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Sports Sponsorship and CSR seminar in Jakarta

International seminar on Professional and Grassroots Sports and Development, Sponsorship and Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia

The first edition of the Asian Forum on Sports Innovation held in Indonesia was concluded the day after the historic victory of Iraq over Saudi Arabia in the final of the Asian Cup, also held in Jakarta. Forum speakers attending the game were warmly greeted by Asian Football Confederation President Mohamed Bin Hamman and VIP guest FIFA President Joseph S Blatter.

Presentation documents have been added to the Asian Forum on Sports Innovation website, http://www.asianfosi.com/, as well as media report links and notices of future events.

At the high-profile 30 July conference at The Sultan Hotel Jakarta, the Forum's two integrated streams - 'professional sports dynamics' and 'sports and development' - proved timely for local private sector funders of athletes, clubs and sports competitions as a new Corporations Law just passed by Indonesia's parliament included, for the first time, 'Social Corporate Responsibility' obligations for most incorporated businesses.

Fritz E Simandjuntak, Vice President of the Indonesian Marketing Association and Head of External Relations of the Rajawali Group, emphasised the opportunity presented by this unprecedented legislative initiative for all domestic stakeholders in sports administration, athlete management and revenue raising.

Geneva-based David Winiger, Special Assistant to Dr Adolf Ogi, the Special Advisor on Sport and Development and Peace to the United Nations Secretary-General, presented a broad overview of the Special Adviser's mandate for the world of sport, sports industries and governments and UN organisations, to identify activities and programs which benefit from a partnership with sports organisations.

Johann Olav Koss, multiple gold medal Olympian and CEO of Right To Play, the international NGO leading the use of sports and play for the development of children youth, detailed Right To Play's projects in over 20 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia using specially designed sport and play programs to teach life skills, peace building and health education to children affected by war, poverty and disease.

Clare Kenny Tipton, fresh from managing Asia’s biggest and most complex sports tournament, the AFC Asian Cup 2007 which involved 16 teams playing 33 matches in eight stadiums in four countries, outlined the scope for development, opportunities, challenges, realities and possible rewards for sports in Asia. The Asian Football Confederation's Deputy General Secretary, Director of Marketing and Director of Media and Communications, she backed the AFC's claim that the future of football is Asia - from grassroots through to the professional levels.

Dez Corkhill, Television Producer, News Editor and Director of Content for espnstar.com, also ESPN Star Sport’s sometimes controversial The Top Corner presenter and commentator on Asian domestic football, pin-pointed the marketing bias of sports broadcasters while identifying opportunities for Asian competitions to increase their profile. "The best of the action is right on your doorstep" he said.

Two excellent local case studies on the progressive social role of sports were presented to an international audience for the first time: Said Fauzan Baabud, UNDP Livelihoods Program Officer in Indonesia’s tsunami-disaster struck province of Aceh described sports and youth empowerment programs as crucial elements in post-disaster rehabilitation work and Anton Inbenai, Dept of Sport and Youth, Jayapura City and Henk Rumbewas, Papua province international representative for the Indonesian National Sports Committee, outlined the Persipura Football Club’s role in HIV/AIDS and safe-sex awareness campaigns.

Suggestions and concerns for AFC Asian Cup 2011

Former South Korea coach Pim Verbeek has suggested to the Asian Football Confederation that it should never again run its prestigious Asian Cup in multiple countries. The 2007 event was conducted in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. "It's not up to me to make the final report but if I can make a small suggestion, I don't think we should do it again because of the traveling, the organisation. It's tough. It's very hard for the players. You spend 13, 14 hours on the way [to a match], I've heard Japan spent even longer. You have different climates, different circumstances, different food. It was not an easy tournament, at all, for all the teams," he said.

AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam has already announced that the next Asian Cup's next venue in 2011 will be Qatar, one of the Arabian Gulf states. The tournament will be held in January with the only other official FIFA window available, in July, too hot in the Gulf region, meaning European-based players will be asked to leave their clubs mid-season for three weeks to take part. But Hammam doesn’t see any club versus country conflicts given January is a designated FIFA time to hold such competitions. “July is the hot season in Qatar and the organisation of the tournament cannot happen then so it will be January and we are protected by the international calendar,” he said.

Qatar, which successfully held the Asian Games in Doha last December, has played host to the Asian Cup in 1988 when it was won by Saudi Arabia. A key concern is whether the small country can drum up enough fans to fill stadia after the Asian Games experience where most grounds were empty. Hammam said it was an area that will have AFC focus. “Yes, it is a concern but Qatar, although small, is surrounded by its neighbours from the Gulf where there is a huge population,” he said. “To reach Doha is not a problem. You can reach it by road, there are hundreds of flights every day. It is a concern but we will work hard to overcome it.”

“I will promise you now that the Asian Cup in the future will be different to what you have seen in the past, in terms of organisation, popularity and standards,” he said. “This is my promise to you because this is what I am devoting my time to and what I have been elected to do. This tournament ... we have spent a lot of time and efforts on infrastructure problems in the venues. We have not given enough attention to the promotion of the competition which is very important. Qatar’s infrastructure is already excellent so I don’t think we will have any problems there. We are only going to focus on how to promote the competition and how to make the organisation more professional,” he told media.

But sports journalists Shintaro Kano of the Daily Yomiuri remains concerned that a January 2011 event "will mean the qualifiers will have to be crammed into the five months following the 2010 World Cup. Asia's best players who are based in Europe will be right in the middle of their seasons, while for the J.League, January is the precious off-season. It was struggle enough to get European clubs to release their players during the close season, so how the national associations will convince the clubs when the season is in full swing will be interesting ... Clearly, the AFC's intentions of trying to raise the Asian game are good. Its planning, however, does not seem to be so good," he commented.

Samsung Cameras in 3-year Chelsea sponsorship

South Korean-linked Samsung Cameras has announced a new three-year sponsorship deal with English Premier League club Chelsea to become the football club's official camera sponsor. The sponsorship agreement will run for the 2007/8, 2008/9 and 2009/10 football seasons. "Our shared values of quality, professionalism, ambition and commitment to success make Chelsea the ideal club for us to work with,' said Samsung Cameras UK managing director Jake Kim. "Samsung hopes the agreement will build on the success of its current partnership with Chelsea and England player Joe Cole," Chris Cheesman reported.

Pakistan conducts its first player trials in England

The Pakistan Football Federation has concluded its first player trials in England. "This is broadening our base and opening doors to Pakistanis around the world who want to play football," Sardar Naveed Haider Khan, a PFF director, told AP. More than 130 players attended the weekend tryouts at English League 2 club Rotherham United. The eight selected by Rotherham coaches will be training at Pakistan's national football academy in Lahore by the end of next week. While they are British citizens, the players are eligible to line up for Pakistan because of their family heritage. Rotherham also used the occasion to spot talent for the struggling fourth-level club. "It's an untapped market," said Mick Priest, a former coach at Manchester United's academy who now heads Rotherham's youth department."The first British Asian superstar we get will rival the mainstream stars in the game. But he's going to have to be good enough," Priest said. "Football's an unforgiving world and you're not going to be picked because you sell a shirt."

There are almost 750,000 British Pakistanis. Not one plays in the English Premier League and just three are on the books of England's lower leagues clubs. Zesh Rahman, a 23-year-old centerback who spent three seasons with Premier League club Fulham before joining Championship side Queens Park Rangers last year, said some agents were biased. "Before an agent or scout has a look at a player, they are going into it with stereotypes — with the perception that religion is going to interfere with the football," said Rahman, a Muslim who now plays for Pakistan despite reaching England's U-19 team. Professional soccer is in its infancy in Pakistan, with a five-team Super League only having started in the last few weeks.The eight players picked from the Rotherham tryouts will link up with teams in the regular, non-professional Premier League in Pakistan. That league starts its third season next month and is made up of players from government departments.

PremierGoals takes EPL Portsmouth's China rights

English Premier League club Portsmouth signed a three-year contract with PremierGoals for the club’s mobile and internet rights in China. Under the deal set up by IMG Media, Portsmouth will launch a new site in Mandarin before the end of the year. PremierGoals will also explore mobile opportunities for the Club in China. Much of the editorial and content will mirror that of the Club’s existing site but there will also be additional material written and edited in China. Bruce Vandenberg, Chief Operating Officer, Portsmouth FC, said: “The Chinese market is huge and one we are very keen to tap into. Our aim is to grow the Portsmouth brand worldwide and we believe there is an appetite for keeping Chinese football fans up to date with news from the club." According to Internet worldwide statistics, there are currently, around 137 million Internet users in China. Mobile phone users are at 480 million.

Marketing increases Singapore league's viability

The Asian Football Confederation's Professional League Ad-Hoc Committee has conducted a site study of Singapore's S-League and reportedly went away highly impressed. The purpose of the visit was to assess Singapore's suitability of playing in the revamped Asian Champions League in 2009. The committee studied the stadium facilities, league and club management, media coverage and the marketing, branding and sponsorship aspects of the S-League.

At the end of the visit, AFC observers Hideki Kato and Tokuaki Suzuki gave the thumbs-up to the 12-year-old league. "I have been impressed with what I've seen so far. The S-League is very forward- looking in embracing new technology and we are also very excited by the fresh and innovative ideas that the S-League management has come up with to raise their brand profile and brand equity," Kato told the New Paper.

According to jorumnalists Lim Han Ming and Samuel Zhang, the efforts of S-League CEO Winston Lee and his marketing communications team have lifted average match attendances from 2,526 to 2,700 this year. Moving the Match of the Week to a neutral ground, such as the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday nights has also reaped dividends. The average 'live' match attendance has shot up by two-fold from 1,500 to 3,000. Television viewership is also on the rise. An average of 80,000 fans tuned in to watch the S-League matches this year - a stark increase from 37,000 last year. The commercial viability of the S-League has translated into more sponsorship dollars. Non-sports related brands such as Levi's and Nokia have joined forces and Nike's S$1 million a year sponsorship over five years also shows its confidence in the S-League. All but one S-League club have a main sponsor.

Lee said the introduction of foreign teams had raised the level of competitiveness in the S-League. The three foreign clubs this season are Japan's Albirex Niigata and newcomers Korean Super Reds and Liaoning Guangyuan of China. "The foreign teams bring a different flavour to the S-League. The teams also raise their game when they play against the foreign teams. In a way, they feel that they are representing Singapore. Admittedly, the foreign teams did not perform to expectations at the beginning of the season. But they have settled down well and are now giving the big teams a fight," he said. In a bid to improve the quality of the squads, the salary cap of players is also raised every year. Strict fitness tests are also enforced to ensure that the standard of football is not compromised. "The message we're trying to send out is this, 'You have to be fit to play football and not play football to be fit," Lee said.

In other promotions, football fans get to watch selected matches for free and the S-League also has its Ladies' Night on Fridays. Instead of receiving free drinks, the female fans are encouraged to let their hair down and play football after the 'live' game on Friday nights. Freebies such as Andersen's ice-cream, Nestle cereals and popcorn are given out on matchdays. Fans are also entertained by innovative marketing gimmicks such as the H-TWO-O Double Your Money Dare Challenge and the Hyundai Goal-in-One Challenge during the matches. Fans also stand the chance to win attractive prizes such as a 1.4 manual Hyundai Verna car, DVD Home Theatre Systems, XBox 360s and Apple iPods in the Goal-in-One Challenge. All they have to do is to stand 15 metres away and kick the ball into any of the holes in a board bearing the names of the prizes.

Iraqi wins 'doubled' Asian Cup's media exposure

Asia's premier football championship received unprecedented global coverage thanks to the fairytale journey of the national team from war-ravaged Iraq. "We had double the media exposure this year than the last Asian Cup held in China," Claire Kenny Tipton, Director of Marketing and Media and Communications for the Asian Football Confederation, told IPS. "The championship became a story that went beyond our region. We even had broadcast partners in North America and on-line streaming for the European market."

By the time the Iraq and Saudi Arabian teams stepped on to the field at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in the Indonesian capital, the "interest had moved from across the traditional sports media; it became a news story," said Tipton. And the Iraqi's flair demonstrated on the playing fields across South-east Asia is being credited for what the AFC describes as the ''breakthrough Asian Cup''. "This new interest was because of Iraq's wins," said Tipton. "Iraq's achievement was huge as a story and for their country."

Vieira quits Iraq, may accept South Korean offer

Iraq coach Jorvan Vieira said he will turn down an extension to his two-month contract because of chronic disorganisation in Iraqi football which he said made the job the most difficult of his career. When Vieira took over just two months before the Asian Cup tournament, the team was in disarray, with poor training facilities, players unavailable and rifts between Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs in the squad. "I took this job because it was a tremendous challenge and I have no regrets at all," he said. "But I can't fight against everybody. I'm looking for a club or a national team with good organisation ... here, I'm doing everybody else's job. If my contract was for six months and not for two they would have had to take me to the hospital for crazy people."

Vieira said steering the unfancied Iraqis to their first Asian Cup final was one of the finest moments of his career. "It was very big for me, one of my greatest achievements. I had a gut feeling inside, a message that I should take this job. It was a fantastic experience, it was a gift from god ... The whole world is talking about us. They are talking about the war in Iraq and they are amazed at what we have done as a team and as a group. This team have become stars in the world and not only because of football. I'm very happy that I had the chance to help this team give hope to the Iraqi people. I'm a very organised and meticulous man. It's difficult to work when you are agitated and things don't go as you wish. I have to fight against everything. I'm so tired, this is not good for my health."

And last night he emerged as favourite to take over the newly vacant post of South Korean coach. "The Korean federation contacted me," he said. "If we can work out terms there is the potential that I can become the Korean coach sometime in the future," he told Martin Petty of the Daily Telegraph.

Iraq captain fears death,injury, if he returns home

Iraq captain Younis Mahmoud clims he cannot return to Iraq because of risk to his life by sectarian violence. Mahmoud, a Sunni, climbed to head a perfectly-weighted corner from Hawar Mulla Mohammed, a Kurd, into the net to win the Asian Cup for Iraq for the first time. But after the game, Mahmoud, who was named player of the tournament, said one of the tragedies of the war was that the team would not even be able to return to Iraq with the trophy. "I don't want the Iraqi people to be angry with me," he said. "[But] if I go back with the team, anybody could kill me or try to hurt me," he told media.

Like the rest of the team wore black armbands to remember the dozens killed by car-bombers following the side's semi-final victory over South Korea on Wednesday, Mahmoud said one of the victims had been a small child. "His mother said when her child was killed in front of her, she didn't cry. She said, 'I present my son as a sacrifice for the national team'. Then we had to win," he said. However he then described the USA's United Nation's endorsed presence in his homeland as a problem. "I want America to go out. Today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, but out. I wish the American people didn't invade Iraq and hopefully it will be over soon," he said.

South Korean players ask Verbeek to reconsider

Members of South Korea's returning Asian Cup squad have urged head coach Pim Verbeek to reconsider his decision to resign , saying he was the right man for the job. "There is no one who knows Korean players as well as Verbeek. The players are even saying we should try and stop him," striker Lee Chun-soo was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency. "People are talking about problems with his tactics but they're the same ones we used when Guus Hiddink was coach. We are the problem, not the coach," Lee, a forward with Ulsan Hyundai, said. "Verbeek's tactics and training methods are good. This is not just the coach's responsibility. Rather, it's ours," Striker Lee Keun-ho added. South Korea went into the tournament as one of the favourites but finished second in their group behind Saudi Arabia and lost to eventual champion Iraq on penalties in the semi-finals.

Fear of terrorism restrains Iraq player celebrations

Iraq's mainly expat national football team are looking forward to returning home to celebrate winning the Asian Cup but there are fears for their safety and for the security of any jubilant crowds. Iraqi Youth and Sports Minister Jasem Mohammed Jaafar said on Monday it was hoped the team, most of whose players live abroad, would arrive in Baghdad this week after their historic triumph in Jakarta on Sunday. "They will be met at the airport by representatives of the prime minister, president and speaker of the Council of Representatives," Jaafar told Reuters. "We are studying how to offer them the necessary security so they can enjoy the events we have for them," he said.

Midfielder Hawar Mullah Mohammad said he was looking forward to a national reception. "We wish we could go back and get a reception like other winning teams in open-top buses," Mohammad told Reuters. "But we don't only fear for ourselves, we are also afraid for the safety of the large crowds that may be targeted by terrorists," he said.

Iraq upsets Saudi Arabia to win Asian Cup 2007

The Iraqi national football team gave war-weary fellow citizens a reason to celebrate after upsetting three-time winner Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final of the AFC Asian Cup 2007 at Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia. When referee Mark Shield of Australia blew the final whistle, Iraq's skipper and goal scorer Younis Mahmoud ran across the pitch followed by teammates, before they fell into a pile to the jubilation of about 50,000 local supporters.

Iraq, which never before made the Asian Cup final, stunned hot favorites Saudi Arabia with their offensive play, creating several chances. In the second half, an unmarked Mahmoud headed the ball into Saudi's goal after receiving a corner kick from midfielder Hawar Taher. According to AP, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office announced that each Iraqi player would receive US$10,000 for their achievements.

"There was a feeling that we would not lose today. My players too had so much confidence and they were so sure.Honestly, 1-0 is not enough, with all respect to Saudi. We could have reached a better result," the Iraq's Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira, 54, told the post-match press conference. Saudi Arabia's Brazilian coach Helio Dos Angos also praised Iraq. "Iraq deserved to win. They made it very difficult for us to play our football. I feel sorry for the Saudi people but proud of my players and optimistic for the future," he said.

Three players, Al Qahtani, Naohiro Takahara and Mahmoud, finished the tournament as top goalscorers with four goals each. The Abdullah Al Dabal Award for the tournament's most valuable player went to Mahmod, while compatriot Ashat Akram earned the Man of the Match award for the final.

South Korean coach resigns after winning 3/4 Final

South Korea is looking for a new coach following the resignation of Dutchman Pim Verbeek after Saturday's Asian Cup 3rd/4th place playoff against Japan. A spokesman for the Korean Football Association told Reuters that officials were already discussing a possible successor but had not yet made a decision. Verbeek announced his resignation at a news conference in Palembang after South Korea had beaten Japan 6-5 on penalties after the match ended goalless. The victory assured South Korea an automatic place in the AFC Asian Cup 2011 to be held in Qatar.

"I have decided to resign ... It's time for a new challenge," Verbeek said. "I have asked the KFA before today's match to terminate my contract which was for 2008 and they agreed with that."

Football leaders review disappointing Australians

Asian Football Confederation President Mohamed Bin Hammam has admitted he was disappointed by the performance of Australia at its first Asian Cup. He said had expected more from the Australians, whose squad was mostly made up of players from the English Premier League. The former dominent Oceania Confederation-member, Australia started the tournament as favourites on the back of their efforts at last year's World Cup when they made the last 16, but won just one of their four games at the Asian Cup.

"Australia were very disappointing because I thought they would play at least in the semi-finals but unfortunately that did not happen. But this was their first time in Asia, maybe they found the standard was not so low...and victories cannot be taken for granted," he told media. Football Federation of Australia chairman Frank Lowy, concurred. "How could I say I was happy, of course I'm disappointed," Lowy told Julian Linden of Reuters. "I expected they would go a lot further and we have got to find out what went wrong."

England fears of foreign take-over of Premiership

According to Tom Bower in The Observer. Richard Scudamore, the "gung-ho chief executive" of the English Premier League, "now risks being devoured by his new paymasters and the consequences for English football could be catastrophic." The author of Broken Dreams: Vanity, Greed and the Souring of British Football (Simon & Schuster), Bower claims that "over recent weeks, some of the nine foreign owners of Premier League clubs have been quietly discussing Scudamore's dismissal and his replacement by a non-British executive. Their motives are financial. Having spent millions to buy the clubs and many more millions on foreign players, they are impatient about inadequate profits.

"Scudamore, they complain, is an amateur compared to his American peers. 'Only the Americans know how to really market the Premier League brand,' says a football agent close to the foreign owners. 'They've got Scudamore with his unsophisticated "Third World" mentality. A proper marketing expert could earn millions more from the most exciting sporting fixture in the world.' To maximise the profits, the foreign investors argue, the Premier League should be rebranded and marketed like Coca-Cola."

Bower predicts that Scudamore's successor is likely to be an American "without any interest in the 37,500 English clubs affiliated to the Football Association, or the Premier League clubs' commitment to the England team." The Premier League's relationship with the FA, already frail as a result of Scudamore's disdain, would be further jeopardised. With at least four more Premier League clubs, including Everton, Arsenal and Fulham (owned by the would-be Brit Mohamed al-Fayed) expected to be sold over the next year or so, the balance of power is inexorably tilting in the foreigners' favour.

"No alternative scenario seems feasible. To remain in the Premier League with a chance of qualifying for the lucrative Champions League requires tens of millions of pounds to buy new players. Liverpool, for instance, have just signed the young Spain striker Fernando Torres for an improbable £26 million, a club record. One of Liverpool's main rivals, Arsenal, have in recent seasons begun to struggle because much of the club's money was spent on a new stadium, the 60,000-capacity Emirates, rather than players. Depressingly, none of the club's potential buyers is English. That is consistent with the absence of any Englishmen offering to buy West Ham, Aston Villa or Portsmouth. Even Liverpool were never destined to be bought by a wealthy local fan.

"The English are cashing in their national sport to earn fast money. Greed is not the only reason. No Englishman, it seems, has the vision and ability to secure an adequate profit from Premier League football as an owner," he warns.


The 'sell-out' in numbers?

11
Number of players from outside the UK and Ireland who started the opening matches in the first weekend of the Premier League in 1992

340
Players from outside the UK and Ireland in the Premier League at the end of last season

75,000
Average annual salary in pounds at the start of the Premier League in 1992. Scott Parker is to earn that amount in a week at West Ham

191
Millions of pounds paid by Sky in 1992 for live broadcasting rights contract, for five years

1.7
Billions of pounds paid by Sky and Setanta for live broadcasting rights over the next three years

625
Millions of pounds generated by the sale of overseas TV rights in a three-year deal that will see the Premier League shown in 208 countries

5
Number of foreign managers. There were none in 1992

40
Percentage by which the combined revenue of Premier League clubs outperformed that of the sides in Italy's Serie A in 2005-06

9
Number of Premier League clubs with foreign owners. In 2003, there was just one, Fulham, whose owner had lived in the UK for 30 years

295
Thousands of pounds paid by David Dein in 1983 for his stake in Arsenal. Described by club chairman Peter Hill-Wood as 'dead money', his shares are now worth around £60m

AFC moots prizemoney change for Asian Cup 2011

Asian Football Confederation President Mohamed Bin Hammam has suggested that prizemoney will be offered for the first time at the AFC Asian Cup 2011 to be played in his home nation, Qatar. “We don’t compensate our football federations for playing in the Asian Cup. There is no prizemoney for this competition,” he told AFP. “But we believe that for 2011 something will be changed.”

Qatar selected as host for AFC Asian Cup 2011

The Asian Football Confederation Executive Committee, chaired by President Mohamed Bin Hammam, met in Jakarta on the sidelines of the AFC Asian Cup 2007 and took several key decisions, including approving the proposal to purchase insurance for AFC Match Officials which will include medical benefits for US$20,000, personal accident for US$50,000 and life insurance for US$50,000 and only for the period when they are officiating in AFC Competitions.

Referees

All appointment of referees will be done on a 3-month basis by the Referee Appointment Sub-Committee consisting of Yousef Al Serkal, Worawi Makudi and Ahmad Jassim. Referee Masoud Moradi and assistant referee Sokhandan Reza who officiated in the Qatar vs UAE match AFC Asian Cup match are suspended until further assessment by AFC. Assistant Referee Yew Mun Tang who officiated in the Saudi Arabia vs Uzbekistan match is suspended until further assessment by AFC Referee Najm Talaat for the Vietnam vs UAE match is suspended for one month due to poor performance.

Futsal

The AFC Futsal Committee’s proposal that the AFC Futsal Championship be held every two years starting from 2008 is approved. The Committee also agreed to organise the AFC Futsal Club Championship starting from 2009. (A new competition which adds to AFC’s rapidly rising portfolio)

Professional Leagues

The AFC Executive Committee emphasised upon a proposal from the AFC Professional League Ad-hoc Committee that criteria for participation in the AFC Champions League 2009 with regards to Organisation, Clubs, Stadia and Governance and agreed that Member Associations must meet the criteria in order to be eligible. The Committee also agreed on the method to select the participating Member Associations and the way to determine the number of clubs from each of the eligible Member Association. Further, the Committee decided on the clubs who would be eligible to represent a Member Association.

Official Charity

Reach Out to Asia will be AFC’s Official Charity in a non-exclusive manner.

Vision Asia

A Vision Asia Bureau to focus on the implementation of the projects across Asia will be established. The Bureau will be chaired by Xie Yalong, General Secretary of Chinese Football Association.

Disabled

AFC acknowledges the fact that all persons irrespective of any physical, sensory or mental impairments should be given the right to participate and play football and will be establishing a full-fledged department to take care of the football needs of disabled persons.

Women

AFC will invite three female members from the respective zones to the Executive Committee either as observers or co-opted member: Kim Sun Hui (North Korea) representing East Asia; Moya Dodd (Australia) representing ASEAN; and Ghada M. El-Farhan (Jordan) representing West Asia.

Iraq

Iraq FA’s request for an additional subsidy of US$50,000 (in addition to the US$40,000 given to all participating teams) as their team’s progress to the Final of the AFC Asian Cup 2007 has been approved. The request was to cover the additional travel involving the team on way to the Final.

AFC Asian Cup 2011

In view of the fact that India has withdrawn its bid and AFC has not received any bidding document from IR Iran FF as per the terms of bidding issued in January 2007, the AFC Competitions Committee recommended and the AFC Executive Committee accepted and confirmed Qatar FA as the host for AFC Asian Cup 2011.

India U-15 and U-18 youths prepare for AFC events

Following an initiative by youth coach Colin Toal and the All India Football Federation, India's U-15 probables will play preparatory matches with U-15 teams of legendary German clubs Bayern Munich and Stuttgart FC in September. The Indian youths will have two weeks’ training at a top German sports centre including two or three preparatory matches. Toal started preparations in Goa last week with 33 U-15 boys and 30 U-18 boys.

“The boys in both the [AFC] age group championships, may not qualify for the final phase or they may qualify. If they can qualify that will be a great inspiration for them. But the evaluation of each player’s standard can actually be judged if these quality players are provided the best of the training along with quality preparatory matches on a long term basis, that is at least for next three years. And at the same time, the perfect evaluation of a player can be made if any among these junior and sub-junior probables can ensure his birth in the senior Indian team by his performance. You will be able to assess the player’s improvement in true sense if you find any among these junior and sub-junior boys can produce glittering performance in the National Football League," he told Sudeep Pakrashi of Express India.

East Bengal U-15 will play to win in MUPC finals

Insisting that his wards are not flying to England just to make up the numbers, coach of India's East Bengal U-15 team Swarup Das asserted that the squad would leave its mark in the Nike Manchester United Premier Cup world finals in Manchester from 1-4 August. "Traditionally, East Bengal has always played to win but you have to consider the stage. MUPC would be a conglomeration of world's top 20 U-15 teams, including hosts Manchester United, Barcelona, Roma, Everton and Sao Paolo clubs. But we are not going to be an also-ran there. It's a great platform and East Bengal will leave its mark on the elite competition. The boys understand that they are now going to play at a level where people hardly have any idea about Indian soccer and they are fully aware of their responsibilities," he told PTI.

Captained by Ganesh Dey, East Bengal finished second in the South East Asian region to book their World Finals berth and Das said his side will give others a good run for their money in Manchester. "They had not played on synthetic turf before and still came back from behind to finish second in Singapore. That made the boys believe in their skills and I won't be surprised if we pull off a few surprises in Manchester." Asked what made him so optimistic, Das, a former India international, said, "You would be amazed to know that we have a few players who can fit into any position in the side."

Maradona reschedules Vietnam visit yet again

Argentine football legend Maradona has postponed his Asian tour, including a trip to Vietnam, for the third time, but his representative assured he would tour the country by the end of August. Maradona said he was mentally and physically exhausted and did not want to appear worn out in public, said Luis Lestani, CEO of Elemco Oversea Group, which manages Maradona’s brand name globally. Lestani spoke at a press briefing Friday in Ho Chi Minh City, where a letter by Maradona to Vietnamese fans was announced.

According to Thanh Nien News, the letter apologised and guaranteed that the star will tour the country by 31 August. His company seconded the guarantee. The commitment was made following an outcry from Vietnamese organisers of the tour who threatened to cancel the event if Maradona kept canceling. Maradona and his squad had been originally scheduled to visit Vietnam on 1-3 June including a friendly game against past Vietnamese football stars in HCMC on 2 June.

Pakistan to trial connected British youth players

The Pakistan Football Federation will hold trials for selecting promising football players with links to Pakistan on 29-30 July at South Yorkshire, a metropolitan county of England. The trials, the first of their kind, are seen as an opportunity to identify talent and skill amongst young British residents of Pakistani origin who might qualify to play in Pakistan’s domestic football and to represent various Pakistani teams. The trials, under UK-based coaches, will be held over two days .The selection process will be directed by the coaches and selected players on Sunday will be asked to attend further trials on Monday,” said Majid Lavji, Founder and Director of Asia Europe Sports Group told Pakistan Times.

Some EPL clubs concerned about Pay-TV in China

Some of the English Premier League's biggest clubs are reportedly at loggerheads over a deal to beam top-flight matches into Chinese homes. According to Mark Kleinman in the Daily Telegraph, the clubs are seriously concerned about China's new television agreement, which will see matches shown by Win TV, a division of Guangdong Provincial Television. Although Win TV is understood to have agreed to pay about US$50 million over three years, an improvement on the previous deal, clubs "are furious" that its limited pay-TV audience may restrict the dynamic growth of English football in the world's most populous country. Reports in Chinese newspapers earlier this year said Win TV had fewer than 40,000 paying subscribers, with customers likely to be charged 188 renminbi (£12) per month to access a new Premier League channel.

"Manchester United and Chelsea have launched Mandarin-language websites to appeal to millions of mainland Chinese, and United alone estimate that they have well over 20 million fans in China. The Premiership has a vast audience in Asia, with a total TV audience of 818 million last season," the newspaper commented.

Hammam declares Asian Cup 2007 a 'turning point'

Asian Football Confederation President Mohamed bin Hammam has hailed the AFC Asian Cup 2007 as ushering in a new era in regional football. He called the tournament played across four countries a turning point for South-East Asia in particular, with three of the four host country teams – Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam – exceeding expectations. “After long and hard preparation we have enjoyed three weeks of really entertaining football that has achieved the largest media platform in AFC’s history,” he told a meeting of the organisers reported by AFP. “I am impressed with how the local organising committees overcame the challenges, and I am sure that we have established a new era in terms of organising our competitions, which will impact on future Asian Cups.”

Hammam said one of the biggest plus points had been the way the host countries had coped. “This event will hopefully be a turning point for football in the four venues and South-East Asia in general in terms of performance of their national teams, organisation of football competitions, and fan support,” he said.

FIFA President recognises Asian football progress

FIFA President Joseph S Blatter said Asian football faced a bright future, but tempered his praise with calls for stronger organisations and more professional leagues in Asian countries. He told a press conference in Jakarta that Asian football has now made sure of its position to be recognised in the international world of football but still need strong, autonomous, well-governed, professional leagues in each country. Blatter said such improvements would be needed to help make Asian football become more attractive to fans in the world's most populous region.

He admitted that European football would always play an important role in the region. However, Blatter, who is on a two-day visit to Indonesia to watch the Asian Cup finals, warned Asian football to not simply copy the European leagues. "Don't copy what they are doing in Europe. There are now European clubs with only one or two European players still playing," he said. European leagues have been flooded by players from South America and now Asia," he warned.

The Asian Football Confederation earlier forced English Premier League champion Manchester United to cancel its tour visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, one of the four co-hosts of the Asian Cup along with Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, out of fear the team's presence would overshadow the popularity of the championship. Blatter also hailed the AFC's decision to hold the quadrennial Asian Cup one year ahead of schedule to avoid clashing with the Beijing Olympics.

Portsmouth beats Liverpool in EPL Asian Trophy

Portsmouth beat fellow English Premier League club Liverpool to win the third edition of the EPL's Barclays Asia Trophy. After a scoreless draw with no extra time played, Portsmouth goalkeeper David James helped snatch the trophy 4-2 on penalties. In the third and fourth-place play-off, Fulham defeated Hong Kong's South China 4-1 with goals from Boupa Diop (21 minutes), Bocanegra (47), Healy (74) and McBride (83). Barros (52) repleid for the home side

David Maddock of the Mirror noticed that theinternational clearance papers Liverpool's new Spanish striker, Fernando Torres, had not been transmitted to the correct authorities and, minutes before kick-off of the Asian Trophy final he was still ineligible to play in Hong Kong. "Given that Steven Gerrard was also confined to the bench through injury, it left a major headache for the Premier League, who were promoters of a tournament designed to take the English game to the lucrative Asian market and bolster the already massive TV rights in the region ... . So the sight of the chief executive of the Premier League scurrying down the touchline just seconds before kick-off suggested that there was a real desire to see Torres play. Referee Mark Clattenburg had delayed the kick-off for a few minutes in the hope that the proper documentation would come through, and at the very last second there was Richard Scudamore dashing to the dug-outs with the news that it had. Torres had not been included on the original team-sheet, so Scudamore had to ask Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp if he would agree to the Spanish striker playing. A quick thumbs-up from the Pompey boss got things under way ..." he reported.

FA Malaysia not yet ready to report to government

Ibrahim Saad, General Secretary of the Football Association of Malaysia has advised the federal government's Sports Cabinet Committee it is unable to meet on Tuesday to discuss the national teams' humiliating losses in the AFC Asian Cup 2007. "We have to conduct our own post-mortem of the Asian Cup first. We need to get reports from the technical study group and other officials involved," Ibrahim said in the New Straits Times on Friday. "We need sufficient time to give the people who are involved to compile the necessary documents, give their opinions and make the necessary recommendations."

Man Utd concludes 2007 Far East promotion tour

English Premier League club Manchester United's pre-season commercial tour of Asia ended with a comfortable 3-0 victory over China second-division club Guangzhou Pharmaceutical in the Guangdong Olympic Stadium, with strikes from Wayne Rooney, Nani and Lee Martin.

FIFA sends Monika Stab to assist Pakistan women

The world football body FIFA has sent a high-profile woman coach to help Pakistan women players to finetune their football skills ahead of next month's National Championship in Islamabad. Monika Stab, 44, who coached Frankfurt Football Club to 11 titles in Germany before becoming a FIFA coach, will hold coaching camps in several cities of Pakistan over the next six weeks. Stab, who played for Queen's Park Rangers and Southampton in England, said apart from providing tricks of the trade to the players, she would have an eye on the emerging talent. "My job is also to scout out players who can eventually make into Pakistan's women football team," she told PTI.

According to the Pakistan Football Federation the number of girls interested in playing football is increasing. The Federation has organised the National Championship for women twice since 2005, though players have had to adhere to a conservative code of conduct, which includes wearing baggy trousers and long sleeved shirts. Also unaccompanied male spectators have been prohibited from entering into the stadium.

Kiatisak Senamuang waits for Thailand coach call

After 15 years in international football, Thailand's most famous player Kiatisak "Zico" Senamuang, 34, has decided to retire until he gets a shot at the national team job. He is reportedly enjoying being an entrepreneur, running a real estate company, a furniture factory and a sports events management company. But he says he will put all that on hold if he gets the chance to turn Thailand into a major players in Asian football. "I always dreamt of playing at the World Cup, but that never happened," Kiatisak told Martin Petty of Reuters. "But as a coach, I know I can take Thailand to the World Cup for the first time. Everyone knows I want the job, and I'm ready now. They just have to ask."

Kiatisak notched up 129 national team appearances and scored 65 goals. He caused a sensation bin 1999 when he became the first South East Asian to join a European club, lowly northern English team Huddersfield Town. "It was so difficult to adjust with the climate, speaking English, and not eating Thai food. I wasn't happy, I wasn't good enough, it was too cold and I was homesick. I learned how tough football in England can be, but it made me stronger."

The former Thai skipper caused a stir in 2004 when he stood up to then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who had demanded an overhaul of the national team and accused the players of lacking heart when they were eliminated from World Cup qualifiers. In a stinging rebuke, Kiatisak said the coup-ousted billionaire tycoon, who took full control of English Premier League club Manchester City on Monday, did not have a clue about soccer and should keep his mouth shut.

Man Utd "forced to flee" from "fanatical" Chinese

Manchester United’s players were at the centre of a security scare in China yesterday when a pitch invasion by what The Times described as "up to 800 fanatical supporters" forced them to cut short an open training session in Guangzhou. Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and their teammates were "forced to flee" to the dressing-room to avoid the attentions of the autograph-hunters, who had evaded the minimal security checks in place at the Olympic Stadium. United plays the final match of its commercial tour of Asia against Chinese second-division club Guangzhou Pharmaceutical today.

Saudi Arabia buying support at Asian Cup final

Saudi Arabia has reportedly booked 15,000 tickets for its supporters to attend its Asian Cup final against Iraq in Jakarta on Sunday night. On Friday the Indonesian organising committee of the event confirmed that the Saudi team's management had booked 15,000 tickets costing Rp 50,000 each. Besides this, 10,000 more tickets priced at Rp 100,000 each were also reported to have been booked by World Sport Group, an intimate marketing associate of the Asian Football Confederation.

Indonesian newspapers earlier reported that only about 2,000 tickets had been sold for the match, which will be held at the 88,000 capacity Gelora Bung Karno Stadium and Antara news agency surmised the ticket purchases were made to ensure a fitting finale for Asia's premier football tournament.

The Indonesian organising committee had hoped the final would have been between Japan and South Korea as both countries have a sizeable number of their citizens in Jakarta and had subsequently and unsuccessfully tried to convince the AFC to transfer the 3/4 final between the two nations from provincial Palembang to Jakarta as a curtain-raiser for the main event.

Saudi Arabians have 'genetic' advantage for football

According to Saudi Arabia's coach Helio Dos Anjos, his team's success in making the Asian Cup final is natural. "There has been lots of studies done on the Saudi Arabian players' DNA and genetically they are very, very good [for football]," the Brazilian told reporters, including the Guardian Unlimited's John Duerden. "But they need more muscle, muscle to be competitive."

"Exciting times" for Thailand football and players

Football Association of Thailand President Worawi Makudi believes these are 'exciting times' for Thailand football and his players are as good as those from other countries. "They have the ability," he said. '"I have no doubt about that. All they need is the opportunity to show foreign clubs just what they can do. And now, they're getting it." Asked how he felt the three selected Thailand players would perform in trials that have been arranged for them at English Premier League club Manchester City, Worawi said: 'I think they will do well in the trials. They are still young and have a strong desire to play in the Premier League."

Sutee Suksomkit, 29, who plays his club football for Singapore S-League side Tampines Rovers, agrees. "I think it's a good opportunity for the three of them. They now have a chance to prove themselves in the Premiership," he said. Sutee told the New Paper that Chonburi FC defender Suree Sukha can adapt to English football with ease. "I've played with him in the Asian Cup. And, I think Suree can do well in the Premiership because he's physically strong," he explained.

Thailand club in dark about trio trialling at Man City

The club owners of three Thai national team players still have no idea whether the trio will head for a trial at English Premier League club Manchester City. Forward Teerasil Daengda, centre-back Kiatprawut Saiwaeo and right back Suree Sukha have been picked by the Football Association of Thailand to train at Man City, following former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's takeover of the Sky Blues. However, Chon Buri club, where Kiatprawut and Suree are under contract, has yet to receive any information on the matter.

"I still don't know the details such as when or how long is their trip. I think this isn't right because if they are really going there, they should formally inform us first, and not do it like this," Withaya Khunpreum, the club Presdient told The Nation. "On the first day when the news appeared, I called the FAT president who has been on a trip to China. He couldn't give me any details. Till today, nobody had contacted me. The only way I am learning about the story is from the ewspapers. The players are under contract to us and we have a commitment with our sponsors so anything that happens with the players should be done through the club."

"We're ready to support them as long as the trip really benefits them. The objective of this trip must be concrete. If the trial is worthless, it is useless to send the players there. We still have another option in supporting our players to play in foreign leagues," Withaya said.

Sth Korea regroups for 'terrible' final against Japan

South Korea's coach Pim Verbeek said his team has regrouped for Saturday's play-off against Japan for third place at the Asian Cup. "We will not give up because Korean footballers never give up. We will go for the third and fourth place match. I think it's the most terrible game there is in football, but we will go for it and we will be ready again Saturday," he told Robert Smith of AFP. "If the Korean fans think we didn't play a good tournament then the fans have to think very deeply about having a real vision of international football. I think a lot of countries would be very proud if their teams got through to the semi-final and fought until the last seconds and two times in extra-time for 120 minutes. I would be proud if I was a fan of Korean football. We were not outplayed once in this tournament, we were fighting like hell to get the good result, if people think it is not enough, then it's okay. I have no problem with that, I think it's a problem for the Korean people, not my problem."

AFC President's Cup now for 20-30 September

The Organising Committee for Asian Football Confederation Club Competitions, meeting today in Jakarta on the sidelines of AFC Asian Cup 2007 confirmed that Asia’s club tournament for emerging countries, the AFC President’s Cup, Pakistan 2007 has been rescheduled to take place during 20 -30 September in Lahore. The tournament, due to take place earlier this year, was postponed due to Pakistani authorities not issuing the visas on time.

UN's Ban Ki-moon condemns Iraq football slayings

The United Nations Secretary General has condemned the two terrorist bomb attacks in Baghdad that killed more than 50 Iraqi civilians celebrating their national team's Asian Cup semi-final victory. "Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, condemns this reprehensible act which came at a moment when all of Iraq had joined together to celebrate the success of their nation," his press office said in a statement. Ban Ki-moon expressed hope that the people of Iraq "will be undeterred by this despicable act and will come together in the spirit of national unity symbolized by their national football team".

ASEAN and Chinese police rally at football event

Vietnam will host the ASEAN Police Football Open at Hanoi's Hang Day stadium and Nam Dinh's Thien Truong stadium from 31 July - 15 August. According to the Ministry of Public Security the tournament thas attracted nine teams representing China's Yunnan province, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and host Vietnam. First prize is 100 million VND, while the runner-up will receive 80 million VND, and third place 50 million VND.

Liverpool wants trophies to build global fan base

Coach Rafa Benitez has been told by the board of English Premier League club Liverpool that he has to deliver trophies to make the club great again. "We are very clear with the idea that nothing boosts your fan base like success - all around the world you know that you will expand your fan base if you win trophies," said Chief Executive Rick Parry."We saw that when we dominated football in the 70s and 80s, and to a much greater extent in 2005 when we won the Champions League. We have a huge following across the world, and particularly in Asia, and we are in no doubt that had we won the Champions League again in Athens last season, then we would have swelled our fan base even further."

Parry explained that the club is focused on developing a worldwide fan base that will generate massive income, and it is the reason behind their current tour of Asia. "Developing a worldwide fan base is very important for a club of our stature - we are very fortunate that we have been able to draw on huge support from around the world, but it is vital that we build on this," he told David Maddock of the Mirror. "That is why we have to be successful, because it is obvious that is the best way to win more fans. It is all about promoting the club in the best way possible. Our plan this summer has been to make Liverpool Football Club the biggest and best in the land, and we have done everything we can this summer to make that happen.

"Asia is of massive interest to us, which is wh y we are here, but we are also interested in the American market. I believe there is massive potential out there, and we are also considering going to South Africa," he added.

Birmingham and Newcastle chase China's Zheng

Birmingham City has reportedly joined fellow English Premier League club Newcastle in the race to sign China captain Zheng Zhi from China Super League club Shandong Luneng. Zheng spent four months on loan at Charlton last season, making 12 appearances. Brmingham's interest in the 26-year-old player comes a week after Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung became the club's leading shareholder. "We've started observing local players. We hope to have some new developments in three months. We all know the Premier League in England is very popular. I believe it will get even more popular in China. The market is bigger," Yeung told PA Sport.

Eriksson told to look for Thai players for Man City

English Premier League club Manchester City's new owner Thaksin Shinawatra has told new manager Sven-Goran Eriksson he must look to Thailand for new signings. "The next step is to recruit or to buy new players from several national teams such as Italy, Sweden, Brazil and Thailand. We expect to select at least two Thai players from our national team to join Manchester City," Thaksin's lawyer Noppadol Pattama revealed to PA Sport.

Reading signs three South Koreans for Academy

English Premier League club Reading has reportedly reached agreement with the Korean Football Association to accomodate three South Korean youth internationals, strikers Nam Tae Hee and Ji Dong Won and midfielder Kim Won Sik, at the Royals' Academy for a season. South Korea winger Seol Ki-Hyeon is a star player at Reading, which played in the Peace Cup in Seoul earlier this month and Reading Academy chief Eamonn Dolan said this has given the club "a strong presence in South Korea."

Adidas backs Liverpool's visit to Hong Kong

Adidas engaged Carat to launch a Hong Kong media campaign tagged "Are you Red enough?" to create awareness of English Premier League club Liverpool's visit to the Chinese territory and reinforce the sportswear brand's association with the club. The campaign targeting young football enthusiasts started last week with front cover exposure on Oriental Daily News and Apple Daily as well as Milk magazine to stir excitement of the ‘red wave' in the territory. The campaign also includes spots on NOW sports channel and OOH billboard in Mongkok to highlight the Asia Trophy, Marketing magazine reported.

Three Thai players annoiunced for Man City trials

English Premier League club Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra has offered three Thailand internationals trials with the club after completing his takeover. According to AP they are striker Teerasil Dangda and defenders Suree Sukha and Kiatprawut Saiwaeo. All played for Thailand in this month's Asian Cup. Teerasil, 19, made only one late substitute appearance, but central defender Kiatprawut played twice and attacking fullback Suree appeared in all three of Thailand's games.

Indian homeless to challenge world in Denmark

The Homeless World Cup was started in 2003 with the view of boosting the moral of the unprivileged. Starting 29 July eight India football player hailing mostly from Central India and Maharashtra, will take on 60 teams from various countries to fullfil their dreams of becoming world champions. A housemaid, a waiter and a newspaper hawker are among some of those picked to represent India in the tournament in Denmark. Practising hard in Nagpur, they're dreaming of not just winning the 'Golden Holed Sock', but also joining the ranks of participants who have gone on to find employment and housing; and even pursued higher education and de-addiction programs.

Other Asian teams in this edition of the tournament are Australia, Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Krgyzstan. Melbourne will host the 2008 event.

Wanting Liverpool to 'conquer the bloody world'

In Hong Kong for the English Premier League's Barclays Asia Trophy, Liverpool Chief Executive Rick Parry said the Asia trip echoed the aspirations of former manager Bill Shankly who once said he wanted to see Liverpool “conquer the bloody world”. Parry explained further on Liverpool’s website: “Developing a worldwide fan-base is very important for a club of our stature. It’s all about promoting the club in the best way possible and continuing to maintain our global profile. Trips such as this do have an enormous impact. They are a vital part of our strategy to make Liverpool Football Club the biggest and best in the land."

EPL chief says Big 4 dominance not issue in Asia

English Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore believes Asian fans are not concerned that Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal have made English football too predictable. "The talk about only certain teams being able to win the Premier League is a bit of a domestic phenomenon. In Asia, it is almost completely the opposite. The fans here are excited by the fact it is the clubs they have heard of who are winning. It is like the Tiger Woods [golf] or Roger Federer [tennis] factor. People may want other players to win the major championships, but when those two do it there is more interest," he said as quoted by Simon Cass in the Daily Mail.

"Barring a solitary crown for Blackburn Rovers in 1995, United, Chelsea and Arsenal have dominated the Premiership title race ever since the League's inception 15 years ago. But with domestic and overseas television contracts set to earn the Premier League almost £2 billion over the next three years, the financial health of the game in England has become paramount for those in charge, even if the trickle-down of wealth has not seen the silverware spread among the lesser lights," commented Cass.

"It is stating the obvious, but the Asian market have to consume most of their Premier League football very remotely, via TV. But the one thing that strikes anyone who comes out here is the fact the fans have an absolutely intense interest and knowledge in our domestic football," Scudamore said further in Hong Kong. "I know some people in England would say true fans are the ones who travel to an away game on a wet November night. But the people in Asia are just as fanatical about their football. It is a positive thing for all of us when we take an opportunity to give them a chance to touch and feel what they see on their television screens all year.

"It does matter that our League is competitive. Nobody is talking about a one-club league any more. The question is, how many more do you add into the mix? Liverpool are clearly having a go and you can never write Arsenal off. Who knows, at some point there may be a surprise and another club may force their way into the gang of four?"

Public football fields disappearing in Malaysian city

One by one, public football fields in Malaysia's Johor Baharu city "are being taken over for development projects much to the chagrin of its sports-loving residents," Mohd Haikal Mohd Isa reported for state news agency Bernama. The latest is the popular Public Works Department field in Jalan Kebun Teh, which is slated to be turned into the multi-million ringgit Kebun Teh Commercial Centre. "What has happened?," asked Johor Baharu Umno Youth chief Khalid Mohamad. "While we are all trying to improve the level of national football, which is plunging deep into the wilderness, the remaining football fields in Johor Baharu are falling victim to developers one by one," he told Bernama. More saddening was that the project on the PWD field was a privatisation project of the state government, he said.

At one time, he said, the city had four big public football fields -- in Pasir Pelangi, Jalan Larkin, Jalan Kebun Teh and Sri Gelam. Now, the Sri Gelam field was the only one left after the rest were swallowed for commercial development, he said. "The impact has long been felt by Johor Baharu and Johor state. Johor, which emerged Malaysia Cup champions in 1985 and 1991, now no longer has the ability to return to its past glory," Khalid said. Efforts to produce football greats like Dollah Salleh, Khalid Shahdan, Azuan Zain, Salehan Mat Som, Salleh Mohd Noor, Kamaruddin Ahmad and Hassan Miskam of the past, had been exercises in futility, he added.

A Johor Baharu Football Association official, Zairul Albar Abu Bakar, said the lack of football fields in the city was very frustrating and it had adversely affected the association's efforts to develop the sport among youths. "How are we to scout for new talents among youths if we only have one public football field in Sri Gelam. We can just forget football in Malaysia," he said. Meanwhile, the FA of Johor Executive Secretary Wan Nizam Wan Omar said the association was aware of the lack of football fields in the city but it did not have allocations for fields and had to rely on the local authorities to provide them. "We have to admit that Johor is facing a shortage of areas to build football fields. In Johor Baharu there is only the Sri Gelam field," he said.

China reportedly hunting for Zhu replacement

China has begun the search for a new national team coach after itsdisappointing Asian Cup campaign. Zhu Guanghu, who presided over the national team's worst performance at the continental championship since 1980, is still in the post but an official told Soccer newspaper that his departure was only a matter of time. "We will first send a proposal on recruiting a new coach to the General Administration of Sport, wait for approval and send the resignation to Zhu," the unnamed Chinese Football Association official told the paper. Former France striker Jean-Pierre Papin, said last week that he had been approached, while Ratomir Dujkovic, who coaches China's Olympic team, said last month that he would like the chance to guide the senior squad through qualification for the 2010 World Cup after next year's Beijing Games. However a spokesman for the CFA told Reuters that the process had not started yet and would not begin until after the Asian Cup post-mortem was complete.

Terrorists murder celebrating football fans in Iraq

Two terrorist bomb attacks in Iraq have killed at least 50 people and injured 135 in Baghdad as crowds celebrated a famous Asian Cup semi-final victory by the national football team. The first strike killed 30 people in the Mansour district, where fans were marking Iraq's win against South Korea. Twenty died in the next blast, at an army checkpoint in east Baghdad. Thousands had gathered on the streets of Baghdad, dancing and chanting in a rare moment of national unity.

Police say at least 130 people were wounded in the two attacks, which deliberately targeted celebrating football fans. Some 75 of those were hurt in Mansour, where a car exploded in the midst of an excited crows, and almost 60 injured by the attack on the checkpoint.

Nicholas Witchell in Baghdad told the BBC the football team's win was a genuine moment of national pride and pleasure which had crossed the sectarian divisions between Iraq's different communities. Just as the Iraqi team has Sunni and Shia Muslims and Kurds playing alongside each other, the celebrations brought members of all those communities out onto the streets, he added. "I am nearly crying for joy," 30-year-old fan Nuri al-Najjar told Reuters in the southern city of Basra. "Iraq's victory with this harmonious team represents the way we should all live together."

Alfred Riedl "confirms" he will remain with Vietnam

A representative of the Vietnam Football Federation has stated that popular national coach Alfred Riedl will continue to guide the Vietnamese football team, rejecting the information from a newspaper of the United Arab Emirates that he will depart after the Asian Cup this month. Nguyen Lan Trung, PR manager of the Vietnamese football squad at Asian Cup 2007, said Riedl returned to Austria on July 23 for a routine health check after his recent kidney transplant operation. However, at a meeting with the national team after the quarter-final match against Iraq in Thailand, he'd said goodbye to players, saying that they would meet again on August 10 to prepare for the final qualifier round of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The official told VietNamNet Bridge that Riedl had confirmed he doesn’t intend to end his contract before its expiration in April 2008.

Indonesians hope for Japan v South Korea Cup Final

Asian Cup host Indonesia wants to see South Korea and Japan contest the final in Jakarta, believing the match-up will attract the most supporters to its 88,000 capacity Gelora Bung Karno stadium. Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) General Secretary Nugraha Besoes said he expected Korean and Japanese factory owners in Indonesia would buy tickets for their workers if the sides win their semi-final matches on Wednesday and progress to Sunday's final. "Among the Asian nations, Japan and Korea are the most crazy about football. I am sure they would bring out the masses," he said as reported by AP.

Liverpool meets Portsmouth in EPL Asian Trophy

Liverpool will face Portsmouth in the final of the English Premier League's 2007 Barclay's Asian Trophy being played in Hong Kong after beating HK FA Cup winner South China 3-1. Jon Arne Riise opened the scoring for the Reds with a thunderous free kick in the tenth minute. Spanish star Xabi Alonso converted a penalty four minutes later to put Liverpool 2-0 up after new signing Andriy Voronin was fouled in the box. South China managed to pull one back before half time with a long range effort by captain Li Haiqiang. Livcerpool's Daniel Agger rounded off the scoring in the 74 minute. Portsmouth booked its place in the final thanks to a Benjani Mwaruwari goal. The Pompey striker fired home from eight metres on the stroke of half-time after collecting a deflected Nico Kranjar shot. South China will play Fulham in the third place playoff.

Man United overwhelms China's Shenzen 6-0

Nani marked his debut with English Premier League champion Manchester United debut with a goal and his trademark celebratory somersault - but nearly added himself to Sir Alex Ferguson's lengthy injury list in the process. The £17.3 million new boy scored as United mauled FC Shenzhen 6-0 in the Macau match of their pre-season commercial tour of Asia.

South Africa begins enforcement of all seat stadia

Regulations for all-seater stadia are being put in place ahead of the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa. According to South African Police Service senior superintendent Vish Naidoo, "only the person holding the ticket of a specific seat may be allowed to sit there. At the moment it only refers to the seat number. During the World Cup only the person in whose name it is bought will be allowed to sit in the allocated seat." Naidoo said details of how this would be implemented would be dealt with by FIFA, but it was unlikely that people would have to carry an identity book or passport. He said fans would have to start getting used to the idea of sitting in their own seats and although it would be a challenge, spectators had to understand it was part of the regulations, Soccer Investor reported.

Iraq complains about AFC's hotel booking failure

Iraq coach Jorvan Vieira has criticised the Asian Football Confederation for leaving his travel-weary players stranded without hotel rooms. He told Nazvi Careem of Reuters his players had waited four hours at the Prince Hotel lobby in Kuala Lumpur after arriving from Bangkok on Monday before only eight rooms were made available for 31 people. Iraq plays South Korea on Wednesday in an Asian Cup semi-final and Vieira said their travelling ordeal nullified any advantage they had over the Koreans in terms of an extra day's rest.

"We left Bangkok at 7am, arrived at the hotel at 5pm and then waited four hours for only eight rooms. Then we had to pick up our luggage, we trained at 9pm and my players only had their dinner at 1.30am," Vieira said, adding that the Iraqi team had planned to leave Bangkok on Sunday but stayed an extra day on the AFC's advice. "The AFC said if we come to Malaysia on Sunday, we would have to stay in another hotel and then move to the Prince Hotel the next day. The AFC must realise that this is not a tourist group, we are an international football team. They gave us guarantees but they could not keep those guarantees."

Six automatic berths for AFC Asian Cup 2011

To enhance the value of the coming 3rd versus 4th finals play-off, three of the four AFC Asian Cup 2007 semi-finalists will be given byes to the 2011 finals, the Asian Football Confederation announced. South Korea, Japan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia now all have a chance to book their places in the 2011 competition in Wednesday's semi-finals. A fourth automatic spot will go to the host country, expected to be Qatar. The AFC also announced automatic berths in the 2011 Asian Cup for the 2008 and 2010 winners of the AFC Challenge Cup, the national teams tournament for emerging football nations.

The AFC Challenge Cup usually comprises Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Nepal, Mongolia, Taiwan, Guam, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Philippines, Macau, Brunei, Timor-Leste, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Pakistan and Northern Mariana Islands. Taiwan is hosting the 2008 edition under the name "Chinese Taipei".

Charlton in Cambodian anti-mine football program

England football great Bobby Charlton is touring the South East Asian nation of Cambodia as part of a mission to raise awareness for the country's continuing land mine problem. An estimated 4-6 million mines and other pieces of unexploded ordinance remain buried in Cambodia after more than three decades of armed conflict. "We are going to try to teach young people how to recognise the dangerous mines that are still around," Charlton told The Associated Press on behalf of Spirit of Soccer, a UK/USA charity which helps children in land mine affected areas of the world through football.

According to Khek Ravy, vice president of Football Federation of Cambodia, Charlton will visit land mine areas in Battambang province, about 250 kilometres northwest of the capital Phnom Penh, On Thursday he will then meet with young Cambodian football players to discuss techniques with them. The seventy-year old joined Manchester United FC when he was 17 and was a member of England's 1966 World Cup winning team, the same year he was named European Footballer of the Year.

Spirit of Soccer operates one of its two football coaching projects in Cambodia, the other is in Bosnia in Europe. Charlton visited the latter program in 2005. The Man United director said Cambodia should promote its soccer to as high a level as many of its regional neighbors. "It's about time," he said. "Everyone's waiting for Cambodia. Vietnam, China, everywhere else is very happy playing football."

Liverpool aims to win "hearts and minds" in Asia

English Premier League club Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry has explained how the club is attempting to win hearts and minds as they tour Asia during its participation in the Barclays Asia Cup, which also features Portsmouth, Fulham and South China. "Nothing boosts your fan-base like success," he told the club's official website in Hong Kong.

"We saw that in the 70s and 80s, then to a much greater extent in 2005 after we last won the Champions League. Had we been successful in Athens (in last season's final) then no doubt our fan-base would have been swelled even further." He added: "Of course, we are extremely conscious of the huge following we have in this part of the world and it's good for us to repay their loyalty by visiting from time to time."

Indonesian striker outed for breaking Cup curfew

Indonesia striker Zaenal Arif has apologised for breaking an Asian Cup curfew and admitted he was out much later than first charged. Zaenal was dropped from the Indonesia squad days before their crunch Group D clash with South Korea after telling coach Ivan Kolev he had broken a 10 pm curfew by an hour. Indonesia lost the game 1-0 and were dumped out of the tournament. "I lied when I said I was in my room by 11 pm," he told a disciplinary hearing reported by Reuters. "The truth was I came back to the hotel at 2:30 am." Zaenal had also handed over a cash bonus he received from the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI).

Words express how its "more than just a game"

Iraq's 2-0 victory over Vietnam in its Asian Cup quarter-final on Saturday was more than just a game. "A glorious victory," said the President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani. "I hope to congratulate you on a victory in the final," Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said on state television. "We have a right to dream," the coach, Jorge Vieira told Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune in Bangkok, "but we have to keep our feet on the floor."

Japan's penalty win over Australia was also more than a game. Ivica Osim, the grumpy 66-year-old Bosnian who came to coach Japan after the World Cup, could not bear to watch the penalties. He went down to the dressing room, saying dramatically: "Penalties are not good for the heart, I would rather die in Sarajevo than here."

Birmingham-themed restaurants planned for China

Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung, who recently become the major shareholder of Birmingham City, told AP he's holding off on taking over the English Premier League club outright. Yeung's company Grandtop International Holding Ltd completed a deal last week to buy 29.91 percent of Birmingham City shares. The shares were bought from club presidents David Sullivan, Ralph Gold and David Gold, managing director Karren Brady and Director Roger Bannister, all of whom still have stakes in the club.

Asked about his plans to buy out the other Birmingham shareholders, Yeung told at a press conference in Hong Kong, "I'm considering it. It's a matter of timing." Buying out the club completely and developing other related businesses will take about 700 million Hong Kong dollars (US$89.5 million), Yeung said. He declined to say whether his company will recruit new investors to finance its takeover of Birmingham, but said it is in talks with banks and funds.

Yeung also said he plans to promote the club in China by adding one player from Hong Kong and two from China, and by launching Birmingham-themed cafes and restaurants in Hong Kong, China and possibly elsewhere in Asia, as well as football training schools.

"We've started observing local players. We hope to have some new developments in three months," Yeung said. "We all know the English Premier League is very popular. I believe it will get even more popular in China. The market is bigger," he said.

Singapore's StarHub expands EPL programming

StarHub will launch a brand new sports channel, Football Channel, dedicated to 24-hour English Premier League programing. Football Channel will be made available to all StarHub Digital Cable’s Sports Group customers when the Premier League season kicks off in August. The new channel will be packaged fully by Hong Kong’s Goal TV, in association with Ten Sports in Dubai. ‘Live’ Premier League matches and magazine programs on the channel will be produced by TWI, the FA Premier League's official producer and distributor of its international coverage, while Premier League highlights, studio previews, half-time studio shows and match summary shows will be produced by Goal TV and Ten Sports.

“The Barclays Premier League is the most popular league in the world and in Singapore. Bringing our customers quality Premier League programming is a top priority for StarHub, and to that end, we are glad to develop ‘Football Channel’ in partnership with Goal TV and Ten Sports - two established sports media companies that provide football programming to a combined audience of over 100 million. We are confident that Premier League buffs in Singapore will enjoy what ‘Football Channel’ has to offer, ” Tham Loke Kheng, StarHub’s Senior Vice President for Content and Marketing said.

Thaksin set to take Manchester City private

Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has gained total control over English Premier League club Manchester City which he purchased last month, his lawyer in Thailand told AP. "The Shinawatra family has managed to acquire at least 75 percent of shares in the holding company of Manchester City football club. Total control has been transferred to the family," Noppadol Pattama said. A 75 percent holding will allow Thaksin to delist the club from the London Stock Exchange and take it into private ownership, which Noppadol indicated was his intention. "The next step is to recruit or to buy new players from several national teams such as Italy, Sweden, Brazil and Thailand," said Noppadol. "We expect to select at least two Thai players from our national team to join Manchester City."

Koreans have "great affinity" to Bolton Wanderers

English Premier League club Bolton Wanderers reached the final of the church-backed Peace Cup in South Korea on Saturday only to be beaten by French club Lyon. However manager Sammy Lee was pleased with his preparations during the 14 day trip to East Asia. "It has been a gruelling trip but the lads have coped well during the heat and humidity. The Koreans were most hospital able throughout our stay. It was a well organised competition featuring some best teams in the world and nit was a great honour to be part of the Peace Cup ... The Koreans love their football and they have shown a great affinity to Bolton Wanderers and the Premier league. This is an area we would love to tap into and we are looking at ways of increasing our awareness going forward in this part of the world," he told the club's website.

Extra funds from English Premiership to Leagues

The English Premier League, the world's richest soccer competition, will hand more than £90 million to England's subordinate, three-division Football League over the next three seasons as part of a "solidarity package". Nearly £32 million will be delivered next season, going into youth development, community activities and the Football League's member clubs. Lord Mawhinney, the Football League chairman, welcomed the package as a move towards bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots. "All Football League clubs are going to benefit, and we are very grateful," he said. "If you look at the position of the Football League today compared to four or five years ago, our sponsorship money is considerably up, our media contracts are up. This solidarity payment means that clubs will have the ability to increase investment in youth development and community programmes, as well as receiving an extra payment virtually equivalent to the one a Championship club receives from their own basic award."

The Premier League package, announced yesterday, will distribute the first £31.8 million of the funding next season, with £5.4 million going towards Football League youth development while £4 million will be set aside for community investment. An £11.2 million solidarity payment will be split among clubs in the Championship, League One and League Two and clubs will receive an extra £11.2 million as a result of Sunderland and Birmingham City no longer receiving parachute payments. Clubs which finish fifth in the Championship will receive £1,383,602, with the sixth-placed club receiving around £75,000 less and so on down to the 13th-placed club, which will receive £775,909, as will clubs finishing 14th and below. League One clubs will receive £103,480 each, with £68,987 per League Two club.

Man United "hasn't forgotten" about Singapore

Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of English Premier League club Manchester United, has "revealed" to Steve Bates of the New Paper that Man United hasn't "forgotten about Singapore - but they don't know when they'll be back touring in Malaysia." Ferguson reportedly last visited the island republic in 2001 and "remembers the warmth and enthusiasm of the fans who greeted them when they stayed at the Shangri-La Hotel, visited the newly-opened Reds Cafe and enjoyed the local hospitality." Since then the club's popularity has increased in East Asia to rival fans in South East Asia. "The fans all over Asia are so fantastic we would like to visit them every year but it's just not possible. The last time we visited Singapore, we also toured in Thailand and Kuala Lumpur and we haven't been back there either. We would love to go back to Singapore and hopefully we will do in the future but it is hard to say exactly when because so many factors are involved.

'Two years ago we were in Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo but this time we have had to include South Korea because our fan base over there has grown huge especially since we signed Park Ji Sung. We consider ourselves a global brand and more and markets are opening up for us especially in Asia. For instance we know have a tremendous number of fans in Vietnam and we may have to go there soon.The problem is we can't go every summer because in even years we have the World Cup and European Championships and even the Copa America to consider. But we will certainly take the opportunity of coming back to Asia whenever they come along because it is important to us and we know we have a lot of loyal and dedicated fans here," he said.

EPL recruitment of teenagers threatens England

A new wave of foreign footballers are being recruited from the age of 16 as potential stars for the English Premier League, making it impossible for most English youngsters to make the grade. Howard Wilkinson, the Chairman of the English League Managers Association, said foreign dominance will damage English football and jeopardise the national side's chances of winning, or even qualifying for, big tournaments. He told David Harrison of the Sunday Telegraph there is set to be "a knock-on effect at grassroots level where young players would have even fewer role models".

Manchester City lead the field with 14 out of its 30 academy "scholars" now foreign. Liverpool have seven out of 15, Chelsea 10 out of 31, Blackburn and Bolton have eight out of 21 and Fulham have five out of 20. Some clubs are already setting up "feeder" academies in countries as far away as China and Nigeria to discover young talent.

The trend,is already having an effect on the make-up of England's top teams. Last season, only 42 percent of the players who started Premiership matches were English, compared with 73 percent of home-grown players in Italy's top division and more than 60 per cent in Spain's. On one weekend only 89 out of 220 players were born in England. Of those, just 26 came through youth academies.

Australia v Japan breaks Australian S-TV records

The Australia v Japan AFC Asian Cup football match on Saturday night created a new Australian Subscription TV record audience with an average of 419,000 people watching the game on Fox Sports. The quarter-final had a higher average audience than any program in the history of Australian STV as well as a peak audience of 515,000 during the penalty shoot out. The match, which went right down to the wire before Australia was knocked out also attracted a total audience of 1,029,000, according to ratings recorded by OzTAM Data. These figures do not include people who watched the match at one of 3,600 Fox Sports venues around Australia.

“This is a watershed result for Fox Sports and Subscription TV,” said Fox Sports CEO David Malone. The previous STV record was 415,000 (an innings of a New Zealand v Australia Chappell Hadlee cricket match). The Australia v Japan figure follows the earlier clash between Australia and Oman, which attracted an average audience of 345,000.

No party time for Liverpool lads in Hong Kong

Liverpool FC coach Rafael Benitez will impose a strict nightclub ban on his players during their visit to Hong Kong for the English Premier League's biannual promotional tournament in Asia. He said his team were deadly serious about winning the pre-season Barclays Asian Trophy, ruling out any visits to the city's bar districts. "We are a serious team. We want to prepare for the games properly. We were training this morning and we want to be ready for the matches," he told media. "We take every game seriously. After the final we will go and have a dinner and everything. This town is fantastic but really we are here to win."

Iranians lose 2-3 to South Korea on penalties

South Korea beat Iran 4-2 on penalties after a gruelling 0-0 draw in humid conditions to reach the Asian Cup semi-finals. Kim Jung-woo scored the winning penalty to send the inexperienced Koreans through to a last-four clash against Iraq on Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur. Iran captain Mehdi Mahdavikia and Rassoul Khatibi missed their spot-kicks and only Kim Do-heon failed for the Koreans. Ferydoon Zandi and Reza Eneyati converted for Iran and South Korea got their other penalties from Lee Chun-soo, Kim Sang-sik and Cho Jae-jin. Iran, which practised penalty kicks in training, used substitute goalkeeper Vahid Taliblou for the shootout, replacing Hassan Roudbarian in the 119th-minute.

Uzbekistan battles on but loses 1-2 to Saudi Arabia

Yasser Al Qahtani scored one goal and created a second as Saudi Arabia held on to beat Uzbekistan 2-1 and progressed to the Asian Cup semi-finals. The three-time Asian Cup winners appeared to have sealed the victory on 72 minutes after Ahmed al Mousa made it 2-0, but had to withstand a late Uzbekistan rally that saw substitute Pavel Solomin pull one back and Alexander Geynrikh hit the post. The victory means Saudi Arabia will play Japan on Wednesday in Hanoi, Vietnam for a place in the final.

Brazil's clubs look to Asia for new television income

With their two top representatives, League and FIFA Club World Cup champion Sao Paulo and Copa Libertadores champion Internacional, generating annual incomes of only US$ 64 million and US$ 56 million respectively, Brazil's professional football clubs are looking for new income streams to ensure their financial stability. This was reinforced at the special commemorations of the 20th anniversary of the founding of Clube dos 13, the organisation now defending the rights of the 20 biggest clubs in the country. Acting as marketing agent to protect their collective interest in the Campeonato Brasileiro and other tournaments, the group has been able to raise revenue to the clubs from television and radio rights from only R$ 10 million in 1997 to R$ 300 million (US$ 160 million) today.

Now the challenge is generating world-wide interest in Brazil club football to generate foreign television income. English Premier League clubs, for instance, now receive a minimum of US$20 million each just from foreign broadcasts of Premiership games.

"We have finalised some important decisions in our project to conquer markets in Asia, the Middle East and Africa,” Clube dos 13 president Fabio Koff told club delegates. “I’ve been on a pilgrimage to different countries for five months and have secured important partnerships ... We’re arriving in Asia very late,” Koff said. “English football has already put down roots there and we need to do better marketing than our competitors to sell ourselves at better prices.”

However Clube dos 13 is also looking at how it can improve its domestic broadcasting contract when the current one with Globo expires next year. The contract is expected to be contested by Globo and Record. One of Clube dos 13's proposed changes is to sell pay-tv, terrestrial, internet and mobile phone rights separately. Another relates to partner agreements. The C13 intends to oblige future rights holders to exhibit the brands of sponsors stamped on backdrops behind footballers giving interviews. Globo currently only uses its own logos - superimposed over players - when they give interviews.

“Our aim is to include this clause as the club partner is not incompatible with the firm which purchases the competition,” Koff said, as quoted by Soccer Investor. “When we enter the international market we’re going to have multinational firms from all over the world, increasing the value of our product.”

Mahindra Utd worried about next game in Lebanon

Indian club Mahindra United has requested the Asian Football Confederation to shift its 25 September AFC Cup quarter-final away match against Lebanon’s Al Nejmeh to a neutral venue. “The situation in Lebanon scares us,” Mahindra United coach Derrick Pereira told the Goan Herald. Last month two Al Nejmeh players were killed in a bomb explosion, which rocked Beirut – venue of the match — killing 10 people. “The AFC has not made any commitments as yet,” All India Football Federation General Secretary Alberto Colaco advised. "The AFC is studying the situation in Lebanon and will take a decision at an appropriate time,” he said.

A Malaysian call for legends to help rescue game

Following the demise of Malaysia's national team in the Asian Cup group stage, The Star reminded its readers that Malaysian football had plunged to greater depths before. "We have been beaten by Laos (1997), we have been beaten by the Philippines (1991). Those were more shameful," the newspaper commented. "The process of re-shaping the face of Malaysia football should have started then. But it's more than the Football Association of Malaysia. It's almost all encompassing. In the name of development, fields are being taken away from housing areas. In the name of security, schools are locking the gates, denying access to children who want a field to play on. Even school teachers are hardly into sports. Gone are the days when teachers roamed the streets, looking for that active boy who could turn out to be a long-distance runner, or forced everyone to handle a cricket bat whether or not they knew anything about the sport.

"Football? It was what you did before the school bell rang and immediately after the end of school. Now, we have a whole new, well, school of teachers. They are either into academia or religion. Nothing wrong there but it's sports that takes the beating ... The Education Ministry has promised a team good enough for the World Under-17 Youth Championship in 2011. For that to happen, they need a new breed of teachers, one that's more like the sportsmen-schoolteachers of old. At district and state level, we need selectors who understand meritocracy, and put political and other affiliations aside when it comes to sports. And at national level, we need leaders who are really into the sport.

"In football, as in any other sport, perspiration alone is not enough. You need inspiration as well. The likes of Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and Michel Platini have shown us that in their countries. We have our own legends, too. These people should now step up and give back to the sport. They could take over the mantle of leadership from the current crop who are largely politicians, often with an agenda of their own. And our legends could live out dreams of re-living the golden years of old. The Isa Bakars, the M. Chandrans and the Soh Chin Auns need to come out of the woodwork and stand up to be counted. Abang, anneh, towkay. The country needs you. Like never before."

Vietnam finds size does matter in Asian football

Vietnam coach Alfred Riedl is worried his team will continue to struggle against the higher-ranked nations in the region because they are too small to compete in big matches. After Vietnam were defeated 2-0 by Iraq in the Asian Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, Riedl said his young players did not stand a chance because they were shorter and weaker than their opponents. "The problem we have is we are just too small," he told a news conference reported by Reuters. "Playing in South East Asia we can be successful, but we struggle in the rest of Asia because we are too small and this is a big problem ... We can do our best to improve our football but this is one problem I cannot fix. The players' class is there but we will lose matches against teams of similar ability only because they are bigger than us."

Sri Lanka investing in infrastructure and training

Vernon Manilal Fernando 57, has recently begun his third term as Chairman of the management committee of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka. “Put simply, everyone loves a winner”, he told Iain Cochrane of Sunday Times Sri Lanka, referring to the nation’s cricket obsession. “Look at Australia. They have always been a cricket nation but football is gaining popularity because they’re getting good at it. One-day cricket remains the number one sport in Sri Lanka but people cannot spare ten hours to watch it which is why football attracts more spectators.”

The fact that Sri Lanka sits above India in the FIFA rankings comes as no surprise. “India has a huge population from which to find players but Sri Lanka is easier to manage because of its size. You can’t compare the two,” he said, adding that improvement of football in Indian will also benefit its island neighbour. “The AFC awarded India US $1million per annum for the next four years. From that, the drip effect to other Asian countries can be substantial. For example; Sri Lankan cricket lives off Indian cricket. If India plays in Sri Lanka the match is worth around SL R/s 50m. Sponsors see cricket as ten hours of marketing time with adverts after each over, rolling adverts whilst play is in progress and so on. With football, there is less time for on-screen marketing and so more revenue goes to cricket”.

With the FFSL’s existing funding its primary concerns are the acquisition and improvement of facilities and training its personnel. “We have professionals from overseas providing guidance and we are putting more of our own people through coaching and management courses. This includes placements within top European clubs. We have people currently placed with Chelsea and Barcelona.” He also believes that investment in infrastructure, such as the new football stadium in Badulla, is more important that buying publicity for the game. “The FFSL’s product has to be good and marketable so that the media will be motivated into writing about it,” he said.

He was also instrumental in providing the National Football Training Centre at Beddagana with a view to adding to their acreage elsewhere. “The trouble up until recently was that football was time-sharing with other sports ... A nine month season like in the UK is unfeasible because of the ground-sharing issue. We have to share space with cricket and rugby,” he explained.

Man United faces its "hysterical" East Asians fans

Jonathan Northcroft observes East Asian "hysteria" for Manchester United in The Sunday Times (extracts):

Ronaldo is a marketing-man’s dream: Ronaldinho with good looks. With the similar, cartoon-like quality of their ball skills, the Portuguese appears to capture the same imaginations as the Brazilian; in this part of the world young Asians emerging from previously regimented societies, chasing fun, keen on seeing individualism asserted.

Japan, with its distinctive J-League, is a more mature football market than neighbouring countries and the 56,000 fans packing the Saitama stadium on Monday were there largely to support their own team, Urawa Red Diamonds, rather than worship a visiting foreign entity. Some even gave United stick, but when Ronaldo took possession there was suddenly a galaxy of twinkling camera lights in the stands and screeched exhortations for stepovers.

Korean football is also established but its fans embrace foreign teams. Ji-Sung Park may have exaggerated when he said “for Korean people, United are the best club in the world, everyone supports them,” but not by much. The estimate is that 75% do.

In a hysterical World Cup stadium in Seoul, Ronaldo went down like Elvis in boots. Scoring one goal, making two, he did enough to win man-of-the-match by half-time and spent the second 45 minutes on the bench. Every time the big screen showed the United dugout there was a cacophony when Park was seen and an even greater one when a certain baseball cap and diamond earrings came into to view. Ronaldo loved it, and favoured the cameras with smiles and thumbs-ups.

With the weight of Nike campaign already behind him, he is well placed to make himself into a brand. For United, his rise is a fillip as the Glazer family seeks to expand business. Sir Alex Ferguson noted this is his fifth Far East tour and experience helps United understand better than any other club how to do these things. The games are showcases but offstage there have been a range of activities designed to show United’s commitment to this part of the world is sincere: visits to orphanages, signing sessions for children, coaching clinics and the launch of Japanese, Korean and Chinese language versions of United’s website.

Ferguson has become an old hand at flattering locals without having to be false. In Seoul, he praised South Korea for its exploits in the 2002 World Cup, in Tokyo he lauded the Japanese for leading the development of the Asian game ...

After the success of Guus Hiddink with their national team, the grey-haired boss figure is something Koreans can cherish and Ferguson was also treated like a movie star, mobbed at the Shilla and attracting screams when his face filled the stadium screen. On the United bus one fan scrawled: “Ferguson! Hand made chocolate.” Quite what that meant was unclear ...

Australia's excuse for loss to Japan just 'hot air'

Japan reached the AFC Asian Cup 2007 semi-finals Saturday when Yuji Nakazawa calmly slotted the winning penalty kick to give the defending champions a 4-3 shoot-out victory over fierce rivals Australia in Hanoi, Vietnam. The score was tied 1-1 at the end of 30 minutes of extra time with Australia down to 10 men after Vince Grella's controversial sending off in the 76th minute. Australian fans were shocked when their Liverpool forward Harry Kewell, missed the first penalty in the shoot-out followed by one equally astray from West Ham's Lucas Neill. Nakazawa described how he secured the game for Japan as vengeance for Australia's 3-1 World Cup defeat over Japan. "I made sure I hit it hard. I didn't want him to be able to save it even if he guessed right so I whacked it. I missed one at the last Asian Cup in 2004 but I was very cool this time. There were a lot of emotions for me because it was Australia," he said.

Australia coach Graham Arnold said the Socceroos should be proud of their performance at their first Asian Cup despite falling well short of their lofty expectations. Arnold had predicted before the tournament that the Australians could win the championship and anything less than reaching the final would be regarded as a failure. "The whole of Australia should be very proud of the players, they gave everything they had. To play against a quality team like Japan, with 10 men in these conditions is just murder. Japan played very well, they've got some quality players but they didn't really dominate us. Tactically we were ready for them and we had some opportunities but it just didn't go in."

Arnold and some players weirdly commented on how the topical conditions in South East Asia had affected them more than Japan. "Everyone's down, everyone's upset. To lose in such a way is hard but we have to learn from this," striker John Aloisi said. "It won't be easy but I'm sure the boys will learn. You also have to remember we played the Asian champions in conditions they are more used to and we were unlucky to lose." In the real world, of course, East Asian heavyweights Japan, South Korea and most of China are nowhere near the tropics and experience colder conditions than Australia and even England, where many of the stars of those teams play.

Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer put the Socceroos' effort into better perspective when he said the AFC Asian Cup had been an eyeopener "I think people underestimate how big Asia really is and how many people are playing football, how big the game is regarded in this part of the world," the Middlesbrough star, said. "I'm a little-bit wide-eyed about how good some of the performances have been from some of the players from some of the teams like Uzbekistan and Iran so far. They are good-quality teams and they'll give any team a good run for their money. I think a lot of players will have a great chance to succeed in England as well," he said.

Have the Socceroos lost the "Guus Aura"?

"A little over a year ago, Australia, which had never won a World Cup game nor scored a goal at the greatest sporting event of all, had the opportunity to come of age as a soccer nation ... Guus Hiddink's men made the world sit up and take notice ... The legend of Hiddink, which already loomed large because of his heroics with South Korea four years before, scaled even greater heights," Robert Lusetich opined in The Australian before quoting Lucas Neill's assessment of Hiddink at the time: "He's one of those managers with a lot of balls. In big pressure situations, he makes big decisions and has an uncanny knack of pulling them off."

According to Lusetich, much has changed since then. "Primarily, Hiddink is gone and with him much of the aura of that unforgettable month. It has become painfully clear that he was the catalyst; he was [Australia's] Henry Higgins. There is no better illustration of what has changed than Neill. After his sublime performances in Germany, when Hiddink turned him into an Australian Beckenbauer, Neill returned to Blackburn, before moving to West Ham, and sadly reverted to being an English fullback, tackling like a fiend and pumping speculative long balls to scampering forwards.

"Hiddink would be disheartened with the primitive way the Australians have played in the group stages in Bangkok. In Hiddink's system, the ball is played to feet from the back and space is created by sharp interchanges; it is a possession game but not a negative approach. When opponents have the ball, space is denied by a total defensive effort which involves every player; this, too, has been missing from the Australian performances in Asia as certain players have lost the will to chase."

Iraq conquers Vietnam 2-0 on way to semi-final

Three people were killed and around 50 others wounded in Baghdad on Saturday when football-loving Iraqis fired weapons into the air to celebrate their team's 2-0 quarter-final victory over Vietnam in the AFC Asian Cup. Police said the victims had been killed and wounded in different parts of the capital. In Bangkok, Thailand, Younis Mahmoud had scored twice to take Iraq to the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time since 1976. "Now we dream to be champion," said Jorvan Vieira, Iraq's Brazilian coach. "We have a right to dream, but we have to keep our feet on the floor."

Global Brand Man Utd focuses on Asia and Africa

"This is Manchester United's first visit to Korea - and I am sure we will be coming back," Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of the English Premier League club said after his Red Devils beat K-League club FC Seoul 4-0 in a friendly. "The reception we have received here has been absolutely excellent. Everything about the trip has been first class. I used to think when we went to Thailand it was almost impossible because we had thousands inside and outside the hotel all night. We have experienced the same thing here. It doesn't surprise me. It is just one of these phenomenons we can create in certain parts of the world, " he said as quoted by PA.

"We consider ourselves a major global brand," said Ferguson."The club is prepared to travel anywhere to promote its image and the game. Even North Korea would not be a problem for us, should the right conditions apply. I understand from a survey that was carried out recently that we have an enormous number of fans in Vietnam, so maybe that is somewhere that we might look to visit in the future. It just seems like the whole of the Far East has a lot of respect and affection for our club and we have to serve that as best we can."

Man United Chief Executive David Gill said that South Korea midfield player Park Ji Sung is part of the United phenomenon, but it is not unique to South Korea. Of the 75 million United fans worldwide, 40.7 million are in Asia and only 4.6 million in “the Americas”. The Asian fans are also willing “customers”, through the traditional merchandising routes and the club’s media outlets. And with a huge following in Asia and Africa, Gill admitted that the club's future touring plans will revolve around the Asian and African markets."Chelsea over the last few years have been having a great time in America, which is fine, but we do what's right for us and we're comfortable with the opportunities with our history, our ground, our heritage, the way we play football. Those are key assets," he said.

“We had a good tour in America in 2003. Clearly there were a few issues in 2004, when we didn’t have a full squad there. I’m sure we will go to America again, whether that’s at the end of the season or a pre-season.Obviously, with having American owners, it makes sense to go there at some stage. But they wouldn’t insist that we go there. They would look at it from a team perspective, a commercial perspective and an overall club perspective. Looking at all those issues, it made sense for us to come here. Is America ever going to be as passionate as the Asian market? I wouldn't have thought so. You see what the following is like over here and you see all the coverage and the amazing support we have. There is huge interest in Premier League football and Manchester United in particular.

"Where next? I think Africa is an interesting one. There's clearly a great following for the Premier League in Africa and we are going back to South Africa next year.There may be issues in certain countries, but nonetheless, there's a lot of money in Nigeria for example.There is a huge following for English football in Nigeria and, as more and more African players come to the Premier League, you can see that getting greater," he said.

United play the third game of the tour when they face Shenzhen FC in Macau on Monday. The team then moves on to southern China for a clash with Guangzhou Pharmaceutical on Friday before returning to England.

Asian qualifiers for FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup

The draw for the Asia qualifiers for this year's FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was held this week in Dubai where the continental tournament will take place at Mamzar Beach, between 14-18 August. Defending champions Bahrain have been grouped with hosts UAE, Iran and another nation that is yet to be named. Group 'B', meanwhile, consists of the Philippines, Thailand, Japan and China. The top two teams from each group move on to the semi-finals, which will be played on 17 August. The third-place playoff and final are scheduled for 18 August. The top three teams from the competition will move on to this year's World Cup which is scheduled to take place between 2-11 November at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Bahrain defeated Asian powerhouses Japan 5-3 in last year's final to clinch the region's championship. They were led by Abdulla Ismail Omar, who was later named the Best Player of the tournament. Beach soccer was officially recognised as a FIFA sport in 2005.

Bayern's Lim condemns Malaysia's football state

Former Malaysian international, Lim Teong Kim, said he was not surprised at all over the sad state of affairs in Malaysian football. A member of the national team which won the gold medal in the Kuala Lumpur South East Asian Games in 1989, the last time Malaysia emerged as the champions of the tournament, Lim is now the assistant coach of Bayern Munich U-19 football team. He said that the dismal showing of the national team in the Asian Cup was expected and the lack of infrastructure had hindered the growth of the game in the country.

“Bayern Munich are the top club in Germany. We have a very good infrastructure – five training fields and more coming up soon,” who is here to check out the facilities for the club's participation in the Champions Youth Cup, told Eric Samuel of The Star. "When football is still the same here after so many years, how can we expect to see any changes to the game or standard? We have a complete infrastructure to cater for the professional team and also the youth teams. In fact, we have 11 youth teams in age-group between eight and 23. The other clubs in the Bundesliga also have a similar set-up,” he said.

The 44-year-old Teong Kim said it was not fair to put the blame on the team when changes were not made to check the rot in the system. He added that he had left the country for almost two decades but he had not seen changes or concerted efforts to develop the game, even in his home state Malacca where he started out playing for at the age of 17. “When football is still the same here after so many years, how can we expect to see any changes to the game or standard? Why criticise the present batch of players and keep banging them on their heads for failures when no one cares for the development of the game. Football is a national agenda. I feel that every state should have an ideal infrastructure to develop the game.

"I have been in Bayern Munich for eight years now. Even the eight-year-old players travel extensively to play in invitational tournaments to gain experience. There are eight professional coaches at the youth level and players get plenty of exposure. The facilities are well-equipped with dressing rooms, rehabilitation rooms, physiotherapy, sauna and relaxation rooms. In Germany, we have technical problems but no infrastructure problems. If there are no fields how can the coaches get to work? The National Sports School in Bukit Jalil alone is not good enough. State FAs must get their infrastructure in place otherwise they cannot expect to produce results. “I am just trying to pass my experience and knowledge learnt in Bayern Munich. It is difficult to see success if changes are not made. There is a saying in Germany – changes bring prosperity, contentment brings complacency,” he said.

Indian Professional League confirmed for 20 Sept

The All India Football Federation has announced that India's first Professional League will start on 30 September and that General Secretary Alberto Colaco will prepare the schedule and circulate it amongst the clubs by 10 August. "It was decided that the AIFF should enter an agreement with state associations and stadium authorities concerned regarding availability of venues for the Pro League matches," the AIFF said in a statement quoted by Indo-Asian News Service.

The AIFF also approved the format of the second division to the Professional Football League and approved direct entry of corporate clubs, provided they are first affiliated to respective state associations and meet the club licensing criteria. Other clubs, which apply for entry to the second division National Football League, will also have to meet these criteria. However, the two clubs relegated from the first division of the NFL and the four clubs that finished third to sixth in the final phase of the second division NFL last season will be admitted directly into the second division Professional League.

In other decisions made by the AIFF Executive Committee, the sub-junior national championship has been allotted to to Uttarakhand, from 15 September to 15 October; Bengal will host the senior national championship for women; and the General Secretary has been asked to talk to governments of Assam, Punjab, Orissa and Kerala before finalising the venue for the Federation Cup.

Dual nationals return to play for the Phillipines

Filipino-British Chad Alesna Gould now regrets he didn't represent his South East Asian homeland in the ASEAN Football Championship qualifying round and the AFC Challenge Cup last year. “It was a very down moment for me. Everyday, the lads text me that I should have been there and it was very sad for me,” said Gould during a press conference announcing his football clinic at Krua Thai. “There is nothing like the feeling of playing my favorite sport and coming out in the field wearing the national colors. There is something magical about it and I missed that feeling that year,” he added. Gould last donned the national colors in the 2005 South East Asian Games as the Republic of the Philippines U-23 team striker.

He is now looking forward to representing RP again in the Challenge Cup in March next year alongside former reserves of English Premier League club Chelsea, Philip and James Younghusband. However, he admitted that he found it "was strange at first playing on the kind of surface and the facilities" in the Philippines as compatred to England.

Gould is disappointed the Philippines did not register for the qualifying rounds of the 2010 World Cup. “We ranked very low in the world, maybe 191st. But if you saw our performance, you would think twice. We beat Cambodia and Brunei, which are ranked higher than us,” he said, adding that the RP team needs to be exposed to more international events. “There are a lot of us Fil-foreigners in the team. It is too difficult to have training sessions regularly and too expensive to have us travel back and forth. The way forward is to play more games and to train together,” he told the Sun Star Cebu.

Launch of new Pakistan Super Football League

Pakistan's Super Football League championship kicks-off at Peoples Stadium Lyari on Friday evening with Karachi Bazigar meeting Lahore Lajpal. The SFL will play 20 matches over 52-days in stadiums in Karachi, Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore and Quetta. Participating teams will meet twice and the final will be played on 9 September. The SFL marks a new stage in Pakistan Football Federation President Faisal Saleh Hayat's modernisation plan. He abolished the National Championship by replacing it with League system in 2004, followed by launching of first-ever National Women Championship and National Soccer Challenge Cup in 2005. In 2006 he launched the National C-Division Soccer League.

He has pledged to continue his drive to youth development, women's football and to professionalise the game in Pakistan. “We have achieved a lot in the last four years. It will be my endeavour to see that Pakistan football is one day recognised as the best, at least in Asia. We need to set the highest benchmark possible in terms of professionalism,” Faisal said, as quoted by the Pakistan Times.

Bahrain to rebuild with "new generation" of players

Bahrain’s national team is heading for a major overhaul after its early exit from the Asian Cup. Reports said the Bahrain Football Association is looking to a “new generation” of players to take over after the present batch failed to live up to expectations since coming close to qualifying for last year’s FIFA World Cup. “There will be plenty of changes in the Bahrain team,” BFA Vice-President Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa told AFP in Jakarta. "Many of our current players will be gone, and we will replace them with a new generation of young stars.” He confirmed that Milan Macala will be staying on as head coach. Macala, who only took over the team on 1 May, said it had been difficult for him to prepare the squad with so many players unavailable to make the trip.

“We missed 12 players and you simply can’t find replacements from the Bahrain league as you might have in the Saudi League,” he said. “Bahrain have many professional players who play while Saudi Arabia national team is formed from players who play with Saudi clubs and they had serious preparation while we had only days before the competition. Everyone saw that the Saudi Arabia national team changed nearly all their players except two or three players. They have a strong league with five or six top teams. However, we in Bahrain can’t change the full team and it is very difficult in such a small country to easily find replacements,” he said.

Malaysian Education Ministry to invest in football

Malaysia's Education Ministry plans to develop football in schools to assist the country's qualification chances for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup. “We will present a paper on the development program of high performance sport in schools to the Cabinet Committee for Sports at its meeting on 31 July. Football has been identified as one of the eight high performance sports that we will focus on,” Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein told reporters after launching a Young Talent Carnival.

The program intends to provide comprehensive development of football from primary school to secondary school, focusing on various aspects from coaching to funding, sports science to technical support. Once implemented, the program will see talented U-12 players placed in primary schools selected as football centres, where they will be trained under a qualified coach from the school or the Football Association of Malaysia. Training centres for U-15 players will also be established in secondary schools at each district while the best U-18 players will be placed in the National Sports Schools and the rest at the state sports schools nationwide.

Describing the national football team’s performance in the Asian Cup as “embarrassing”, Hishammuddin, however, "admited that it is everyone’s responsibility to boost the standard of the sport," Hariati Azizan reported in The Star. “To make the sports development programme more effective, we require the help of all stakeholders. It is unfair to push the responsibility solely on schools and teachers who are loaded with work. The sports bodies need to come down to schools and work with us. Tell us what you want to do,” thre Minister said, stressing that the schools “are always open to anyone”.

The ministry will work closely with FAM, National Sports Council and National Sports Institute. More important, added Hishammuddin, is the support of parents, who need to understand that sports do not effect their children’s studies and encourage them to be more active in sports. “A change in parents’ mindset is crucial to change the exam-orientated culture of schools,” Hisham noted.

Malaysia sacked coach "before" Asian Cup game

Sacked Malaysian coach Norizan Bakar was reportedly told before his team went out to face Iran in Asian Cup Group C, that his contract, due to expire in September, was to be terminated immediately. However he later praised his players for their "team spirit and togetherness" after his final match, a 2-0 loss.

"I think the decision is unfair," he told journalists. "I have always tried my level best with the personnel at my disposal. With all the criticism and humiliation, the morale of the players was very low. I have to take my hat off to them, they showed real guts. It's very hard for them and they showed true team sprit and togetherness."

Norizan, a former teacher, said Malaysia should not hide from Asia's big teams despite the heavy defeats. "We have nothing to lose against playing these teams," he said. "We must learn from these games."

China coach sorry for Cup debacle but won't quit

China's national football coach, Zhu Guanghu, has apologised to fans after Uzbekistan knocked China out of the AFC Asian Cup, but has refused to quit. "I am sorry about the result as I arranged the formation and the tactics," he said during a press conference after the match, according to Sina.com. "My team didn't take the advantages, though my players created a few chances in the first half but the march was a real challenge of physical ability to my players," he added. Only three questions were allowed at the press conference, Sina reported. When asked "what's your personal plan after the game," Zhu said he wouldn't quit. "The team needs some adjustment, but we will obey the decisions from the Chinese Football Association," he said.

China is looking to former France striker Jean-Pierre Papin to replace Zhu as coach, according to a Reuters report. "Yes, I am a candidate for China coach. I am interested in that position, but perhaps I'm not the only one on the list," Titan Sports quoted Papin as saying. Papin, 43, who left RC Strasbourg in June after guiding the club to promotion to French Ligue 1, said he would talk with the CFA in Beijing later this month.

Legal firm acts on two Asian takeovers of EPL clubs

UK legal firm Hammonds has acted on its second English Premier League football deal iwithin two weeks, advising Hong Kong businesman Carson Yeung Ka-Shing on his purchase of a third of Birmingham City plc, the owner of Birmingham City FC, through Hong Kong-listed GrandTop International Holdings. GrandTop agreed to pay £14.94 million for the stake, making it the largest single shareholder in the club, which was promoted to the Premier League in April. Birmingham corporate partner Michael Clifford led the Hammonds team advising GrandTop. "We’ve had a number of dealings in the football world and we had an existing relationship with Seymour Pierce, the financial advisers, so we came recommended," Clifford said.

The Birmingham City deal follows less than two weeks after Hammonds advised on the £81.6 million takeover of Manchester City FC. The firm acted for purchaser UK Sports Investments, which is indirectly owned by the family of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup last September and is facing allegations of fraud and corruption relating to his time in office. "The deals reflect the success of our corporate finance practice integrating with our sports law team," Clifford added, as quoted by The Lawyer.

Regions well represented in Asian Cup final eight

The big gamble by the Asian Football Confederation to re-energise domestic football in South East Asia through the AFC Asian Cup 2007 played in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia, appears to have been successful through the group stage. Sure the logistics in presenting a tournament of 16 teams in four different countries and eight venues was huge (and in hindsight, quite mad) but the 24 games of the group stage were completed without major trauma and presented entertaining football more often than not and even to capacity crowds.

The resulting spread of the Final 8 across the continent is surprisingly well balanced. From West Asia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran; from Central & South Asia, Uzbekistan; from East Asia, Japan and South Korea; and from South East Asia, Vietnam and Australia.

China missed out for the first time since 1980 and elite squads such as Australia and South Korea suffered shock losses on the way. The quarter-finals themselves offer some very decent match-ups. Of the co-hosts, only Vietnam remains to play Iraq in Bangkok on Saturday while Australia's Socceroos take on Japan in Hanoi in a reprise of their famous World Cup game in Germany last year in which Australia came from behind to win 3-1 with two goals to Tim Cahill. "This will be the biggest game, probably, of the tournament," said Cahill, while Japan's players spoke of revenge. "We can't stand to lose to the same opponents twice. Once was enough," Yuji Nakazawa said. And goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi said: "This is a chance to avenge last year's grudge. That is why we are here." On Sunday, Saudi Arabia will play Uzbekistan in Jakarta, while Iran takes on South Korea in Kuala Lumpur.

South Korea tight 1-0 win over attacking Indonesia

South Korea scraped into the Asian Cup quarter-finals with a nervous 1-0 win over gallant Indonesia in their final Group D game played before 88,000 emotional Indonesian fans at their National Stadium in Jakarta. Kim Jung-woo scored the priceless goal for Korea in the 34th minute, but they were made to sweat in a torrid second half as Indonesia threw everything into attack, leaving gaps at the back for Korea to exploit, but neither team were able to find the net.

Easy 4-0 win for Saudi Arabia over Bahrain

Saudi Arabia eased into the AFC Asian Cup 2007 quarter-finals with a 4-0 rout over Bahrain in the Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium in provincial Palembang, Indonesia. It took the lead on 17 minutes after strike Yasser Al Qahtani threaded a ball into the Bahrain penalty area which took a deflection and broke nicely for Ahmed Al Mousa, who rounded the 'goaleeper and sidefooted the goal. and Abdularahman Al Qahtani made it 2-0 just on half time. On 72 minutes Taisir Al Jassam struck a powerful shot from outside the penalty box and Al Jassam added another 10 minutes from regulation time.

Malaysia holds dominant Iran to only 2-0 win

Iran, seeking its first Asian Cup title in 31 years, met Malaysia playing its first tournament since 1980 by virtue of co-hosting the event, in Kuala Lumpur in their last game of the 2007 Group C. The top-ranked Asian team were expected to have a goal-feast against the home side but sufficed with a 2-0 result - a 29th-minute penalty by Javad Nekounam and classy work from Bolton Wanderers midfielder Andranik Teymourian in the 77th minute.

Uzbek's decisive 3-0 'bye' to China from Asian Cup

In probably its finest football moment since it declared its independence from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991, Uzbekistan shocked China 3-0 in their final AFC Asian Cup 2007 Group C match to continue to the quarter-finals and leave the East Asian giant out of the knock-out stages for the first time since 1980. Captain Maksim Shatskikh blasted in a rebound from his own header on 72 minutes before Timur Kapadze capitalised on an error from stand-in goalkeeper Yang Jun and substitute striker Alexander Geynrikh finished from another rebound in injury time. China were runners-up in 2004 when they lost a controversial final to Japan. Uzbekistan were quarter-finalists at the last tournament, when they were ousted on penalties by Bahrain.

Sir Alex on tour: "unfortunate the Asian Cup is on"

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has launched a defence of his English Premier League club's commercial right to tour Asia whenever it likes, regardless of the regional football development and promotional programs of the Asian Football Confederation. "We are not trying to steal fans from other clubs and it is not about just taking," he said in Tokyo prior to his club's promotional game against J-League champions Urawa Red Diamonds. "Yesterday we arrived after a 14-hour journey and some of the players went to a school for the blind, while others went on a hospital visit to see some young kids.

"Football has changed a lot since I was a boy. Nowadays, people watch games on TV and tours like this give them the opportunity to see some of their favourite players in the flesh. That is exciting for them. We have also brought our soccer schools to this part of the world in order to try and help educate young players. It is part of Manchester United's history and tradition to give out information and knowledge and also add our name to particular causes.

"It is unfortunate the Asia Cup is on when we have the opportunity to come here. Every second year there is a World Cup or a European Championship, when we cannot give a tour the same kind of attention we are doing at the moment,' he said, as quoted by ESPN.

Almost 60,000 fans turned out on a rainy evening to see Man United draw with Urawa 2-2. The Japanese club wa weakened by a number of its star players being called up to play for the national team in the AFC Asian Cup being played in South East Asia.

HK co now Birmingham City's biggest shareholder

Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung has completed the financial transaction for his publically-listed textile company to become English Premier League club Birmingham City's biggest shareholder. The club announced to the Stock Exchange that Yeung's company, Grandtop International Holdings Limited, had completed the purchase of 29.9 percent of the club's shares. GHIL bought the shares from directors David and Ralph Gold, David Sullivan, Karren Brady and Roger Bannister after paying a non-refundable deposit of £1.09 million on 27 June. The deal, worth a little under £15 million, means the Golds and Sullivan now each own 23.22 per cent stakes, while Brady and Bannister also retain small holdings.

Today's announcement confirms that talks between the club and GHIL are ongoing and could still lead to a takeover bid from GHIL. An increase in his holding to 30 percent would allow Yeung to trigger a bid to assume full control. GHIL's Hong Kong listing could offer the opportunity for the Hong Kong and Chinese public to buy stock in Birmingham City's ultimate holding company should it mount a full takeover.

Vietnamese ignore politics to get to Bangkok game

The number of Vietnamese booking tours to Thailand to attend the quarter-finals match between the national squad and the Iraqi team has been increasing, despite worries about political uncertainty in Thailand. Saigontourist told VietNamNet Bridge that more than 200 clients had booked tours to Thailand to watch the football match. They will arrive in Bangkok on the afternoon of 21 July and then go directly to San Rajamangala stadium in time for the game at 6.20 pm. They will return to Vietnam on the same night. The fee for the quick tour is offered at US$ 350/traveler. Many young people have organised cheaper trips by bus, car and train. One route is to take a bus to Phnom Penh, go through the Poipet/Aranyaprathet border gate, and then take a train to Bangkok.

Brazil government keen to assist Indian football

The Government of Brazil has expressed readiness to help India emerge in the sport by providing training assistance at various levels. "We can provide some help through programs for youth and training at club level," Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim told media when asked if his country can lend assistance to Indian football. To a question, he said the Brazilian coaches could also be interested in rendering their services to Indian clubs. "We really have good coaches. My feeling is that they will surely love to come here. India attracts a lot of interest in Brazil," Amorim said. However he also pointed out that since coaches are professionals, Indian clubs would have to directly approach them.

ManU to play Urawa Reds depleted by Asian Cup

English Premier League club Manchester United arrived in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday for the first leg of its Asian tour. It will will meet a depleted Urawa Reds team tonight which has lost key players to the Japan national side currently competing in the AFC Asian Cup in Vietnam. Defenders Yuki Abe and Keisuke Tsuboi are among those on international duty, as is influential midfield linchpin Keita Suzuki. Man United will travel to South Korea after the Reds match to play FC Seoul on Friday, before taking on Shenzhen FC in Macau on 23 July and Guangzhou in Guangdong on 27 July.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson paid tribute to the strides Japanese football has made since the inception of the J. League. "I watch Japanese football quite a lot on TV and I can see the quality," he said. "When I first came here in 1989 football was just taking off in Japan. Now we can see the progress. We played Urawa Reds two years ago in a fantastic stadium with a great pitch, and it just shows how much progress has been made in those years. The stimulus from the World Cup in 2002 has given a fresh impetus to Japan ... There is good evidence that the quality of players in Japan has improved," he told Andrew McKirdy in The Japan Times.

Chelsea links with Disney to expand global image

English Premier League club Chelsea sealed a four-year partnership with the Walt Disney Company before its first pre-season fixture in the Disney Friendship Cup against Club America, which the Blues won 2-1. The deal gives Chelsea access to Disney's youth soccer program and its Florida-based sports theme park and maximum exposure to young American soccer fans. Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex is a top youth soccer event destination, while Disney's Soccer Showcase is the number one youth soccer event in the US. Chelsea will also have a significant presence at other Disney-created soccer events through coaching and player clinics.

"Chelsea is committed to assisting and promoting all levels of soccer in the US and youth soccer is a massive part of that. Disney is at the forefront of that movement in the US," Chelsea spokesman Paul Smith said as quoted by the New Paper. "Disney have penetration and a reach to a market that is really targeted at that young fan. A lot of people in our sector have eyed Disney as being in some way a target but we've been able to make that first step."

Chelsea is reportedly set to announce a paid-for membership program, specifically tailored for the US. "The intention is to broaden the appeal of Chelsea worldwide," said Smith. "We have looked at targeting specific countries to maximise the visibility we get naturally from the Premier League and Champions League, and have looked to focus on North America and China. The aim is to encourage followers of the sport in general to translate into Chelsea fans," added Smith.

Petro shares added to Vietnam semi-final bonuses

VietNamNet Bridge has reported that 10,000 shares in ATI Petroleum (ATIP), a subsidiary of American Technology Inc listed on the NYSE-Euronext Paris stock exchange, will be the bonus for the Vietnam national football squad if it enters the semi-final round of the AFC Asian Cup 2007. Specifically, if the Vietnamese team enters the semi-finals of the Asian Cup 2007 for the first time, each player will have 500 ATIP shares while the coaching board will receive 1,000 shares. In addition, to encourage Vietnamese football players to score goals, ATIP promised to present VND20,000 (US$1,200) for each goal. The shares are reportedly worth about 12 euros (US$16.65) each.

Malaysian minister calls for 'fresh blood' in football

Malaysia's youth and sports minister wants to see sweeping changes in the organisation of the country's football structure following the co-host's poor performances in the Asian Cup. "Some state FA heads and officials have been holding on to their posts for too long without any significant contribution towards the development of football in the country," Azalina Othman Said said as quoted by state news agency Bernama. "They should make way for energetic young professionals."

Singapore introduces 24-hour legal football betting

Singaporeans now have a legal 24-hour telephone betting service for football matches, but organisers have already advised users to exercise caution. Singapore Pools, the betting operator, agreed to adopt a responsible gambling code introduced by the National Council on Problem Gambling. "The whole idea of having the new phone-betting initiative is not to attract new gamblers, but punters who are currently betting" with illegal operators, a Singapore Pools spokesman told The Straits Times.

The NCPG urged gamblers to be cautious and avoid chasing losses. "Research has shown that greater accessibility to gambling opportunities could lead to an increase in problem gambling," the NCPG said. Football enthusiasts who want to take advantage of the 24-hour service must first sign up for the "Goal Account." It is open to anyone above 21 and will remain active until August next year when the system will be reviewed.

Indonesia up front in objecting to MidEast referee

The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) reportedly lodged its first official protest to the Asian Football Confederation's appointment of a referee from the United Arab Emirates to its game against Saudi Arabia before the game started but got no reply. "We asked them not to use a Middle Eastern referee,'' PSSI chairman Nurdin Halid said in a press release."We were concerned that he would not be objective. It would be neutral if the referee came from Japan or China, instead of from the Mideast. This protest is not to find an excuse for our defeat, but we could see how the referee was not on our side. It will not change the result but we hope our protest will improve the remaining matches," Nurdin said.

According to The Jakarta Post, even President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who watched the match from a VIP box with Cabinet members, questioned the refereeing. "I don't understand why a referee who has the same language and culture as Saudi Arabia was assigned to lead this match," he said.

The newspaper said AFC Secretary-General Dato Paul Mony Samuel later promised to evaluate the complaint, adding "We will also take into account the origin of a referee before assigning them to lead a match." However AFP quoted AFC Director of Communications Clare Kenny Tipton denying the appointment was unfair to Indonesia. "There are no rules (governing which nationalities can referee which others),'' she said. "Occasionally we have a political conflict so obviously common sense prevails but there are no specific regulations other than you can't have someone from the same nationality refereeing their own country's matches.''

Birmingham City begins to realise its HK destiny

Hong Kong multimillionaire, Carson Yeung Ka-Shing, should become Birmingham City Blues' single largest shareholder today when he acquires 29.9 percent of the English Premier League club for £15 million - but he believes it has been his "destiny" to own the club since his first trip to St Andrews eight months ago."I came here last year to see Birmingham play Luton, and it was destiny," Yeung told James Nursey of The Mirror.

"I discussed buying the club after the game with Chairman David Gold and was happy after talking to him. I don't have any politics and I only want to buy for interest because I love football. I will not let the Birmingham fans down and disappoint them. I like the city of Birmingham and have a lot of good plans for the future. I'm very happy and excited. The Premiership is the best league in the world and most countries focus on it - especially in China and Hong Kong. We have a great market in China and David Gold and David Sullivan have accepted our plan. As soon as we can I would like to own the whole club."

To own the whole club, "sooner rather than later," could top £50 million. However Yeung insists that he is not just another foreign suitor eyeing the English top flight for a fast buck. The forty-seven year-old businessman was born in Hong Kong to migrant Chinese parents and reportedly learnt English in London as a 16-year-old and returned to Hong Kong to train as a hairdresser before moving into business and building a £150 million "gas, electronics, hotel and property empire." He intends to use his acumen and contacts in the Far East to exploit the popularity of the Premiership in Asia to turn Birmingham City into an "international club".

Yeung is yet to meet Steve Bruce but insists the Birmingham manager's job is safe and hopes to speak with him for the first time later today on the phone.And Yeung is prepared to back Bruce, who is on a pre-season tour in Germany, heavily in the January transfer window once he owns the whole club to ensure the Premiership new boys stay up. "We can buy some good players in January but maybe by then we might already be in a healthy position so we will wait and see. We can spend a lot of money in the right way but first I want to meet Steve Bruce as soon as possible. I have a lot of confidence in Steve Bruce, he is a very straight man and we could have a good relationship. "I want us to grow together and make the side successful, as I believe we can stay up as long as we play like a team."

Yeung is keen to stress his desire to work with Bruce after being angered by rumours of a bust-up at Hong Kong Rangers with former manager Tim Bredbury. Bredbury, sacked last season after just three games, claims Yeung made his job impossible by interfering in team selection but the businessman insists such allegations are nonsense. "I never told the manager who to play or gave him ideas," said Yeung. "On the day Bredbury was fired I was in Beijing. I heard the news that he was already fired and I was very upset because I was the Chairman and the club fired the coach and I didn't know."

Socceroos finally find form to beat Thailand 4-0

Australia finished second in Group A to book a quarter-final against similar 'slow starters' Japan in Hanoi on Saturday after posting a 4-0 victory over Thailand in their final AFC Asian Cup group match in Bangkok. A first-half goal to Michael Beauchamp, two to skipper Mark Viduka in the second and a late goal to substitute Harry Kewell sealed Australia's spot in the second stage with a much-improved performance following a poor start to the tournament. Socceroos coach Graham Arnold made four changes to his starting line-up, including dropping Kewell to the bench. Beauchamp was one of those promoted, along with John Aloisi, Mark Milligan and David Carney.

Iraq's 0-0 draw with Oman takes them to knockouts

Iraq has reached the AFC Asian Cup quarter-finals for the fourth straight championship. Younes Mahmoud and his side went into Monday's match with Oman knowing a point would be enough to send them into the next stage. And although they struggled at times, the Iraqi team held on for a 0-0 draw to secure top place in Group A and a 'home' quarterfinal against Vietnam in Bangkok. "We've worked very hard even if we didn't play very well today," said coach Jorvan Vieira, who only linked with the team two months before the Asian Cup. "We just did enough to qualify."

Late UAE goal sinks Qatar's quarter-final chance

United Arab Emirates struck in stoppage time through Faisal Khalil to beat Qatar 2-1 in the final game of AFC Asian Cup Group B and denied their fellow Gulf state with a place in the quarter-finals. Qatar had looked to be on their way into the last eight striker Sebastian Quintana converted a penalty three minutes before halftime. UAE went on the attack after the interval and were rewarded on 59 minutes when striker Saeed Alkas headed home a cross. They continued to enjoy the bulk of possession and the pressure told deep into stoppage time when Ismail Mataar's free kick was headed into the net by Khalil following a deflection.

Japan hit Vietnam 4-1 and eager to face Australia

A year on from the FIFA World Cup in Germany, Japan will seek revenge over Australia in the AFC Asian Cup quarter-final in Hanoi; courtesy of Japan finishing top in Group B with a 4-1 win over co-host Vietnam. The opening half at My Dinh Stadium got off to a surprising start wih Vietnam taking a sixth-minute lead with an own goal by Keita Suzuki. Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura found space on the left to float over a perfect cross for Seiichiro Maki, who had the simple task of chesting the ball into an open goal. Yasuhito Endo put Japan ahead just after the half hour, rifling a free kick into the top corner from the edge of the box. Nakamura added a third seven minutes into the second half with a superb right-foot strike before Maki headed in his second from close range in the 59th minute. "If we'd have a choice of opponents, Australia would have been first on the list," Maki said. "That's the team we wanted to meet and have the chance to bury those ghosts."

Barclays uses outdoor and print ads for HK Trophy

The Barclays banking group launched an advertising campaign tagged "Come face to face with some of football's brightest stars" in support of its sponsorship of the Barclays Asia Trophy which kicks off on 24 July in host country Hong Kong. This edition of the biannual English Premier League promotional tournament showcases Liverpool, Fulham, Portsmouth and Hong Kong FA Cup Winner, South China. The outdoor campaign, features Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, Portsmouth's Sol Campbell, Fulham's Liam Rosenior and South China's Detinho, and uses billboard ads as well as on buses and bus shelters with press ads in the South China Morning Post, Sunday Morning Post, Metro Daily, Oriental Daily and Next Magazine.

"Hong Kong is one of the financial hubs of Asia in which we have a growing presence. The Barclays Asia Trophy gives us powerful brand visibility and the chance to engage with football fans outside the UK. It's a unique opportunity for Hong Kong football fans to see Barclays Premier League teams and their star players live, and this is what we wanted to emphasise through our advertising campaign in Hong Kong," Robert Morrice, chairman and CEO of Barclays Asia said.

Malaysian FA Sultan to call inquiry into Cup failure

Sultan Ahmad Shah, President of the Football Association of Malaysia, said he is planning a massive "overhaul" of the sport's national governing body after Malaysia lost 5-1 to China and 5-0 to Uzbekistan in its opening two AFC Asian Cup matches. "Upon completion of the national team's final match, we will call for an inquiry," the Sultan, who is the ruler of Malaysia's eastern Pahang state, was quoted as saying Monday by Bernama, the national news agency. Shah added that he would not resign from the FAM, though he respected the decision of his son, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, the FAM's Deputy President, who announced Sunday that he was quitting the association. "I will continue to serve but if there is someone willing to take over, they are welcomed ... I'm not a coward. I'm not going to bow to public outcry."

Indonesian claims UAE ref favoured Saudi Arabians

The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) has reportedly filed a letter of protest with the Asian Football Confederation complaining of poor refereeing as Indonesia lost 1-2 to Saudi Arabia in the Asian Cup match on Saturday night. Elshinta radio station quoted Indonesian referee Jimmy Napitupulu that PSSI chairman Nurdin Halid decided to send the letter of protest after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who came to the National Stadium to watch the match, expressed his disappointment over the poor leadership of referee Ali Al Badwawi of the United Arab Emirates.

Napitupulu said the match was supposed to have been be conducted by a referee from China, but the AFC made a sudden change before the match by appointing Badwawi as the referee. "Badwawi easily handed out five yellow cards to Indonesian players for committing light tackles agains Saudi Arabian players, but he did not look bothered with Saudi Arabian players committing fouls. Indonesia will lose two midfielders Syamsul Bachri and Eka Ramdani in the last match against South Korea following two yellow cards they earned in the first two matches," the Jakarta Post complained.

Indonesian fans began demonstrations outside the official hotel immediately after the game concluded with makeshift banners stating "The Referee is an Idiot!," "Fair Play Please," "AFC Go To Hell!" and "AFC Referee Unfair". Two representatives of the supporters met with the AFC to discuss their issues, while the remainder milled around outside the luxury hotel, smoking cigarettes and joking with police and armed guards They accused Badwawi of favoring another Middle Eastern team. "We felt cheated by the referee," Saiful Baqirok, who had made the 700-kilometre trip from Sidoarjo, East Java, told Reuters. "I think it's because the referee is from United Arab Emirates. Why not choose one from Australia?"

Asked after the match what he thought about the referee, Indonesia coach Ivan Kolev said he thought some of his decisions "were a little strange" but declined further comment. The AFC said it was preparing a statement on the protest, but none of the decisions stood out as particularly controversial or harsher than those in other games in the tournamentso far.

Galaxy to chase '$6 mln a game' Asian touring fee

David Beckham's new club, the LA Galaxy of US Major League Soccer, has lined up a friendly in Australia in late November but Tim Leiweke, chief executive and president of the Anschutz Entertainment Group which owns the club, has revealed other money-spinning games are being lined up for England and Asia next year. Referring to reports that Real Madrid are being offered US$6 million a game to play exhibition matches in Asia, Leiweke told reporters: "I think the greatest opportunity for the Galaxy is touring and doing international matches. I don't think it is $6 million dollars a game but I think it could be a pretty good percentage of that. And if you can do six games a year, that can add a significant amount of value to the team and its revenue ... We're still focused on training in Asia and doing games there next year at the beginning of the season."

Leiweke claimed that his emphasis on lucrative friendlies stemmed in part from the inability to expand the Home Depot Center beyond its current 27,000 capacity without entering into a complex and time-consuming planning process. "I've already stated that we'd like to be considered one of the top clubs in the world and that means there's that mystical US$100 million revenue stream that we want to try and get into that classification," he said. "I think that would designate us as one of the more significant and relevant clubs in the world. From a competitive standpoint, I think we're going to go through a bit of a learning curve. You can't expect that we're going to beat Chelsea or Chivas Guadalajara right off the bat. We're not quite at that level but we'd like to get to that level in the next four or five years. But I've always felt the biggest, most important thing that David can do above and beyond the exposure, the media coverage, the sponsorships, the dollars, the ticket sales.

"Can David ultimately prove to a lot of other players around the world that it's okay to come and play in this league, that the quality of play, our facilities and in particular, the fan support for soccer in this country is there. If that happens then David has left a legacy that is probably more in impact and standing than Pele did with the North American Soccer League. But I think we're going to have to work hard to get to the next level. The $100 million mark is not just thrown out there without understanding the consequences. As well as we're doing this year, we have to double our revenue, and that's going to be a challenge," he said as reported by Colin Stewart in The Scotsman.

Nike's responsible image threatened in Indonesia

Several thousand Indonesian workers staged a noisy protest outside the Jakarta offices of Nike over a move by the US sportswear firm to phase out orders at two factories near the Indonesian capital. The demonstrators, who carried banners saying " Nike is a Blood-sucking Vampire" and "Go To Hell Nike", caused huge congestion in the central business district. The timing of the demonstrations during the AFC Asian Cup finals, which Indonesia is co-hosting, is likely to have been determined to embarrass the company which is a major supporter of the Indonesian national football team and players.

Active in Indonesia since 1989, Nike said that last year over 50 million pairs of Nike shoes, 17 million units of Nike apparel, and 12 million pieces of Nike equipment were made in local contract factories. The company said in a statement it remained committed to Indonesia, explaining its move to cut orders at the two sub-contractors that employ 14,000 workers was due to quality issues. Nike said it will cease orders at the factories owned by Central Cipta Murdaya -PT Hardaya Aneka Shoes Industry and Nagasakti Paramashoes Industry at the end of 2007. It said the move was "based on business performance issues related to their consistent inability to meet company's minimum product quality and delivery standard for two years".

However Siti Hartati Murdaya, President Director of Central Cipta Murdaya, told Adhityani Argathe of Reuters that the supplier had met Nike's standards. "Only two percent of our products are defective. Other companies can reach up to 18 percent. This unfair decision will put 14,000 people out of work which is simply unethical." Sutarti, a union leader, said Nike had halved the usual order of shoes at both factories this month and urged the firm to resume the orders or pay severance money. Nike said it would work with unions to help workers with their legal rights and other employment if needed but "It is clear under Indonesian law that the factories are responsible for severance ... so the Indonesian government reinforcing that is very important to us."

The protesters, who had demanded to speak to Nike's country representative, at one stage threatened to storm the offices. But several trucks of police and security guards prevented them from entering the building, which also houses the Jakarta Stock Exchange.

Malaysian FA Deputy Pre resigns after Cup losses

The Deputy President of the Football Association of Malaysia has resigned, one day after the AFC Asian Cup co-hosts suffered a second straight heavy defeat. Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah announced his decision in a public letter faxed to local news agency Bernama on Sunday. Abdullah, also an executive member of the Asian Football Confederation, had criticised national coach Norizan Bakar after Malaysia lost 5-1 to China in their Group C opener on Tuesday.

According to Nazvi Careem of Reuters, the resignation completed a difficult few months for Abdullah, who was also at a the centre of English Premier League champions Manchester United's controversial trip to Malaysia. "The AFC put intense pressure on the FAM to cancel United's proposed match against a Malaysia select team on 27 July in order not to divert attention from the Asian Cup final two days later in Jakarta. Abdullah made the bold decision to carry on with the match and risk the wrath of both the AFC and FIFA. In the end, his gesture of defiance was nullified with United cancelling the match because of AFC's refusal to sanction their visit."

Foreign markets "are essential" to EPL economics

Of the 20 clubs in the English Premier League only three - Newcastle, West Ham and Wigan - are preparing for their new season solely at home. Manchester United is, of course, in Asia, non-competing with the AFC Asian Cup, along with Liverpool Portsmouth and Fulham in Hong Kong for the Barclays Asia Trophy and Bolton and Reading in South Korea for the Peace Cup. Tottenham in South Africa, Chelsea, Everton and Aston Villa are in North America and the rest are around Europe.

"Foreign markets are essential to the economics of the English game," explained Jonathan Northcroft in the The Sunday Times. "The current transfer spending is underpinned by a new television deal worth £2.7 billion over three years to the Premier League, up from £1.024 billion in 2004. The ending of Sky’s monopoly and entry of Setanta as rights holders in the domestic market is one reason for the rise. Another is the huge rise in what foreign broadcasters pay to screen games. In 2004 the league signed a contract with foreign rights holders worth £320 million over three years. Analysts, who predicted such a large deal could not be repeated, were astonished when the Premier League announced a new one worth £625 million over three seasons starting in 2007-08."

Overseas broadcast revenue is divided equally between clubs and so is worth £10.5 million per season equally to every Premier League chairman. For the poorest clubs, that pays for the transfer budget.

"The biggest rise in foreign money, in percentage terms, involved Africa and the Middle East, but that pales beside what Asia is willing to spend to watch the Premier League. It is no coincidence that the Barclays Asia Trophy is being held in Hong Kong, which has a population of just seven million but spent the most on Premier League rights - $200 million over three years from 2007, a 150% increase on the 2004 deal," Northcroft observed.

“In Hong Kong they pay around $10 for every person there to watch the Premier League. Basically, in terms of amount per head of population, it is the most expensive sports rights contract ever - in any sport, in any territory,” said James Pickles, the editor of TV Sports Markets magazine. "The market was fuelled by a bidding war between an incumbent traditional (Hong Kong Cable) broadcaster and a new broadband service (Now TV). A similar thing happened in Singapore, where Premier League rights fetched $160 million. “Premier League football is so popular that owning the right to show it guarantees a channel’s survival. The companies who won the bidding in Hong Kong and Singapore paid so much they can’t hope to make a profit, but knew missing out could lead to their businesses folding."

After Asia, Scandinavia is the most lucrative region for the Premier League to sell its TV rights. Africa and the Middle East have shown the biggest percentage increases, though the amounts involved are minor compared to the Asia and European markets.

Stubborn Indonesia pipped 2-1 by Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia substitute Saad Al Harthi scored an injury-time header to beat Indonesia 2-1 in AFC Asian Cup Group D. Earlier, on 12 minutes, Ahmed Al Bahri sent a cross from the right where he found Yasser Al Qahtani, who headed powerfully past the Indonesian keeper. Elie Aiboy equalised on on 19 minutes, running onto a threaded through ball by Budi Sudarsono, coolly rounding the keeper and slotting home the equalizer. The goal was met with volleys of fireworks and red flares by the nearly 88,000 home fans. Saudi Arabia finished the match strongly. "I am very disappointed," said Indonesia coach Ivan Kolev. "In my view, we did enough to gain a point because we played well."

Uzbekistan blasts Asian Cup co-host Malaysia 5-0

Uzbekistan further demoralised Asian Cup co-host Malaysia with a 5-0 scoreline in Kuala Lumpur. Dynamo Kiev's Maksim Shatskikh scored twice with Ulugbek Bakaev, Timur Kapadze and Aziz Ibragimov scoring a goal each. Both sides made wholesale changes but Malaysia struggled even to touch the ball in the opening minutes and it was no surprise when Uzbekistan opened the scoring early on.

Thai EPL fans start to take notice of national team

Thailand Coach Chanvit Polchovin believes his country's first-ever Asian Cup win can become a turning point to help wean Thai fans off their infatuation with English Premier League and support the national team. A draw with regional power Australia on Monday may be enough to clinch a quarter-final berth. “This is an important turning point for Thai football to change the attitude of the Thai people and make them want to cheer their national team,” Chanvit told AFP. “So we hope we can do better even though we only have a semi-professional league. We have to make the Thai League into a real professional league.”

Nike sponsors Indian website and talent quest

Nike India has announced two football initiatives: its http://www.nikefootball.in/ website for Indian fans and ‘Where’s the next?', a talent hunt project aimed at spotting an outstanding young footballer (age group 15-17 years). The chosen Indian youngster will be part of an 11-member Asian selection squad sent to Barcelona to train for a week at FC Barcelona in August 2007. The chosen boys will also play against FCB youth team and watch the Spanish football giant in action.

The talent hunt will be from 15-31 July with participants required to post a one-minute video of his/her football skills on the website, along with personal details. The top 10 from India, shortlisted on the basis of these videos, will be taken to Delhi by Nike to attend the final. Baichung Bhutia, the current Indian captain, will select the Indian winner.

Vietnam team earns $125,000 in Asian Cup bonus

The Vietnam Football Federation will pay its national team 300 million dong (US$18,700) as a reward for the AFC Asian Cup co-hosts' 1-1 draw against Qatar, Vietnam News reported. Thursday's draw came after Vietnam had stunned United Arab Emirates 2-0 in their opening Group B game last weekend, earning them even more money with an unexpected win bonus. The Vietnamese team has so far picked up almost two billion dong during Asia's premier tounament.

Australia - from favourites to Asia's embarrassment

Coach Graham Arnold has questioned whether his star-studded Australian line-up wants to be at the AFC Asian Cup after a dire 3-1 loss to Iraq in their second Group A match in Bangkok. The pre-tournament favourites were outplayed by a far better side after falling behind to a first-half goal. The Socceroos equalised through skipper Mark Viduka just after half-time, before being picked apart defensively by the Iraqis on the hour for Hawar Mulla Mohammed to score a second. Karrar Jassim Mohammed then finished the Socceroos off with a third goal with five minutes remaining to leave their tournament hanging by a thread. Australia now need to beat Thailand in their final group match on Monday, and hope Iraq either draw with or beat Oman in their match being played simultaneously to move through to the quarter-finals.

"Looking at that game, I would say some players don't want to be here," Arnold told AAP. "Some of them - maybe it is too hard. Maybe the conditions are too hot. The fact that the stadiums aren't full. They can use heat and humidity as an excuse, but attitude comes a long way to it. You look at how they played ... some players, I'm questioning if they want to be out there."

Australians are shocked and angry by their teams limp performance in its inaugural Asian Cup. "The Socceroos had talked before this tournament about playing staccato football, a tempo game of possession and patience to conserve energy in the stifling conditions. That was supposed to go out of the window last night as Australia's battery of English Premier League players vowed to lift their work-rate and replicate the fast-moving, zippy style that is the staple of their soccer lives. Painfully out of rhythm against Oman, there was certainly more brio about their effort here in more favourable conditions. But the Australians, like a bunch of actors who haven't learned their lines properly, are horribly out of sync with themselves and the criticisms now will reach deafening levels," wrote Michael Lynch in The Age.

But Iraq coach Jorvan Vieira was ecstatic. "I told you all we were ready for the match," the Brazilian said. "People sometimes don't believe and we proved today and congratulations to my players. I was never surprised. We worked to win, we never work to lose," he told David Hall of Fox Sports.

Not surprisingly, football fans watching the match live on Iraqi television, were ecstatic with the win. The country is plagued by terrorism and ethnic violence which forces local football to take stringent security measures and restricts the national team's training opportunities. In December last year, former Iraqi coach Yahya Manhel said he hoped people in Iraq would rejoice at their team's progress. "Football is the biggest sport in Iraq. Men, women and children all love it. There are many things which Iraqis disagree about but sport unites them," he said. Iraq had to beat near insurmountable odds to make it to their second Asian Games final. The security situation in Iraq prevented the side not only from having a training camp and they were also unable to practise for more than an hour a day," he said.

This was reinforced in February, when Ihab Kareem, an Iraqi first division club player was killed by a terrorist bomb while shopping in a sports apparel outlet in the Al Shourjah commercial area of the Iraqi capital.

Vieira spoke recently on this problem from the Iraq Football Association's makeshift training base in Jordan: "If they go to Iraq, they are going to be killed ... I don't have one person in this group who hasn't lost someone from their family because of this war. But they never mix politics in the team. They never talk about it. They regret the situation, of course, and they are nostalgic. They miss their country and they're not happy to see their country like it is but nobody talks about the war. I have different groups, different sects, like in Iraq, but here nothing happens and everything is OK. I have Sunni and I have Shia and there is no problem. They are very close ... This is a typical religious war. The extremists have tried to put more fire in the situation."

Striker Younis Mahmoud also said Iraq’s players would "mask their grief" at the Asian Cup and play for their homeland. Mahmoud, who was top scorer in the Qatar League last season, said he had suffered personally in the Iraq sectarian and militia violence, where bomb attacks are an almost daily occurrence. "This is very difficult for me, and my teammate Noor Sabri, the goalkeeper, a very close relative of his was also killed. We put this behind us and we look forward to playing football here. This will not affect us and we try to do our best. In Iraq we say that the grief is in our hearts, but we will never show this to people. I hope everything will be okay in Iraq very soon and we will organise a future Asian Cup.”

These proud sentiments have not prevented pro-insurgent propaganda being introduced into the context of Iraq's sensational defeat of Australia last night. An unnamed reporter of The Associated Press claimed Iraqis were celebrating the win because Australian forces were based in southern Iraq on peace-keeping duties.

"Australia, a close US ally, has 1,000 troops inside Iraq and another 600 providing air and naval support in the region. Australian Prime Minister John Howard sent 2,000 troops to support US and British forces in the Iraq invasion in 2003," the article stated before selecting a lawyer, "Mohammed al-Kharasani, 52" who said the game "was some kind of a challenge because we were playing with a country that has military presence here and at the same time a country known to have a strong team ... Regrettably, the Australian team played looking down to us since they are an occupying country."

Malaysia snubs national team in independence year

"Once upon a time Malaysia's football team was the envy of South East Asia, sweeping aside Japan and South Korea as it reached two Olympic Games and two Asian Cups. Those glory days are now a distant memory with an unimpressive domestic league producing a national side ranked 149 in the world, lower than the likes of Chad, Lesotho and Swaziland. The message was hammered home in Malaysia's opening game of the Asian Cup, when the co-hosts succumbed to the competition's heaviest defeat so far - a 5-1 drubbing by China ... It is a far cry from the proud days when Malaysia was a founding member of the Asian Football Confederation, reaching Asian Cup finals in 1976 and 1980 as well as the 1972 and 1980 Olympic Games, " observed AFP.

The newsagency noted that the match "was watched by a sparse crowd in the National Stadium, highlighting public disillusionment as Malaysia celebrates its 50th anniversary of independence from Britain," that local media cricised the team as being "still as bad as ever" and senior football officlals blasted the perrmance as "shameless" and "inept" performance.

The Malaysian malaise may be blamed on poor management, cronyism and lack of government support, with a healthy dose of bribery and corruption thrown in, said one local expert. "State teams are basically being run by people who are connected to the establishment, meaning the state government," explained Rizal Hashim, a veteran sports journalist with the Malay Mail. "The whole set up is basically being run by the [state] secretary," he said. "The secretary will normally propose the name of the coach and the coach will pick his players based on favouritism. There's very little meritocracy."

Unlike in the three other South East Asian co-host nations, the Asian Cup has failed to revive Malaysia's football spirits. "The fans watch Malaysian football and they compare [Malaysia midfielder] Shahrulnizam Mustapha with Ryan Giggs. It's too vast a difference," said one prominent sports journalist. "A 12-year-old boy can't name one player from the national team but he can name the first XI for Arsenal," he said.

"Now Malaysian football has sunk so low that fans would rather watch European football on television than turn up for their own national team," said Hashim. "We are so concentrated on the English Premier League and our former colonial masters," he said.

Japan turns up heat to win 3-1 against UAE

Japan had a convincing 3-1 victory over United Arab Emirates in their AFC Asian Cup Group B match in Hanoi. Striker Naohiro Takahara scored twice. Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura added a third goal from the penalty spot four minutes before halftime. The Gulf Cup holders managed a consolation goal in the 66th minute through Saeed Al Kaas. "It was so hot that it was hard to play... 45 minutes was difficult enough," said Japan's Bosnian coach Ivica Osim. "But obviously the ball never gets tired. It was important that we had about 95 percent of the possession and just wore UAE down by controlling the tempo."

Indian squad off to Portugal tour with few details

As they get ready to board the flight for Portugal for a three-week training and friendly tour in the European country, the Indian football team reportedly "has little clue" about the details. The 25 national probables, guided by head coach Bob Houghton and his support staff, leave for Lisbon in the early hours but their opposition for the four games they are scheduled to play is yet to be decided. "All I know is that we are leaving for Portugal at 12.55 am on 13 July. Nothing else is confirmed yet," team manager Pradip Chaudhury told Sahara Samay.

The team is expected to play at least one match against a team from the Portuguese top division while the other games will be against teams from the lower leagues. "Whoever we face, it would be a tough assignment for us as it is early in our season and the players have just returned from a four-week break. Moreover, European sides are always strong," Houghton said. The trip to Portugal is being funded by the All Indian Football Federation from its own resources. "The government used to pay for only the air fare. Moreover, the lodging, food and other incidental expenses in Portugal will be borne by the hosts," AIFF Technical Director Shaji Prabhakaran said.

South Korea never 'tyred' of Manchester United

South Korea's Kumho Tire has signed a sponsorship deal with English Premier League club Manchester United. The four-year deal, settled for an undisclosed sum, will see Kumho obtain the rights to include the football team’s logo and images of the players in its advertisements. Kumho CEO Oh Se-chul told Tire Review his company expects the sponsorship agreement will help promote its international image. The tyremaker is already sponsor of Man United's friendly at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on 20 July, one of the club's three commercial promotions in North East Asia during the playing of the AFC Asian Cup in South Easr Asia.

Security issues cancel Santosh Trophy in Kashmir

India's national Santosh Trophy football tournament set to return this month to terrorist-disrupted Kashmir state after nearly three decades has finally been cancelled because of a lack of security, officials said. The event was scheduled to be held in Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar for the first time since 1978, almost a decade before Islamist separatists launched a deadly revolt in the region. “The tournament has been postponed until May next year,” Kashmir’s Sports Minister Babu Singh told AFP. “We were prepared in all respects but the only irritant was a shortage of security force personnel to guard the event,” he said.

Insufficient troops were available to guard the event, after tens of thousands of security forces were diverted to a Hindu pilgrimage in the Himalayan Kashmir mountains. The annual pilgrimage, which started on 1 July and lasts two months, has been targeted by terrorists in the past. Troops number about 500,000 in Kashmir for a state of 10 million people. “The troops are already stretched out due to the pilgrimage,” Singh said.

The tournament, held in a different state each year, and pitting teams from India’s 29 states against each other, will now not be held at all this year. Indian football officials, who visited the region last month to oversee preparations for the tournament, had hoped to spark renewed interest for the sport in the Himalayan state. “I am sure if such a mega event is held here, people would get more involved in football,” said Subrotto Dutta, vice-president of the All India Football Association.

Qatar and Vietnam play out solid 1-1 Cup draw

Qatar made a solid comeback to hold co-hosts Vietnam to a 1-1 draw in their Asian Cup tie in Hanoi. In the 32nd minute Vietnam took the lead when Phan Than Binh's shot was not stopped properly by Qatar goalkeeper Mohamed Saqr and the ball slipped went over the line. The equaliser came in the 78th minute, when a deflected shot found Sebastian Quintana at the back post. Quintana had no problems in heading the ball past Vietnam keeper Duong Hong Son. The draw coupled with the win over the United Arab Emirates has given Vietnam four points and now they have a strong chance of progressing to the quarter-finals.

FIFA approves 27 new Football for Hope programs

The Football for Hope movement is the key element of a strategic alliance, led by FIFA in its capacity as world football's governing body and streetfootballworld as the driving force behind a global network of non-governmental organisations, developing projects on the ground, in which football is the common denominator. The movement already uses the power of football to support more than 60 programs in 40 different countries via concrete, sustainable projects.

The objective of the Football for Hope movement is to bring together, support, advise and strengthen sustainable social and human development programs in the areas of peace promotion, children's rights & education, health promotion, anti-discrimination and social integration, and the environment. These programs must be aimed at children and young people, and use football as an instrument to promote participation and dialogue. The aim of Football for Hope is to create a better future through the medium of football.

On Tuesday, FIFA approved a further 27 programs in 24 countries, at a total cost of US$ 1 million. Twelve of the organisations are in Africa with a further nine in North, Central and South America, four in Europe and two in Asia (including the Child Link India Foundation). These additional programs, whose inclusion has been ratified by the sub-committee of the Committee for Fair Play and Social Responsibility, will take Football for Hope to a whole new dimension.

FIFA President Joseph S Blatter expressed his delight at the expansion of the movement and said that FIFA takes its social responsibility very seriously as part of its aim to build a better future. "That is why we have declared Football for Hope to be a movement and an activity of strategic importance and we are proud that we are now in a position to support more organisations in their work," he said.

By drawing on its huge potential, football will be in a position to help the United Nations reach its Millennium Goals by 2015. Following the example set by the industrialised nations in 2002 with their agreement to earmark 0.7 percent of their gross domestic product for international development aid, FIFA has also decided to invest at least the same percentage of its overall income in worldwide social developments through football.

The Football for Hope movement, as of 1 July, includes organisations in Cameroon, Mali , Sierra Leone, Zambia, Cape Verde Islands, Liberia, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Cambodia , India, Norway, England, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, USA, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, and Paraguay.

Why is Indonesia suffering Cup ticketing chaos?

Indonesia has promised to improve ticketing for its next AFC Asian Cup 2007 match after a chaotic first game in the Group D series hosted by Indonesia saw hundreds of fans break through an emergency exit and thousands more unable to get seats despite sections of the 88,000 capacity stadium being empty. “Things will be better next time,” John Halmahera, the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) spokesman told Associated Press. He blamed the Asian Football Confederation for some of the problems, saying the body was late in distributing tickets to local organisers. He also denied local organisers were supplying large amounts of tickets direct to scalpers and sharing the profits with them, "a common practice at popular sports and other events in Indonesia," according to AP.

The AFC said it was investigating, but did not immediately comment.

However a football observer, who did not wished to be named, told Asian Football Business Review that the AFC and its intimate marketing and commercial agent, World Sport Group, had been aware of the ticketing problem in Indonesia "for months." He said the AFC and WSG had allowed PSSI to select a Malaysian on-line ticketing company to provide internet sales even though its website was only in English (with no Indonesian language text), was suspicious of Indonesian credit cards and had no booth outlets in Jakarta, let alone the other major cities of the sprawling archipelago of 18,000 islands and 240 million persons. "What a way to market tickets in the first month - knowing that the country had low internet and credit card usage," the source commented.

When regular ticketing opened in each of the four host countries 30-days before the first game, the AFC and WSG should have also been aware that PSSI had only opened a single ticket booth at the National Stadium to sell up to hundreds of thousands of tickets for the Group D series, Quarter Final, 3rd v 4th Final (in Palembang) and Cup Final. "There were even web and blog complaints that the ticket office was not open after business hours or on weekends," the source said. "This should have sent warning bells off everywhere."

UPDATE

The Jakarta Post reports that PSSI Secretary General Nugraha Besoes has ordered more ticket booths be opened at the National Stadium and to conduct business from 9:30 am to 4 pm on 12 and 13 July. "For the match between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia on 14 July, the organisers will close sales 15 minutes after kick-off," he said. The same ticketing system will apply for the Indonesia-South Korea clash on 18 July.

The Englishman leading the EPL's Asian invasion

Asian investors are beginning to make a major impact on English Premier League clubs with former Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's successful £81.6 million bid for Manchester City and with Hong Kong entrepreneur Carson Yeung's HK-listed Grandtop International Holdings Ltd scheduled to emerge with the largest single shareholding, 29.9%, in Birmingham City when it pays £14.7 million on 16 September.

The Englishman paving the way for the current Asian invasion is former Football League chairman Dr Keith R Harris, the Executive Chairman of Seymour Pierce Investment Bank. Harris has been publicly associated with Thaksin including assuring the Premier League and the Man City board that his purchase funds were untainted by corruption as alleged by Thailand's military government. He has also been acknowledged as the party who introduced Yeung to Birmingham City. Asia's high-flyers no doubt knew of Harris's assistance to American Randy Lerner's purchase of Aston Villa and his advisory role on the Icelandic consortium's takeover of West Ham United.

Seymour Pierce is a leading London based investment bank and stockbroker focused on advising companies and raising finance for them. Previously Harris was Chief Executive of HSBC Investment Bank Plc, President of Morgan Grenfell in New York and Managing Director of Drexel Burnham Lambert and Apax Partners & Co. He is a non-executive director of a number of private and public companies with particular expertise in the sports and media sectors, having advised a number of leading UK football clubs. He is a also a director of Wembley National Stadium Limited.

Other research reveals he also advised magazine publisher Richard Desmond on buying Express Newspapers and helped Chris Akers sell Sports Internet to Sky for £220 million. He "once tried to sell Manchester United to BSkyB before politicians stymied the deal", advised both Manchester United and Celtic football clubs and spent two "very frustrating" years as chairman of the Football League. "There were plenty of good parts to my time, but it was awful at the end," he recalled. Claiming football at boardroom level is marked by ingratitude and short-sighted self-interest, Harris urged structural changes. These included trimming the First Division and replacing the Second and Third Divisions with regional divisions.

Iran overcomes 'gifted' Uzbekistan to take 2-1 win

Iran recovered from an early setback with two second-half goals for a 2-1 win over Uzbekistan in its opening AFC Asian Cup 2007 match in Group C played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Iranian defender Rahman Rezaei's attempt to clear a long lob from Uzbek midfield playmaker Server Djeparov in the 16th minute resulted in an own goal. Javad Kazemian replaced Rassoul Khatibi after the break and Iran's attack intensified, resulting in goals in the 55th and 78th minutes. Seyed Hosseini's header from Mehdi Mahdavikia's corner gave Iran the equalizer and Kazemian latched onto a pass from Karimi to fire the winner.

Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei, who was banished to the stand for excessive arguing with the referee late in the second half, said his team deserved the three points. "Uzbekistan is a well-prepared team but it was the mistake of our defense which gifted the goal," he said. "We changed the tactics in the second half and that produced the right results for us."

Saudi Arabia and Japan 'black out' for 1-1 draw

A controversial penalty earned Saudi Arabia a a 1-1 draw with South Korea in the teams' opening game in Group D of the AFC Asian Cup 2007 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Choi Sung-kuk had given Korea the lead midway through the second half but Saudi Arabia equalised from the spot through Yasser Al Qahtani after a soft penalty award by Australian referee Mark Shield. The game was held up for 25 minutes after a power failure plunged half the ground into darkness with just five minutes to play.

Vietnam gamblers arrested for backing Asian Cup

Police in Vietnam have arrested four men for taking around US$30,000 in bets on the AFC Asian Cup 2007 matches which commenced on 7 July. Police in Ho Chi Minh City detained four men aged between 41 and 46 on charges of organised gambling on 9 July, the An Ninh Thu Do newspaper reported via Soccer Investor.

This news contradicts speculation that South East Asian punters were unlikely to focus on the Asian-continental tournament co-hosted by Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. According to police officials in Thailand quoted by AFP in June, there would not be any big illegal betting on the Asian Cup. as "Thais are fond of the English Premier League, Italy's Serie A or even the Spanish La Liga rather than Asian football. They know players and figures of those teams, rather than teams of this tournament,"

Some of Asia’s biggest betters are in China where underground rings are rife. In 2005, a man was jailed for 30 months in a illegal football gambling case involving more than US$75 million. Police said heavy betting was expected on the Asian Cup, much of it via the Internet, but refused to disclose details of their anti-gambling plans.

Legal sports gambling still expanding in Australia

Sports betting in Australia is still ghrowing rapidly according to publicly-listed Tabcorp, which recorded a 60% jump in revenue from its sports betting activities. In the 2006-2007 financial year, there was also massive growth in betting on the internet. In Tabcorp’s case it topped A$1 billion for the first time - up 23% on the previous year. Betting on sporting events totalled A$185 million, led by the Australian Open tennis men’s final, followed by the Rugby League State of Origin series. The most popular sports for betting are Rugby League, AFL, and soccer with online betting growing more rapidly than betting through agencies and telephone betting.

But sports betting with Tabcorp, and the other TAB agencies, still trails well behind the outlays through betting agencies and bookmakers. The Northern Territory based Sportingbet turned over close to A$700 million in the first quarter this year alone, and there are at least half a dozen other major operators, including BetFair. Last week’s third State of Origin match saw overA$3 million put through the NSW TAB sports betting agencies alone: there were around 20 betting options available for players. Victorians were slower to embrace sports betting, but with more AFL games live on television, and the Socceroos participation in contests such as the Asian Cup, growth in online sports betting on the Victorian TAB rose by 63% last year.

"It is probably a coincidence, but Victoria is leading Australia when it comes to the regulation of sports betting. Legislation was introduced in the Victorian Parliament in March to ensure sports on which we can bet have in place rigid processes to deny fraud, and to deliver to those sports a share of the revenue from betting on their sporting events," wrote commentator Jeff Wall at crikey.com.

Pakistan bans former Federation chief for 10 years

The Pakistan Football Federation has imposed a ten-year ban on former PFF Secretary General Mohammad Arshad Khan Lodhi for violating the national federation’s code of conduct and discipline. Lodhi has been barred from holding office of any provincial soccer association, national federation and taking part in any football activity of the country for a decade. The decision was taken on the recommendations of PFF disciplinary committee chairman Moin Rauf.

A PFF official told Muhammad Ali of the Daily Times that Lodhi, who is the president of the Punjab Football Association, had also been fined Rs 200,000. Lodhi’s colleagues Chaudhry Abdul Rasheed (PFF congress member) and Anees Ahmed Khan (Lahore District Football Association president) have also been banned for five years along with a fine of Rs 50,000 each.

The official said Lodhi and his ‘friends’ were tarnishing the image of the PFF in the national print and electronic media. “Lodhi has developed a mental state where he thinks he is the only one who is right and the PFF officials are at fault. This strange behaviour can only be attributed to his psychological depression,” the official said, adding that Lodhi had not only tarnished the image of Faisal but also tried to make him a controversial figure through his concocted and baseless allegations.

“This strict disciplinary action has given a clear message to all football lovers in Pakistan that the present management will continue following the promised path of fair play, merit and enforcement of discipline without any discrimination,” he concluded.

Work starts on new Philippine 'GOAL' headquarters

A simple groundbreaking ceremony was held at site of the new Philippine Football Federation headquarters in Pasig City in the company of FIFA Development Officer for Southeast Asia, Windsor John, PFF President Johnny Romualdez and PFF Secretary General Pablito Araneta. FIFA is providing US$420,000 (P19.4 million) which should complete the design by architect Red Avelino, the purchase of the property and the furnishings that come along with it.

“The Philippines was chosen to be one of the recipients for the GOAL Project which is the creation of technical centers or headquarters where the PFF can effectively run its operations,” explained John. “Not every country is given financial assistance and FIFA would like to see the further development of football in the Philippines. I think that the strong showing by the Philippine national team in last year’s ASEAN Cup qualifiers and the finals is an indication that the sport does have growth and potential.”

The amount is in addition to the US$250,000 (P11.5 million) that is given every year to the local football-governing bodies for operations, training and development.

Romualdez said that the new headquarters should be finished by November in time for the PFF’s Centenary Anniversary that will be graced by FIFA president Joseph S Blatter. “That will be huge boost for our football scene for the FIFA president to make an appearance here. You can say it’s like a stamp of approval on our direction,” he said.

“Football has been a high-profile sport in the Philippines lately,” Romualdez told Rick Olivares. “The new headquarters will help instill some pride in the way we do things and should give us a nice push into our operations in the next couple of years. This will be the new center of football and social activity.”

Secretary-General, Araneta announced that a semi-professional football league is in the works and should kick off in a year or two. “We are consulting the various football associations inquiring about the tournaments they run and how a league will fit into the current infrastructure,” he said.

Indonesian crowd inspires 2-1 win over Bahrain

Popular striker Bambang Pamungkas seized on a second-half rebound to give Indonesia a 2-1 victory over Bahrain in front of some 60,000 noisy fans in the host nation's first match of the AFC Asian Cup 2007. Budi Sudarsono had opened the scoring in the 14th minute when he slipped behind the Bahrain defense, chested the ball around the goalkeeper and fired into the bottom right-hand corner Bahrain, which reached the semifinal of the 2004 Asian Cup in China, pressed ahead and equalized 13 minutes later when Sayed Mahmood Jalal scored from close range after Indonesia's defense failed to clear a cross. Bambang' winning goal came in the 62 minute and was the best of the match.

"I want to thank all our players, they fought like soldiers on the pitch tonight. We played the ball along the ground, we had studied our opponents carefully. Our tactics were just right." said Indonesia's Coach, Ivan Kolev of Bulgaria about Indonesia's second only Asian Cup victory. "The fans were like a 12th player tonight, I thank them," he told AP. "We had four chances, but we did not score," said Bahrain's coach Milan Macala. "That was the reason we lost this game. If you want to win, you must score goals."

Macala complained about the quality of the training pitches in the Indonesian capital, which is hosting the Grand Final of this year's championship. The Czech called the practice fields a "disaster," and urged the AFC to examine them. Earlier Tuesday, Saudi Arabia's coach Helio Cesar dos Anjos made the same complaint, AP reported.

Yesterday Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla paid a visit to the national team's final practice. "If you want people to remember you 25 years from now, you have to win this match," Kalla told the players when recalling Indonesia's shock 0-0 draw against heavyweight Soviet Union at the Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956. "We want you to win so that our children do not only know about Zidane or Italian league fixtures rather than those of the Football Association of Indonesia. That is shameful," Kalla said, referring to French great Zinedine Zidane, who just completed a three-day visit to Jakarta.

"Kalla also promised cash bonuses for the players should they deliver some points for Indonesia," Damar Harsanto, reported in the Jakarta Post.

Lack of spirit dooms Malaysia to 5-1 loss to China

Malaysian coach Norizan Bakar criticised his players for lack of team spirit after his side lost to China 5-1 in their first Group C game at the AFC Asian Cup 2007. "The players should have worked together as a team ... cannot sit back and do individual things. We must forget what is happening tonight and perform better in the next match," he told Xinhua. China's Han Peng and Wang Dong both grabbed doubles and Shao Jiayi was also on target as the 2004 r