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David Mitchell leads 2006 Australian Hall of Fame

Former long-serving Socceroo and current Perth Glory assistant coach David Mitchell heads a list of nine inductees into the Australian Football Hall of Fame announced in Sydney this morning. He joins goalkeeper Robert Zabica, 1974 World Cup Socceroo Ernie Campbell, winger Peter Sharne and goal scoring ace of the 1940s/50s Charlie Stewart. In the non-playing category long-serving administrator and journalist Fred Villiers, Socceroo coach Raul Blanco, referee Ray Sandell and Australian football historian and collector Andre Kruger have also been inducted.

David Mitchell is the sole inductee for 2006 for the top category - Hall of Champions. He represented Australia with distinction for 12 years becoming the first player to represent the Socceroos in four World Cup campaigns between 1981 and 1993. He made a total of 29 appearances for Australia scoring 11 goals. He also became a modern-day pioneer for Australians in Europe representing several high-profile clubs in the 1980s including Glasgow Rangers, Eintracht Frankfurt, Feyenoord, Chelsea and Newcastle United. He became the first Australian to play in the Scottish Premier League, German Bundesliga and the Dutch Premier League and was also the first Socceroo to score in a European club competition.

The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1999 and recognises both players and non-players for their contribution to the sport on a national basis. A system of awards exists at three distinct levels, with separate but equivalent groups for both ‘on the field’ and ‘off the field’ contributions. 1. Hall of Champions (players) and Hall of Honour (non players); 2. Medal of Excellence (players) and Roll of Honour (non players); and 3. Award of Distinction (players) and Roll of Honour (non players). All candidates are considered via nomination. A nomination form is sent to State and Territory bodies annually and is also available from Football Federation Australia. Players are not eligible for inclusion in the Hall of Fame until three years after the end of their playing career.

India "just cannot afford to lose any more time"

The Asian Football Confederation secretary Peter Velappan has declared that India cannot afford to lose any more time in terms of developing its football team. "India just cannot lose any more time. It is time for a professional set up and we at the AFC are in constant discussion with the All India Football Federation . It calls for a change in mindset," Velappan told The Hindu during the course of the AFC Youth Championship football tournament.

"We will start the Vision India project in Manipur next month, that will be followed by Delhi and later by two other states that will be specified by the AIFF. We at the AFC are looking at developing players from the under-12 level all the way to the under-22 level so that the player keeps larning and improving. We want to enhance our talent base so that all Asian teams become stronger. Having Australia in the AFC also helps as it exposes our Asian players to Australia's European style of robust and aggressive play," Velappan said.

Velappan revealed that the AFC has sent some guidelines for the restructuring of the Indian football league. "We have asked the AIFF to restructure its monetary allocation which is not satisfactory for the professional clubs. Right now the AIFF bears the cost of travelling and hotel accommodation but instead we have asked the association to give an x-amount to the clubs so that the clubs themselves bear the expenses, plus they also have a right to the gate money, in-stadia advertisment and so forth," Velappan said.

Vietnam newspaper sponsors ethnic minority cup

Thanh Nien newspaper will support an annual football tournament for ethnic minority youths in Vietnam’s central highlands. This year’s event, to be held on 4-7 November in Daklak province, will see four provincial teams participating. The Gia Lai FC squad, comprised mainly of Bana and J’rai minorities, has talented players like Ro Cham Tien and Ro Lan Dem who play for V-League club Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Bahnar, Ro Ngao, De, Trieng, and Ha Lang ethnic groups will play for Kon Tum FC, the E De for Daklak FC, and Cill and K'ho for Lam Dong FC. The teams will play a single round robin. Thanh Nien will give away the prizes to the winners.

Dentsu gains Italian Serie A media rights for Asia

Dentsu Inc has concluded an agreement with Media Partners & Silva Ltd for the co-distribution of a package of Italian Serie A media rights in Asia. The matches in the package comprise the home matches of several Italian clubs including AC Milan, Internazionale, Juventus, AS Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina, Torino, Messina, Genoa and Catania. The partnership agreement covers three Serie A seasons, commencing with the 2007–2008 season.

Under the agreement Dentsu becomes the exclusive sales agent in Japan and Asia (but excluding Indonesia and the Middle East) for the live and delayed broadcasting rights, which include terrestrial free-to-air television, satellite television, cable TV, IP TV, mobile phone and Internet broadcasting.

The Serie A rights will be marketed jointly by Dentsu and Media Partners & Silva, whose Asian activity is conducted by Italian rights expert Andrea Radrizzani. According to sportbusiness.com, the deal marks the first occasion on which Dentsu will act as Asian sales agent for the broadcasting rights of an overseas football league. The partnership between Dentsu and Media Partners & Silva will also include the distribution of the AC Milan Channel TV.

Seven nations to play in Thailand's 2006 King's Cup

The four South East Asian co-hosts of the 2007 Asian Cup are among seven countries that will play in the 2006 edition of the invitational King's Cup tournament in Bangkok in December. Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia will be joined by Kazakhstan, Singapore and Myanmar for the 20-30 December event, Worawi Makudi, secretary-general of the Football Association of Thailand, told Reuters. Thailand will co-host the Asian Cup with Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia from 7-29 July. Thailand will field two teams in the December tournament which will act as a prelude to the ASEAN Football Championship Cup it is due to host with Singapore from 12 January to 13 February.

FIFA pres apologises to Socceroos for WC penalty

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has offered Australian football fans an apology and said the Socceroos should have gone through to the World Cup quarter-finals instead of Italy. Millions of Australians were stunned on 26 June when Spanish referee Luis Medina Cantalejo awarded Italy a penalty against defender Lucas Neill in the dying seconds of its final-16 encounter with Australia. Fans were amazed at what appeared to be a dive by Italy's Fabio Grosso allowed a penalty that took his team to the quarter-finals en route to the World Cup.

In an interview aired on The World Game on Australia's SBS television netowrk, Blatter conceded referees at this year's cup finals "were not at their best" but said the antics of players was the real problem. "I think there was too much cheating on the players' side," Blatter said. Interviewer Les Murray then told Blatter millions of Australians had been "shocked by the amount of simulation" at the World Cup. "I agree with them and I would like to apologise (to) our fans in Australia," Blatter said. "The Socceroos should have gone into the quarterfinals in place of Italy. They were up to beat Italy ... you go into extra time and you are 11 against 10. But that is presumptuous."

Football Federation Australia chief executive John O'Neill said he accepted Blatter's apology, but added it was probably said for Australian consumption only. "It's well after the event," he said. "The position he's stated is what all of Australian football fans felt at the time. It's now four months after the tournament. It's a nice gesture, but it doesn't change the result."

See also: Referees Committee self satisfied with World Cup (24 Oct)

Australia's top club may miss Champions League

The A-League's runnerway leader in its 2006/07 season, Melbourne Victory, seems to be closer to missing out on qualifying for the 2007/08 Asian Champoions League. The draw for the ACL takes place in December, well before the A-League season finishes, and the Asian Football Confederation wants Football Federation Australia to name its representatives before the draw is made. The FFA is meeting its Asian counterparts next month to argue a case for simply putting the names Australian team 1 and Australian team 2 into the draw but is not confident of success. If the AFC insists, Australia could be represented instead by the 2005/06 minor premier (table leader), Adelaide United and the Grand Final winner, Sydney.

The issue is complicated by FFA not organising a National Cup as most countries are represented in the ACL by their League champion and Cup winner. "We have requested for the minor premier and the grand final winner to go in, and we have been lobbying for that to happen but there are no guarantees. There is a meeting in November where we will continue to push that case," Matt Carroll, the operations manager of the A-League, explained to Michael Lynch of The Age.

He added that "teams that qualify one year can change a lot in personnel and form for a competition that is taking place a year later. There are other countries that are in the same boat as us. We have got support on this from Japan — they had one team qualify for the Champions League one year and get relegated the following."

See also: Melbourne Victory eyes 100,000-capacity stadium (21 Oct)

Man United plans 4-country Asian marketing tour

Manchester United FC will embark on a four country Asian tour estimated, by The People newspaper of London, to earn more than £10 million for the club. Games will be played in China, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia. Two years ago Man United played in Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo but this time they've added South Korea to the itinerary even though Ji-Sung Park, their South Korean international, won't be with them as he'll be playing for his country in the Asian Cup. Manchester United estimates it has 75 million worldwide fans in Asia and South Korea is one of the club's strategic markets. In the eight months following the launch of the Manchester United credit card in their country, a staggering 320,000 South Koreans become cardholders.

See also: Tourism Malaysia dumps Chelsea for Man United (14 Sep)

The 2006 Asian Youth Championship in India

The Asian Football Confederation first hosted the men’s Asian Cup in 1956 and three years later decided to hold the youth competition to provide another tier of competitive international football for the development of young playing talent in Asia. The competition is held every two years and is open to players under the age of 19 and also acts as a qualifying tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The top four sides in the AFC Youth Championship will advance to the FIFA U-20 World Cup to be played in Canada from 30 June to 22 July next year.

Korea Republic claimed the AFC Youth Championship crown in 2004 with a 2-0 win over China in Kuala Lumpur. The South Koreans have again qualified for this year's competition, which will be played in India from 29 October to 12 November. Also competing in this year's finals are Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, China, UAE, Thailand, Australia, Japan, North Korea Iran, Tajikistan Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Vietnam and hosts India.

See also: India awaits AFC decision on live U-20 broadcasts (24 Oct)

Oceania finally shuts door on A-League NZ Knights

Oceania Football Confederation general secretary Tai Nicolas has announced the strong probability that two clubs of the semi-pro New Zealand Football Championship will be invited into future OFC Champions Leagues starting with the 2007-2008 play-offs next October. The winner of the OFC round-robin, against amateur sides of the Pacific Islands, qualifies automatically for the financial rewarding FIFA's World Club Championship. "It is now our intention to invite two New Zealand teams into future OFC Champions Leagues. They will then find their two teams by April and then have seven months to prepare for the FIFA Club Championship. We see a strong New Zealand presence as vital. We have been talking to Maori Television about having games live," Nicolas said.

According to Terry Maddaford of the NZ Herald, when the opportunity to play in the world club championship was first handed to Oceania, it was envisaged that should the professional A-League club, New Zealand Knights, finish in the top three in the Australian championship, they would be given the opportunity to play-off for an Oceania spot. "That never happened and now it seems the door has been shut," he said.

Maddaford also reported that the Knights had sounded out the OFC about getting an automatic OFC Champions League spot but, "wile they were considered, it appears the OFC opted to back the NZFC as the premier competition in this part of the world in the hope there would be a growing presence of island nation players."

Waitakere United chairman Rex Dawkins said having a second NZFC team and omitting the Knights would strengthen the NZFC. "With this opportunity, franchises will have the confidence to invest in the NZFC and attract sponsors," said Dawkins. "It is unfortunate that the Knights play in [the A-League] a competition aligned to Asia."

Shanghai's twin brothers trial with PSV Eindhoven

Twin brothers Sun Xiang and Sun Ji have been given a two-week trial with the Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven. The 24-year-old Shanghai Shenhua midfielders will train with PSV first team from 2 November and will be likely to join the competitions of club's secondary team. The duo had already been invited to trial with PSV earlier this year, but could not reach Holland, because their club was competing in the Chinese Super league. Shanghai Shenhua eventually finished second. Sun Xiang, the younger twin, believed he had an "80 per cent" chance of being picked up by the former European champions.

PSV are no strangers to Asian footballers after former coach Guus Hiddink brought Lee Young-pyo and Park Ji-sung with him from South Korea after the 2002 World Cup. Both have made tremendous progress in their European trip. Park has been a mainstay in English powerhouse Manchester United and Lee made his mark with Tottenham Hotspur.

Wu Jingui, head coach of Shanghai Shenhua, said he welcomed the opportunity for the twins. "Of course it is a great chance for them," he told China Daily. "They are the best players in the team over the seasons, I believe they can show their talent in the Netherlands as long as they stay healthy." Sun Xiang joined a training camp of Premier League's Wigan Athletic last year while his elder brother Sun Ji has yet to gain any overseas experience.

A total of seven Chinese football players are now competing in overseas club. Li Tie and Sun Jihai play in English Premier League with Li in Sheffield United and Sun Jihai for Manchester City. Shao Jiayi is with the Cottbus of Bundesliga, Qu Shengqing and Zhang Yuning joined Australian Super League last year, Shi Jun competes in Swiss League and Dong Fangzhuo is playing with the Belgium Antwerpen.

See also: Bolton Wanderers attracts two Chinese teenagers (12 Oct)

Vietnam's HAGL FC's brilliant deal with Arsenal

Top-tier V-League football club Hoang Anh Gia Lai scored a successful trip to English Premier League club Arsenal, with the clubs agreeing to mutual cooperation in youth training and marketing promotion, Quang Huy reported in the Thanh Nien newspaper. Following a four-hour discussion Wednesday with coach Arsene Wenger and commercial director Adrian Ford at Arsenal headquarters, the club agreed to train Vietnamese youths and coaches, construct an institute of football in Vietnam, and send a delegation to survey HAGL to help set up youth training system.

Arsenal also pledged to give HAGL authority to exclusively rights to its commercial copyright in Vietnam’s market including souvenirs, television rights, and trademark promotion.

A detailed agreement between the two clubs will be signed in early December in England when HAGL players travel there for a training trip to prepare for new football season in Vietnam. The team will have two friendly matches with Arsenal on 12 and 19 December, coach Wenger confirmed.

Wenger told HAGL chairman Doan Nguyen Duc his visit to Arsenal was greatly appreciated as his club wants to establish strategic relations with a partner in South East Asia. The HAGL delegation to Arsenal was given a warm welcome and attended a lunch with the club leaders and players such as goalkeeper Jens Lehmanns, defender William Gallas, midfielder Frederick Ljungberg and striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

See also: Tottenham and Vietnam's HAGL FC talk business (25 Oct)

A-League weekly highlights broadcast outside Asia

Football Federation Australia announced a landmark agreement with Fox Sports International to broadcast the weekly Hyundai A-League highlights program via Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports International. This partnership means that the Hyundai A-League will now be exposed to a potential audience of approximately 35 million viewers covering the USA, Caribbean, Canada, Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Israel.

"The exposure that this broadcast deal brings will certainly enhance the international profile of the Hyundai A-League and the clubs and players within it. We look forward to working with Fox Sports International throughout this season and beyond,” said FFA Head of Operations, Matt Carroll.

The Hyundai A-League weekly highlights program screens on Friday’s into Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Rep., Chad, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (DRC, Zaire), Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissaau, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Reunion, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Malaysians can watch live EPL TV on cellphone

In Malaysia, for a flat fee of just RM20 a month and no hidden costs – so it is promised – you can now get live television on your 3G cellphone, or 2.5G handset with General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) or Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE) capability. The Star's Amir Khalid reports that the innovation is due to Dublin-based Qtelmedia Group Ltd, whose chief executive Sinead O’Sullivan is currently working out of Malaysia as she "oversees the expansion of its Malaysian operations, which have become the hub of its operations in Asia."

Live television on a cellphone is an important potential new revenue stream for cellular operators at a time when competition from each other and from Internet-based voice call providers like Skype is driving down the prices that can be charged for voice calls, O’Sullivan said. But thus far, the uptake of television on cellular in Malaysia has been discouraging. There are three main reasons, which are the cost of accessing video on a cellular phone, particularly with packet-based services; second, the prices of the third-generation phones themselves, which are four times or more the price of 2.5G phones; and third, the shortage of compelling content.

Qtelmedia is addressing these three issues, O’Sullivan said. The first issue it is addressing with a pricing model that consists of a low flat fee and no hidden charges. Second, it is making television accessible and affordable to users of cheaper 2.5G phones via GPRS and EDGE technologies. Thirdly, it is seeking out partners to help provide that compelling content.

Some of the content would be brought in from abroad. Taking advantage of the longstanding Malaysian craze for English Premier League football, Qtelmedia has signed content-provider agreements with Liverpool FC and Arsenal FC, two of the Premier League clubs most popular here. Manchester United FC, even more popular with Malaysian fans, wanted too high a price, she grumbled.

Brazil coach hopes to lift skills at East Bengal

Can Brazil's Carlos Roberto Pereira da Silva shake up football in India? Pereira, who made his name as the coach of famous Brazilian side Vasco Da Gama in the early 1970s, is currently in charge of Calcutta-based East Bengal FC. "I know that India's FIFA ranking is not good, but East Bengal club has given me the power to show what Brazil does best - which is teach football," Pereira told the BBC World Service Outlook program. "We have great players in India, players who will be able to help India reach a better position in the future."

Pereira is seeking to bring a brand of Brazilian football to India, with the aim of ultimately taking a number of different Brazilian coaches there, as well as assistants and physios. He's trying to motivate the boys - he's like a parent to all the players, on the field and off it as well. In turn, he is hopeful that they will pass on their knowledge to local Indian coaches, who themselves will improve, and so on.

But he stressed the need for a more professional set-up to the game. The players here should train as they do in Brazil - both in the morning and in the afternoon," he said. "Sometimes the players can't train because they've got jobs. But they should be 100 percent professionals - that's a basic requirement. And clubs should train 16, 17, 18-year-olds, as they do in Brazil."

Pereira says he also wants Indian footballers - many of whom are poor - to realise that being a good player will help them and their families. "He's trying to motivate the boys - he's like a parent to all the players, on the field and off it as well," said Alvito da Cuna, one of East Bengal's best players. "The training method is more or less the same as that of Indian coaches, but he adapts to the ball position. That's why we're looking forward - and getting the results as well."

Significant football industry events 2006/2007

The latest announced dates for important football amd sports industry conferences, seminars, conventions and exhibitions. Follow the links for more details.

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INTERNATIONAL SPORTS EVENT MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
22-23 November 2006
Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre, London, UK
Contact: Andy Clark, aclark@rushmans.com
Website: www.sportseventmanagement.com

The inaugural ISEM conference will feature a stellar line-up of sports marketing visionaries and veterans who can claim unparalleled experience of organising and running major events successfully and profitably. The attendee list includes specialists working on FIFA World Cup, London 2012, International Olympic Committee, IRB Rugby World Cup, ICC Cricket World Cup, World Swimming Championships, Pan American Games, African Cup of Nations, European Athletics Championships, and World Gymnastics Championships.

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SOCCEREX Conference
26-28 November 2006
Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE
Contact: Soccerex, duncan@soccerex.com
Website: www.soccerex.com

This is the last year of the Soccerex conference in Dubai with the currently Middle-East focused event being transferred to Johannesburg, South Africa for the next three years leading up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Gauteng province is facilitating the move which its Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Paul Mashatile, said would provide "major exposure for Gauteng as the home of competitive sport".

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EVENT & VENUE SECURITY SEMINAR
5-6 December 2006
National Hall, Olympia, London, UK
Contact: Building a secure world Expo, mcostain@ibeltd.com
Website: www.counterterrorworld.com/page.cfm/link=33

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FOOTECON III - FOOTBALL TECHNOLOGY
5-7 December 2006
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Contact: TetraBrazil, tours@tetrabrazil.com
Website: www.tetrabrazil.com/footecon.htm

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SEMINAR ON ELITE YOUTH SOCCER IN THE USA
13-15 December 2006
Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Contact: World Class Soccer, president@worldclasssoccer.net
Website: www.worldclasssoccer.net

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STADIA & ARENA CONVENTION
12-14 February 2007
The Great Hall, Wembley National Stadium, London
Contact: Alan Levett, info@aladltd.co.uk
Website: www.sam.uk.com/sam_events_website/index.htm

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SEMINAR ON ELITE YOUTH SOCCER IN THE USA
14-16 February 2007.
Wilshire Grand Hotel, Los Angeles, California, USA
Contact: World Class Soccer, president@worldclasssoccer.net
Website: www.worldclasssoccer.net

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OUR SPORTING FUTURE FORUM
21-23 March 2007
Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre, Queensland, Australia
Contact: Australian Sports Commission, oursportingfuture@im.com.au

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SPORTS BUSINESS CAMPUS
18-19 April 2007
Cass Business School, London, UK
Contact: Sports Business International, andy.rice@sportbusiness.com
Website: www.sportbusiness.com

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SPORTACCORD
23-27 April 2007
Beijing, China
Contact: SportAccord, Anna.Hellman@sportaccord.com
Website: www.sportaccord.com

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SPORTING TRADITIONS XVI
27-30 June 2007
Rydges Lakeside Centre, Canberra, Australia
Contact: Centre for Sports Studies, sportingtraditions@canberra.edu.au
Website: http://hds.canberra.edu.au/assh/

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AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE OF SCIENCE AND MEDICINE IN SPORT
13-16 October 2007
Adelaide Convention Centre, South Australia, Australia
Contact: Sports Medicine Australia, davina.sanders@sma.org.au.
Website: www.sma.org.au/ACSMS/2007/

Tottenham and Vietnam's HAGL FC talk business

Paul Barber, Executive Director of the English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspurs, reportedly said in the meeting with leaders of Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL), a Vietnamese football club, that "Vietnam has the chance to become strong nation of football". According to Vietnam Net Bridge, the meeting with Barber and Business Manager Ben Wright took place in the meeting room of the White Lane Part Stadium. Tottenham was the first stop of the Vietnamese club’s leaders in seeking cooperation with several English football clubs in the future.

The chairman of HAGL Doan Nguyen Duc introduced his English partners to his club as well as talked about how the sport was developing in Vietnam. Duc also mentioned the large investment HAGL had planned to invest in the club with the view to making it an excellent one not just in the South East Asian region. Tottenham Hotspurs seemed to be interested in the cooperation between the two clubs.

Tottenham has 50 professional footballers who are playing for the club. It also has a good training system for young footballers. As the club is hoping to further promote its influences in Southeast Asia, HAGL therefore would be an important partner for the English club in implementing this plan.

Barber said that he saw Vietnam was a good country for the sport as it had a population of more than 80 million and the people were excessively fond of football. Vietnam has the opportunity to become a strong nation in Asia in terms of football he added. He promised to carefully look at the possibility to cooperate with HAGL and pledged that Tottenham would provide the Vietnamese club with support when its team arrived in England for training.

Football's role in the African fight against HIV/AIDS

A Japanese organisation that fights AIDS has unveiled a new program aimed at engaging the 12 million African children orphaned by AIDS by getting them to play football. The joint Japanese-African program seeks to address the social disruptions AIDS has caused on the continent by establishing youth football leagues, said Adjei-Barwuah Barfour, Ghana's ambassador to Japan. "These are not issues you tackle with drugs," Barfour told Associated Press.

Tomiko Abe, the chief director of the Stop AIDS Organization, told a news conference she was inspired to use football as a means of healing "the wound on (the orphans') heart" when she saw how happily they received her gift of a football on a mission to Sierra Leone. "Even one football can give a dream to orphans," she said, speaking through a translator. Abe, along with ambassadors to Japan from 10 African countries, hopes to use the international interest in football to focus attention on the need for a multifaceted response to AIDS.

Stop AIDS has designed a football, covered with red AIDS ribbons, that will be used by both the youth leagues and during the cup finals of all the participating countries. Awori Dennis, the Kenyan ambassador to Japan, said that he hoped the footballs, many of which have been signed by players from their national teams and by members of parliament, would "galvanize" the global community in its efforts to fight the disease. "As they play, they see the red signal. It must be a message. The world must get involved," Godfrey added.

Stop AIDS is planning a tournament next year in Morocco, where youth teams from the 10 participating countries will compete. The group also hopes to organize a match for the young players at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

World Cup broadcasting rights sales for the Koreas

FIFA has awarded the broadcasting rights in Korea for all FIFA competitions from 2007 to 2014, including the two FIFA World Cups in 2010 and 2014, to broadcasting group SBS International. The agreement comprises all main audiovisual rights over both free and pay TV, as well as radio and mobile platforms. Furthermore, SBS International is committed to ensuring widespread access across the Korean peninsula. This is the first deal resulting from FIFA’s appointment of Singapore-based Football Media Services as its sales representative for key Asian markets. The broadcast package also includes the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which is being staged in South Korea next year from 18 August to 9 September.

See also: Dentsu and Infront launch FIFA broadcast rights JV (17 Oct)

Promoted Sheffield United values China investment

Sheffield United plc, the UK-listed football, property and leisure services company owning the newly promoted English Premier League club, has announced preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 2006. Turnover increased 109% to £27.2 million (2005: £13.0 million), showing growth in all business divisions. However, the cost of Premiership promotion resulted in an increase in player and football management wages of £5.6 million, comprising promotion bonus payments of £2.3 million and increased basic wages of £3.3 million, contributing to an operating loss before interest of £6.2 million (2005: £0.6 million). Player acquisitions for the English Championship squad that gained promotion totalled £5.3 million including £3.2 million that will be paid after 30 June 2006, but is still accounted for in the period under review. The club transfer record was broken twice in the year.

Apart from promotion to the Premier League the year saw many other developments including the completion of the purchase of the renamed Chengdu Blades FC in China. This team has performed well compared to previous seasons and presently lies in fourth position in the national second division. Off the field of play, the clubs efforts have been concentrated on commercializing operations in the China, seeing the opening in September of a Blades Bar in the city centre and a retail store adjoining the stadium.

Owning Chengdu's football club alongside Sheffield United's much improved international profile is proving beneficial in establishing a strong relationship with members and officials of the local government in the area which will assist the group in the forward planning of potential real estate transactions which may be undertaken in the coming years, Soccer Investor reported.

Significant international sports content merger

PA SportsTicker's parent company, PA Sport, has announced an investment in the Australian sports internet and information company, Sportal Australia. This deal means that PA SportsTicker customers in North America will have access to Sportal Australia's new generation of web-ready products. In return, Sportal will become the sales agent for PA SportsTicker's US sports content in their home territories of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Under the terms of the deal PA Sport will acquire 33.3% of Sportal Australia to gain the exclusive rights to commercialize and develop Sportal’s content and technical products and services outside their home territories of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

PA SportsTicker, PA Sport and Sportal Australia also share a common approach to the development of sports information by focusing on sport governing bodies. PA SportsTicker has official relationships with the major leagues in the US including MLB, NBA and NFL. PA Sport has become the data partner of choice for many governing bodies including the English Premier League, the England and Wales Cricket Board and the South African Premier Soccer League. Sportal Australia has been similarly successful with online partnerships with Football Federation of Australia, Cricket Australia, the Australian Football League, Australian Rugby Union and the Melbourne Cricket Club amongst others. Sportal also owns 100% of Champion Data, the official scoring and data provider of the AFL.

Referees Committee self satisfied with World Cup

At its meeting chaired by Ángel María Villar Llona (Spain) on 24 October 2006, the FIFA Referees Committee expressed great satisfaction with the referees’ performances at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. “The referees and assistant referees fulfilled the high expectations placed on them and complied with the instructions to protect players and thus the game better,” commented Villar Llona. “The preparation period of almost four years for the World Cup in Germany paid off.”

FIFA President Joseph S Blatter, who also attended the meeting, was full of praise for the referees. “I am very satisfied with the referees’ performances at the 2006 World Cup. They achieved more than their counterparts in Korea/Japan in 2002." Blatter, nevertheless, pointed out that the referees would have to improve even further and step up their performances. There was no reason, he added, for them to rest on their laurels.

The referees and assistant referees will start training next year for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Once again, groups of three from the same country, or at least from the same confederation, will be chosen to officiate there. Trios who had rehearsed together for a long time were one of the reasons for the referees’ success at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, worldcupweb.com reported.

India awaits AFC decision on live U-20 broadcasts

All India Football Federation president Priya Ranjan Das Munshi is still not sure whether the matches of the forthcoming AFC U-20 Youth football championship, to be held in Kolkata and Bangalore, will be beamed live on TV. The Union Information and Broadcasting minister said he would get to know whether they will be televised only after a telephone discussion with the top brass of Asian Football Confederation. "The AFC has the rights of beaming these matches as it is an AFC championship," he said.

The AIFF’s marketing agent Zee Sports wants to buy the rights from AFC so they can broadcast the matches. “We will televise some matches of the AFC Youth championship from both Kolkata and Bangalore. But, we have a busy schedule over the next few weeks. So, it is difficult to say how many matches we will be able to beam,” a senior official of the company told Express India.

Describing India’s chances in the tournament, the AIFF president said "We should be satisfied if the boys can reach the quarter-final stage.” He also hinted that this championship will probably be the last assignment for India’s Uzbek coach Islam Akhmedov who has been training the junior national side for the last five years.

Asked about AIFF’s plans of sourcing footballers of Indian origin, he admitted it is not easy. "It requires amendment of Indian citizenship rights, which cannot be changed only for football. So, the country’s entire sports fraternity including the AIFF is working on the issue so that the government starts thinking about the amendment,” he said.

How Man United shirts suit AIG's China strategy

Why is AIG paying England's Manchester United football club 56.5 million pounds over four years to splash its logo across the chests of players such as Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo? According to Patricia Cheng of Bloomberg, the tie up defies European advertising industry assumptions that insurance companies and football clubs make poor teammates. In Europe, football attracts a largely male, working-class audience, and brewers, betting companies and home electronics makers dominate shirt sponsorships.

AIG, however, is betting the sport's broad-based appeal in Asia will boost its profile and increase sales. The world's biggest insurer, founded in Shanghai in 1919, is using football to reach consumers in Asia and give it an edge over China Life Insurance Co and Prudential Plc. Man United delivers AIG a link with its more than 40 million Asia-based football fans, 20 million of whom are in China, according to UK market researcher Ipsos MORI.

"Football and insurance companies don't normally fit," said Stephan Schroeder, a management board member at Sport+Markt AG, a Cologne, Germany-based sports marketing consultant. Insurance sales depend more on needs than emotions, he added.

Seamus O'Brien, head of World Sport Group, a Singapore-based sports marketing company that holds sponsorship rights for Asian Football Confederation matches told Bloomberg that in Asia, football transcends the normal sports demographic. "Everyone from the taxi driver to the private banker will turn on Premier League on a Saturday night."

"The major purpose of the sponsorship is to drive revenue, as well as to further globalize AIG's brand recognition, particularly in Asia," responded Chris Winans, a New York-based spokesman for AIG. "We'd never done anything of this magnitude."

AIG's challenge is turning awareness of its brand into sales. However "there's no compelling evidence that suggests a direct link between shirt sponsorship and increased sales," said Simon Chadwick, director of the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre at the University of London. "It's one of those things that's very difficult to prove."

Bangladesh Youth Football Academy kicks off

The Emirates Airline-supported Canary Wharf Bangladesh Youth Football Academy kicked into action mode when British coach Anthony Ferguson flew into Dhaka to begin a nationwide hunt for U-14 football stars. The search for Bangladesh's next rising star began with 4,500 young hopefuls from various districts. These were filtered down to 150 young footballers by Bangladeshi trainers, from which coach Ferguson selected 36 players for international-standard coaching that could see some of them play for leading English Premiership clubs in the future.

During his week-long stay in Dhaka, Ferguson personally trained the 36 young footballers at the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan. "I found their attitude absolutely fantastic," he said. "With the help of Bangladesh's top football tutors, we hope to train them to become future football stars of the country."

Zakir Khan, manager Community and sports development, Canary Wharf Group, who accompanied Ferguson said the initiatives aims to "regain the past glory of Bangladeshi football," adding "there are strong chances that two or three exceptional players form the final group of 36 may get the opportunity to visit London, where the Canary Wharf Group conducts a similar programme in a British-Bangladeshi inhabited community.

Hanif Zakaria, Emirates' area manager Bangladesh told South Asian Media that sports sponsorship is a vital part of Emirates growth strategy. "It provides us with a platform to connect with our customers, by sharing and supporting their interests and passions, " he said.

See also: London firm sponsors Bangladesh U-14 program (2 Oct)

Everton COO on developing the brand in Asia

English Premier League club Everton has had a relationship with Thailand for some years but is now expkoring opportunities to link with other Asian countries. Visiting Kuala Lumpur, Everton's chief operating officer, Robert Elstone, talked to the New Straits Times' sports writer, Ajitpal Singh. He opened with a description of what Everton had to offer Malaysia:

We are actually promoting three different packages. The main one is to lend our expertise, including support staff and coaches, for example to clubs, academies and those wanting to set up centres of excellence, to further develop football in the country. Our goal is also to introduce football community programmes to promote the game on a larger scale while the last one is to further develop Everton’s brand in Asia.

Q: How far did you go in promoting these products?

A: I met several government bodies and private sectors and I must say they were very keen to take up the offer. However, nothing is finalised at the moment as I have to get back to the Everton management board on the matter. If everything goes well, the football community programme could kick-off next year.

Q: Have these community programmes, including the setting-up of the centre of excellence, churn out new talents in other countries?

A: We started this programme in Thailand last year and discovered three potential youth players. They had short stints in our academy in Liverpool and the panel of coaches was impressed with one of them. At present, we are working out details to allow this 15-year-old boy, known as "Sham", to train fulltime in Everton. The coaches feel he has the potential to wear Everton’s colours one day.

Q: What about those who do not make it big in football. How will these products help them in their course of life?

A: In a way, it will help instill healthy living among youths. Staying fit and active are important to people especially in today’s world where many practise sedentary lifestyles due to work commitments.

Q: Is there a possibility of reviving the Everton-Rakan Muda grassroots clinics which took effect last year?

A: This is a distant possibility but like I said, I need to go back to Everton and reassess all areas first before making a conclusion which will work out towards a win-win situation for both parties.

Q: Is Everton looking at setting up an academy in Malaysia?

A: We are not looking at it for now. However, we are willing to share our expertise with government bodies and private firms to set up a school of excellence in this country. If this concept becomes a reality, then those who Everton coaches feel have the potential will be offered to join the club’s academy in Liverpool.

Q: Why choose Asia to promote your products and expertise?

A: We feel Asia, which is the most populous continent in the world, offers a larger scale of untapped talent. Many potential players in Asia go unheard of until their retirement due to limited opportunities to play abroad. We hope to develop their skills and help them ply their trade in the English Premiership.

Melbourne Victory eyes 100,000-capacity stadium

Leading A-League club Melbourne Victory has moved another home game from the sports-mad city's 19,000-capacity Olympic Park to its 57,00 seat Telstra Dome as club chairman Geoff Lord started eyeing the 100,000-seat MCG as a possible venue for A-League finals. Melbourne switched its 26 November clash against Newcastle Jets to the Dome, leaving just one more home fixture (versus New Zealand Knights on 17 December) to be played at Olympic Park for this season. "The fans have responded overwhelmingly to Telstra Dome," Victory chief executive Geoff Miles said. "We simply can't ignore the demand."

Football Federation Australia has also provisionally booked the Dome for finals matches from 26 January to 18 February, but Geoff Lord is exploring the possibility of hiring the MCG. "If we had the grand final happening tomorrow, we would attract between 50,000 and 60,000. It would be enormous to have it at the 'G," Lord said. "The (Melbourne Victory) board met this week and discussed different options and the MCG is an option if we wanted to play finals in Melbourne."

According to Peter Desira of the Herald Sun, Melbourne Victory has set new attendance records for domestic club soccer. Its past three matches at Telstra Dome are the top three attendance figures in the A-League (and far surpasses the old National Soccer League). But the NZ game can't be moved from Olympic Park because Telstra Dome has a Robbie Williams concert that day.

Thailand, Bahrain, NZ join Vietnam's Agribank Cup

Thailand's national team coach Chanwit Pholchivin is hoping that his side will sweep away competition in the Agribank Cup, a friendly tournament that will kick off on Wednesday in Vietnam. In the quadrangular competition featuring the hosts Vietnam, Bahrain's U-23 side and New Zealand, Thailand will field almost the same squad that is scheduled to play in the upcoming Asian Games. Chanwit, who steered Thailand to their seventh successive SEA Games title last year in the Philippines, has set his sights on wining all the matches or at least claiming seven points in the tournament, the Nation reported.

Vietnam coach approves of jail for corrupt players

More than 80 fans have offered to donate a kidney to Vietnam's ailing national team coach Alfred Riedl. Fortunately for the 57-year-old former Austria Vienna, FC Metz and Standard Liege player, matches for his much-needed transplant have been found. "It's been strange, but a very nice feeling having so many people wanting to help me, it was a surprise," Riedl told Reuters from Hanoi.

Having taken the country to silver medals in the 1999 and 2003 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, Riedl is in his third stint as Vietnam's national team coach since 1998. He was previously sacked for speaking out against the country's state-run football federation, which has hired and fired six foreign coaches in as many years. However, he insists the football bosses have given him their full support and says the transplant will not affect his preparations for next year's Asian Cup finals, which Vietnam is co-hosting with Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Riedl says a major setback ahead of the tournament is the suspension of several key members of his squad for alleged match-fixing at last year's SEA Games in the Philippines. Seven of his players have been charged with accepting 500 million dong ($31,000) to ensure Vietnam beat Myanmar 1-0. "The match-fixing scandal didn't help," Riedl said. "This was a big problem for my team. Three to four of the players would have been in the team now."

Riedl says he hopes harsh punishment will stop Vietnamese players taking risks and allowing themselves to be corrupted by offers of cash from underground betting rings. "I think this will be a good deterrent," he said. "When someone goes to jail for this, it will wake everyone up, like they've never been woken before." "It will be terrible for them to go to jail and they will see what they're doing has too great a risk. It's good that Vietnam is trying to sort this out," he added.

Vietnam moves closer to legal footbal betting

Bets on foreign football matches may become legal next year in Vietnam. Newspapers quoted the Sports Minister on Friday as saying the National Sports Committee was seeking government approval to establish a joint venture with a foreign bookmaker to provide betting services on international football games. The Communist Party-run ASEAN country prohibits all forms of gambling but illegal betting on football matches in England, Italy, Spain and other countries is very popular. According to Reuters, officials have estimated around $1 billion is transmitted illegally every year for football betting.

National Assembly lawmakers debated legalising football betting this week to meet strong public demand, but the proposal limits the amount of each bet to between 10 000 and 30 000 dong (less than US$2), officials said. "The amount will not hurt people's income, but be enough to entertain them," Sports Minister Nguyen Danh Thai said. The joint venture reportedly would invest around $70 million and five foreign sports bookmakers, including a British firm, have shown interest in the project. Initially, bets would be allowed only on overseas games and not the domestic Vietnam league, he said.

Football fury on Maldive islands

Football supporters wearing t-shirts that called for amendments to the Football Association of Maldives’s management structure and for the resignation of FAM Chairman, Abdul Shukoor were denied entrance to the National Stadium Wednesday night. Stadium security made the dissenting fans remove their t-shirts before entering the stadium to watch the Presidential Cup final match between Victory and Valencia. Leaflets disapproving of FAM that had been distributed amongst spectators were also confiscated by guards.

Yesterday’s incident followed a similar event earlier in the week when campaigners unfolded banners calling for Shukoor’s resignation at the game between New Radiant and Valencia. The campaigners have alleged that FAM is operating with scant regard for the laws on associations. They say that FAM is breeching the Association Act of the Maldives as the people sitting on its Executive Committee are not appointed representatives of groups or organizations belonging to FAM. A ccording to Minivan News, a past court directive had ordered FAM to conform to the Associations Act before July 1, 2006. "But to this day, FAM has not met the requirements."

Chinese tune to early morning Argentinean football

Over seven million Chinese fans viewed the most recent Buenos Aires derby between Boca Juniors and River Plate. Argentine football has been broadcast in China since last January and is rapidly gaining in popularity, despite the time differences, leaving it at a disadvantage when compared to the Spanish Primera Liga, Italian Serie A or English Premier League. Viewing figures are notably on the up, according to data obtained by Spanish news agency EFE. Matches go out at an unsociable time on TV on Monday mornings but some 2.3 million spectators are tuning in.

Channels CCTV5 and Feng Yun are the stations that have backed the inititaive. Viewers are being offered the three most important live games of each round from the 2006 Torneo Clausura. On prime time on Mondays it is possible to see the highlights of each round on the Total Soccer program, Soccer Investor reported (19 Oct).

AFC gives Thailand 90-day deadline on Asian Cup

The Asian Football Confederation has given Asian Cup 2007 co-host Thailand a 90-day deadline to improve stadium facilities and prove their commitment as a hosts of Asia's most prestigious and important football competition. The decision to place a 15 January 2007 deadline was taken after a high-level AFC delegation led by AFC General Secretary, Dato Peter Velappan, visited Bangkok’s Rajamangala and Supachalasai stadiums. In a meeting with the Football Association of Thailand and government representatives, AFC made it clear that Thailand must meet the official stadia specifications required of an AFC Asian Cup host, in order to ensure the success of the competition. The areas of concern include not only the playing and media facilities at both stadiums but also the lack of promotion and publicity undertaken by FAT and the Thai authorities.

This 90-day deadline however is dependent on FAT submitting specific documents by 15 November 2006 to demonstrate their renewed commitment to rectify the shortcomings. These documents must include legally binding agreement with the relevant third parties required to undertake the necessary facility renovations, promotional plans, and other commitments to deliver the requirements specified in the Organising Association Agreement. AFC will review the documents in detail and following the AFC Asian Cup Organising Committee meeting on 21 November 2006, and that Committee's subsequent recommendations to the AFC Executive Committee meeting on 23 November 2006, will make a decision on whether the 90-day deadline will be met by FAT.

“We know there has been a change of government and we accept that,” Dato Peter commented, "but it is important that Thailand respects our deadline.” According to AFCMedia, the Thai media has subsequently reported that the new Thai interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont pledged his full support to the AFC Asian Cup 2007 at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

More U-21 players in Malaysian Super League

Malaysian Super League sides will have to include at least two U-21 players one of whom should be in the starting line-up, according to new Football Association of Malaysia rules. The new requirement is to give more exposure to young players. If the U-21 players is injured during the match, then he can be replaced by only another U-21 player but if the second player is also injured then he can be replaced by anyone else on the bench. The FAM has also told the Super League sides to name 20 players from this season instead of the previous 16, AFCMedia reported.

The Super League season, which kicks off in December, will have 13 teams - defending champions Negri Sembilan, Malacca Telekom, Perak, Penang, Kedah, Malacca, Selangor, Terengganu, Perlis, Sarawak, Pahang, Johor FC and Brunei - after the exit of Petaling Jaya Municipal Council. Previously, eight teams were in the top flight.

Asia represented in European award by Tim Cahill

Australian star Tim Cahill is among the nominees for the prestigious Ballon d'Or award for the European footballer of 2006. Cahill's heroics with the Socceroos at the World Cup and his consistent form with English Premiership club Everton have seen him named among the 50 nominees. He shares a nomination with the cream of international football, from Ronaldinho and Wayne Rooney to Italian World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro to the retired Zinedine Zidane. Cahill is the only nominee from the Asia region. Cahill kick-started Australia's World Cup run when he came on as a substitute to score twice against Japan. The Ballon d'Or has been awarded by France Football magazine since 1956 to honour the best player of the year. Along with the official FIFA player of the year and World Soccer magazine's player of the year, it is regarded as the leading recognition of individual players.

New Bangladeshi pro league "a big leap forward"

The Bangladesh Football Federation has approved the launch of the new Bangladesh Professional Football League on 21 December with player transfers held from 15 November to 31 December. "We are confident that the professional league will reclaim the popularity of the game,” BFF General Secretary Anwarul Haq Helal said. "It's a big leap forward for the game in Bangladesh. For the first time in more than 100 years of football in this part of the world, the players can take the game seriously as a job," Helal told AFP.

Established under the Asian Football Confederation's Vision Asia program, the league's inaugural season will introduce eight clubs from the capital city Dhaka and four from regional cities: Mohammedan Sporting Club, Abahani, Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad Krira Chakra, Brothers Union, Shiekh Rasel Krira Chakra, Arambagh Krira Sangha, Badda Jagoroni Sangsad, Chittagong Mohammedan Sporting Club, Chittagong Abahoni Limited, Jalalabad Football Limited, Faridpur District Sports Association and Khulna Abahoni Limited.

Indonesia hunting down expats for its U-23 team

According to reports, the recent inclusion of Irvan Bahcdim, who plays for FC Utrecht in the Netherlands, into the Indonesian Under-23 team for the Asian Games in Qatar is just the beginning of recruitment of foreign-based players of Indonesian descent. Another player who has been approached by the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) for its U-23 team is Radja Nainggolan who is currently playing for Italian club Piacenza. “It is a move to further strengthens the national team although the citizenship issue will have to be resolved,” said Nurdin Halid from PSSI. "We hope that through the recruitment of these players, we can be competitive in qualifying for the World Cup in 2018 if not the one in 2014.”

Other players which have been listed as potential candidates and who have either parent as Indonesians are Johny Hestinga, Michael Timisela, Sven Taberima, Christian Sapusepa, Robert Timisela (Ajax Amsterdam), Mathija Marunaya, Gaston Salasiwa (AZ Alkmaar), Ignacio Tuhuteru, Raphael Tuankotta (FC Groningen), Marciano Kastirejo, Max Lohy, Stefano Lilipaly (FC Utrecht), Domingus Lim-Duan, Nelljoe Latumahina, Juan Hatumena, Petg Toisuta (FC Zwolle) and Djilmar Lawansuka (Feyenoord Rotterdam). All of the players identified are under the age of 23-years-old.

Newspaper backs Indian school football initiative

Yet another exciting season of the Hindustan Times NEXT School Soccer League 2006 got underway at the Modern Barakhamba School [and] with 12 top schools from Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon competing each other the league is the most definitive football league in Delhi and NCR, stated a media release through Business Wire India. To promote football at the youngest level, the league has become an annual feature of the school calendar and is being held regularly for the past three years. The focus of the tournament is to develop the game in a more structured manner at the grass root level.

The organisers Simla Youngs ensure that the tournament is played in the best of the spirits by all participants. Tushar Dev, Director, Simla Youngs, was delighted to see the League get into its third year, and is of the strong belief that such endeavors do provide the nursery for budding talent, something sorely missed in Indian football.

Hindustan Times NEXT - India’s first youth newspaper has taken the initiative in sponsoring the tournament. All kids are given kit and clothing for the tournament something that not even many senior teams had the privilege of. This year witnesses another brand coming on board to support the cause. BOOST has supported the event as an associate sponsor and official energy drink, further building its huge popularity amongst kids.

Twelve teams are divided into four groups. Each team goes through a round robin format in their respective groups in home and away format with top 2 teams qualifying from each group for the Quarterfinals. The main rules of the Hindustan Times NEXT School Soccer League are: for children of classes 6, 7 and 8 only (and must be born after 31 December 1992); Eleven playing from a total of 16 players, 25 min each half, 5 min break in between; Football pitch size: Full size football ground; Goal Post Size: Full size goalposts; Football Size: 5 No; Offside rule will be implemented and every free kick is be direct; and goal kicks or defensive free kicks within the penalty area may be kicked from the edge of the penalty area.

A-League asked to field more Australian youth

Australia youth team coach Ange Postecoglou has complained that A-League clubs should give more playing opportunities to young Australians instead of signing experienced veterans to achieve short-term goals. Postecoglu’s statement comes as the squad prepares to leave for India for the AFC Youth Championship which takes place from 29 October to 12 November.

“There are at least five or six players in this squad who would make an impact (on the A-League)," said Postecoglou, who has five youth players in his squad who play for A-League clubs. “I'm not asking A-League clubs to be a charity... I genuinely think these young players would be an asset to the clubs and the competition. I think it's important to get these kids into the A-League as early as possible - before they look overseas to get their start.”

Australia are in Group B alongside China, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates and need to finish in the top two of the group to qualify for the knock-out rounds, AFCMedia reported.

Dentsu and Infront launch FIFA broadcast rights JV

Dentsu has announced the official launch of Football Media Services Pte Ltd, its joint venture with Infront Sports & Media AG, which was established to handle the distribution of Asian broadcast rights to all FIFA events between 2007 and 2014, including the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups. Headquartered in Singapore, FMS will handle the marketing of all television, radio, broadband Internet and mobile broadcasting rights to FIFA events. The company is staffed by a team drawn from Dentsu and Infront and headed by Michael Francombe, formerly an executive director with Infront in Switzerland.

FIFA offers bonuses at China Womens World Cup

The 2007 Women's World Cup football champion will get a $US 1 million bonus. FIFA said overnight it will give away $US 6 million in bonuses to the 16 teams at next year's tournament in China, which ends on 30 September. The runner-up will receive $US 800,000, while the third to 16th placed teams will earn bonuses of between $US 650,000 and $US 200,000. FIFA also said defending champion Germany and host China will be seeded in separate groups. The governing body's rankings will be used to decide the other seeds.

AFC demands Asia Cup assurances from Indonesia

Visitors from the Asian Football Confederation to Jakata reiterated policy that the Indonesian government guarantees that renovations to the Gelora Bung Karno stadium for the hosting of the Asian Cup be completed by 31 December 2006. The representatives also demanded that the Indonesia government explicitly not allow any activity in the stadium - other than two ASEAN Football Championship matches and two matches for the 2008 Olympic football qualifiers - until the commencment of the Asian Cup program next July.

The deputy of AFC general secretary Paul Mony Samuel said the AFC would not tolerate any delay on that renovation process and reminded Indonesia's State Minister for Youth and Sport, Adhyaksa Dault, that Indonesia is not the only host for the group stage but also one of the semifinal and the grand-final. "We want this stadium be the best venue on that Asian Cup,” he said.

In a meeting also attended by Kelly Sathairaj, Regional Officer Competition Department AFC, Tom Wheller from World Sport Group and Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) general secretary Nugraha Besoes and foreign department president Dali Tahir. Adhyaksa, State Minister Dault said he would cooperate with the State Secretariat which is in charge of the Senayan Stadium management, PSSI reported.

Nugraha Besoes, meanwhile expressed his optimism that the renovation will be completed in December although electronic equipment might not be completed at the time. "The automatic score-record equipment we ordered from the United States will arrive next January," he admitted.

Vietnam's new season will start in March 2007

Vietnam’s next football season will begin in March instead of the usual December or January as the national team will be competing in the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship until late February, after which the national under-23 team must play in the qualifiers for the Beijing Olympics. The Vietnam Football Federation has scheduled 10 February 2007 for the Super Cup match between V-League champions Dong Tam Long An Tiles and National Cup winners Hoa Phat Ha Noi. The V-League and First Division will begin their seasons on 4 March.

Because the competition period will be shorter than in previous seasons, the clubs will have to play three matches a week in the second stage so that both divisions can finish in late September. For this reason, the VFF has allowed each of the 14 V-League clubs to sign up a maximum of 30 players instead of the 25 last season. Up to five of the players can be foreigners, but only three can be on the field of play at the same time. The 14 first-division clubs, however, can sign up only three foreign players, and only two of them can play at the same time. In the National Cup, each club can likewise register three foreign players, and all three can play together.

The VFF says it has prepared the match schedules for the V-League, National Cup and First Division but will not announce the timetables until the Asian Football Confederation publishes the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup schedules.

According to Vietnam Bridge, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, who were the V-League champions from 2002 to 2004 and came fourth in the last season, plan to spend November training in London. Club boss Doan Nguyen Duc has just returned from visiting London-based English Premier League clubs Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.

Malaysia acts on clubs that don't respond positively

The Football Association of Malaysia is strictly enforcing its rules on club participation in its major leagues. FAM has rejected a request by Johor FA to use the name of club side Pasir Gudang United following their recent merger because the 2005/06 FAM Cup winner had been suspended for two seasons when it failed to give a positive response to the FAM as to whether it would be taking part in the TM-Premier League's 2006/07 season commencing in December. The Competitions Committee ruled that the name of Pasir Gudang United can only be used for the 2008-2009 season onwards.

Another club side, Kelantan TNB, will also not be allowed to play in the TM-Premier League for the new season following their failure to file in letters of participation by the extended due date. As a result, the club was banned for two seasons and fined RM50,000. The club has the right to appeal within 14 days.

However, the appeal from former Malaysia Cup champion MBPJ FC to be allowed to play in the TM-Super League for the 2006-2007 season has been rejected. The club side was previously banned for two seasons following its failure to respond in a positive manner to FAM’s several earlier request for participation.

India counts down to Manipur State League launch

The All Manipur Football Association is finalising the program to mark the launch of the Manipur State League, the first in the north-eastern state. Twelve clubs were selected to join on the basis of MSL Club Regulations proposed by AFC Vision Asia. The Club Regulations screened the clubs on six key criteria – Legal status, Administration and management, Finance, Facilities, Youth and technical development, and Community and fan-base.

Based on the assessment the following clubs were selected by AMFA: Southern Sporting Union (SSU), Manipur Police Sports Club (MPSC), Youth Welfare Club (YWC), North Eastern Re-Organising Cultural Association (NEROCA), Tiddim Road Athletic Union (TRAU), Eastern Sporting Union (ESU), Sports Authority of India Regional Centre (SAIRC), Kakching Football Club (KFC), Kakching, Pholiden Youth Club (PYC), Thoubal, Rengkai Athletic & Cultural Club (RACC), Churachandpur, All Moirang Football Association (AMOFA), Moirang, YWO and Bishnupur.

See also: Vision India launch for new Manipur state league (10 Oct)

Vietnam wins inaugeral Capital SHBank Cup

Vietnam’s Olympic football team won the Capital SHBank Cup in Hanoi and earned a cash prize of US$10,000. Thailand U-21 got US$5,000 and Malaysia U-21 pocketed US$3,000. The tournament’s results were: Vietnam vs. Malaysia: 4-0; Malaysia vs. Thailand: 0-0; and Vietnam vs. Thailand: 2-0.

See also: Vietnam attracts Malaysia, Thailand to Hanoi cup (2 Oct)

Northern Mariana Islands FA waits to join AFC

The Northern Mariana Islands Football Association played host to three inspectors from the Asian Football Confederation in an effort to become an associate member of the sport's regional governing body. AFC Deputy Chairman of the Legal Committee Rene Z. Adad was joined by the AFC Director of Legal Services Balasingam Sanjeevan and AFC Developmental Officer Kaita Sugihara in Saipan to determine NMIFA's ability to continue providing football to the nation's youth. If the NMIFA is approved, members will be able to take part in coaching, referee and administration courses. Membership also entitles the CNMI to participate in regional tournaments as well as to host sanctioned events.

Adad told the Saipan Tribune that his committee will have good news when it shares its findings with the AFC. One of the reasons for his confidence in the NMIFA is because of its dedication to a strong grass roots program that focuses on women, children, and men's leagues.

Japan ponders fan support for Club World Cup 2006

European champion Barcelona will face either Club America of Mexico or the winner of the Asian Champions League in the semifinals of the FIFA Club World Cup in December. Following Thursday's draw in Tokyo, South American champion Internacional, which beat cup holder Sao Paulo in the Libertadores Cup final to claim a place in the tournament, will take on the winner of the quarterfinal between Auckland City and the African Champions League winner. The six-way event kicks off on 10 December at Toyota Stadium. The final will be held on 17 December at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama.

"The Asian and African champions will be determined next month, but no J.League club will feature in the Club World Cup for the second straight year. In 2005, the club world championship's first year under a new name and format, former Japan national team striker Kazuyoshi Miura played for Sydney FC of Oceania alongside former Manchester United star Dwight Yorke. But without a hometown draw in this year's rendition of the Club World Cup, organizers will have to count on the drawing power of Barcelona," Shintaro Kano commented in the Daily Yomiuri.

Thais reassure AFC that new govt backs Asian Cup

Despite the overthrow of the government by military forces last month, Thailand will have no problems co-hosting next year's Asian Cup, a senior Thai soccer official told Martin Petty of Reuters. Chaiyapak Siriwat, deputy president of the Football Authority of Thailand, said the Asian Football Confederation had no reason to worry about the Kingdom's readiness to host the tournament. AFC representatives will visit Bangkok next week to seek reassurances that the new military-backed interim government supports the tournament and money is made available to cover costs and upgrade facilities.

"The AFC is concerned about the political situation and if we still have backing for this tournament, but it will all be fine," Chaiyapak said. "I've spoken to the new minister of sport and he says everything will be as it was before the crisis." Prior to the bloodless military putsch on 19 September, the AFC had threatened to strip Thailand of its staging rights for the tournament with Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia after it failed to meet deadlines for improving its national stadium.

Chaiyapak said funding was now available to complete the necessary work but insisted delays in upgrading the Rajamangala Stadium were not because of Thai football officials dragging their feet."We couldn't help this situation, it wasn't our fault, but now, everything is going good," he said. "We've started doing the work but the political crisis had delayed things. Now, we have no problems with funding. The budget has been approved."

Iraq "battled adversity" to reach Asian Cup finals

Iraq coach Akram Salman has paid tribute to the way his side battled adversity to reach the Asian Cup finals. Iraq beat Singapore 4-2, ensuring their place in the finals from Group E alongside China, who beat Palestine 2-0. Salam said people did not realise how difficult it had been for his side to focus on their football as war ravaged their homeland.

"We have a lot of problems, the biggest being that we play all our matches away from home and that is a massive disadvantage," he told AFP. "We also have problems in training and we have worries about the safety of our families and friends back home. They have more worries than most people think. Yet they put up a brave face and put their heart and soul to play and win for their country."

Tsunami-hit Aceh province to get synthetic pitch

The football world body FIFA is planning to fully fund a football field with synthetic grass in Banda Aceh, capital of Aceh province, by mid-2007," deputy chairman of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Kaharuddin Syah told Anatra newsagency. The synthetic grass is made in Germany and might be used for 30 years, he said adding the project would cost Rp 6-7 billion. PSSI will soon write a letter to the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam governor for a follow-up to the FIFA-funded project.

Zee Sports to telecast 15 Santosh Trophy matches

Zee Sports will telecast the finals rounds of India's 61st Santosh Trophy - including the quarterfinals, semi finals and finals - from 14-25 October. "Zee Sports has put in lot of hard work to present the Santosh Trophy in a viewer friendly format at viewer friendly times with in depth analysis. We are also, undertaking a holistic program to develop football from ground level to see India playing in major football tournaments around the world. We are sure that all this along with Zee Sports distribution strength will see football reach a new level,” Zee Sports business head Himanshu Mody told Indian Television.

The network will be using a 10 camera set up to produce the telecast package which will include preview and review shows, half time match analysis and various studio programming. The coverage will involve more cameras, more replays, new commentators and a new graphic look. Zee Sports ace anchor Mayanti Langer will present the pre-match and a post match analysis along with football expert Novy Kapadia. John Helm will be commentator along with Zee Sports anchor Debayan Sen for the Santosh Trophy.

Indonesian FA asks for special government funding

The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) has asked the Indonesian Gvernment for a special grant of Rp35 billion (approximately US$3.7 million) to cover hosting costs for the Asia Cup 2007 and to prepare the national team to take part in the event, PSSI General Secretary General Nugraha Besoes told Antara newsagency.

"The fund is large as Indonesia will organise the matches for the competition, one for the quarter final, one for the semi final and the final," he told the House of Representatives` Commission X`s plenary session. Some Rp 20 billion of the fund will be used to finance the matches, he added. "The remaining Rp15 billion will be used to prepare the national senior team," said Nugraha who was accompanied by PSSI Financial Director Achsanul Qasasi .

Man United adopts 'whole body vibration' training

English Premier League club Manchester United has acquired the Power-Plate Next Generation machine to optimise the effects of Whole Body Vibration training. WBV is based on Rhythmic Neuromuscular Stimulation (which dates back to 1960 when Professor W. Biermann described ‘cyclical vibrations’ capable of improving the condition of the joints relatively quickly. The Next Generation Power-Plate works by transferring vibrations to muscles, enabling them to contract and relax up to 50 times a second in a reflex action. A static or dynamic pose, held for up to 60 seconds at a time, activates multiple muscle groups simultaneously to improve muscle strength, power, performance, flexibility and range of motion. In addition to increasing strength and agility, vibration training reportedly enhances critical blood flow and expedites the recovery and regeneration of damaged tissue. This in turn can reduce sports injuries, speed up rehabilitation and shorten healing time.

Manchester United FC’s Head Physiotherapist, Rob Swire, plans to use the Next Generation for developing strength, power, proprioception and rehabilitation. "The Power-Plate Next Generation meets our requirements for our training equipment to be functional, but aesthetically appealing to encourage players to use it. Indeed, the simplicity of the set up and ease of use allows Manchester United players and staff to quick start and change the frequency and intensity of vibrations with minimum supervision," he said as reported by Soccer Investor (11 Oct).

South East Asia 'most valuable' to Premier League

The final stage of the English Premier League broadcast-rights sales process began this week with invitations to overseas broadcasters to tender for rights from 2007-08. The last three-year deal raised £320 million, with the most valuable territories being Scandinavia and South-East Asia. Since then the PL has established Premier League Productions, a joint venture with TWI, which controls live and highlights packages piped to overseas buyers. Overseas contracts are likely to push broadcast income to a massive £2.5 billion, Frank Kelso reported in The Guardian.

Bolton Wanderers attracts two Chinese teenagers

English Premier League club Bolton Wanderers has invited Chinese youngsters Yang Changpeng and Zhou Liaota to train with the club for a brief period. Yang and Zhou, both on the books of China Super League side Wuhan Guanggu, will spend three weeks at Bolton as part of a partnership agreement between the two clubs. Boltons plan to open a joint football development centre in Wuhan later this year, Sinosoc.com reported.

Govt bodies debate sending Indonesia U-23 to Doha

It is not yet certain the Indonesian U-23 football team will play at the 15th Asian Games in Doha next December as the National Sports Committee (KONI) has to discuss the matter again with the State Minister for Youth and Sports Affairs and the Monitoring Team, KONI Chairman Agum Gumelar told Antara newsagency.

KONI and the minister apparantly have different views on what the national team can achieve in Doha, Agum said. He said when a national team was sent to Doha it would not so much be to achieve a certain target but to meet the request of the secretary general of the Asian Football Confederation, Datok Peter Velappan. "Datok Velappan said we have to send a national soccer team to the Asian Games as we have been absent from the games four times and because next year we will be one of the four nations hosting the Asian Cup," he said.

In the Asian Games 2006, the Indonesian team will be in Group B together with Singapore, Syria and Iraq. The national team was to leave for Doha from Drachten, the Netherlands, on 8 November.

Ronaldo backs International Soccer & Media Fund

Mirage Holdings FZCO, RAK and Swiss Securities Trust AG have signed with Latin American Futbol Corporation in partnership with Ronaldo, as mentor, to launch the US$150 Million International Soccer and Media Fund. One of the main aims of the new fund will be the acquisition of the world’s top football prospects. Players will be chosen by a team comprising Manny Bains and Fabiano Farah, a registered FIFA Agent and his company Splendor Rights Management.

Ronaldo will mentor the players not only in football but in the problems faced by growing into a world class athlete. His role will be solely a mentor position abiding by FIFA rules as he is a current player. He will take the younger players under his guidance and teach them the life lessons he has learned on his road to greatness. Ronaldo will also be heavily involved in the fund promoting sports ethics including hosting an annual fund meeting, to be held in the UAE in 2007.

In order to diversify the fund, it will also focus on the potential acquisition of a professional football team in Europe as well as football media rights focused on select tournaments throughout the world, Soccer Investor reported (12 Oct).

“We have developed this hybrid fund structure, copy written under the name “Star Funds,” with SST in order to bring a new type of investment to the market. The Star Funds are individually developed with the talent, depending on their genre and the funds are managed through SST , a private Swiss Trust Fund, based in Geneva. In addition, we are currently in talks with some A List Hollywood talent to launch Star Funds for them as well. The ISMF is an International fund and open to both institutional investors as well as high net worth individuals. The fund carries a capital guarantee and the goal of the fund is to provide investors with a return as well as being able to be involved with a dynamic project in the area of International Soccer. The fact that Ronaldo is taking a personal stake in the development of players in this Fund helps demonstrate the power this fund will have,” said Michelle Nickelson, President and COO of Mirage Holdings FZCO.

See also: Agent claims to raise 100m pounds to buy players (11 Sep)

Australian team rebuilds as home popularity grows

Australia, undergoing a transition after the retirement of senior players, will be seeded at the Asian Cup finals next year after beating Bahrain 2-0 to top its qualifying group. "It was vital to top the group,'" Socceroos coach Graham Arnold said after the game in Sydney. "It's all new for the players going into Asia because they don't know what they're up against. This is a learning process for them." Australia left Oceania to join the Asian Football Confederation in January and became the region's top team by reaching the World Cup second round in Germany four months ago.

According to Dan Baynes of Bloomberg, the run stoked domestic interest in a sport that has lagged behind Australian rules football, rugby league and rugby union. This is amplified by the Sweeney Sports Report findings released today, which shows soccer trails only Aussie rules in popularity after 56 percent of Australians expressed an interest in the sport. Its previous best performance was 50 percent in 2002. Thousands of fans attended player appearances in Brisbane and Sydney during the past week as the bulk of the World Cup squad returned home for the first time since the tournament.

Hong Kong's team aims at FIFA's top 100 ranking

Through the efforts of the Hong Kong Football Association in the last six years, the autonomous Special Administrative Region of the PRC is starting to make football headway in the region. According to national team coach Lai Sun Cheung, Hong Kong could break into the FIFA top-100 rankings if the team kept on producing good results at the Asian level. “Ours is a young team. The average age of our players ranges between 25 and 26. We have not extremely well, but have performed well in the last few years. Signs are good for the future,” an optimistic Cheung told The Peninsula as his team got set to play hosts Qatar in an Asian Cup 2007 qualifying match.

“When I took over in 2000, we were ranked somewhere in the 140s. We have managed to improve our world ranking considerably. You can only improve your rating if you perform well and do that consistently. We are hopeful that we can continue the good work,” Cheung added. “For youngsters in Hong Kong, football is a passion with them. They love this sport and play the game with a lot of enthusiasm. Having said that, I feel Hong Kong football has a long way to go. We need to plan aggressively to get the positive or desired results.

“We have to have better facilities. Playing pitches are that good in Hong Kong. We must take the game to the schools, colleges and the districts. This way we can tap the good talent we see out there (in Hong Kong). This is what I would do if I had the authority back home. I would make great efforts to help kids learn the right way. I am 56-years-old. I have played football all my life. Football is my life. I played 77 times for the national team for about 10 years. I am still keen to see Hong Kong rise at the Asian level,” he said.

Dujkovic to take China's Olympic team to Beijing

Serbian Ratomir Dujkovic has been appointed coach of China's Olympic team for the 2008 Beijing Games, a Chinese newspaper reported yesterday. His appointment had been confirmed this week during a two-day meeting of Chinese Football Association officials and would be announced after gaining sign-off from China's sport ministry, the Beijing News said. “During the meeting, Dujkovic was confirmed (as coach),” Wei Shaohui, director of the CFA's Olympic affairs office, told the paper. The CFA refused to confirm the appointment or provide any comment when contacted by Reuters. Dujkovic, 60, led Ghana to the second round of the World Cup Finals earlier this year and has also coached Venezuela, Myanmar and Rwanda. The Olympic football competition will start on 6 August 2008, two days before the opening ceremony.

Palestinian team meets in Jordan for China game

Israeli authorities lifted security precautions on the border of the Palestinian Gaza Territory to allow three Palestinian footballers to join their national team for an Asian Cup qualifying match against China in Jordan on Wednesday. Saeb Jendeya, Palestine captain, along with defenders Hamada Eshbair and Ihmeidan Barrbakh were allowed through the Rafah checkpoint to travel to Amman via Cairo in order to play in the crucial Group E match, Reuters reported.

The three Palestinian players should arrive in time for the match which will be played at 10:00pm local time at the King Abdullah International Stadium. "It is a very difficult and long trip but the joy of linking up with our team mates in the national team and try to get a good result is the source of our happiness," Jendeya said.

Palestine are at the bottom of their group, but a win against China would put them back into Asian Cup qualifying contention. "The game will be very hard on us," said Palestine coach Mohammed Sabbah. "All of our matches in this group are tough although we consider Jordan as our home because we have a lot of Palestinian fans who live here. Winning against China would be a historical event for us and it would open the door again for us to fight for a place in next year's Asian Cup finals," he added.

Vision China program for youth launched in Wuhan

The inaugural Grassroots and Youth Elite Clubs League concluded successfully in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The league, played during China’s Golden Week holidays, saw the participation of 46 clubs in different age groups, AFCMedia reported. More than 650 registered players, 62 coaches and 57 referees took part in the Elite Clubs League in which the Wuhan Football Association also used a novel ‘Green Card' concept to foster fair play. While 14 U-9 teams played at the Wang Shongyuan Primary School, 12 U-11 and U-13 teams were based in Han Jiang Erqiao Training Centre. Four U-16 and U-18 age group teams played at the No 12 Middle School. The Elite League also drew the attention of Sony (China), who expressed an interest in sponsoring the Vision Wuhan project, with top company officials attending the matches.

Vision India launch for new Manipur state league

Asian Football Confederation officials are expected to arrive in Imphal, India, to inaugurate the new Manipur State Level League which kicks off on 4 November at Khuman Lampak Main Stadium. Invitees include AFC general secretary Peter Velappan, AFC Director Brendon John Menton and AFC development officers Imtiaz Ur Rehmand, Swarup Thate and Jita Singh. Under Vision India, Manipur was selected as a project site alongside Delhi . Twelve teams have been selected to participate in the league with two coaches from each of the participating teams undergoing AFC coaching course.

Australia concerned about World Cup match dates

Football Federation Australia is concerned that the Socceroo's bid to qualify for the 2010 World Cup could be over before it begins if they are forced to follow a horror schedule of matches drawn up by the Asian Football Confederation. According to David Lewis of the Daily Telegraph (Sydney), FFA "is so concerned at a 12-game fixture list for 2008 and 2009 - including the logistical nightmare of eight midweek dates – that it is poised to deploy chairman Frank Lowy to lobby the AFC for a calendar rethink."

The schedule leaves the Socceroos' European-based stars with, in some cases, as little as 24 hours to prepare for games in East Asia or back on home soil, and only slightly more than that for matches in the West Asia. Australia must negotiate stage one of qualification for South Africa 2010 with three home and three away games against opposition yet to be determined between February and November 2008.

Caretaker coach Graham Arnold has presented a dossier to the FFA containing several possible solutions, the detail of which he wants to keep under wraps. "I've tried to be proactive by identifying these issues with two years to spare," Arnold said. "There was a method to my madness in August when I had 10-days with a group of A-League players to prepare for the game against Kuwait (which Australia won 2-0). I then picked a side of European-based players to see how they would cope with virtually no preparation. It was a dress rehearsal of what lies ahead in 2008."

All of the proposed dates that year are FIFA double dates, which will leave at least three days of preparation time for the matches. Lowy is considering lobbying the AFC to to switch as many as possible of the midweek games to Saturdays, allowing some more leeway. The aim is also to make the most of the two double dates in 2008 and the five in 2009 by playing two games in four days.

Italy's Internazionale expands marketing to China

Italian Serie A club Internazionale has signed an exclusive partnership with internet portal Sina to establish a Mandarin Chinese-language version of its official website, according to Soccer Investor (10 Oct). Sina will provide Inter-related content to the global Chinese community including latest club news and photos, live scores and match reports, statistics and player profiles. Inter has established strong links with China in recent years with initiatives such as the Inter Campus project in Qingdao, the friendly match against China Super League club Shanghai International in Trento in 2004, and last season's Serie A matches against Livorno and Lazio with the Pirelli logo on Inter's shirts translated in Chinese characters.

FIFA funding pressures women's football in Oman

The Oman Football Association hopes to implement an ambitious FIFA Goal Project by November, if the feedback from the meeting of OFA officials and the visiting FIFA delegation is to be believed, the Times of Oman reported. OFA plans for the first phase are to construct its association headquarters and the existing ground outside the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher to be developed. In the second phase, lands, where presently an athletic track exists outside the main stadium, will be procured and developed into another ground which will serve long-term development in the youth sector (academies) and provide a venue for specialist coaching and refereeing courses.

As the projects are being financed by the funds from Goal and FIFA’s Financial Assistance Program, the FIFA representatives sought the introduction of women’s football and its development. However, the OFA said that the idea is to develop women’s football from the grassroots level. The basic idea is to introduce it initially in community schools followed by government schools in close coordination with the Ministry of Education.

adidas continues sponsorship of Al Hilal club

Sportswear giant, adidas has announced its continued relationship with Al Hilal, Saudi Arabia’s champion football team, by extending their contract for another year. Through the sponsorship deal, adidas has acted as official product supplier to Al Hilal, equipping the football team and entire squad with top of the line football apparel for both training and official matches. Founded by Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Saeed in 1957, the Al Hilal Sporting Club has since won 45 football titles, including six King Cup, six Crown Prince Cup, five Saudi Federation Cup and six Asian titles.

AFC ban on DPRK's Han Hye-yong goes global

World football body FIFA has ruled that an Asian ban on North Korean goalkeeper Han Hye-yong should have worldwide effect. Han’s one-year ban, imposed by the Asian Football Confederation after she kicked Italian referee Anna de Toni at the Women’s Asian Cup semi-final in July, will cover all matches including friendlies. The AFC hit Han with the ban last month and also fined her US$4,500 for violent conduct. Han’s teammates Sun Son-kyong and Sun Song-jung were also banned by the AFC for four months each from representing North Korea in all official and friendly matches at an Asian level, and fined US$3,000 each. China beat North Korea 1-0 in that semi-final and went on to beat Australia in the final.

South Korea's top club attracts the lowest crowds

K-League club Seongnam Ilwha Chunma aims to remain a powerful side, having won six titles since 1993. "There's a lot of pressure," Head Coach Kim Hak-bom told John Duerden of the Korea Herald. "Our goal is always to win the championship and other competitions too. Just maintaining our position as one of the top teams is tough by itself."

Seongnam is unusual in that it may be South Korea's most successful team but it attracts the lowest crowds. "The team, Ilhwa Chunma, moved to Seongnam from Chonan in 2000 and it wasn't warmly welcomed by the sizeable Christian population in the city. The protestors objected to the fact that the club is owned by the controversial Unification Church founded by Reverend Moon Sung-myong," Duerden explained.

Kim cares only about his team but is at a loss to explain why Seongnam have few followers. "I just don't know," he says as he lights a cigarette. "As a coach, I am not happy with the situation. We do well but the fans don't come. It could be religious reasons or regional reasons, In the K-League, the regional feeling is weak. Seongnam people have no feeling for their city team. All we can do is play and perform well and then the supporters will know that and hopefully come back. The club officials are always trying to think of ways to attract fans. I hope to be like Manchester United where the tickets are already sold out."

Indonesian national team on move for 9 months

The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) has announced that Indonesia's national team will train in England and in a Middle East country in early 2007. The team is scheduled to be in England's West Midlands from 3 March until 12 April and in Saudi Arabia for the month of June. National team Committee (BTN) Director Ibnu Munzir said schedule refinements may take place following dicussions with Indonesia League and National Team Committee (BLTNI) President Nirwan Dermawan Bakrie.

However, the team departs for China tomorrow to play in four matches against Chinese provincial teams. Players will be free between 19-29 October before being recalled for a game against the Singapore national team on 11 November followed by the VB International tournament in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam beng played 15-19 November. The team will be back in training for the Kings Cup at Bangkok, next 20-30 December and will stay in the Thailand capital to train for the ASEAN Football Championship group qualification which may be played either in Bangkok or Singapore, according to the 27 November draw.

UPDATE

National Team Committtee (BTN) Director, Ibnu Munzir, has confirmed the Indonesian team is currently scheduled to spend from 3 March to 12 April 2007 training near Birmingham in England followed by one month in Saudi Arabia.

See also: Stadium refit delays Indonesia's Anniversary Cup (3 Jul)

Has the US burst an internet shirt sponsor bubble?

According to Andrew Culf in The Guardian, legislation passed in the United States to outlaw internet gambling and poker games has caused alarm at English football clubs and among sports administrators as the online gaming industry helped bring in £15 million for Premiership clubs last season. "There has almost been a stampede into sport sponsorship by the internet companies, trying to create global exposure for their business," he quoted Nigel Currie, director of the sports marketing agency brand Rapport. "Shirt sponsorship in the Premier League increased from £55 million to £70 million last season and it was pretty much on the back of the impact of the internet betting companies."

Middlesbrough were sponsored by 888.com before the Indonesian-owned gambling giant Mansion's attempts to succeed Vodafone at Manchester United transformed the picture. Although Man United signed up with America's largest insurance company, AIG, the involvement of the internet betting company swelled the price from £9 million to £15 million a year. Mansion switched to Tottenham Hotspur in a deal reported to be worth £8.5 million per season, about four times the sum the club received from its previous sponsors, Thomson Holidays.

With 32Red sponsoring Aston Villa and Bet24 sponsoring Blackburn, the internet companies have become a "hugely important factor" in the wealth of the Premiership, according to Currie, who is also chairman of the European Sponsorship Association. He believes the fallout from this week's move by US legislators could have a long-term impact on the UK market. "Everyone piled in very quickly because they needed to get their messages to key territories," he said. "It could evaporate in the future."

Indian sports marketing offers football opportunity

Purvita Chatterjee reviewed the growth of sports marketing companies in India and noticed their interest was not only on cricket and hockey. Writing for The Hindu, he commented that even advertising and media agencies have begun to give sports promotions an extra push, drawing their strengths from the international experience of their parent companies.

While launching its new sports marketing and communication division, Ogilvy Sport, Pratap Bose, CEO, O&M India, said, "Ogilvy Sport will be a professionally-run sports marketing outfit. Being part of the Ogilvy network gives it access to cutting-edge marketing tools and the expertise of new media in the digital space. Fusing the Ogilvy Sports expertise with this knowhow allows the usage of new platforms for innovative activations." While cricket continues to dominate in India (with MNC brands such as Pepsi taking the lead), there are other forthcoming events such as the upcoming Commonwealth Games in 2010, which is drawing more advertising and media agencies into the fray. Ogilvy Sport has already bagged Zee Sport as its first client and will be helping the channel in building the game of football.

"Sports marketing in this country has till now been restricted to player management — be it endorsements or columns. It has always focussed on the individual player or at best marketing sponsorship platforms on existing sports properties (read cricket)," said Atul Hegde, Vice-President, Vyas Giannetti Creative. " Marketers have completely ignored the fact that gradually the interest in sports is spreading, the biggest indicator being the growing popularity of other sports, be it F1, soccer or tennis. While it will still be sometime till it catches up with cricket, what is interesting is that there is a lot more consumption of other sports today, be it watching or active participation. But, unfortunately, all that gets marketed is cricket-related properties. This for us was an opportunity waiting to be tapped.''

Tiger Cup now the ASEAN Championship

The South East Asian regional football competition, known for 10 years as the Tiger Cup after its then sponsor, Tiger Beer, has had a name change. In 2007 is will be called the ASEAN Football Championship when the event is co-hosted by Thailand and Singapore. According to Worawi Makudi, the secretary-general of the Football Association of Thailand, the seventh edition of the competition will be held from 12 January to 3 February in 2007. The preliminary rounds will be staged in Thailand and Singapore, while the semi-finals and final will use the home-away format. Five nations - the Philippines, Laos, Brunei, Cambodia and East Timor - will contest the qualifying rounds and play for two berths in the finals. The qualifying event will be held in the Philippines from 12-20 November with the hosts taking on Laos in the curtain-raiser. The draw for the two-group first round will be staged in Thailand on 27 November.

Attempt to bribe Singapore league game fails

An attempt to buy an S-League football result has been foiled after a bribe was rejected by a Sporting Afrique FC player, the Singapore club's chairman Collin Chee told Ossian Shine of Reuters. Cameroonian midfielder Jacques Ngo'o Evrard rejected an offer of S$8,000 hen approached by two men hours before the club's scheduled match against Gombak United on 25 September. "This proves one thing," Chee told Reuters. "There are good, honest soccer players, and players who will come clean and just want to play football."

Evrard had been offered the bribe to pull out of the match and if Gombak beat the third-from-bottom hosts. The midfielder did play in the match but Gombak won all the same, 4-2. Chee said his player had done all that could be expected. "I am very happy with him," he said. "My player rejected the bribe and immediately told his coach. That is all he could do. We immediately reported the incident to the S-League and this is now being investigated."

England FA charges, suspends, fines player agents

English football player agent Charles Collymore has been charged with a breach of Football Association rules and another agent Saif Rubie has had his licence suspended, Reuters reported. A third agent, Ian Elliott, has been warned about his future conduct in a series of disciplinary decisions announced by the FA on its website. The moves come a day after a Premier League inquiry into allegations of corruption by agents, managers and clubs delivered its interim report, calling for more time to investigate 39 transfers that needed further scrutiny.

Collymore had been charged for allegedly touting Luton Town player Enoch Showunmi to Millwall without Luton's knowledge or consent. He has also been charged with a rule breach by allegedly representing Showunmi without a written representation contract or that he allegedly did not lodge such a contract with the FA. Collymore has until 17 October to reply to the charges. Part of the evidence against him has been provided by Luton manager Mike Newell, the FA said, adding that Newell had made a further claim which they are also investigating. Rubie was fined £600 and charged with failing to provide information on request, a breach of FA rules.

See also: English corruption inquiry needs two months more (3 Oct)

English corruption inquiry needs two months more

"One by one, the power brokers of English soccer - the chairmen and chief executives of Premier League clubs - filed out the Churchill Hotel after being told by a former policeman the extent of corruption he suspects some of them are engaged in. Most of the chairmen had nothing to say," reported Rob Hughes in the International Herald Tribune.

"They had just heard John Stevens, the former commissioner of the London police, request two more months to conclude his inquiries into corrupt trading of leading players. After a seven-month investigation, ordered by the league itself, Stevens and his team had investigated 362 transfers involving 29 clubs over a two-year span up to January. His interim conclusion was that 39 transfers, 1 in 10 of those deals, required further scrutiny."

Stevens said eight clubs, which he did not name, had been involved. He called on the Football Association, the supreme body in English football, to use its power to obtain bank details of licensed agents who declined his calls for disclosure. To date, only 65 of the 150 agents Stevens's team wished to question have complied. Hughes commented that "all of this left the impression that the whispers of systemic corruption in English soccer are about to be substantiated. Either that, or Stevens's reputation will take a beating."

See also: English player agents warned to open accounts (3 Oct)

English player agents warned to open accounts

According to the BBC via Soccer Investor (3 Oct), England registered football agents who fail to co-operate with Lord Stevens' inquiry into corruption in the sport could be suspended or lose their licence. Lord Stevens also said his team may use Football Association rules to force agents to open accounts for inspection - after only 65 out of 150 co-operated. The FA confirmed it can request the information under "powers of inquiry". A spokesman said: "If we are asked to try to obtain information from agents, under our powers, we will do so."

See also: England FA calls for anti-corruption cooperation (1 Oct)

Underprivileged Indians get Nike, Red Bus support

Young ball juggler Tejas Raut looked amused when Laxmi Negi of Express Inda went to speak to him. He innocently shook hands and walked away. "Later," wrote Negi, "the 12-year-old would realise the importance of his achievement of accumulating 770 points to top the list among 380 boys at the Premier Indian Football Academy skills contest for the Bobby Charlton Academy held at Cooperage ground." Raut now qualifies for the BSC training camp to be held in Mumbai and Pune. If he tops the list at the camp - to be held on 15 October - he will board on a flight to Manchester and big-time football coaching.

Magic Bus, an NGO, is assisting underprivilaged youngsters like Raut and ten of their players tried out at the PIFA event. The NGO has also put up a team in the fourth division of the Mumbai District Football Association to give their players greater exposure to competitive football. "We use sports as a medium to help them direct their talent," coach Ajay Shetty said.

"The PIFA event sponsor Nike gave Raut a full kit and his face gleamed like his hero’s famous smile, when he saw the Nike boot studs. That smile could have melted anyone’s heart," Negi reported.

One team for four nations at Olympic football 2012

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland may end its 'exile' from the Olympic football tournament by entering men's and women's teams in the London Games in 2012, Soccer Investor reported (2 Oct). In international football, the UK is traditionally represented by the independent football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - the first four football associations in soccer history - and has not fielded a team for the Olympic qualifying competition since 1972.

British Olympic Association chief executive Simon Clegg said a British women's team could play at the 2008 Games in Beijing, if they qualified via England's current World Cup campaign. "The men's team now is not an issue in terms of Beijing, but my principle in terms of aspiration for 2012 is obviously to field the strongest possible team," Clegg said. "The [England] Football Association is fully behind this and the possibility of contributing to the medal table of 2012.” Britain won the Olympic football tournament when it hosted the Games in London in 1908 and took gold again in 1912 in Stockholm.

See also: Changes for British football in 2012 Olympics (2 Sept 05)

China FA anti-corruption task force links to police

The China Football Association has set up a joint task force with the nation's police in an effort to stamp out rampant corruption, including gambling and match fixing, Beijing News reported. The task force, co-chaired by Wu Mingshan, a senior police official in charge of public order, and CFA deputy director Nan Yong, will investigate illicit activities in China's top footballleague. The main duties of the group will also be "to align anti-gambling rules with State laws and regulations, and set the expansion and regulation of an anti-gambling system throughout the sport." Discussions are currently being held to recruit members of the judicial ministry to crack down more efficiently on sports betting and cheating among players, coaches and referees.

See also: Corruption link to slump of Asian domestic leagues (29 June)

South Sumatran stadium to co-host Asian Cup

The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) has reportedly selected the South Sumatran provincial standium, Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, in Palembang City, to co-host the final rounds of the 2007 Asian Cup, beating Manahan Stadium in Surakarta, Central Java and Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung, West Java. PSSI South Sumatra secretary general Syamsul Ramel said Saturday the stadium would host the games along with the Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta. It might also host the matches for third-place, he said. "That's the plan, but the decision will be made in December," he told Khairul Saleh of The Jakarta Post (2 Oct).

PSSI officials and Asian Football Confederation Fairplay Committee member Carlo K. Nohra had visited the three candidate stadiums before making the decision, to ensure they were being upgraded to meet Asian Cup sponsors' standards. "The AFC official said he was impressed with our stadium. Although some parts of the stadium still need to be repaired, we are optimistic we can meet their expectations," Syamsul said. Technicians were following AFC recommendation to improve the pitch conditions, changing rooms, medical facilities, media center and create placements for TV cameras.

See also: PSSI: Indonesia to make success of Asia Cup final (5 Aug)

London firm sponsors Bangladesh U-14 program

British football coach Anthony Ferguson will arrive in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, on 5 October to supervise a long-term training program for under-14 footballers, UNB reported. He will supervise the second phase training program sponsored by Canary Wharf Group of London. Sports Development Manager for Canary Wharf Group Community, Zakir Khan, will also accompany Ferguson.

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Anwar Choudhury inaugurated the four-year program on 4 August. A total of 150 promising footballers have been picked up for the second phase training program after some 1,500 'booters' participated in the first phase from 45 districts of the country's six divisions. Later, some talented players will train at leading English football clubs.

Vietnam attracts Malaysia, Thailand to Hanoi cup

Vietnam will face Malaysia’s Olympic team in the opening game of the Capital SHBank Cup at Hanoi’s Hang Day Stadium next Tuesday. They then play Thailand on 14 October. According to the organising committee, the winner of the round-robin championship will receive US$10,000 and second and third place, $5,000 and $3,000, respectively.

Vietnam's coach, Alfred Riedl, has named a 20-member squad (which includes three players older than 23), for the Asian Games (ASIAD) to be held in Qatar on 1-15 December.Vietnam will also compete in two warm-up invitational events: the Agribank Cup in Hanoi at the end of this month and the Bach Viet Cup in HCM City next month before going into the 15th ASIAD.

"The Capital SHBank Cup is a good chance for Vietnamese players to hone their skills before the Asian Games, chairman and general secretary of Vietnam Olympic Committee, Hoang Vinh Giang told the Vietnam news newsagecy. Giang also said the tournament is expected to be an annual event of the Asian Football Confederation’s roster, which hopes to draw additional Asian teams.

Why doesn't PFF talk with AFC's Cristy Ramos?

Philippine women's football official Cristy Ramos said the country failed to measure its progress again because the Philippine Football Federation neglected to send teams to the Asian Under-16 and Asian Under-14 womens tournaments, both FIFA sanctioned events organised by the Asian Football Confederation of which Ramos is the chair of the women’s committee. “Being critical of the PFF is my job,” said Ramos, the former Philippine Olympic Committee president and highest-ranking Filipino official in FIFA and the AFC. “I don’t understand why the PFF missed those tournaments,” she told June Navarro of the Inquirer.

Ramos also criticised the PFF last year when it missed the registration deadline for the Asian Under-19 tournament. Officials pleaded for reconsideration with the AFC to no avail, forcing them to disband the team.

“I’m willing to sit down with them (PFF officials) any time, anywhere but they don’t want to talk to me. I wonder why?” said Ramos, a former women’s football star who later became the president of the local women’s football group. “I am willing to do what I can to help the PFF and local football,” said the daughter of former President Fidel V Ramos. “All they have to do is ask.”

See also: Cristy Ramos again questions Philippine policy (27 Sep) and Football leadership challenge hots up in Philippines (13 Jul)

Europe and UEFA reject salary caps on footballers

The European Union and football authorities have no plans to introduce salary caps on players. "Salary caps just simply wouldn’t work and was never our intention,” Lars-Christer Olsson, CEO of UEFA, told Reuters. According to Olsson, a new draft of the EU-sponsored European Sports Review will be released before the end of the year with a refined recommendation to limit the overall amount a club can spend on salaries.

“We don’t want to say that a player can’t be paid X amount of money,” Olsson said. “But what we do say is that there needs to be a limit on a club’s wage bill in the context of the overall revenue; cost controls so that they don’t go into debt.” UEFA hopes to have the European Sports Review adopted by EU governments in December. It covers all aspects of football, such as doping, players’ agents and commercial rights.

England FA calls for anti-corruption cooperation

The England Football Association plans to hire more investigative staff to tackle the issue of corruption. "We have made it our priority to strengthen the Compliance Department so we can tackle the issue of corruption head on," chief executive Brian Barwick told the FA’s official website on Friday. "We are committed to thoroughly investigating any wrongdoing in the game. The department is doing an excellent job and by bringing in additional resources, we will be able to build on that work," he added after a meeting of the FA Board.

The BBC television program Panorama made accusations last week of corruption and rule-breaking by managers and agents. All the accused have denied any wrongdoing, with several raising the prospect of legal action against the BBC.

The program, which prompted the FA to launch a series of inquiries and the world football governing body FIFA to monitor a situation it said was not good for the game, was followed by claims from England manager Steve McClaren’s agent Colin Gordon that millions of pounds was leaving the game through illegal payments. However, Gordon said he did not have any evidence.

"There have been a large number of people in football making allegations of corruption through the media," Barwick added. "We want to reiterate that any participants in the game with evidence of wrongdoing have a duty to bring this evidence to our attention."

Malaysian FA bans club manager for speaking out

The Football Association of Malaysia has banned Datuk Ahmad Basri Akil, manager of the Kedah football club, for three years for criticising the national football governing body in a newspaper on 4 September. Basri only returned to football this year after serving out a four-year ban slapped in 2001 when, as an FAM council member, he did exactly the same thing. Under the FAM constitution, officials who speak out against the body do so at their own peril and if found guilty, are banned from taking part in any FAM-sanctioned footballing activities.

"What has the FAM got to show for being above-criticism when Malaysia's FIFA rating is down in the pits and the national team continues to produce disastrous results even at the South East Asian level?" asked Azman Ujang of the Bernama newsagency. He reported that Sports Commissioner Tan Sri Elyas Omar, who has wide-ranging powers under the Sports Development Act in regulating the running of sports associations, "could provide a way out".

Elyas told Bernama that he found it unfair for the FAM to take such an action on Basri just for voicing out his grievances publicly. "Basri is not a member of the FAM council so he can't be doing so within the four walls of the council. In fact the whole country is voicing their grievances against the FAM for not producing results expected of our football," he said. "I feel the FAM needs to liberalise and be more open to criticisms."

Elyas served for many years in the FAM council when he headed the Kuala Lumpur FA and admitted that there was a lack of dissenting views among the council members.He said under the Act, the Sports Commissioner could approve amendments to the constitution submitted by sports associations. "In approving such amendments, I also have the power to add my own amendments to improve the running and administration of sports associations. In fact, in many cases, I have done so," he said.

He also said that what what ailed Malaysian football is the existing system which also closely involved the state Football Associations. "It's not just the FAM system, it's also involving the states. The failure of the FAM is also due to the FAs. For Malaysian football to have any chance of restoring its past glory, we have to restructure the system and look at it from the synergetic and holistic view," he said.

Pressure on NZ Knights to remain in A-League

Football Federation Australia is coming under increasing pressure to dump the New Zealand Knights from the A-League next season after the club attracted only 1632 fans to watch them lose 0-1 to Central Coast Mariners at North Harbour, Auckland, on Thursday night, their fourth successive loss, Gary Birkett reported from New Zealand. It was the smallest crowd in the short history of the league, eclipsing the 1922 figure set when the Knights played Melbourne Victory at the same venue in round 14 last season.

"Yes, it is a concern," confessed FFA head of operations, Matt Carroll, "but it's probably of greater concern to the owners and investors of the Knights. They've been dealt a pretty ordinary start to the match program." He said an unfriendly schedule, including two Thursday night home games, had been forced on the FFA by the North Harbour stadium operators and Sky TV, the local broadcaster. "Both the stadium and Sky have commitments to (the local Rugby Union competition). Sky wouldn't give us the coverage we need on weekends because of those commitments," he said.

He added that recent comments from New Zealand Soccer official Mike Kernaghan, in which the Knights' right to even call themselves "New Zealand" was called into question, were "extremely unhelpful".

The New Zealand Knights are regarded by FFA as an Australian club located in New Zealand but the Asian Football Confederation appears to consider the Knights as a New Zealand club playing in the A-League. Under the later view the Knights could not qualify for the Asian Champions League as New Zealand is a member of the Oceania Football Confederation, whose own Champions League is a stakeholder in FIFA's Club World Championship.

See also: Oceania directly to CWC but NZ Knights in limbo (5 June)