Here are some of last week’s top stories from around the global soccer industry…
Beckenbauer is One of 11 FIFA Officials Under Investigation (Bloomberg)
Former German star Franz Beckenbauer and Spanish soccer head Angel Maria Villar Llona are among senior FIFA officials under investigation for alleged breaches of soccer’s governing body’s code of ethics.
The two men were among 11 officials — including eight who took part in the controversial process that awarded the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar — whose identities were revealed following a decision Tuesday by FIFA’s board to lift secrecy restrictions on ethics investigations.
To continue reading, please click here.
Asian Soccer Chiefs Plan New Marketing Deal Without Tender (Reuters)
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has lined up a new eight-year deal with a sports marketing agency owned by French media group Lagardere without offering it to a formal tender, two sources close to the process told Reuters.
The marketing agreement with World Sports Group (WSG), re-named Lagardere Sports last month in a re-brand by the French group, replaces an existing $1-billion deal which still had more than four years to run, the sources said.
To continue reading, please click here.
Leeds Chairman Massimo Cellini Fails Owners’ Test (FC Business)
Leeds chairman Massimo Cellino has been disqualified by the Football League after failing its owners’ and directors’ test.
A statement from the Footbal League says: “At its recent meeting, the Board of The Football League (with the exception of Chief Executive Shaun Harvey who declared an interest*) considered the position of Leeds United President Massimo Cellino under its Owners’ and Directors’ test.
To continue reading, please click here.
Report: La Liga Set to Tender Domestic TV Rights (Soccerex)
Spain’s La Liga will reportedly put its next round of domestic rights out to tender before the end of this year.
Spanish newspaper El Pais reports that the league plans to award its national TV rights for a three-year period covering the 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 campaigns.
To continue reading, please click here.
Major League Soccer’s Decision Day Twitter Campaign: Hang On To Your Credit Cards Fans! (Forbes)
There seem to be an increasing number of Twitter marketing campaigns in which Twitter is in some way complicit with the advertiser to part you from you money. These “Powered by Twitter” campaigns include direct marketing through sales of user data, permitting companies to run algorithms to target certain users, and offering special tech for promotional use in “Twitter Mirror” campaigns. All of these campaigns are designed to promote user engagement, often for special events. Major League Soccer’s (MLS) #DecisionDay promotional campaign today is a virtual bonanza of Twitter promos, new and old. The campaign as a whole? Goal!
To continue reading, please click here.
Why Soccer’s Alex Morgan Can Have Kaka-Level Impact on Orlando (Orlando Business Journal)
The name Alex Morgan has a lot of clout and super stardom in the soccer world, so don’t be surprised if you soon see a wave of excitement build in Orlando similar to when Orlando City Soccer Club’s Kaka arrived in the City Beautiful last year.
Morgan, who as of now still is on the National Women’s Soccer League’s Portland Thorns, reportedly is close to being traded to the newly announced Orlando Pride team. In a nutshell, the trade details Orlando giving up many other high-profile players and valuable player picks — which would be essential for a new team to build a competitive roster — for Morgan and, potentially, another starting player.
To continue reading, please click here.
St. Paul Savors its Major League Soccer Triumph (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
The voices booming off the walls of the packed ballroom at the Midpointe Event Center in St. Paul on Friday said it all.
“We love United, we do … United we love you!” supporters of the Minnesota United soccer team shouted as city and team leaders officially announced a not-so-well-kept secret: St. Paul will be the new home for the Major League Soccer-bound team, which has committed to playing in an 18,000-seat stadium to be built near Snelling and University avenues in the city’s Midway area.
To continue reading, please click here.
U.S. Soccer to Host Prestigious Copa America Centenario in the United States (U.S. Soccer)
The U.S. Soccer Federation will partner with The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), and the Confederacion Sudamericana de Futbol (CONMEBOL), to host the prestigious Copa America Centenario, a tournament that marks the 100-year anniversary of the South American Football Championship.
To continue reading, please click here.
Sporting Kansas City Announce Formation of USL Side Swope Park Rangers (Major League Soccer)
Sporting Kansas City will become the latest MLS team to form its own USL side following the club’s Thursday announcement of the formation of the Swope Park Rangers. The new team will begin play at Swope Soccer Village in the 2016 season.
“It’s a thrill to welcome a new sports team to Kansas City and especially to Swope Soccer Village, a city facility that benefits the entire Kansas City area,” Mayor Sly James said in a statement. “Congratulations to Sporting Kansas City for expanding in a way that creates new soccer excitement, adds jobs and will bring fans from across the region.”
To continue reading, please click here.
Sheikh Salman Formally Submits Candidature for FIFA Presidency (the guardian)
Despite a growing storm of criticism from human rights groups, the Asian Football Confederation president, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, has formally submitted his candidature to be the next president of Fifa after February’s election.
To continue reading, please click here.
This article originally appeared on Business of Soccer. To learn more about BOS you can follow them on Twitter or Facebook.
