JSB

Aston Villa living the American dream

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“English football has experienced its fair share of American owners, rolling into town unencumbered by tradition, puffed up and full of vacant promises, with more than just an eye on the bottom line and who have since saddled their clubs with debt… The antithesis of their kind is just down the M6. Randy Lerner, the philanthropist who contributes to the National Portrait Gallery, the quiet American who bought Aston Villa for £63.6 million in 2006, has transformed his club in 3½ years to the point that they are on the cusp of a trip to Wembley for their first major final in a decade.”

176,000 Log On To Watch Oldham vs Leeds

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The FA Cup First Round tie between Oldham Athletic and Leeds United, streamed exclusively live on TheFA.com, achieved an audience 176,000. The Football Association are claiming this as a UK record for a free-to-view competitive football match on the internet. The FA’s technical partner in the FATV project is digital sports specialist Perform Group. Oliver Slipper, Perform’s joint-CEO, has said that the match ranked as one of the top five live web sports events in UK history.

Pompey Take Out Loan To Buy Players

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Three directors at Portsmouth were forced to take out an emergency loan yesterday to pay players. The executive board of the club then challenged owner Sulaman al-Fahim to deliver on his promise to refinance the club within the next fortnight. Having arranged the £1.8m loan so that the players can be paid and the club can meet its obligations this month, the three-person board issued a strongly worded statement in which their criticism of al-Fahim was only thinly veiled.

English Clubs To Fight Platini’s Plans

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Some of Europe’s leading football clubs, especially those in the Premiership, are preparing to oppose plans bu Uefa to curtail the ability of club owners to buy their way to success. Michael Platini’s campaign, which some think is aimed at Premiership clubs, has been approved by Uefa’s executive committee and will come into force over the next three years. The concept has the approval of the European Club Association, which represents about 150 clubs.

Football or Arms Race?

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Podcast from University of Nottingham, featuring Dr Wyn Morgan.

Under discussion, the state of finance in football in light of the record-breaking Manchester City takeover.

Sweden Beat US On Penalties To Win Algarve Cup

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In women’s international football (soccer) there are three important tournaments: the World Cup (current holders: Germany), the Olympics (current holders: USA) and the annual ‘Algarve Cup’ (holders: USA). This last tournament may be invitation only and carry less media coverage than the other two genuinely world events, but it has been held since 1994 and it’s final takes place in the Estádio Algarve – a 30,000 capacity ground built for the 2004 European Football Championships.

Two Newspapers Banned from Hartlepool United

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The Northern Echo’s and the Hartlepool Mail have been banned from the Victoria Park ground as Hartlepool United is in dispute with the newspapers over commercial rights. The row was sparked when the Hartlepool Mail refused to sign a commercial agreement with the club which the newspaper considered to be unfair. The Mail’s photographers are not allowed into the stadium, and reporters, who are denied press access (although they have been reporting from the terraces).

Top 10 Brazilian Football Clubs

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We’ve recently received the latest report from Casual Auditores Independentes on the finances of Brazilian football clubs and very interesting reading it is too. 21 clubs are covered and we encourage you to check out it out – the link above is to a pdf copy. You will see a very thorough analysis including breakdowns of revenue streams and a special focus on EBITDA and financial liabilities, but here are some brief highlights: