round Asia - and is expected to net them around £3 million - the crowds have not been as large as on their last trip to the region four years ago and their welcome has been less frenzied.

Saturday's gate for the 2-0 win over Hong Kong was 8000 down on their last visit, while the Workers Stadium was not even a third full for Tuesday's 3-0 win over Beijing Hyundai.

"Clearly, last night's crowd was disappointing. There are various factors behind that, which will be investigated. But we were very pleased with the crowd in Hong Kong and we are confident there will be good crowds for our final two matches. What is happening on this tour does not lead us to the conclusion popularity in us is waning," Gill said as quoted by The Daily Record.

"Real Madrid may have packed in a larger audience in Beijing but the first, dreadfully disappointing match of their Japanese tour brought 31,000 to the National Stadium, where they suffered a 3-0 defeat against a club lying next to bottom in the J-League", The Telegraph commented.

"Last night's encounter, a 3-1 victory over Jubilo Iwata featuring two goals from Ronaldo and some lovely touches from Beckham, was rather more satisfactory."

United Shanghai team loses to Sevilla

A united Shanghai team, made up of four local clubs, lost 0-2 to Spanish first division club Sevilla in the opening match of the Shanghai International Football Tournament at the Shanghai Stadium on Wednesday. The other teams participating in the event are Spanish first division sides Real Zaragoza and Villarreal. Sevilla will meet the winner of the Real Zaragoza-Villareal encounter on July 30.

New Hong Kong FA board elected

Martin Hong Po Kui was elected as the chairman of the Hong Kong Football Association at its Extraordinary General and Annual General Meeting on Wednesday. The Directors of the board for 2005-07 were also elected in the meeting: Hui Ki On, Koon Wing Yee, Bruce Mok Bong Tong and Pui Kwan Kay. Chow Man Leung was elected as the First Division Representative while Yu Kam Lee is the Second Division Representative.

Charlton launch Chinese youth academy

English Premier League club, Charlton, has joined forces with Chinese Super League club Shanghai Zobon and signed a five-year agreement to establish the Zobon Charlton Football Academy in Shanghai.

"We are today joining an elite group of European clubs, such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, who are seeking the enormous player, commercial and branding opportunities that can be secured from a presence in China - a country which has one of the most rapidly developing economies in the world and where there is enormous interest in the top European leagues,” Charlton chief executive Peter Varney said.

"This is a key element of the international development strategy for our football club going forward, and comes on the back of last week's launch of an overseas club channel."

Charlton Athletic TV (CATV) will next season be transmitted to millions of viewers around the world. The Addicks became the first Premiership club outside the established top four to market the rights to their league matches to international broadcasters, with a three-hour programme due to be shown on a time-delay basis in west Africa and the Middle East. Ukraine, Scandinavia, Australasia and the Far East are also being explored for potential future expansion, the club website explained.

Mr Varney was one of a number of Addicks officials who travelled to China for the launch, including plc deputy chairman Robert Whitehand, academy manager Steve Gritt and Steve Waggott, chief executive of the Charlton Community Trust.

Under the agreement, which takes immediate effect until June 2010, the Zobon Charlton Football Academy will be built by the Zobon Corporation at Fengcheng Base, Pudong, Shanghai. It will cover a total area of 202,000 sq metres.

The academy will be run along the lines of a Premier League academy, with Charlton enjoying one of the best reputations in England for producing and nurturing young talent - England internationals Scott Parker, Paul Konchesky, Lee Bowyer and Robert Lee just some of the players to emerge through the club's ranks.

The technical director of the academy will be jointly appointed by Zobon and Charlton, as will the coaching staff.

Over the last few years Charlton have taken a number of steps to increase the global awareness of the club and have set up youth and community initiative links in countries such as New Zealand, Spain, Finland, Gibraltar and the United States.

Varney added: "We may not currently be able to compete on the international stage with the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool but the steps we are taking today, coupled with the initiatives already underway in a number of other overseas countries, have started us on a long journey from which the benefits will hopefully be realised in the years to come.

"I must thank the Zobon Corporation for the considerable financial investment they have made both to the construction of the new academy and the financing of its day-to-day running costs, while the agreement would not have been possible without the commitment of Zobon chairman Wei Ping and president Gao Liping.

Having been promoted to the Chinese Super League for the first time at the end of last season, Shanghai Zobon, who are one of three Shanghai-based clubs, play their home matches at the Yuanshen Sports Centre Stadium, and are currently 11th in the 14-team league after 15 matches.

Owned by Shanghai Zhongbang Real Estate Co, which bought out Zhuhai Anping in January 2004 and relocated from the southern coast of Guangdong Province to Shanghai after gaining promotion in November 2004, Shanghai Zobon's main sponsors include China Telecom, Mercedes-Benz and Mizuno.

Real Madrid 3-1 win in Japan

Brazil striker Ronaldo scored twice when Real Madrid beat Japan's Jubilo Iwata 3-1 on Wednesday in the second of two pre-season games in Japan. England captain David Beckham completed 68 minutes in his second game after pulling a hamstring in the United States last week and received a standing ovation from the crowd of 34,000 when he came off, Reuters reported.

Japanese soccer authorities have found no evidence to indicate that David Beckham was spat at during a friendly match between Real Madrid and Tokyo Verdy earlier this week, according to media reports. Beckham was seen gesturing angrily at former Japan international Kazuyuki Toda during Monday's match, in which Tokyo Verdy snared an upset 3-0 over the Spanish powerhouse.

"Toda spat in my face. That in life is horrible, but in football no players like that," Japanese sports daily Nikkan Sports quoted the Madrid midfielder as saying after the match. However Kyodo News reported Wednesday that J-League officials had studied video footage of the match and found no evidence of a spitting incident.

Toda also claimed his innocence in a meeting with Verdy officials, Kyodo said. "He was the one that kicked me. Spit flew, and I think that's why he was angry, but it wasn't me," Toda was quoted by Sports Nippon as saying after Monday's match.

FIFA to help build soccer fields in Aceh

The world soccer governing body FIFA will soon disburse donation of 1 million US dollars to build soccer fields in the Indonesian tsunami-hit province of Aceh, a local official said Wednesday.

The donation was announced by Windsor John, representative of FIFA Southeast Asia based in Kuala Lumpur, said provincial sports council chairman Zainuddin Hamis.

Windsor and an official from the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) visited Aceh last week, he was quoted by the Antara news agency (via Xinhua) as saying.

During his visit, Mr John said the donation was intended to build four soccer fields and a soccer stadium in several districts and FIFA would further help rebuild soccer fields and stadiums damaged by last year's tsunami, which left some 120,000 people in the province dead or missing.

FIFA reportedly has conducted surveys in the province to assess which soccer fields need help and found that at least 12 fields deserve the donation.

China Daily explains football business motive

If you thought the Real Madrid and Manchester United exhibition matches in China last weekend and tomorrow were all about sport, think again. "It's business. Big business", reports the state-owned, China Daily. The main reason why the two star-studded football giants are sweating it out in mid-summer "is to turn their popularity into profits", the newspaper explained:

While appearance fees may not be crucial for the clubs, they are not peanuts either. Real is expected to pocket US$25.2 million from the two-week pre-season tour in the US and Asia and 6.5 million euros for its China stop. Though the match organizers did not reveal payment for the club, it is believed that just the training session held in Tianjin on Friday earned some US$48, 400 for Real. And its appearance fee for the friendly with Beijing Hyundai on Saturday was no less than US$2.42 million ...

The clubs' main aim to further raise their profile in China a bigger fan base would translate into extra revenues in the future.

"Using this platform, Manchester United will develop its market even further," said Vange Kourentis, the club's marketing manager, in an earlier press conference. "We will take any opportunity available to promote the club in China."

There are also millions riding on sponsorships from Chinese companies like Septwolves and multinationals such as Audi, Pepsi and MasterCard. Garment maker Septwolves spent 4 million yuan (US$493,000) on Real Madrid's China tour in 2003. And this time round, the sponsorship is said to be more than that.

"It is a useful marketing strategy," Mao Jinhua, director of Septwolves' marketing centre, tells China Business Weekly. "Sponsoring such a high-profile club focuses more attention on our brand and indirectly promotes sales," he says.

Global auto maker Audi, which sponsored the Galacticos' tour in 2003, was satisfied with the result."Through an integrated campaign, we successfully raised the profile of the Audi brand, encouraged customer loyalty and drove sales of Audi A4," says Gao Yujing, PR manager of Audi China. The company is sponsoring the Red Devils' tour this year.

More and more companies will choose sponsoring international matches or clubs as an effective promotion, says Yi Jiandong, a sports industry expert at the Beijing Physical Science Education University. Acording to him, China is a huge market but domestic sport events have limited impact. That's why the world's top teams are interested in China exhibition events.

Thailand's coach proud of his team’s efforts

Thai head coach Chanvit Polchivin is still optimistic about the future of his young national team despite their 1-0 loss to Bolton in the Premier League Asia Trophy on Saturday. El-Hadji Diouf’s goal from a spot-kick earned Bolton some silverware before the English Premier League kicks off next month.

“I’m very proud of my team because they played well against Everton and Bolton, which were fourth and sixth in the English Premier League. My team is an under-23 side and I’m satisfied with their standard of their play,” said Chanvit. “We prepared the team for nine months. When you consider that their average age is only 21, all Thais should be proud that they played so well against those professional teams,” he said, as quoted by The Nation.

Thailand will have another big game against Spanish giants Real Madrid, who are now on their Asian tour and in Japan. The match will again be at the Rajamangala Stadium on Friday.

Three English clubs team for China market

Three English football clubs have joined forces with Lynx Group International Ltd to develop a strategic approach to the Chinese football market. Bolton Wanderers, Everton and Hull City have each developed long term strategies for different cities within China, but intend to work together to develop long-term relationships with the Chinese football authorities.

Steve Bellis, Commercial Director of the Lynx Group, spent 14 years as marketing manager of Football League 2 club Stockport County, which he took into China, so successfully, that the small club reportedly "dominates the sport in Liaoning, population 42 million" with a fan base "mushroomed across a dozen provinces in central and western China" so that, "each summer the team plays to sell out stadiums in Hubei, Shaanxi and Sichuan".

Over the next three years, the three allied clubs will build their profile in China through a range of activities that will also assist with the development of grass roots football in China. These activities will include complimentary coaching clinics, a range of seminars, player and coach exchange programmes and commercial matches.

Previously, clubs have approached China with short term, aggressive commercial agendas and have found the market extremely difficult to negotiate. Now they have adopted a much more considered approach and are looking to substantially increase their international profile and supporter base while generating new sustainable income streams.

The cities and towns of, Bolton, Liverpool and Hull will also benefit from their club's respective strategies with economic, education and cultural links all being generated on the back of the profile and relationships built by the clubs.

"We've been looking at China for some time now as a potential future market. We understand the need to adopt a longer term approach in developing lasting partnerships in China. Lynx Group have the market knowledge and experience to help us achieve our objectives and maximise potential opportunities, and we are delighted to be working with them," Bolton Wanderers Chief Executive, Allan Duckworth, commented.

This is the first time that three clubs have approached an international market collectively and Everton Chief Executive Keith Wyness has no doubts that this joined up long term approach is the right way forward.

"As part of the whole Asian market strategy there has been developments in China. With Kejian being the previous sponsor we have connections in China and with Li Tie we've had visibility in China. The main thing is that we haven't had a cohesive long-term strategy and in order to do that we've started to work with the experts in the area called the Lynx Group who have connections both political and business-wise in China," he said.

For Hull City, this is another massive step for a club who have just enjoyed back-to-back promotions and are attracting attention worldwide. The Tigers are set to forge links with the Far East in a tie-up with the Chinese city of Yingkou.

Hull City Chairman Adam Pearson is pleased to be able to work alongside two of the Premierships most successful clubs as his club approach the Far Eastern market for the first time "We have identified a number of exciting opportunities for education and business links which could benefit the City of Hull and will raise the profile of both the City and the football club in the rapidly expanding Chinese market"

There is the possibility that one or two of the clubs will tour China next May, generating commercial sponsorship and enhancing their profile in one of the world's most exciting markets.

Football is second to baseball in Japan

The Japanese love baseball. Americans name football as their favorite sport. For people in both countries, family comes before money, career or anything else. Three-fourths of Americans surveyed named family as the most important factor in happiness, compared with six in 10 Japanese, according to an AP-Kyodo poll. Almost one-quarter of the Japanese said relaxation was the most important factor, followed by community service at 14 percent. Seven percent of Americans said relaxation was the most important, and 6 percent cited community service.

When it comes to sports, Japan is even more baseball-crazy than America, where the game was invented. Some 36 percent of the Japanese named baseball as their favorite sport, followed by soccer at 22 percent, the poll found. For Americans, football was the sport of choice for 31 percent of those surveyed, following by basketball (19 percent) and then baseball, the national pastime, at 15 percent.

According to The Conservative Voice, the poll of 1,000 adults in the United States was conducted for the AP by Ipsos, an international polling company, from 5-10 July. The poll of 1,045 eligible voters in Japan was conducted for Kyodo by the Public Opinion Research Center from 1-3 July. Each poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

ManU's "win-win-win" in Asia

Which nation boasts the greatest number of Manchester United supporters? According to market research, an astonishing 23 million people in China describe themselves as United supporters - more than double the figure for Britain and Ireland combined. ManU’s modern rise coincided with the rebirth of Chinese football (the country’s first professional competition, the C-League, was inaugurated a year after ManU won the Premiership for the first time, in 1993) and many of the Chinese who looked abroad for a foreign team to support alighted on United. Their thinking has not budged since.

Given the undeveloped nature of the Chinese market, ManUare not the only club looking to establish a foothold. "Real [Madrid] are in Beijing just before us and Bayern Munich are also looking to be there,'' said Peter Draper, ManU’s director of marketing.

The good news for ManU is that there is already evidence of strong brand loyalty. Even the departure of David Beckham had little discernible impact on the club's popularity. Draper said: "We did some market research after David Beckham left us in China, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong, and the only change we noticed was in Japan. If you look at how Japan market lots of products, they are very personality-led. We take the view that the team is everything, something that is set by the boss. He [Sir Alex Ferguson] doesn't like people popping up as megastars."

On a tour promoted by the international sports marketing giant IMG, the club will earn between £3 million and 4 million in match fees alone for eight days’ work.

Even more important is the effect the club’s presence in China has on would-be sponsors. Nearly every big company in the world is trying to get into China, whose market has such potential that a car manufacturer has paid about £100 million to have its name associated with the Beijing Olympics — purely within the Chinese domestic market.

ManU's reach within the country will let them extract ever greater fees from their “golden circle” of sponsors — Audi, Pepsi, Budweiser, Vodafone, Nike, Air Asia and ING are all partners in the current tour.

For ManU it is win-win-win. The more sponsors they help bring to China, the bigger their match fees and the more fans they can attract. “If you’re working with the right kind of brands, they can put you in places where you can’t go yourself,” said Draper. “If you can have Manchester United on a Pepsi can or a Budweiser can, that’s incredible exposure. It’s good for us and it ’s good for companies like Pepsi, so it becomes a virtuous circle.”

Even without the commercial tie-ups, United will earn a fee of around £3 million for their four matches in the Far East, starting with yesterday's 2-0 victory over a Hong Kong representative team. Most of the cheers in Hong Kong's national stadium were for Ryan Giggs, though the marketing men must have pinched themselves at the sight of Chinese winger Dong Fangzhou scoring a superb solo goal for United to add to Guiseppe Rossi's tap-in.

- Sunday Times, Telegraph, agencies.

Real Madrid to 'show no mercy' in Japan

Real Madrid have warned that they will show no mercy against troubled Tokyo Verdy in the first of two pre-season friendlies in Japan on Monday. The Spanish giants take on a Verdy side who have conceded 26 goals in their last six games and have just fired Argentine coach Osvaldo Ardiles, Reuters reports.

"Verdy may have problems but that doesn't concern us," Real captain Raul told a news conference after the team's arrival in Japan on Sunday. "We will still be trying to score as many goals as possible. All the players are proud to be part of this Real Madrid team and we will be looking to prove our strength tomorrow."

Real Madrid beat China's Beijing Guo'an 3-2 on Saturday in the third game on their lucrative six-match pre-season tour. China state newsagency, Xinhua, reported that heavy rain dampened Chinese fans' enthusiasm for Real's super stars. Only a little more than half seats of the stadium, with a full capacity of more than 70,000 people, were occupied in contrast to the sellout crowd in the United States where Real played their first two tour games:

Right before the start of the match, more than 600 RMB yuan tickets had been sold at the price of 200 yuan by scalpers out of the stadium, and the 180-yuan ones depreciated to 40.

In an internet survey conducted by the web company sina.com.cn, over 96% of participants thought that Real came to China with the sole goal of making money. About 62% said they wouldn't support Real for sure if they came again, and another 27% said they were bored by the super star show and wouldn't be crazy as before.

Real Madrid play J-League side Jubilo Iwata in Tokyo on Wednesday before finishing their trip with a friendly in Bangkok

Lyon meet Tottenham in Korea's Peace Cup final

French champion Olympique Lyon meets Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League tomorrow in the eight-team Peace Cup's championship game at World Cup Stadium, South Korea. Both teams are unbeaten (1-0-2) in three Cup games and won their respective groups on a goal difference of one. Lyon tied PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday in Suwon to play for the $2million prize money, and Tottenham reached the title game with a 1-1 tie against Spanish club Real Sociedad in Kwangju on Thursday.

The absence of PSV and star Korean defender Young-Pyo Lee likely will cut the crowd for the final in half, the Washington Times, a subsidiary of the Peace Cup's organiser, reported. More than 62,000 watched PSV beat Korean club Seongnam in the tournament's opening game on 15 July, but Koreans generally do not flock to soccer games unless their national team's stars are involved. The average crowd in the 13-team K-League is 11,552, and the best-drawing team is Incheon United with an average of 26,564.

AirAsia in regional sponsorship deal with ManU

Manchester United has announced a one-year global advertising and sponsorship deal with AirAsia, marking the first time that a low-cost Malaysian-based airline has successfully associated with an English Premier League football club. The agreement, which includes global advertising and sponsorship activities both above and below the line, will begin in August and cover AirAsia’s associated companies Thai AirAsia and Awair in Indonesia. The airline did not reveal what budget it intended to invest in the club.

Manchester United and AirAsia officially signed the pact yesterday at a press conference at the the Grand Hyatt hotel in Hong Kong, where United will kick off their Asian tour today. The signing ceremony featured executives from both companies and 250 media representatives from the region.

David Gill, the club’s chief executive, said United was now expanding its network into Asia and around the world. The clubs’ commercial director, Andy Anson, said it was very exciting to sign a deal with a “vibrant” company like AirAsia “that serves such a diverse market”.

AirAsia’s chief executive officer, Tony Fernandes, said the football club provided high-quality products for its fans and AirAsia wanted to be associated with that. Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO of Thai AirAsia, said the sponsorship deal would allow the carrier to share the enthusiasm of the EPL, one of the most popular football leagues in the world. He also pointed out that both companies shared the same colour, red, which would be mutually beneficial.

Thailand keen for Asia Trophy final

Thailand head coach Chanwit Pholcheewin hopes his side can reproduce the form that earned them a stunning penalty shoot-out victory over Everton when the home side takes on Bolton Wanderers in the final of the FA Premier League Asia Trophy today. “The game against Bolton is more difficult than our match against Everton because they [Bolton] should know more about us after watching us play the first game,” said Chanwit, who took over the post from German Siegfried Held earlier this year.

“Playing against Bolton is going to be tough because they are good both in the air and on the ground. Besides, their players are better technically than us. And if they field their star players like Jay-Jay Okocha or El Hadji Diouf, who have awesome individual abilities, it might be even tougher for us,” he said, as quoted by The Nation.

Malaysian ManU fans win trip to Hong Kong

The lucky Malaysian winners of Astro television's “Manchester United Asia Tour” contest are travelling to watch their favourite team play Hong Kong. The four, who flew off yesterday, were Nazman Fariz Mohd Noh, Mohd Asmawi Johar, Wendy Loke and Mohd Nazli Mohd Nordin. They had each won a four-day trip for two in the contest, which required them to answer questions on Manchester United via SMS.

The Star reports that Nazman, 28, an engineer from Klang, said he was looking forward to seeing his favourite team “live” in action. He took along his father, Mohd Noh Munawar, also a soccer fan. Mohd Asmawi, 27, a business analyst from Johor, "has to keep pinching myself to actually believe it". Loke, 39, an ardent MU supporter for the past six years, said: “I was in ‘deja vu land’ when I heard the good news. This trip is such a wonderful treat.” Mohd Nazli, 31, is looking forward to meeting up with his favourite striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Marketing guru confirmed at Soccerex 2005

Former European PGA Tour guru Ken Schofield who took the marketing and administration of golf to a completely new level will be a guest speaker on a panel at Soccerex 2005 (13-15 November 2005, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai) which will dissect whether football is the most cost-effective marketed sport in the world. Other invited guests from sports including International Olympics, Boxing, NFL will also be joining the discussion which will prove to be a fascinating comparison as to where each sport perceives itself on the revenue food chain.

Schofield commented on his return from the British Open “I am very much looking forward to participating at Soccerex and the comparison of the marketing, TV and sponsorship revenues between the various world sport governing bodies. Being a football fan I will also look forward to enjoying the overall experience of Soccerex.”

For quick information on exhibiting or attending Soccerex 2005, contact Geoffrey Gold, Gold Group Asia/Pacific Ltd, an accredited represetative for Asia and Australia: Email: soccerex@goldglobal.com. Singapore Fax: +65 6491-5020; Jakarta Fax: +62 (0)21 719-4025; Melbourne Fax: +61 (0)3 9923-6003.

Real Madrid's quest for profits in China

When Real Madrid made their first trip to China two years ago, organizers paid them a match fee of about 2 million euros, according to unconfirmed reports in Chinese media, with add-ons for training and publicity events. A spokesman for the Gao De company, the main Chinese organizers, said the fee for Real's match against Beijing Guo'an on Saturday was a "business secret". But the fees paid to Real would be "higher than last time", he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa by telephone.

"I admit this is a business activity," sports journals quoted Guo'an vice president Luo Ning saying. "Because the market has such a demand, and our team needs the opportunity to improve and learn, we have the matches with Real Madrid and Manchester United," Luo said.

This week's issue of the Kingsports football journal carries an advertisement for eight different sports shirts in an Adidas "Beckham series", at prices from 150 yuan (18 dollars) to 288 yuan (35 dollars), almost 10 times the cost of an ordinary sports T-shirt in China. Beckham and other players are booked to appear at several Adidas promotions in Beijing this week.

Real players are also scheduled to visit a new luxury commercial housing development that has a road named "Real Madrid Avenue". The two characters for the club's Chinese name also mean "imperial horses".

Ticket prices range from 180 yuan (22 dollars) to 5,000 yuan (608 dollars) for Saturday's game, which Beckham may be forced to sit out with a hamstring injury. More than half of the 60,000 tickets were sold before Real's arrival in China, organizers said.

During their first trip to China in 2003, Real's marketing manager Jose Angel Sanchez was quoted as saying the club aimed to earn 40 million dollars - about the same as Beckham's transfer fee - from Asian marketing by 2006.

Argentinian sports investment company Mascardi, which owns some marketing rights to the Real Madrid brand, is also negotiating to buy a stake worth at least 100 million yuan (12 million dollars) in Guo'an, state media said. Speaking in Beijing in March, Mascardi head Gustavo Mascardi said he planned to make Guo'an the top team in Asia within three years, the Titan Sports newspaper said.

After Beijing, Real are scheduled to play two matches in Japan and one in Bangkok before they return to Madrid on July 30 -

English clubs must put "more effort" into Asia

Robert Elstone, Everton's new deputy chief executive is already convinced of the significance of his English Premier League club's links to Thailand, established with their first sponsorship deal with Chang Beer last season and strengthened by a new agreement to cover the next three seasons. It is the most lucrative deal of its kind in Everton's history.

"The potential in South East Asia is enormous," he told Liverpool Daily Post. "We know the Premier League is watched religiously on TV, no more so than here in Thailand. Our relationship with Chang gives us a fantastic platform. We want to make the fan base here come to life and make those supporters Evertonians for life. It's a big challenge for us but also a great opportunity," he said.

"We have the potential with Chang to cement a much more meaningful relationship with the Thai fans. The alternative, as many Premiership clubs seem to do, is to drop into this territory, play a game or two and then turn up again two or three years later and hope that helps cultivate a fan base. I'm not sure that it will."

The inference is that English clubs have to put more effort on the ground here in the Far East. "Our community and academy teams have already been out here," Elstone added.

English stars support youth on tsunami-hit Phuket

A soccer workshop hosted by players and managers from English Premier League teams Bolton Wanderers, Everton and Manchester City at Surukal Stadium on Thailand's Phuket island today attracted about 50 youngsters keen to have a kickabout with their idols. Unfortunately, word had spread about the initial cancellation of the workshop, with the result that number fell far short of the 400 expected to turn out for the chance to learn some soccer tricks from stars.

What did the visitors make of the enthusiastic youngsters? “These kids have had to put up with a lot in the past few months so maybe soccer’s a way out for them,” David Moyes, Everton team manager, told the Phuket Gazette,

Stuart Pearce, ex-English international and manager of Manchester City, said, “I think, as individuals, they are very talented, but their challenge lies in working together.”

Bolton manager, Sam Allardyce, said “After last night [when the Thai national team defeated Everton 5-3 on penalties] we saw that they’re very quick and we can look forward to seeing a stronger Thai team. The whole of Asia is seeing an upsurge in football, so standards are bound to rise.”

On the pitch, Manchester City’s Danny Mills and Bolton’s Jay Jay Okocha put youngsters through their paces.

Kwanrudee Amphonkra, 14, from tsunami-ravaged Baan Koh Phi Phi School, the only girl to take part in the workshop, said, “I was told about this football clinic by my coach and was eager to take part as I would like one day to play for Thailand.”

After the workshop, the youngsters gathered round in a semicircle and watched several stars, notably Jay Jay Okocha, show off their skills. After lunching at Kata Beach Resort, the soccer stars visited Baan Kamala School to distribute gifts before returning to Surakal Stadium for a further workshop.

Thailand beats Everton in dream game

Thailand's coach had a dream which has come true. Earlier this month Tawatchai Sajjakul tipped that "Thailand will give Everton a fight and had a good chance of winning" its first round of the FA Premier Asia Trophy Amazing Thailand 2005. Thailand pulled off a 6-4 penalty shootout upset over Everton yesterday in the opening match of the tournament.

The loss in the wilting Bangkok heat left Everton manager David Moyes less than impressed. “I’m not going to use the conditions as an excuse, we just weren’t sharp,” he told AFP. “We didn’t play well, and I’m disappointed with that. The fitness wasn’t there. The Thai team did well but we didn’t play anything like we should have done.”

European clubs yet to maximise Asian profits

European football clubs are heading to Asia in unprecedented numbers but experts are questioning how much success they are having in tapping the vast market. They say "in return for a tiring trip for the players, clubs aren’t getting much more than their appearance fee and some extra shirt sales. Turning popularity into profit is the next challenge, they say," AFP reported.

Harry Philp, managing director of London-based consultancy Inner Circle Sports, cited the example of Manchester United who are seeing little return from their estimated 40 million Asian fans. “Historically, the number of shirts that you sell and other revenue streams that you can generate from the business have been reasonably successful but in terms of the potential market it’s been relatively small,” he said.

Philp said clubs needed to look at new sources of revenue such as paid internet broadcasts of match footage. “They’ve got to look at ways to bring in club product, be it purely through merchandising sales or access to matches through new media,” said Philp. “It’s a question of getting to your target audience and finding out how you retain interest. It’s a challenge for the clubs: how do you retain interest and generate revenue?”

Promoter Terry Catton, who has brought Juventus, AC Milan and Newcastle to Hong Kong, said clubs normally receive a big fee – perhaps US$1 million – for Asian exhibition games plus travel and accommodation costs. They may also take some of the ticket proceeds and will use the trip to sell merchandise such as shirts and club membership.

Catton said he had never seen so many teams touring Asia, but warned that the smaller clubs would struggle to make an impression. “I think the big clubs will continue to dominate. It will be very difficult for the smaller clubs,” he said. “It’s the star appeal. All the fans in Asia really want to see the biggest clubs so it will be difficult for the secondary clubs to make a big impact.”

“It’s always an interesting question about signing Asian players whether they’ve been signed for their ability or marketing,” said Philp. I’m sure Ji-sung’s been signed purely on his football ability. The fact that he’s Korean and Korea is a major market they’re trying to develop certainly helps. “I think we’ll see more signings of Asian players as the standards continue to rise in Asian football.”

India told "not to let the momentum go"

Describing the Vision Asia program as the last chance for India to break into the league of major soccer nations, Asian Football Confederation Secretary General, Peter Velappon, warned the AIFF not to let the momentum go. He is part of the four-member AFC delegation monitoring the implementation of the Vision India pilot projects in Delhi and Manipur. Other delegates include AFC Director of National Associations Brendan Menton, P Shiva Kumar and Imtiaz-ur Rehman.

After meeting regional officials Mr Velappon said, "We have asked [national] officials not to tinker with the state leagues and plan their big events accordingly. The state soccer activities should go for at least 6-7 months. Manipur has assured us of good administration and we recommended appointment of full-time staff to manage things in a more professional way. We want to do away with volunteer jobs. Manipur has 269 clubs and they showed the commitment. They also have good infrastructure unlike Delhi where we have to start from the scratch."

Emphasising the need for the clubs to have sound financial health Mr Velappon said, "Clubs should have good management and adequate fund to fuel development programs and other things. If quality players are there and matches are televised on weekends, companies would line up extending sponsorship and football is a golden product for them -- as evident from the FIFA World Cup or even the Asia Cup."

Also present on the occasion, All India Football Federation Secretary Alberto Colaco said, "We are getting a lot of inputs from the AFC and striving for setting up the right administration." Delhi Soccer Association Secretary N K Bhatia later told UNI that acting on the recommendation of the delegation, the association would convene a general meeting and amend its constitution to facilitate the changes.

"We already have roped in former international Arunesh Sharma as the Vision Co-ordinator which is a step towards professionalism. AFC also suggested us to change our name to Delhi Football Association. They have set goals ahead of us and we would do everything to achieve those targets,'' Mr Bhatia added.

"I think this is the last chance for (reviving) Indian football. This is a golden opportunity and if India fails to grab that, God bless India," Mr Velappon concluded.

Hiddink to be Australian national coach

Dutchman Guus Hiddink has confirmed he will be the new 'Socceroos' coach and Football Federation Australian is expected to formally announce his appointment in Sydney tomorrow. Hiddink told reporters in South Korea he and FFA had reached an agreement for him to coach the Australian national tream while keeping his current job with Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. He said he would juggle both jobs until the World Cup playoffs against the fifth-placed South American side in November. If Australia qualified for the World Cup finals, Hiddink would then take over the job on a virtually fulltime basis.

"We have to work out some details which I proposed to them," Hiddink said after PSV drew 1-1 with French club Lyon to bow out of the Peace Cup pre-season tournament in Suwon, South Korea, last night. "In case that we do so, then it's both jobs until November. And afterwards we have to see if they qualify for the World Cup. But in any case, I will keep my job with Eindhoven. For the moment, we agreed that my job with Eindhoven will be kept," The Age (Melbourne) reported.

Hiddink took both Holland and South Korea to the World Cup semi-finals and won the 1988 European Cup with PSV. He took PSV to the Champions League semi-finals last season and has also coached Real Madrid, Valencia and Real Betis.

Manchester United Soccer Schools back in HK

After the success of last year’s inaugural programme in Hong Kong, Manchester United Soccer Schools and presenting sponsors and official airline Cathay Pacific Airways announced the 2005/2006 program at a press conference the Hong Kong Football Club.

From October 2005 through to March 2006, MUSS will provide the opportunity for aspiring young soccer players in Hong Kong to work with coaches from Manchester United. HKFC will once again be the venue for the 20-week program featuring boys and girls between the ages of 8-15. The coaching staff will be headed by former Man U and England full back Mick Duxbury together with MUSS coach Mick Wild from the UK and selected local Hong Kong coaches.

Man U confirmed their long term commitment to MUSS in Hong Kong with the attendance of former captain and player Eric Cantona, together with Manchester United Football Club Academy Director Les Kershaw, MUSS Head Coach John Shiels, MUFC Skills Director Rene Meulensteen and Hong Kong Director of Coaching Mick Duxbury.

The MUSS coaching programme includes both the basic and advanced skills that a youngster would learn if attending the Manchester United Youth Academy. More than 500 children in Hong Kong will benefit from this coaching over the 6 month period.

“Here at Manchester United we place great emphasis on our youth players," Manchester United Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, said. "Through our soccer schools we can take our philosophy on developing young players around the world. We are aware that we enjoy huge support in Hong Kong and due to the success of last year’s programme, it is our pleasure to be returning to Hong Kong to once again help develop Asia’s talent. We believe that the soccer school will provide children – whether fans of Manchester United or not – with the benefit of coaching the Manchester United way.”

Charlie Stewart-Cox, General Manager Marketing, Cathay Pacific Airways, announced the sponsorship of 30 scholarships to the local Hong Kong community for young soccer fans to also benefit from the coaches of the world’s biggest football club”

Application forms for MUSS are now available from Nike stores, HKFC and the MUSS website.

Indian residential football academy turns two

India's Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy celebrated its annual day today with the inauguration of a newly-constructed multigym, fitted with modern equipment, at the Academy complex. A website, MBSFA.com was also launched. The Durgapur based academy was formed two years ago and is the only club-based residential football academy in the country.

The academy is the result of a joint collaboration between Mohun Bagan and the Steel Authority of India. Club secretary, Anjan Mitra, told The Statesman that the academy has erased initial doubts about its feasibility, and is marching towards its goal - Vision 2014 - to supply the Indian team with talented youngsters for the 2014 World Cup.

The academy has 39 trainees from Mizoram, Manipur, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and other states. There are 12 players from Bengal in the academy.

Mr Mitra said that in order to provide foreign exposure for the academy trainees, talks were already on with Worwui Makudi, Thailand football secretary and vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation, about sending academy teams to Thailand for matches.

AC Milan colts to play under Maldini in India

Renowned Italian coach Cesare Maldini is to accompany the under 18 squad of European soccer giants AC Milan football club to play two matches in India in November as part of the Festa Italiana 2005. Maldini coached Italy at the 1994 World Cup and is the father of star player Paulo Maldini.

The matches will be held in Mumbai and Kolkata on 23 and 25 November, a media release from the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said on Wednesday.

This will be the first time that Indian footballers have a chance to play against the future stars of one of the world's topmost football clubs. The AC Milan colts tour is expected to be covered in the Italian media by the visiting press contingent accompanying the team, the release added.

Real Madrid arrives in China

Football fans lined up at the Beijing Capital International Airport in China on Wednesday to catch a glimpse of the Real Madrid footballers visiting the country to start their tour of Asia. Some fans woke up as early as four o'clock in the morning to greet the parade of 'Los Galacticos'. The entourage drove straight to a resort hotel outside the city after landing at 4:40 in the morning.

Real Madrid kicks off its four-day China trip with a match against Beijing Guoan at the Workers' Stadium on July 23, to mark the 20th anniversary of the twinning of the cities of Beijing and Madrid.

A welcoming party greeted the stars as they got off the team coach at the "Grand Epoch City" resort, 50 kilometres outside Beijing. The players had garlands placed around their necks before walking 200 metres through grandiose gardens to reach the hotel check-in.

Bangladesh reverts to 10-team national league

After conducting a 12-team league last year, the Bangladesh National Football League has decided to return to a 10-team format this year. Committee secretary Manzoor Hossain Malu, who is also the Bangladesh Football Federation Deputy General Secretary, informed AFC Media that six zonal champions, winners and runners-up of last year's NFL, Dhaka Premier League champions and the Federation Cup winners will complete the line-up.

If one team qualifies from two or more championships, the next best team will not get an automatic berth. The BFF will evaluate the team's overall performance and popularity before deciding on their fate. Only Brothers Union, as both NFL and Federation Cup champions, and Muktijoddha Sangsad, as NFL runners-up, are guaranteed their places in the finals.

Following the Asian Football Confederation directives to raise the standard of football administration, the Bangladesh Football Federation has started recruiting professionals.

BFF general secretary Anwarul Haque Helal said the BFF is going to recruit eight officials for different departments. The recruitment includes an executive director, marketing manager, professional manager, communication manager, Vision Bangladesh manager, finance manager, administrative and development officers. The officials are likely to join BFF on 1 September

Thai sponsor expands Everton deal

Everton officials have important agendas with their Thai commercial partners during the club's visit to Bangkok for the Premier League's Asian Trophy competition. According to the Liverpool Daily Post, the recently signed three-year sponsorship deal with Chang Beer, part of the giant Thai Beverages group, is worth significantly more on an annual basis than the £1.5million injection Everton received from an initial one-year agreement with Chang for the 2004/05 season.

"The most lucrative sponsorship deal in Everton's history has given them a valuable edge in one of the world's fastest expanding football markets," the newspaper remarked.

Asia ManU fans 'don't care' about Glazer takeover

Far from the hostile reaction seen in Britain, many Asian fans couldn't care less about the Glazer family's controversial takeover of Manchester United. One expatriate sports promoter and "huge" United supporter quoted by News24 of Hong Kong said: "Asian fans are big fans but they follow the team, not the club. They will follow the stars but they seem more detached from it. They're watching it in bars whereas people in England are going to the game and paying £50 a week."

According to ManU communications director, Philip Townsend, the club's Asian supporters "appreciate the opportunity to see us play and our visits do create more fans. This is illustrated by the fact that our fan base continues to grow in the region."

All this is good news for the Glazers who are looking to recoup reported post-takeover debt of £500m, opined News24. "With profits of £27m last financial year, the new owners clearly need to find extra revenue. As well as raising ticket prices and extending the Old Trafford stadium to 75 600 seats, they will be looking to tap in to United's unmatched Asian fan-base estimated at 40 million supporters", the service said.

"Manchester United have always looked at trying to develop their brand in Asia and that will continue to be part of the strategy," said Harry Philp, managing director of London-based consultancy Inner Circle Sports. "It's been questionable as to how successful it's been in terms of the revenue it's been able to generate but I think the Glazers will look to continue to develop the brand there."

"I think Asia and the US are the main markets they're clearly going to target," Philp said. "Clearly with their knowledge of American sports they feel there's things they can do there in terms of commercial development."

Manchester United has courted Asia assiduously over the years with initiatives including a Chinese-language website, club shops, soccer schools and credit cards. It also supports charities in the region and donated $400 000 to fight human-trafficking in China this month, News24 reported.

English teams get warm welcome in Bangkok

Hundreds of fans waited patiently at both Don Muang International Airport and the team hotels to get a glimpse to their favourite Premier League players from Bolton Wanderers, Manchester City and Everton, who arrived yesterday to play in the FA Premier League Asia Trophy tournament from 20-23 July. After greeting fans at the airport, all three teams headed to their hotels. Bolton checked in at the Imperial Queen’s Park, Manchester City went to the Radisson and Everton to the Plaza Athenee.

Groups of fans hung around the hotels taking photographs and some gave bouquets of flowers to their favourite players and received autographs in return. The Nation reported that England international David James of Manchester City seemed to be the favourite for Thai fans. "He was easily recognised by the locals, who he smiled to, while some players like Bolton Wanderers’ Jay-Jay Okocha tried to impress fans with a 'wai'."

The club’s managers, Bolton’s Sam Allardyce, Manchester City’s Stuart Pearce and Everton’s David Moyes, said it is much hotter here than England. However, they promised their teams would give 100 per cent in every game and to win the title would be a great start for the new season.

Lotto Sport eyes 10% of Indian market by 2008

Lotto Sport Italia, the licensee of Sierra Industrial Enterprises Pvt Ltd , aims at a ten percent share of the Indian branded footwear market by the year 2007-08. B D Nathani, vice-president, sales-marketing, Lotto, said 20 distributors have been appointed in 20 major states of the country, and Lotto today is present in over 512 stores.

“We plan to open ten exclusive outlets over the next five months. We will have one in Mumbai, two in Delhi, and one in Hyderabad, Vishakapatnam, Bhuvaneshwar, Ranchi, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat,” he said, adding that the company will continue its strategy of manufacturing and selling shoes for football, calcetto and tennis, the Business Times reported.

Calcetto is a smaller version of soccer, where there are six players in a side.

Singaporean impresses Notts County team mates

It turns out that Tampines Rovers' striker, Singaporean Noh Alam Shah is becoming quite the celebrity at Notts County, England. He's there on trial until the weekend, before belatedly rejoining Tampines Rovers at the ASEAN Football Federation Club Championship in Brunei. The nine-day tournament starts on Friday.

The Notts County players and youth teams are intrigued about Alam Shah's reputation as one of the best strikers in South East Asia. One of Singapore's heroes in January's Tiger Cup win, he is also the leading goalscorer in the S-League, with 15 goals in 16 games, Shah told The New Paper via a telephone interview yesterday.

"The club's first-team players kept calling me over to join them at lunch because, at first, I just sat quietly in one corner. They kept asking me about the kind of international sides I've played against. I told them I've played against the likes of Uruguay, Japan, Kuwait. They all looked very jealous and asked me about the biggest crowd I've played in front of. I said, 'more than 100,000 at the Senayan Stadium in Jakarta for the Indonesia Tiger Cup semi-final'. They couldn't imagine such a crowd and the atmosphere. Even the youth boys were eager to listen to the stories I had to tell. They asked about the standard of the S-League and the kind of money they could earn in Singapore. I guess it's because they are only used to playing in the lower divisions so when they hear my stories, they go 'wow'. Whereas when we go from Singapore to England, we take it as if they are many steps higher than us," Shah related.

Notts County is a team steeped in football history.Formed in 1862, they are the oldest professional football club in the world. Notts County now play in Championship Two, a league three rungs below the English Premier League.

Soccerex 2005 goes to “Visions of Football”

Soccerex 2005 (13-15 November 2005, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai) will be attending 'Visions of Football', the international conference (27 - 29 July 2005, Munich, Germany) organised by The Bavarian State Government s a preview to Germany hosting the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Andy Köpke, The former German National Goalkeeper and Ambassador of the FIFA World Cup 2006, will be hosting a Soccerex exhibition stand at the event as we continue to attract more and more participants from the German market.

The event is aimed at academics, sports medics, clubs, associations, sponsors, sports marketing agencies, media, and sports scientists as well as all those interested in the preparations for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Among the confirmed speakers are: Joseph S. Blatter, President of FIFA; Franz Beckenbauer, President LOC 2006 FIFA World Cup; Urs Linsi, General Secretary FIFA; Markus Siegler, Director Communications FIFA; Danny Jordaan, CEO LOC 2010 FIFA World Cup; Sven-Göran Eriksson; Charles-Henry Contamine, Head of New Media FIFA; Herbert Hainer, CEO adidas-Salomon AG; Francis Tellier, HBS; Fernando Lima, Head of Sports TV Globo Brazil.

For quick information on exhibiting or attending Soccerex 2005, contact Geoffrey Gold, Gold Group Asia/Pacific Ltd, an accredited represetative for Asia and Australia: Email: soccerex@goldglobal.com. Singapore Fax: +65 6491-5020; Jakarta Fax: +62 (0)21 719-4025; Melbourne Fax: +61 (0)3 9923-6003.

Nepali youth star on way to Japanese Academy

Nepali youth "sensation", Nirajan Malla, is heading to Saitama, Japan, to attend a three-week training program in the junior academy of J-League side Urawa Red Diamonds, the Kathmanud Post reports.

The 14-year old footballer was picked up for the special training at the club after Japanese Football Association’s agent Fujita was impressed by Nirajan’s skills during his visit to Kathmandu in May. Nirajan will join players from other countries in the special training program beginning from 18 July.

“I am very glad to get an opportunity to showcase my talents in Japan - an Asian powerhouse,” Nijaran said at a farewell program organized at All Nepal Football Association Complex, Satdobato.

Nirajan had scored 18 goals in Friends’ Club colors in the last year’s Junior League. The striker from Chitwan also netted nine goals in the recently concluded AFC U-13 Festival of Football in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.

“Nirajan’s international program is as per the policy of ANFA to offer maximum exposure for players to build a strong national squad,” ANFA president Ganesh Thapa said. “The negotiations with German giant Bayern Munich are going on to send some of our talent to Europe,” he further added.

The president of Asian Football Confederation, Mohammad Bin Hammam, vowed to send Nepali young players to Bayern Munich’s Academy during his visit to Nepal in May.

2005 Peace Cup championship opens in Seoul

An international soccer club tournament with a slogan of world peace kicked off Friday at a Seoul stadium, with hopes the event would ease global concerns about terrorism and racial and sectarian strife. Organizers said the 2005 Peace Cup championship, which features eight clubs from all over the world, is symbolic as it is being played in South Korea, which is facing threats from North Korea.

The Peace Cup is organized by the Sun Moon Soccer Foundation and the Interreligious and International Peace Council, both established by Rev Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church, the founder of News World Communications Inc., which owns United Press International and publishes World Peace Herald.

Seongnam represents the Asian continent, while Tottenham Hotspurs from England's Premier League, PSV Eindhoven of Holland, Olympique Lyon from France and Real Sociedad from Spain are representing Europe. The Americas are represented by Boca Juniors of Argentina and Onse Caldas of Colombia. The Sundowns FC from South Africa represent Africa. The eight clubs compete for the Peace Cup and $2 million.

Some 62,000 spectators cheered the opening competition, clapping in unison for players who were described by organizers as "messengers of peace" who will "deliver peace message through beads of sweat for victory."

Everton to make Thailand a "real blue country"

Everton chief executive Keith Wyness cannot wait to witness the reception Everton will get in the Far East, where they are sponsored by Chang beer and have academy links, reports Sporting Life.

"It's exciting going to Thailand for the Asia Cup, it gives us the chance to get used to the travelling that goes with football at the top level", Wyness said. "The flying, the hotels, the organisation. The whole experience will give us a good idea of what it will be like when we start playing in the Champions League.

"All that is an important part of modern football and going to the Far East will be invaluable experience for them all. The lads, I'm sure, will be stunned by the level of support in Thailand for us and English football.

"There's a huge level of interest in Everton. From the moment the players set foot off the plane to the moment they leave, they will be stunned by how we they are received and how Everton is growing in support in Thailand. We aim to make it a real blue country."

Childrens' summer soccer in Beijing

A summer kids soccer programme is underway for kids in Beijing to sign up for now with China ClubFootball's Summer 2005 soccer coaching programmes at the ISB Soccer Academy and the British School ClubFootball Academy. Courses are designed and delivered by China ClubFootball's English Football Association qualified coaching staff and are open to foreign and local kids from the ages of 4 to 16. The programmes focus on teaching fundamental soccer skills in a fun environment. Learning groups are capped at a maximum of 12 kids to ensure all players receive individual attention. For full information, please see the ClubFootball website.

Oceania Confed moots life after Australia

A lengthy World Cup qualifying process via Asia and an international club competition styled on the UEFA Champions League are on the drawing board at the Oceania Football Confederation. FIFA's smallest confederation is also in talks with New Zealand Soccer about relocating across Auckland to North Harbour Stadium to create a "home of football" that would include a state-of-the-art youth academy.

Oceania general secretary Tai Nicholas unveiled the developments yesterday after a series of meetings with FIFA in Frankfurt last month. He reportedly confirmed Oceania was eyeing a World Cup qualifying series between the confederation's top six to seven countries on a home-and-away basis over three years. Oceania will also lobby FIFA to shift its World Cup playoff from South America to Asia, a path likely to be opened after Australia's departure to the Asian Football Confederation.

The Oceania Champions League, meanwhile, is mooted to begin in 2007 as New Zealand is locked in to host the final Oceania Club Championship playoffs next May. It would involve the respective club champions from eight countries playing home and away over three months, with the winner qualifying for the FIFA World Club Championships held in Japan each December. The tournament would be funded by an annual FIFA grant of US$500,000 with prizemoney a possibility if Oceania can find additional sponsorship.

Vision Indonesia targets Bandung, Yogyakarta

A high-level Asian Football Confederation 'Vision Asia’ team concluded a five-day visit to the Indonesian cities of Bandung and Yogyakarta on Friday during which it assessed the status of football there in order to prepare a strategic development plan to boost the sport. The two cities have been selected by the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) as pilot cities.

The ‘Vision Asia’ team’s main focus was on the level and number of competitions and grassroots and youth development, with the objective being to create models for football development in Bandung and Yogyakarta, which will be duplicated later in other Indonesian cities.

The team found out that Bandung in West Java was a hotbed of football but suffered from a shortage of football facilities and training pitches. The number of competitions and matches available for the clubs and players was below requirements.

Yogyakarta, the city where the Football Association of Indonesia was founded in 1933, is also plagued by a similar shortage of playing and training facilities but with scores of volunteers involved in running the associations and clubs, a more structured approach and an increase in competitions is likely to provide the basis for development.

’Vision Asia’ also plans to introduce a proper training programmes in both the cities. Tailor-made programmes will be sent for approval to both the cities in August and once agreed, implementation will commence immediately.

“The visit has confirmed that Indonesia is a country of football passion and football culture but, unfortunately, it is without direction and they will need a lot of assistance in developing their football along more professional and strategic lines,” said AFC General Secretary Dato Peter Velappan, who is also the Project Director of 'Vision Asia'.

“Football is everywhere and it is going nowhere but there are many positives. They have thousands and thousands of players and we need to start a massive training educational programme for coaches, referees and administrators, football doctors and clubs. We are confident that if Indonesia follows the ‘Vision Indonesia’ strategy and its blueprint for the future they will achieve a lot of good results within a short period of time,” he told AFC Media.

Internet takes ManU further into 'Greater China'

Following its deal in June with the Everton Football Club, Chinese internet leader, China.com Inc has signed an exclusive partnership with Manchester United Interactive Ltd to host and operate ManU's official Chinese websites in traditional and simplified Chinese, and to provide wireless services in Greater China.

According to the terms of the agreement, China.com has been appointed as Manchester United's exclusive partner and provider of internet and mobile applications and services for the People's Republic of China and Taiwan [Republic of China], and its exclusive partner and provider of internet applications and services for Hong Kong and Macau. Under the agreement, the Manchester United official Chinese online destinations will be operated, hosted and promoted by China.com.

China.com celebrated its partnership with ManU by officially launching the official online and wireless services in Hong Kong and China on July 12 at a special celebration party in Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong. A similar celebration event is scheduled to take place in Beijing on July 14.

The traditional Chinese website and the simplified Chinese website offer all of the latest ManU news for Greater China football fans including the latest team news, exclusive player interviews, match and player's statistics, match scores andmatch schedule, team and player profiles, and One United membership information. Planned interactive features include chatrooms, downloads, online games and an e-shopping platform.

China.com will also offer football fans in the PRC real time match results, event news, pictures, audio and video content, downloads, ringtones and mobile games via its wireless platform through SMS (short messaging services), WAP (wireless application protocols), MMS (multimedia messaging services) and IVR (interactive voice response). In addition, there will be unique mobile competitions for fans to win special ManU collectibles, match tickets and a chance to meet with their favorite players.

The partnership also grants China.com exclusive rights to provide the most up-to-date and official news about Manchester United Asian Tour 2005.

AFC expresses concern of fan death in Indonesia

The Asian Football Confederation has expressed its deep shock and concern after the death of a fan due to overcrowding during an Indonesia League match between the Arema and Persija Jakarta clubs on Wednesday in Malang, East Java, Indonesia.

"It is a matter of serious concern that safety and security were totally sacrificed in favour of greed for more income," said AFC General Secretary Dato Peter Velappan in a letter to the Football Association of Indonesia.

More than 80,000 fans tried to enter the 60,000-seater stadium leading to the death. “A spectator was trampled to death when the crowd tried to force its way into the stadium,” Nugraha Besoes, General Secretary of the Indonesia FA, told AFC Media. “None else was injured.”

The unidentified victim was 17 years old and a supporter of the Arema club which went on to win the match 1-0.

Mr Velappan urged the Indonesia FA (PSSI) to launch an investigation into the tragic incident and submit a report within two weeks. Earlier, a weekend game between Persik Kediri and PSM Makassar was also marred by crowd trouble.

According to Football Asia, Arema received support from the Malang municipal government last year to build a new 40,000-capacity stadium in Kanjuruhan, as their old 20,000 seat stadium Gajayana, which is now being used by crosstown rivals Persema Malang, was unable to accommodate the club’s fanatical Aremania supporters.

However, a crowd of 60,000 was allowed into the stadium for the Arema-Persija match which led to the death of one fan "with a dozen more suffering seriously injuries".

LG Cup kicks off again in Vietnam

The LG Cup 2005 the major football event in Ho Chi Minh City [Saigon] is reported to be scheduled to kick off 20 to 24 September with Vietnam’s U-23 team facing the U-21 Syria, U-23 Bulgaria and the South Korea Universities team.

With a US$40,000 cash prize for the winner, the two runners-up will respectively earn US$20,000 and US$10,000. In addition, 15 million VND will be given to the fairest player and the best footballer and goalkeeper will be awarded 5 million VND each.

According to new FIFA and Asian Football Confederation regulations, the four teams will play a single robin round, meaning each team will only stage a total of three games against its rivals at the tournament. The team with the most points from the three games will be champion.

In last year’s LG Cup, Vietnam was defeated 4-3 by Korean Universities in the final game.

Indian teens impressed by visit to Valencia

If bringing down foreign strikers from Nigeria and Brazil is the prevailing theme in Indian football, Jefferey Campus of Mumbai’s South Kickers Soccer Academy has scored one against this regulation run of play. Express India reported that Campus picked a group of teenager footballers from Mumbai schools and flew them out to Valencia, instead. "This reverse-junket comes with a rider — those interested need to bear their own steep expenses. But ten days at Spain’s famous football hub comes at a premium."

Campus, a former India junior international, is the country’s only license-holder, eligible to take groups of soccer rookies to Europe’s clubs, and the May 17-27 trip to Valencia was his third such, after previous batch-visits to Chelsea and Real Madrid.

Most European clubs hold youth development programmes during the off-season and offer paid coaching packages at their premises under a Fifa-approved programme, and Campus has been co-ordinating these trips for school boys since 2001 .

The bunch of 14 from Mumbai, who underwent the skills-specific coaching stint at one of the 22 massive practice fields adjoining Valencia CF’s Mestalla stadium, returned home gushing about the facilities and training imparted by coaches Vincent Ahuir and Carlos De Lera.

Accompanied by local coach Walter Perreira, these lads had earlier travelled to Goa for a five-day fitness-conditioning camp so they could absorb all that could be accommodated during the nine days in Spain.

"Since we were fitter after the Goa camp, and the course was a made-to-order one, we asked them to focus on the tactical aspects," Campus says.

Express India reported the "corollary conclusion that the group drew at the end of the tour was that Indians were hugely handicapped in having to learn their early ropes in the heat back home."

"You just sweat so much and spend all your energy trying to last 90 minutes, that you are too tired to concentrate on nuanced skills, said Kaustubh, one trainee."

Real movie "not a cynical marketing ploy"

A feature film about Real Madrid proves the nine-times European champions remain, despite recent on-pitch disappointments, world football's most glamorous club according to club president Florentino Perez.

"Today is a very special day for me," Perez said when "Real, The Movie" was unveiled to the media at the club's Santiago Bernabeu stadium, Reuters reported.

David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Raul take centre stage in the 90-minute film that weaves together documentary footage and fiction in five short stories designed to show Real's global appeal.

In one story, Beckham is the subject of a story about a Japanese teenage girl who is having problems with her envious boyfriend because of her obsession with the England captain.

The film, "whose budget of six million euros is equivalent to the salary paid by the club to Galacticos such as Beckham and Zidane", will be premiered at the Bernabeu on 25 August before going on release in Spain and other European countries.

It will also be presented during the club's tour of Mexico, the United States and Asia which gets underway on 14 July.

Director Borja Manso, a Real Madrid fan, dismissed suggestions that the film was little more than a cynical marketing ploy.

Vietnam seeks $500,000 training centre grant

Vietnam Football Federation is finalizing a project on the construction of a youth football training center in Hanoi, targeted for a FIFA grant of US$500,000. It is reported that the VFF submitted the project to its governing body, the National Committee of Sports and Physical Training, to be forwarded to FIFA in early September. If accepted, the plot of land in the National Sports Complex in Hanoi which was earlier reserved for the construction of a tennis court could be converted to the football training centre.

Indian team benefits from AFC coach training

Preparing for India's new elite National League which starts-up in January 2006, newly-appointed Mahindra United coach Derek Pereira is on his way to watch some of the world’s top football teams train and to interact with their coaches. The third phase of his Asian Football Confederation professional coaching license course includes joining 22 other coaches on a 21-day trip to Germany.

Talking to Newsline, he said: "It will be a rare experience for me. We will finally know where our techniques, methods and skill stand vis-a-vis world’s top clubs. I don’t know the names of the clubs we will be going to. From what I’ve heard, we will have the opportunity to watch teams like Bayern Munich, VFB Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen train."

In addition to this trip, the other interesting development will be the use of laptops, for the first time in Indian football. "One of the course’s major aims is to analyse the players’ performance and the match. We were taught in Kuala Lumpur to make use of a laptop to implement this scientific analysing method. But this kind of software is expensive. I have suggested to the club officials to install the software. The club management has verbally agreed to my proposaI. I hope we get it before the National League starts," Pereira said.

In a bid to strengthen their youth development programme, Mahindra United will recruit promising under-16 footballers from schools in Mumbai. The management has also reportedly roped in a local sponsor to promote the under-16 and under-19 teams.

Everton Acadamy selects three Thai youths

Three Thai youngsters will experience English football training after being selected to join the “Chang-Everton Rising Stars Year 2” programme. Sakarin Chanyotha, Ronnachai Rangsiyo and Naruephon Aromsawa were named yesterday at a press conference at the headquarters of the Football Association of Thailand.

Year One of the programme, part of a sponsorship deal between Chang Beer and Everton FC, was successful as the first two boys, Sompong Sorlarp and Rattanapol Piyawuthisakul, have already graduated from the Everton Academy. The latest programme involved more than 180 youngsters taking part in a three-day selection trial under the management of Ray Hall, the Everton Academy manager.

“It was very difficult to eliminate any one of them. So I had to select the ones who were really outstanding,” Hall told The Nation. “I have to say congratulations to the boys who qualified, wish them well and hope they have a great time at Everton. For those who failed to make the cut, I believe if they continue to work hard, their time will come one day.”

Hall described Ronnachai as a striker "which any team in the world would like to have. He can score a lot of goals, play well with either foot and has awesome pace". he described Sakarin as having "a very good left foot and has good technique both when receiving and passing the ball." He said Naruephon "passes the test because he shows very good sportsmanship and is good at passing both long and short balls.”

ManU South Korean is summer search favourite

Park Ji-Sung's star was already rising before Manchester United signed him from PSV Eindhoven in June but the South Korean midfielder's profile has reached new heights following his summer switch to Old Trafford. Park was the most searched-for footballer on search engine Megasoccer.com last month.

Megasoccer's new language filter allows users to search for results in any one of 77 different languages - from English, to Korean, to Dutch - a particularly handy tool for finding out the facts about the latest signings in world football.

Park shot to fame in the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, where he starred for the joint hosts. Manager Guus Hiddink was so impressed he took him to PSV, and the skilful winger was also prominent in PSV's superb Champions League run last season, which saw them narrowly beaten in the semi-finals by AC Milan.

Goa Phys-Ed college to issue degrees in football

Speaking at the Goa Don Bosco Salesian Society’s B P Ed course passing out ceremony at Don Bosco auditorium, education minister Luisinho Faleiro, said Don Bosco's physical education college "will be a harbinger of medals at the state, national and international levels, for the graduates will certainly work with dedication and honesty to mould the youngsters into fine sportspersons.”

It is reported that the college intends introducing a three-year Bachelor in Physical Education-Football Studies programme leading to a graduation degree in the future. The course will be examined by the Asian Football Confederation and FIFA under the Vision Asia programme and will also be linked with the University of Porto (Portugal). A diploma in club and association management (distance learning) on the lines of the course conducted by Australian Sports Commission and a Masters in Physical Education (two years) are also in the pipeline.

Glasgow's Old Firm told to reach out to Asia

In The Herald (Glasgow), Mark Wilson identifies Asia as the "new battleground for football brands" although "so far, the Glasgow clubs [Rangers and Celtic] have, for the most part, watched from the sidelines" with only Rangers seeking a foothold in China via their commercial agreement with Super League side Shenzen Jianlibao.

Overseas examples from leagues of similar standing to Scotland show what can be done and Feyenoord's purchase of Shinji Ono ... is one of the best. As well as being a top-class midfielder, Ono has paved the way for Feyenoord to open outlets in Japan selling his official merchandise. Every Feyenoord match is sold to Japanese broadcasters while a sponsorship deal with Tomo, the mobile phone company, was a direct result of Ono's arrival ...

Another example is Chinese nationals playing in England:

When Manchester City played Everton in a Premiership match two seasons ago, the involvement of internationals Sun Jihai and Li Tie ensured a Chinese television audience of 140 million. Sky Sports, who hold the Premiership broadcasting rights, said that established a worldwide record for an English club match. Li Tie also brought a sponsorship deal with Keijan, the Chinese phone company, when he signed on at Goodison and the exposure gained in Asia led to their current tie-up with Thailand's Chang Beer.

"The Old Firm talk up their potential as worldwide brands but it is to mainly those with links to Scotland and Ireland that they currently appeal," Wilson points out. "To speak a different language, they need a different strategy."

ManU still leader in 'close to saturated' Asia

Quoted by James Ducker in The Times, Manchester United's commercial director, Andy Anson, suggests that the growing Asian football market may be "close to saturation point’ as English Premiership and other European clubs try to cash in. ManU were the first to take advantage by tapping into a number of Asian markets and others quickly followed suit. Of ManU’s estimated global fan base of 75 million, 40.7 million live in Asia and Australia.

Ducker commented that, following the signing of South Korea's Park Ji Sung, ManU "can expect a huge benefit from shirt sales bearing Park’s name alone. South Korea is still relatively new territory for Premiership clubs, but Park’s presence will push viewing figures for televised matches through the roof."

In China's tiny Hong Kong region, "the chain of Red Cafes and Megastores is the fruit of eight years of hard labour [and] United now have between 10,000 and 15,000 club credit cards circulating."

In Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, ManU has "an estimated 4.7 million devoted supporters in these parts" but "given the lack of disposable income and the massive counterfeit market in these countries, Premiership clubs make their money here by touring."

It has not all been one-way traffic, however, Ducker commented, "The formation of the [English] Premiership helped to trigger a boom in Asian football that resulted in the creation of the J-League in Japan in 1993 and the S.League in Singapore two years later. South Korea’s K-League, which compromised only five teams when it formed in 1983, now boasts 13 clubs."

Indian national pro-league to start 'next season'

All India Football Federation president, Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, said that the professional National League scheduled to start next season will be brought up in stages to allow teams to adjust to the new format. Mr Dasmunsi, who held a meeting with representatives of the three major clubs — East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting, said participation in the professional league will also entail systemizing club administration as stipulated by the Asian Football Confederation.

"Clubs should improve their infrastructure and also put professionals in the administration to ensure its proper functioning," he said, as reported by The Hindu.

The AIFF is also setting up a task force involving representatives of different corporations and state associations — such as Maharashtra, Goa and Bengal — to discuss preparations for the pro-league.

AFC president, Mohammad Bin Hammam, will visit India next month to take stock of the infrastructure of the clubs that will be participating in the professional league.

Thailand "50:50" to beat Everton says manager

Thailand has a slim chance against Everton in the first match of the FA Premier Asia Trophy Amazing Thailand 2005, manager Tawatchai Sajjakul believes. After seeing the draw, in which Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City play in the second match, Tawatchai said he was sure Thailand will give Everton a fight and had a good chance of winning.

“The Thai national team usually does well when playing against English teams. So I guess you can say our chances of winning are 50-50,” he said.

Worawi Makudi, general secretary of the Football Association of Thailand, English Premier League chairman David Richards and Tawatchai Sajjakul, made the draw at the Radisson Hotel yesterday.

According to The Nation, Thailand take on “the Toffees” at Rajamangala Stadium on July 20. Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City take to the field after this match. The tournament is purely a knockout format, with the winners playing for the title on July 23. The losers will play for third place.

Ray Hall, Everton FC Academy manager, and his staff have arrived in Thailand to train Thai coaches and select three local youngsters to receive scholarships from Chang Beer in the Rising Star Project 2. That will take place at BEC Tero Sasana Stadium in Nong Chok, Min Buri from July 8-10

Bangladesh plans a professional league in 2006

A high-level Bangladesh Football Federation team of Senior Vice-President Monir Ahmed, Vice-President Kazi Mohamed Salahuddin and General Secretary Anwarul Haq Helal attended a ‘Vision Bangladesh’ workshop at AFC House, Kuala Lumpur, on Friday to identify key action areas for developing football in their country. They discussed a thorough restructuring of the current BFF administration and the introduction of a professional league by 2006.

”The process for starting a league in Bangladesh is already underway and the likely kickoff date is in May 2006,” Anwarul Haq Helal told AFC Media. “We also agreed to introduce more professionalism in the BFF by appointing experts in all departments.”

For grassroots and youth development, Helal said that an under-12 and under-16 schools' league would be started. “We are going to launch the two leagues in 12 sub-districts from February 2006 and will also hold training classes for sports teachers in schools.”

The AFC’s ‘Vision’ team visited Bangladesh last year and six meetings have been held so far to prepare a masterplan which will suit the needs of the country.

Strategy behind Barcelona's commercial success

The success of Barcelona's success, culminating in the La Liga title, has been down to 2 years of hard work both on and off the field. In an exclusive case study Esteve Calzada, Commercial and Marketing Director, FC Barcelona, will analyse the Clubs' commercial programme and reveal how he turned €120 million revenues and €70 million losses to €200 million revenues and a €15 million profit.

We are delighted FC Barcelona have chosen Soccerex 2005 (13-15 November 2005, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai) to present their strategies and trust that hundreds of other clubs, as well as media agencies, sponsors and suppliers to the industry will all be fascinated by how Barcelona achieved their commercial goals.

For quick information on exhibiting or attending Soccerex 2005, contact Geoffrey Gold, Gold Group Asia/Pacific Ltd, an accredited represetative for Asia and Australia: Email: soccerex@goldglobal.com. Singapore Fax: +65 6491-5020; Jakarta Fax: +62 (0)21 719-4025; Melbourne Fax: +61 (0)3 9923-6003.

Japan FA and J-League clash over schedule

Although the Japan Football Association negotiated this year’s schedule so that domestic league and international games did not overlap, the timing of the J-League's All-stars game is clashing with the national team's scheduled visit to Europe, Marie Waki reports.

Kazuki Sasaki, director and general secretary of the J-league, had indicated earlier in the week that some sort of understanding had been reached with the JFA giving All-Stars precedence over any national team call-ups. However, JFA chairman Saburo Kawabuchi responded by saying that it would be meaningless if national team manager Zico were not able to call up the players he felt he needed.

The promotional fireworks are gearing up for the fourth annual J League All-Stars Game which kicks-off on October 9. Fans select the players they most want to see by clicking in their votes on the official internet website. "All good -- except that the JFA has just planned a two-game East-European tour for the national team during that same week --friendlies with the Ukraine and Latvia on October 8 and 12."

Zico is not expected to return to Japan until the latter half of July, when he will be calling up the members for the East Asian Cup to be held in South Korea at the end of the month.

Man U partners with Aussie Rules to chase fans

With an estimated 73 million fans, give or take a few million, around the world, Manchester United is among the biggest club names on the globe. But even with such a huge support base, Peter Draper, United's marketing chief since 1999, yesterday said the soccer giant could not afford to rest on its laurels, The Age reported.

Already exploring ways to identify fans in Australia - it is working on an agreement with the Australian Rules-playing Essendon Football Club (a foundation member of the 108 year-old Australian Football League) to share member database knowledge - and Asia, Draper said sporting organisations needed to understand their fan base to succeed.

"Our challenge - and I think the challenge of many sports organisations today - is to embrace fans as customers and get to know them and get to know the relationship that they want to have with that organisation," Draper said.

"That's part of the trick really, knowing who your fans are."

Thai Government approves new Premier League

The Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports has approved a plan to create a new Thailand Premier League. The ten members of the existing Thai League will automatically become members and will be joined by two teams from the Provincial League, namely champions Chonburi and runners-up Suphan Bari. The remodeled league will begin in December, goal.com reported.

'Peace Cup' brings 8 teams to South Korea

The SunMoon Foundation is hosting the second Peace Cup in South Korea from 15-24 July. Eight teams from around the world will battle it out on the pitch to take home the prize of $2 million. The participants are: Seongnam Ilhwa (Six-time South Korea champions, owned by the Chairman of the SunMoon foundation), PSV Eindhoven (Holland), Lyon (France), Once Caldas (Colombia), Tottenham Hotspur (England), Boca Juniors (Argentina), Real Sociedad (Spain) and Sundowns FC (South Africa).

Son Byung Ho, former General Secretary for the Citizens Federation for the Unification of South and North Korea, now has the slightly shorter title of the Secretary General of the Peace Cup but his former experience has come in useful in his new role. "Dealing with North Koreans has helped me organize the Peace Cup," he told OhmyNews.

The organizers see the Peace Cup as becoming an important part of the international calendar and have hopes that it can one day be the unofficial World Club Championship.

"In 2003 we achieved a 14 percent share of the TV audience with SBS," said the Secretary General, "and this time we have better teams and the games will be shown around the world -- Eurosport and Telemundo in the United States and on South American TV and Super TV in Africa. If we can continue to improve the teams that we invite and improve broadcasting we will become bigger and better and one of the most important football tournaments in the world."

Around 3,000 Japanese fans are said to have bought tickets, 1,000 Tottenham fans are expected all the way from England, South African travel agencies have been selling package tours to the cup which has been advertised on television in the region.

India, Iran and Bangladesh interest in Asia Cup

India has expressed an interest in cohosting the 2011 Asian Cup football tournament, along with Iran and Bangladesh. The Asian cup is held quadrennially rotated among the four zones (east, west, ASEAN and south-central) making up the Asian Football Confederation. It will be the turn of south and central Asian countries in 2011. Of these, Iran hastwice hosted the tournament - in 1968 and 1976.

Four ASEAN countries - Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand - are to co-host the 14th edition of the event in 2007. According to New India Press, however, Thailand could be dropped or replaced by another ASEAN country after AFC expressed dissatisfaction over the state of readiness and gave them a four-week deadline last month.

China hosted the last Asian cup in 2004 which was won by Japan.

“Park Ji-sung, go go!”

Park Ji-Sung (24), the first-ever Korean to sign with Manchester United of the English Premier League, met with Korea Football Association president Chung Mong-joon on July 4 and showed his determination to do his best for Korean soccer’s reputation

It is the best thing to happen to Korean soccer,” Mr Chung said. “Ji-sung’s role is big."

According to Donga News, Mr Chung gave Park a copy of Kim Jeong-san’s novel “Samhanji” saying, “although you will be busy training, I want to give you this book that will help you learn the history of Korea’s three kingdoms period.”

He added, “the Korean people should encourage him so he can play well in England,” then raised his hands and shouted, “Park Ji-sung, go go!”

Park answered, “I will do my best to represent Korean soccer.”

South Koreans rush overseas football academies

Since the late 1990s, more than 1,000 South Korean football students have attended Brazil's 1,000-odd football schools. More short-stay students have also been going to other soccer strongholds like England, France and Spain; recently, cheaper China has grown in popularity.

It is estimated that some 800 Korean youngsters are studying football abroad, or roughly five percent of the elementary, middle and high school footballers registered with the Korea Football Association.

Experts say pinning all your hopes on training abroad is dangerous. "We've never surveyed what curriculums the students learn by and how much their skills improve,” says Cha Yeong-il of the KFA.

“Park Chu-young, who started the boom in students going overseas to learn football, was a genius to begin with," he told Chosun.

AFC President Cup stimulates Bhutan club football

When the Bhutan Football Federation became a member of the international football governing body, FIFA and the regional body, Asian Football Confederation in 2000, it was made mandatory to have a structured activity for the sport that covered the whole country. A FIFA development team has concluded, however, that football is yet to be diversified outside the capital city of Thimphu.

In 2001, BFF began registering clubs under three categories A, B, and C divisions. As an encouragement, it also gave a grant of Nu.60,000 for each club, majority of whom were from the districts of Thimphu, Chukha, Paro, and Samtse.

“We began like other countries but it did not have the same result,” said BFF’s technical head Mindu Dorji. To lay the foundation we gave them grants hoping that in the course of time they would sustain themselves. But they did not, and the regional clubs disintegrated in no time and BFF had to shelve its plan similarly in other districts,” he told Kuensel newspaper.

“In other countries the clubs are richer than the national association. Business communities sponsor the clubs providing items from boots to training facilities. But here clubs fizzle out due to lack of funds and no one is interested to help them out.”

The federation gave another try. In 2002, it divided the 20 districts into four regions, appointed a dzongkhag official in each region as the coordinator of the sport and allocated a budget of Nu. 100,000 a region. A year later the federation had to forgo this initiative as well.

Today there are a total of eight ‘A’ division clubs, nine ‘B’ division, and 16 ‘C’ division Thimphu-based clubs registered under the federation. Clubs like Yedzin FC, Transport United, Drukstar and Drukpol FC have already established their position among the fans.

The clubs point at two reasons for this dramatic revival of the sport; the cash prize for the topper of the championship had been doubled to Nu. 60,000 from this year and the winning club also gets to participate in the AFC President Cup abroad with leading clubs from other ‘emerging’ national associations. Last year’s champion Transport United participated in the inaugural tournament of the Cup in Nepal in May this year.

“We see a huge scope in this (AFC President Cup) for our club to develop as a professional football club. The incentive would also help us financially,” said Bikash Pradhan of Yedzin FC.

European clubs "stampede" to brand Asia

Ian Hawkey of the Sunday Times writes that the summer exodus of top European clubs to Asia is “now a stampede, and it’s money that’s driving the eagerness”. Almost 20 clubs from Europe’s top leagues are scheduled for appearances in Japan, China, Korea or Thailand, “destinations regarded 10 years ago as novelties and now in danger of seizing up with football from May to July”.

The clubs include the champions of England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France and Holland, Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Lyon and PSV Eindhoven respectively, Real Madrid, Manchester United Real Zaragoza, Feyenoord, Bolton Everton and Manchester City.

United can regard themselves as pioneers. In 1995, Old Trafford’s then head of marketing, Edward Freedman, persuaded his board to tour the Far East ahead of a proposal to go to America, where promoters were offering £100,000 more. United have been alternating between the States and Asia ever since, went to mainland China as European champions in 1999 and, after a four- summer absence from the Far East, will spread four matches across eight days in three territories later this month.

“I think we stole a march on the others,” recalls Freedman, now an independent consultant. “But it’s still an area that’s poorly understood by English clubs. It’s haphazard. They follow each other over there like sheep, go there for the match fees and do nothing about marketing themselves in these countries before and after the tours.”

The fees vary hugely: while Madrid and United will typically negotiate upwards of $1m (£565,000) a game, Everton will expect about half that from their two matches in Thailand. “The fees should only be part of it,” adds Freedman. “It’s an amazing market, but not for short-term gain, because you want to establish local partnerships.”

The way not to do so, as United and others have discovered, is by fielding teams without the club’s emblem players; nor, as Real Madrid found out, by expressing your appreciation when the mayor of Beijing closes the Forbidden City in order that the galacticos can visit it with a declaration from the Madrid captain, Raul, that the players have refused to go to the site.

On the same tour, in 2003, Madrid were described as “bloodsuckers” by the head of the Asian Football Confederation for their financial demands.

Some clubs are introducing innovations to pre-promote their tours: Bayern Munich took a group of Japanese journalists to Germany to provide them with a detailed backgrounding to the club. “With a club like Real Madrid, people can’t access the stars,” said Martin Hagele, Bayern Munich’s director of international relations. The Germany more open access approach included sleeping in hotel beds “used by Oliver Kahn and Michael Ballack.”

Malaysian admin "best in this region"

One year into his contract, Malaysia’s national football coach, Bertalan Bicskei enlightened the Malay Mail with a number of observations and choice quotes about administration …

In terms of administration and organisation of the sport, I think Malaysia is one, if not, the best in this region. For sure Malaysia is better than Thailand or Indonesia in that sense.

And the level of play …

The teams cannot train as much and as hard as a professional coach want them to because of the weather. It is sometimes too hot and not conducive to conduct a session of hard training which includes physical and technical practice.

Secondly, a footballer does not go through his formative years equipped with all the education that one goes through in Europe. The development at grassroots level and age-group teams leaves a lot to be desired.

Thirdly, Malaysians in general are too nice. They lack the ruthless streak, the aggression, the meanness to become winners. I think Malaysian footballers need to be more aggressive if they want to compete and survive on the global stage.

Tensions rise over US-England promotion

US Major League Soccer club Galaxy has rejected claims by English Premier League club West Bromwich Albion that it had reneged on an agreement to play in Los Angeles later this month.

According to the Los Angeles Times, its all to do with sloppy correspondence:

The Galaxy originally had been negotiating with Everton, which finished fourth in the Premier League and thereby qualified for the European Champions League, but Everton bowed out after receiving a better offer from a club in Asia.

That brought West Bromwich into the picture, but the English club apparently jumped the gun, making its announcement before all the details could be worked out.

And then along came a better offer from Real Madrid.

"It's pretty simple," said Doug Hamilton, the Galaxy's president and general manager. "There is no agreement in place. We were still discussing the possibility of a game."

Australians sack national coach after losses

Now part of the Asian Football Confederation, Australia is making up for lost time in its preparation for its play-off for entry to the World Cup in Germany. The head of the Australian game, property developer and tycoon, Frank Lowry wasted no time in dismissing an old colleague, the national coach, after losses in FIFA's Confederations Cup, as The Age (Melbourne) reported:

Frank Lowy was on his boat - or should that be floating palace - off the Greek islands when he made up his mind that Frank Farina should no longer be coach of the Socceroos.

Within a week, the board of Football Federation Australia had met by teleconference to rubber-stamp the presidential decree and by lunchtime last Wednesday, Farina was out of a job.

After six years in the post, a roller-coaster ride through possibly the most turbulent period in the game's history, Farina had fallen foul of Lowy and philosophically accepted his fate.

"Once I knew I'd lost the support of the president, that was that," Farina said at his farewell news conference on Thursday.

Farina had survived six previous chairmen and six chief executives, but Lowy is an
infinitely more formidable presence. Sentiment has never interfered with his stellar business career, nor has it affected the way he has involved himself with soccer, his first true love.

In the mid-1980s, Lowy had pursued and secured the services of Farina, the player, when he was president of Sydney City. In those days, Sydney City was the best team in the country and Lowy was its driving force.

But once he decided the game was heading in the wrong direction, Lowy did not let emotion cloud his judgement. One game into the 1987 season, Lowy pulled Sydney City out of the league.

Read more of the saga here.

K-League needs more media exposure

“These are happy days for South Korean soccer fans. The national team has qualified for the 2006 World Cup, one of its best players has joined a top club, a teenager is one of the biggest stars in the country and the K-League is wide-open,” writes soccer commentator John Duerden before offering five suggestions to “keep Korea's favorite sport dynamic”.

These include: (1) Make the most of Park Ji Sung moving to Manchester United; (2) Try to keep Park Chu Young in Korea; (3) Back Jo Bonfrere; and (4) Play some high class friendlies -- don't be afraid to lose.

His fifth point touches upon the issue of media coverage of domestic competitions which is echoed throughout the Asian Football Confederation: “K-League media exposure”. Mr Duerden writes:

While the coverage of live games has improved, it is still erratic and unpredictable, sometimes matches are shown, sometimes not. What is needed is a stable, accessible and reliable television program that is on the same time every week -- a highlights show.

How fantastic would it be to turn on the television at 9 p.m. every Sunday evening to watch an hour-long review of the day's action? Soon millions of people could be familiar with the K-League teams, players and managers. The goals, near misses, fouls, red cards and interviews would all contribute to make an exciting easy to watch package for any budding fan.

Of course, live games are necessary but a basic highlights show provides the grounding for making the K-League a truly popular nationwide event -- look at the BBC's Saturday night show, "Match of the Day", a hugely popular national institution.

John Duerden is a London School of Economics graduate and freelance journalist living in Seoul. He specializes in Asian soccer and covers that subject for the English soccer magazine '442.'

Real Madrid promotion tour to USA and Asia

Real Madrid has announced the dates of the six exhibition matches it will play on its 16-day preseason tour of the United States, Japan, China and Thailand. Madrid sets off on July 14 and will play Mexico's Chivas in Chicago two days later. It then meets Los Angeles Galaxy at Carson, California on July 18. Madrid moves on to China on July 19 where it will meet Beijing Guoan at the Workers' Stadium on July 23 in a game marking the 20th anniversary of the twinning of the cities of Beijing and Madrid.

The Spanish team plays Tokyo Verdy on July 25 and Jubilo Iwata on July 27, with both games at Tokyo's Ajinomoto Stadium. Madrid ends the tour with a match against a Thailand All-Star team in Bangkok on July 29 before returning to Madrid the next day.

Madrid has won 29 Spanish league titles and nine European championships, but hasn't won a major trophy in the past two seasons despite a roster featuring David Beckham, Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo, Associated Press commented.

Indian football star hunts for regional talent

Baichung Bhutia, the only Indian professional to play club-level soccer in England (for Bury FC) is looking for fresh and new talent from his native Sikkim state in northeastern India. He plans to groom 20 young boys from the region as national-level players.

“I want to have a well-organised club in Sikkim, and not only in Sikkim but in whole of northeast as well. So we have started a membership system in Sikkim from today itself. So we want to have a lot of people involved in the club itself. So it gives good exposure to a lot of good talent from Sikkim and other parts of northeastern states as well,” Mr Bhutia said as quoted by New Kerala.