Here are some of last week’s top stories from around the global soccer industry…
Hisense signs as UEFA EURO 2016 global sponsor (FC Business)
UEFA and Hisense Group are delighted to announce that Chinese electronics giant Hisense has signed as a global sponsor of UEFA EURO 2016, the first-ever sponsorship deal with a Chinese company in the championship’s 56-year history.
Hisense will also sponsor other UEFA national team competitions until the end of 2017, including the European Qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Futsal EURO 2016, the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and UEFA Women’s EURO 2017.
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Hummel signs eight-year deal with Danish FA (Soccerex)
Danish sportswear brand Hummel has signed an eight-year sponsorship and supply deal with the Danish Football Association (DBU), 12 years on from the last collaboration between the two. The contract runs until the end of 2024 and includes all Danish national soccer teams, both men’s and women’s, at all age levels.
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Zidane: Transfer ban seems ‘absurd’ (Goal.com)
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has voiced his dismay with FIFA’s decision to ban the Santiago Bernabeu side from registering new players in the next two complete transfer windows.
The sanction was handed down by the governing body’s disciplinary committee as a consequence of breaches “relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18,” but Zidane finds it hard to understand FIFA’s verdict.
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Italian watchdog says antitrust law violated in soccer rights sale (Reuters)
Investigators at Italy’s antitrust authority said Sky Italia and Mediaset violated competition laws by divvying up Serie A soccer rights and excluding new entrants, according to a Sunday newspaper report that was confirmed by a source.
The antitrust body, known as the AGCM, began its investigation into a 2014 rights auction worth nearly 1 billion euros ($1.09 billion) per season in May last year, closing it in December.
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Premier League clubs face fallout from Real and Atlético Madrid transfer ban (the guardian)
Premier League clubs including Manchester United and Chelsea may be forced to alter their transfer plans after Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid were banned by Fifa from registering new players in the next two windows, a decision that could have significant ramifications in England.
Fifa said both Madrid clubs had breached its rules on the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18, with Atlético fined 900,000 Swiss francs (£622,000) and Real 360,000 (£249,000). More importantly, it means neither club is able to register a new player before the summer of 2017. The suspension does not come into effect until after the current January window.
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Europe’s Top Soccer Teams Turn to U.S. Bond Market for Funding (Bloomberg)
European soccer teams are turning to the U.S. bond market for funding that could help them buy and trade more players.
London-based XXIII Capital sold last week $73 million of bonds backed by media-rights payments and player-transfer fees from clubs in Europe’s largest soccer leagues, including U.K.’s Premier League, Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s La Liga, France’s Ligue 1 and Italy’s Serie A, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency. The bonds pay investors through cash streams, mostly insured, from agreements made across the leagues.
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Report: Minnesota United FC eyeing temporary homes with goal of joining MLS in 2017 (Major League Soccer)
Expansion club Minnesota United FC are eyeing 2017 for their inaugural season in MLS, and according a report in the Star Tribune are looking at Target Field and TCF Bank Stadium as temporary homes.
The newspaper reported – and an MLS spokesman confirmed – that a member of the league’s operations department visited both venues, primarily to look at infrastructure. If the club joins MLS in 2017, it will need a place to play while its 20,000-seat stadium, currently proposed in St. Paul, is constructed.
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FIFA Dismiss Jérôme Valcke After Corruption Allegations (Wall Street Journal)
FIFA’s former secretary-general, Jérôme Valcke, was dismissed by the organization this month following long-running allegations of corruption, FIFA announced Wednesday.
Mr. Valcke, who served as Sepp Blatter’s right-hand man for nearly a decade, was already facing a nine-year ban from all soccer-related activities, recommended by the investigatory arm of FIFA’s ethics body.
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NASL’s Atlanta Silverbacks halt operations for at least 2016 (ESPN FC)
The Atlanta Silverbacks will halt operations for at least the 2016 season, the North American Soccer League has announced. The club had been run by the second-tier NASL last season while the league searched for new ownership. But the task has become increasingly more challenging as top-flight Major League Soccer prepares to bring in Atlanta United FC, owned by the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, for the 2017 season.
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National Women’s Soccer League announces allocation process for 2016 season (The Oregonian)
The National Women’s Soccer League announced a new allocation process Friday, moments before the start of the 2016 NWSL College Draft. Shortly after the allocation order was announced, the Portland Thorns acquired the No. 1 pick in the allocation order in exchange for the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NWSL College Draft.
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This article originally appeared on Business of Soccer. To learn more about BOS you can follow them on Twitter or Facebook.
