Here are some of last week’s top stories from around the global soccer industry…
China is Splurging on Big-Name Soccer Talent (FiveThirtyEight)
n the past few weeks, the Chinese Football Association Super League — the country’s premier professional soccer league — has been on a shopping spree. By the close of the January transfer window, the Chinese Super League had outspent England’s Premier League in the transfer market; the CSL made five of the six largest transfer signings in the 2015-16 window.
The biggest splash came when the Jiangsu Suning shelled out $55 million to acquire Alex Teixeira, a star Brazilian midfielder playing in Ukraine, who was hotly pursued by Liverpool. Teixeira’s signing gives the CSL the 70th most valuable player in the world.
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Scotiabank Threatens to Pull Sponsorship From Soccer Group (Bloomberg)
The Bank of Nova Scotia has threatened to pull its sponsorship of the association responsible for soccer in the Caribbean, North America, and Central America if the soccer leaders fail to pass a slate of governance reforms on Feb. 25.
The Canadian bank, commonly known as Scotiabank, signed a four-year, $20 million deal with Concacaf in December 2014, five months before the organization’s president and other officials were named in the U.S. Department of Justice’s sprawling indictment that alleged over two decades of corruption in global soccer.
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City Football Group agrees multi-team digital partnership (Soccerex)
City Football Group (CFG), the international soccer ownership network established by Premier League club Manchester City, has entered into a global partnership with web development platform Wix.com.
The partnership sees Tel Aviv-based Wix become the official website design and hosting partner of the group and three of its clubs: City, New York City FC and Melbourne City FC.
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FIFA rejects demand for transparent voting booths at election (Reuters)
FIFA has rejected a demand from a presidential candidate to use transparent voting booths at next week’s election to ensure delegates do not photograph their ballot papers when they choose the head of soccer’s world ruling body.
The request came from Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, who said he would take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), sport’s highest tribunal.
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Manchester United announce second-quarterly financial results (FC Business)
Manchester United today announced financial results for the 2016 fiscal second quarter and six months ended 31 December 2015.
Ed Woodward, Executive Vice Chairman, commented, “Our strong commitment to investing in our squad, youth academy and the broader club are ultimately underpinned by our financial strength and the hard work and dedication of everyone at the Club. Our solid results off the pitch help contribute to what remains our number one priority – success on the pitch.”
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Blatter: Qatar did not buy 2022 World Cup (Goal.com)
Sepp Blatter continues to distance himself from allegations of corruption and claims Qatar did not buy the 2022 World Cup.
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter insisted Qatar did not buy the opportunity to host the 2022 World Cup as he continues to appeal against his ban from football.
Blatter was banned for eight years alongside UEFA president Michel Platini over an alleged “disloyal payment” of nearly $2 million between the two men.
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FIFA Candidate’s Credentials Are Questioned (New York Times)
Greg Dyke, the chairman of the English Football Association, questioned the credentials of Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa of Bahrain, the Asian Football Confederation’s president and a leading candidate for the FIFA presidency. With the election set for next week, Sheikh Salman remains under scrutiny over his role in Bahrain’s uprising in 2011.
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Bolton Wanderers await next stage of high court battle while buyer talks go on (the guardian)
Football fans are waiting for result of the latest round of financially troubled Bolton Wanderers’ fight for survival. Lawyers representing Bolton are due to appear at the high court in London on Monday after tax officials pressed for the 142-year-old club to be wound up.
On 18 January a specialist judge heard that Bolton owed Revenue & Customs £2.2m. The registrar, Michael Briggs, gave the club until 22 February to find a solution.
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Ticket touting laws being flouted (BBC)
A 5 live investigation has discovered that laws banning the touting of football tickets are being flouted, leaving supporters vulnerable to dubious online brokers.
In a bid to clamp down on illegal trading, Manchester United have seized more than 1,700 tickets during the last two seasons.
There are also concerns that some websites allowing fans to legitimately resell tickets for other types of show may be in breach of consumer protection legislation introduced last year.
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Local business leaders form Major League Soccer exploration group (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
A group of prominent local business and sports leaders are working together to land a Major League Soccer expansion franchise.
The group includes St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III, World Wide Technology CEO Jim Kavanaugh, prominent hotelier Bob O’Loughlin, UniGroup President Jim Powers, St. Louis Blues CEO Chris Zimmerman and former NFL task force co-chairman Dave Peacock.
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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.
