Football's Magic Money Tree

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Chester Perry
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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Wed Jul 21, 2021 7:31 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Wed Jul 21, 2021 1:51 am
The full judgement from the Court of Appeal on Manchester City vs the FA Premier League, interestingly both parties wanted to keep the whole process out of the public domain - as yet the investigation continues and Manchester City are still to share the requested information - at this stage no charges have been made against the club

https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2021/1110.html
This is an interesting legal thread on that appeal court judgement against Manchester City

https://twitter.com/LegalManFC/status/1 ... 2026317829

- I find it tell that on all three instances of Manchester City being investigated by the games authorities (2 with UEFA and this one with the Premier League) they have fought their cases on the technical process rather than whether they had actually don any actual wrongdoing. Here they have spent over 2 years arguing they have done nothing wrong but actually fighting a legal batle so that they do not have to provide the evidence tha they have done nothing wrong

https://twitter.com/tariqpanja/status/1 ... 2400759816

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Thu Jul 22, 2021 12:33 am

There is no doubt that this is going to upset a few if true - from The Times

Plans for compulsory Covid passports for fans
Martyn Ziegler
Wednesday July 21 2021, 12.01am, The Times

The Premier League is in talks with clubs over the introduction of compulsory Covid passports for fans from the start of the season — even if it is not required by the government.

Rules for supporters to show proof of a double vaccination or a negative lateral flow test to get into sporting events are not expected before the autumn but the league has proposed “going early” with its own policy, to counter any threat of cuts in crowd capacity.

Some clubs had discussed introducing their own Covid passport schemes for the new season, which starts on August 13, but Premier League chiefs are understood to have decided that it would be better if all 20 clubs had the same policy.

The government’s rules for the Covid certification policy are expected to cover only sports events with a capacity of more than 20,000. That would mean Brentford, newly promoted to the top flight, would not be covered by those regulations but the club would have to follow the Premier League policy.

Ministers plan to make proof of double jabs or a negative test compulsory for nightclubs and other “crowded venues” — though not pubs — from the end of September. The rules for sporting events may come later in the autumn, though some may follow the Premier League’s idea and introduce passport requirements earlier. Anyone not vaccinated must show proof of a negative test — as was required at Euro 2020 matches at Wembley.

The 20 top-flight clubs lost more than £1 billion combined from missing out on match-day income last season, with some losing as much as £5 million per game.

A senior executive at one Premier League club told The Times: “Any cut in capacity would be a disaster for many clubs after everything we have endured. We need to find something that can guarantee full stadiums whatever is happening and the Covid certification scheme has been proven to work.”

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Thu Jul 22, 2021 1:53 am

Hmmm Le Monde are reporting that Saudi Arabia used Pegasus (the infamous Israeli spyware) to spy on PSG and beIN Media boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi

as Simon Chadwick says

"No wonder NUFC case (& its associations with KSA govt) has been kicked so far into the long grass"

https://twitter.com/Prof_Chadwick/statu ... 1677161476

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Thu Jul 22, 2021 1:54 pm

This seems a little surprising - Bournemouth owner considering selling the club 0 from Bloomberg

AFC Bournemouth Owner Considers Sale of U.K. Club
By David Hellier
22 July 2021, 12:07 BST
  • Club reached out to potential investors, buyers in the spring
  • U.K. soccer clubs continue to draw interest of overseas buyers
The owner of AFC Bournemouth is exploring options for the U.K. soccer club, including a potential sale.

Management reached out to a select group of potential investors and buyers in the spring to provide information on the club and its finances, according to a document seen by Bloomberg News. The club has met with suitors, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.

Bournemouth is based on the English south coast and is owned by the Russian businessman Maxim Demin, who bought 50% of the club in 2011 and took full control two years later. In 2015, Demin sold a 25% interest in Bournemouth to the Chicago-based Peak6 Investments LLC, before buying it back in 2019.

Deliberations are ongoing, and there’s no certainty they’ll lead to a transaction, according to the people. A representative for Bournemouth declined to comment. A request to contact Demin via the club was made.

The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English soccer, having been relegated from the Premier League in 2020 after five seasons in the elite division.

Any sale or investment could value Bournemouth at 80 million pounds ($110 million) to 100 million pounds, according to Kieran Maguire, a lecturer in soccer finance at the University of Liverpool. He said any new owner would benefit from two years of parachute payments from the Premier League that cushion the financial blow of dropping out of the top tier.

“Bournemouth has punched above its weight for a number of seasons,” said Maguire.

Nicknamed the Cherries, Bournemouth has like its peers suffered from the financial blow of the Covid-19 crisis. It swung to a loss of 3.5 million pounds in the 2019/20 season as revenue fell to 95.4 million pounds due to the impact of the pandemic, which forced games to be played in empty stadiums and led to broadcaster rebates.

In the previous season, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization at the club were 11 million pounds on revenue of 131 million pounds, according to the document.

U.K. soccer clubs continue to draw the interest of overseas buyers, especially from the U.S., who are keen to invest in sports assets in a prime European market. Gamechanger 20 Ltd., a company backed by U.S. investors, bought a majority stake in Championship club Ipswich Town FC in April. Derby County FC, another team in the division, has also been the subject of takeover interest.

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Thu Jul 22, 2021 1:56 pm

Tracey Crouch provides a detailed update on the Fan Led review

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... Format.pdf

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Vegas Claret » Thu Jul 22, 2021 1:59 pm

Barcelona are in meltdown, they've told all their players that they HAVE to accept a pay cut by August 15th, any player that refuses will be taken to court !!!!!! Not sure how that will work but I'm no lawyer

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Thu Jul 22, 2021 2:37 pm

The Premier League secures a Broadcast partner in China until the end of the next cycle - The deal covers what would have been the last year of the PPTV and the whole of the next cycle - at what is likely to be a significantly reduced level - shortfall last year (year 2 of the PPTV deal) looks to be around 95% of the original PPTV deal value (The Premier League collected around % of the deal value in year 1). The total loss on that are likely to be well in excess of $500m - from SportsBusimess.com

iQiyi Sports secures exclusive Premier League rights in China
Kevin McCullagh
July 22, 2021

Streaming platform iQiyi Sports has become the English Premier League’s exclusive digital media rights partner in China in a four-season deal, 2021-22 to 2024-25.

iQiyi Sports has acquired the rights following last year’s collapse of a deal with PP Sports for the current cycle, and the expiry of a one-season deal with Tencent covering 2020-21.

The platform will show live coverage of all matches each season. It is selling a discounted, early bird pass giving access to all matches in the 2021-22 season for RMB228 ($32/€30). The normal price will be RMB318. Pass buyers will be able to watch live matches without advertising, in high definition, and with commentary in multiple languages.

The Premier League is still to award linear television rights in China for next season onwards. State broadcaster CCTV has historically acquired these and will be favourite to do so again. There was no deal for Premier League linear rights in China during 2020-21.

iQiyi Sports is a joint venture launched in 2018 by Chinese sports media and marketing company Super Sports Media and iQiyi, China’s biggest video streaming platform. Super Sports Media is owned by sports and entertainment investor DDMC Group. iQiyi is owned by Baidu, China’s biggest search engine.

iQiyi Sports’ football rights portfolio also includes Spanish LaLiga and Asian Football Confederation properties. The platform also had rights to the recently-concluded Uefa Euro 2020 tournament. An early bird LaLiga pass for the 2021-22 season costs RMB198, with a normal price of RMB318.

The collapse of the Premier League’s deal with PP Sports last year marked the end of a boom in sports rights values in China. The iQiyi Sports deal is expected to be valued much lower than the $233m (€198m) per season that PP Sports agreed to pay for the current three-year cycle, 2019-20 to 2021-22.

The stopgap deal that the Premier League agreed with Tencent to cover the 2020-21 season is widely thought to have involved a minimum guarantee of only around $10m. There were compounding factors for this low value. It was a short-term, one-season deal. It was agreed in haste after the PP Sports deal was terminated only a week before the start of the season. And there were new carve-outs of clip rights. Nevertheless, it was a signal of how far the Chinese rights market had fallen.

Sports rights values in China were driven in recent years by overly-aggressive spending by streaming platforms. The pandemic burst the bubble, with platforms such as PP Sports coming under intolerable financial pressure. PP Sports’ parent company Suning was no longer able to underwrite the platform’s losses, having run into to serious financial problems itself.

There have been signs that the Chinese digital rights market was moving towards non-exclusive deals, with streaming platforms turning away from high-value exclusive rights deals. The platforms have not been able to generate revenues from sports content commensurate with the high cost of exclusive rights deals.

The Chinese Super League earlier this year agreed non-exclusive deals with platforms including Tencent and football app Dongqiudi for rights starting with its 2021 season. However, it struggled to get on board another partner it was targeting, China Mobile-owned video streaming platform Migu.

The CSL was another property forced to put together new deals following the collapse of an agreement with PP Sports.

The iQiyi Sports-Premier League deal could give the exclusive rights model a shot in the arm. On the other hand, the Premier League could be among a small number of outlier properties able to command exclusive deals. It is considered the second-biggest sports rights property in the market after NBA basketball. Tencent has exclusive NBA streaming rights in a five-season deal from 2020-21 to 2024-25.

The NBA has not been immune to the downturn – its Tencent deal has been renegotiated downwards in value since it was agreed in 2019. The NBA’s trouble in China linked to the Daryl Morey incident in 2019 is also thought to have been a factor in the renegotiation.

Several other European football properties have been on the market with their rights in China in recent weeks and months. Team Marketing has been selling rights for Uefa club competitions. The agency is understood to have weighed up doing a series of non-exclusive deals after receiving underwhelming bids for exclusive rights. Italian Serie A and German Bundesliga rights for the 2021-22 season onwards have also been on the market. PP Sports was the previous rights-holder of all three properties.

With the bigger Premier League deal now out of the way, deals for these properties are expected to follow soon.

Super Sports Media previously had Premier League rights in China in a six-year deal covering 2013-14 to 2018-19. This was a landmark deal for the company that earned big profits and secured its reputation. Super Sports Media had acquired the rights just before the boom in the value of streaming content in China, as video streaming platforms took off and aggressively pursued growth. DDMC acquired Super Sports Media in 2018, towards the end of that Premier League rights cycle.

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Thu Jul 22, 2021 5:48 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Thu Jul 22, 2021 1:56 pm
Tracey Crouch provides a detailed update on the Fan Led review

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... Format.pdf
Those of you who have not yet read this should, it begins by affirming her review starting assumption that a football regulator will be in place by saying it is essential
Last edited by Chester Perry on Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
This user liked this post: Vegas Claret

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Thu Jul 22, 2021 6:18 pm

The Times are suggesting that new Chinese broadcasting deal is less than half the value the PPTV renegaded on - I think if they have manages to get close to half they have done well - as the PPTV was absolute stupid money

https://twitter.com/martynziegler/statu ... 2083540998

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:54 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Thu Jul 22, 2021 1:53 am
Hmmm Le Monde are reporting that Saudi Arabia used Pegasus (the infamous Israeli spyware) to spy on PSG and beIN Media boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi

as Simon Chadwick says

"No wonder NUFC case (& its associations with KSA govt) has been kicked so far into the long grass"

https://twitter.com/Prof_Chadwick/statu ... 1677161476
beIN Media confirm that Nasser Al-Khellaifi and their other senior execs are subject to almost daily malicious cyber attacks - from Sports Business

BeIN: Cyber attacks against Al-Khelaïfi and others a ‘daily reality’
SportBusiness Staff
July 22, 2021

Pay-television broadcaster beIN Media Group has confirmed its chairman, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, and other officials have been the subject of “malicious hacks and threats”.

An investigative media consortium, led by Paris-based non-profit journalism group Forbidden Stories, at the weekend alleged that Pegasus spyware, a tool licensed to governments by Israeli company NSO Group, was misused to enable the hacking of smartphones of high-profile figures, government officials and journalists across the globe.

Le Monde newspaper has alleged that Al-Khelaïfi, who is also chairman and chief executive of Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, was targeted as part of the ongoing diplomatic and commercial battle between Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

It is alleged that at the end of 2018, agents used Pegasus to target two mobile numbers of Al-Khelaïfi, a Qatari citizen, plus a landline number assigned to Qatari-owned PSG’s communications director, Jean-Martial Ribes. A client is also alleged to have used Pegasus to target the management of beIN.

Following the report, beIN stated: “Malicious hacks and threats to our business and our people are a shocking daily reality for our group. We have known about the cyber-attacks against beIN Sports and its employees by certain entities for years.

“During this time, beIN has joined with legal advocates and many international organisations to fight against piracy and uphold the rule of law. However, the sophisticated attacks against our group’s interests and reputation have also been marked by smear campaigns, commercial sabotage, spurious law suits and cyber-attacks against our chairman.

“These are just some of the daily threats against our businesses and our people. These acts are shameful and wholly illegal – it’s not political, often it’s pure commercial espionage against beIN. The relevant authorities should ensure that the complete lawlessness of these rogue actors is held to account.”

Amid the reports, Saudi state news agency SPA said a Saudi official denied the allegations that an entity in the Kingdom is involved in using software to monitor phone calls. SPA stated that the source added that such allegations are untrue and that “KSA’s policies do not condone such practices”.

BeIN retained exclusive broadcast rights to Uefa club competitions in the Middle East and North Africa in a key renewal announced last month. The new agreement in beIN’s home market runs from 2021-22 to 2023-24 and includes the Uefa Champions League, Europa League and new third-tier Europa Conference League, along with centralised rights to the Uefa Women’s Champions League from next season onwards.

Rights have been secured in Arabic, English and French across all 24 countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, where there was a rival bid backed by the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund.

European football’s governing body last year made a specific submission to the US government regarding the retention of Saudi Arabia on the priority watchlist and is understood to have done so again ahead of the publication of this year’s list.

The United States Trade Representative office, the government organisation responsible for advising US trade policy, in May called on Saudi Arabia to improve its enforcement of IP protection as the Kingdom remained part of its priority watchlist.

Having added the country to the priority watchlist in 2019 amid the activities of pirate sports broadcaster beoutQ, the USTR kept Saudi Arabia on the list last year and has done so again in 2021.

This comes despite beoutQ ceasing operations in August 2019 and the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property, having “continued to take steps to improve IP protection, enforcement, and awareness” in 2020, according to the USTR.

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Thu Jul 22, 2021 11:39 pm

Things must be a bit quiet out in football transfer land so with nothing to do what can betting companies do to stir up interest for football related bets and media groups do to generate clicks

we have this sensationalist story from the Mail about Mino Raiola - earning the most average commission per transfer
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... letes.html

which is actually based on this "report" something it most definitely isn't from OLBG (betting) blog
https://www.olbg.com/blogs/super-agents

which actually uses data from this Forbes.com report published last December
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbelze ... the-money/

the Forbes list itself is compiled to a different set of criteria - gross income and not average per transaction, but the data for that extrapolation is there
https://www.forbes.com/sports-agents/list/#tab:overall

just another example of Football's Magic Money Tree folks

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Wile E Coyote » Thu Jul 22, 2021 11:52 pm

got to admire Chester, we need voices of incisive people who strip away the veneer.

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:16 am

This is good from Simon Chadwick, an observation about the launch of a new shirt sponsor for Inter Milan

https://twitter.com/Prof_Chadwick/statu ... 7361989636

for those who don's get the connection of the second post on the thread - that was the first shirt sponsorship in football - it caused a bit of ire with the football authorities at the time - it was the brainchild of Derek Dougan, someone who did not like taking no for an answer - I find it ironic that his cause was supported by Derby (still never shy of a trick to come up with a revenue generating trick or too,

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/ ... rt/1058182

What Chadwick fails to mention about Inter Milan that further cements their so 2021 status, is that they won their league with huge mounting debts that the Chinese government will not let them fund and consequently had to borrow money from an American Private Equity group who will take control of the club if payments fail, Then there is the fact that Inter were a member of the Hokey-Cokey nine in the Super League - In, Out, What was that all about? and it is thought that like Chelsea and the Russian Government, Inter had pressure on them to quite ESL by the Chinese Government

again just another example of Football's Magic Money Tree

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:35 am

Chester Perry wrote:
Thu Jul 22, 2021 5:48 pm
Those of you who have not yet read this should, it begins by affirming her review starting assumption that a football regulator will be in place by saying it is essential
Simon Chadwick wonders exactly can be done to influence factors well beyond the sphere of control of a regulator

https://twitter.com/Prof_Chadwick/statu ... 7024863244

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:50 am

It is a court case (or more strictly a series of court cases that have been running for quite a while now where by Relevent of the summer ICC tournament/friendlies has tried to get legal sanction to stage in season none American League (La Liga was the main option) games on American soil. this week they lost another round - from Reuters - it is a slightly confusing read

FIFA, U.S. Soccer win dismissal of promoter's antitrust lawsuit in New York
Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday dismissed a sports promotion company's antitrust lawsuit accusing soccer's world governing body FIFA and the U.S. Soccer Federation of blocking foreign clubs and leagues from staging competitive matches in the United States.

U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan said Relevent Sports LLC failed to show an illegal conspiracy to restrict where teams play, despite a 2018 FIFA policy against official matches outside teams' home territories.

Caproni said that even absent a formal "meeting of the minds" there were "obvious rational reasons" for U.S. Soccer to honor the ban, including the prospect that FIFA might otherwise exclude U.S. men's soccer players and teams from the World Cup.

She also rejected New York-based Relevent's "conclusory" claim that U.S. Soccer and Major League Soccer pushed FIFA for the ban.

"In short, plaintiff's amended complaint is devoid of any factual allegations to support the inference that the defendants in this case agreed with anyone, let alone with all 210 other National Associations and countless leagues and teams, to do anything, including to adhere to the policy," Caproni wrote.

Lawyers for Relevent did not immediately respond to requests for comment. FIFA, U.S. Soccer and their respective lawyers did not immediately respond to similar requests.

Relevent, which organizes the International Champions Cup, wanted to arrange regular season games in the United States from leagues such as Spain's La Liga, its partner in a joint venture.

Some European and South American teams play "friendly" matches in the United States, but not regular season matches.

Caproni gave Relevent until July 30 to decide whether it wants to arbitrate a separate claim against U.S. Soccer for interfering with its business.

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:55 am

The Multi-club approach shows no sign of slowing down (or more lamentably, intervention from the games authorities) Pacific Media Group who control Barnsley take control of their 6th club in the group, this time in Holland have already invested in the other multi-club leagues of choice Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and France

https://theathletic.com/news/barnsley-c ... qlHWWijIif

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Jul 23, 2021 2:09 am

Chester Perry wrote:
Tue Jun 22, 2021 6:07 pm
It has been discussed for a while but he MLS has now confirmed that it will be launching a new lower tier in 2022, it sounds more of a development level league - there is no sign of promotion/relegation which may become a feature of USL - from SportsProMedia

MLS launching new lower tier league in 2022
Competition hoping to attract new owners and markets ahead of inaugural season.

Posted: June 22 2021By: Ed Dixon

- League to develop young players and bring soccer to cities without a pro team
- Competition to kick off in late March next year, followed by playoffs in the autumn and championship match in early December
- Name, logo and participating clubs to be unveiled over the course of 2021

Major League Soccer (MLS) has announced plans to launch a new lower tier professional league in 2022.

The new division will look to develop young players making their way from the MLS Next youth leagues to the professional ranks, in addition to bringing the sport to cities that currently do not have a professional soccer team.

Consisting of a mix of young talent and established professional players, the competition will be made up of MLS club-owned and operated teams, though organisers also hope to attract new owners and markets to join.

In addition, the league aims to give more professional opportunities on the technical and business side of the game, developing new jobs for coaches, referees and executives to become involved in the growth of soccer.

The division will also follow MLS’ commitment to activate programmes as part of the Soccer Upward Mobility initiative to develop talent and create opportunities for individuals from underrepresented groups.

Consisting of 20 MLS clubs, along with the potential for independently owned teams for the inaugural season in 2022, the league will begin in late March and conclude with playoffs in the autumn, followed by a championship match in early December.

According to The Athletic, the league will seek third division sanctioning.

In the coming months, the division’s leadership team will be hired to oversee the launch and ongoing management of the competition, which will be based in MLS’ New York City headquarters.

Further details, including the league’s name and logo, participating teams and application process for expansion clubs will be unveiled over the course of this year.

“We are excited to launch a new league to complete the professional pathway between our academies and the MLS first teams,” said MLS president and deputy commissioner Mark Abbott (pictured above).

“In addition to providing more opportunities for MLS-calibre players, the new league will develop a diverse talent pool of coaches, referees and front office executives while also attracting fans who previously were unable to support a local club in their hometown.”

The United Soccer League (USL) and USL League One currently operate below top tier MLS. A USL spokesperson said to ESPN: “The more pathways there are for young players across the country, the better. We wish MLS success in their efforts and look forward to continuing our work together to grow the sport of soccer in the United States.”
We had been given the hint previously that the USL may consider promotion and relegation well ne the Athletic is reporting that the option is set to be an Agenda item at the mid season meetings which will be happening shortly with the thought that it would be a significant differentiator to the more well known MLS.

https://theathletic.com/2720583/2021/07 ... -calendar/

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by GodIsADeeJay81 » Sat Jul 24, 2021 2:40 pm

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 61989?s=19

Palace have finally submitted their accounts, will be available to see in the next few days.

Just Newcastle left in the PL.

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by GodIsADeeJay81 » Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:04 pm

https://twitter.com/sportingintel/statu ... 61826?s=19

Man city have spent the last couple of years embroiled in a secret court case with the PL who've been demanding certain paperwork etc.

Naturally City didn't want to play nicely so made sure the case was kept secret and kept fobbing off the PL.

The bloke at the centre of the football leaks scandal is still floating about and looks like he has information to help sink City...

This could be worth watching.

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Vegas Claret » Sun Jul 25, 2021 5:02 pm


Chester Perry
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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Sun Jul 25, 2021 6:25 pm

re Man City - It is the same story as that at the top of the page - I have been posting about it since it came to light at the time of the last UEFA ban - The Premier league do not have the same self imposed expiry on investigations and charges as UEFA which is what is worrying Man City - they are running out of Technicalities on which to put an end to the investigation - while they continue to strongly claim their innocence - if that was the case why cannot they just hand over the requested data and get in over with

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:41 am

Vegas Claret wrote:
Thu Jul 22, 2021 1:59 pm
Barcelona are in meltdown, they've told all their players that they HAVE to accept a pay cut by August 15th, any player that refuses will be taken to court !!!!!! Not sure how that will work but I'm no lawyer
@SwissRamble takes a look at the causes and implications of Barcelona's financial crisis

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... 9440707584

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by GodIsADeeJay81 » Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:02 am

Those are some horrific numbers, going to be interesting to see how they get on over the summer.

I assume the players they've signed will be stuck in limbo if Barca can't get their act together and won't be able to sign for anyone else?

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:15 am

The Athletic applies LA Liga spending rules to Premier League clubs in a hypothetical exercise

https://theathletic.com/2725299/2021/07 ... =twitteruk

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:30 am

Chester Perry wrote:
Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:15 am
The Athletic applies LA Liga spending rules to Premier League clubs in a hypothetical exercise

https://theathletic.com/2725299/2021/07 ... =twitteruk
The application of La Liga is loose and seems to be more based on the 2018/19 accounts (though I think in our case the debt has been added) the final sum of allowed player spend is interesting - with some clubs being absolutely hammered in the same way Barcelona have been - Everton in particular. What is noticeable is that from a Burnley perspective the sum is in line with what you would see in the last few Mike Garlick years.

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:57 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Thu Jul 22, 2021 6:18 pm
The Times are suggesting that new Chinese broadcasting deal is less than half the value the PPTV renegaded on - I think if they have manages to get close to half they have done well - as the PPTV was absolute stupid money

https://twitter.com/martynziegler/statu ... 2083540998
Suggestions that the new Chinese TV deal for the Premier League is much less than half the previous deal with PPTV that collapsed within it's first year - there are still linear rights to be sold to a broadcaster in China and that will see more revenue but you cannot imagine it being much if any bigger than that with iQiyi - this from Matt Slater on twitter - it is much more than the Bundesliga will get and they have been popular in China for a lot longer than the Premier LEague

"Figures emerging on this deal & it’s a big fall in value for the PL In China compared to megabucks expected when PPTV agreed £170m pa in 2016. That was x10 previous deal but collapsed in 2019. New iQiyi deal is c£30m pa. Chinese rights boom is over: Bundesliga may take $1m pa."

https://twitter.com/mjshrimper/status/1 ... 0272234498

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Vegas Claret » Mon Jul 26, 2021 2:27 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:41 am
@SwissRamble takes a look at the causes and implications of Barcelona's financial crisis

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... 9440707584
blimey, looks like Bartomeu likes to spend !

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Jul 26, 2021 2:29 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Wed Jun 23, 2021 12:49 pm
So Didier Quillot has not manager to take over at Bordeaux but the news who has may come as a surprise given he was forced out at Lille last year because the creditors had no confidence in his ability to service or pay off the clubs debts - yes step forward Gerard Lopez - who you have to say oversaw the creation of a title winning side, just with debts so large they have now mostly been sold off, the manager walked too

This statement comes from the Bordeaux club website and has been translated

Following long discussions in recent days, an agreement was finally reached between King Street, Fortress and Gérard Lopez validating the project carried out by the latter.

The guarantees requested by the Executive Board held in the middle of the day were provided in the hours that followed.

These last elements met the expectations of Rothschild &Co, the Financial Advisor of the Club, and the Ad Hoc Agent thus avoiding the placement of the Club in receivership.

The takeover of FC Girondins de Bordeaux remains conditional on the finalization of the usual contractual documentation, after consultation with the staff representative bodies, and the confirmation by the DNCG of the possibility for the Club to continue its prestigious history in Ligue 1.
The Gerard Lopez takeover of Bordeaux has been given approval by the LFP, the real question is where has he got the money from

https://twitter.com/PhilippeAuclair/sta ... 7728951308

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Jul 26, 2021 5:23 pm

This report of the possible Chelsea bid for Haaland is is interesting - not because of the frankly sickening numbers involved, but because there is a suggestion that Roman Abramovich, will pay the the agent fees himself - I am far from convinced this is legally possible - the suggested 40m fees will feature as part of Haaland' amortisation and FIFA, UEFA, the FA, the Bundesliga and the Premier League will need to see how all the money is processed

https://www.football365.com/news/man-ut ... e-transfer

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:19 pm

It has been a growing trend for some time but this is the biggest single instance of it I can remember, and by a large margin (the potential £100m of loans shares from Moshiri at Everton is the closest I can recollect as a single transaction). Fulham's parent company convert £150m of loans to shares

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 6455642114

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by GodIsADeeJay81 » Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:22 pm

How will this work with ffp ?

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:41 pm

The Premier League keeps closing those European Broadcast deals - this time Russia and it is for two cycles (six seasons) so it must be offering a goo uplift on the current deal - from SportsProMedia - You will note that the broadcaster is owned by Gazprom - a company whose reach into football continues to grow at the seeming behest of Vladimir Putin (it should also mean that the bills can be paid)

Premier League agrees ‘six-year’ rights deal with Match TV
English elite soccer's ​Russian broadcast partnership to switch from Rambler for start of 2022/23 season.

Posted: July 26 2021By: Rory Jones
  • Gazprom-owned network also has rights to Russian Premier league and Bundesliga
  • Details of Match TV’s FTA coverage to be confirmed closer to start of contract
Gazprom-backed sports network Match TV has agreed a long-term broadcast partnership with the Premier League which kicks in for the start of the 2022/23 season.

Covering linear, as well as digital broadcast, the deal secures rights to all matches from English soccer’s top flight and, according to reports in Russia, will run for six seasons.

Match TV previously held the Russian rights to the Premier League but lost out on the contract to national digital giant Rambler ahead of the 2019/20 season. Rambler, which airs the Premier League on its Okko Sport streaming platform, is entering the last year of its deal.

For Match TV, the Premier League adds to a soccer portfolio which includes the domestic top-flight Russian Premier League, the Bundesliga from Germany, as well as Uefa’s elite European club competitions, the Champions League and Europa League.

Alexander Tashchin, Match TV’s editor-incChief, said that details around the network’s Premier League coverage would be revealed closer to the start of the 2022/23 season.

“The question regarding the English Premier League on national free-to-air is perhaps the most frequent one that has been on everyone’s lips lately,” he said. “We still have almost a year to come up to showing, probably, the best championship in the world fully equipped.”

For the Premier League, it adds another closed deal to overseas sales process after agreeing a three-year extension with Cypriot pay-TV provider Cyta and a Balkan rights deal with Telekom Srbija-owned Arena Sport.

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:52 pm

This is interesting, you always thing of American naming rights deals being huge - New Orleans' Saints have just signed a 20 year deal with a gambling organisation for their Superdome and it is for a fraction short of $7m a year (roughly £5m) - remember Tottenham are still looking for £25m a year for the Tottenham Stadium - from SportsProMedia who seem to think 20x11 = 138 for some reason

New Orleans Saints secure US$138m Superdome naming rights deal with Caesars
20-year contract the first such deal with a gambling firm in the US.


Posted: July 23 2021By: Rory Jones
  • Deal gets approval from Louisiana legislature
  • Partnership reportedly worth as US$11m a year
The home of the National Football League's (NFL) New Orleans Saints will be renamed as the Caesars Superdome in a US$138 million naming rights deal with the US gambling giant after the proposal was signed off by Louisiana state officials.

According to the Sports Business Journal, the deal could be worth as much as US$100 million more than the partnership seen by state lawmakers as that is not 'the whole package', the report says US$11 million per year is closer to the actual fee the Saints will receive.

The venue was previously known as the Mercedes-Benz Superdome under a ten-year deal with the German car manufacturer that was reportedly worth between US$50 million and US$60 million.

Having agreed to a 27-year, $324 million deal for the naming rights at the Atlanta Falcons’ new stadium that went live in 2016, Mercedes opted against extending its contract for the Superdome and allowed it to expire on 15th July.

The Saints will receive all the proceeds from the Caesars deal having assumed control of naming rights negotiations in 2009 as part of their 15-year lease contract with the state. That agreement sees naming rights revenues used to offset the subsidies Louisiana is contractually obligated to pay the NFL team.

The income from the Caesars agreement will contribute towards the stadium’s ongoing US$450 million renovation project.

One of the most famous sports venues in the US, the stadium first opened as the ‘Louisiana Superdome’ in 1975 and has hosted seven Super Bowls and welcomes the NFL showpiece again in 2025. The venue also regularly hosts high school football and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) events.

The agreement has yet to be officially confirmed, but Bodi White, a Louisiana senator who leads the joint budget committee which approved the deal, has referred to the renaming as a “done deal".

Coming amid the ongoing rollback of federal gambling regulations, the Caesars partnership means the Saints will become the first NFL’s franchise to play in a stadium named after a betting brand. When Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins, was named in 2016, the franchise was not allowed to make any references to gambling in the naming agreement.

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:22 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Fri Jul 16, 2021 3:00 pm
An Intriguing twist in the French Ligue, Canal + and BeIN Sport rights dispute from Sportico.com

BeIN taking Canal Plus to court to ensure Ligue 1 sub-licensing deal is respected
Soccer - 16 Jul 2021

By Simon Ward

BeIN Sports, the international pay-television broadcaster, is taking court action to compel French counterpart Canal Plus to honour payments under a sub-licensing deal for domestic rights to Ligue 1, the country’s top soccer league.

Qatar-backed BeIN yesterday appealed to the commercial court of Nanterre as it seeks a guarantee that Vivendi-owned Canal Plus will pay the €332 million ($392 million) it is contracted to pay for the 2021-22 season.

Under a deal that came into effect last season, Canal Plus has been sub-licensing from BeIN rights to two top fixtures per round from Ligue 1, in an agreement that is due to run to the end of the 2023-24 season.

However, Canal Plus has threatened to stop showing these games, and cease the payments, after the LFP, the French professional league, recently awarded the rights to the other eight matches per round to internet giant Amazon, in a three-year deal worth €260 million per season.

The rights to the eight games were previously held by Spanish media company Mediapro in a four-year deal worth €780 million per annum that was terminated, after just a few months, in December 2020.

While BeIN and Canal Plus are allied against the LFP in a lawsuit that is pending in a Paris court over the rights sales process, the Qatari broadcaster wants its partner to honour the existing contract.

Canal Plus is reported to have informed BeIN on Tuesday that it was suspending the arrangement.

It is understood that an initial payment of €500,000 for the upcoming season has not been paid.

In its appeal to the commercial court, BeIN has asked for emergency proceedings to force Canal Plus to respect the sub-licensing deal, and the court has granted an authorisation so the latter will be summoned to proceedings next Tuesday, with a decision expected by the end of the week.

BeIN confirmed the authorisation from the court, but has declined to comment further.

The broadcaster retains rights to two top matches per week from Ligue 2, but while it wants to review the valuation of its €30-million-per-year deal after Amazon was awarded rights to the other eight games, for €9 million per annum, is presently honouring payments.

Earlier this week, a representative of French president Emmanuel Macron urged Canal Plus and BeIN to respect their contractual commitments.

In their ongoing legal action against the LFP, rights holders Canal Plus, BeIN and Free, the French telecoms company, are challenging the league’s rights sales process, claiming that, with the award to Amazon, it is treating packages of rights differently.

Last season, the LFP re-tendered the 80 per cent of Ligue 1 and 2 matches held by Mediapro after rejecting Canal Plus' proposal to include the two top-flight matches each week that the broadcaster sub-licensed from BeIN.

Both Canal Plus and BeIN argued Mediapro's actions had devalued the domestic rights, and all lots should have been re-tendered.

In the end no suitable offers were received - Canal Plus and BeIN did not even bid - with the LFP and Canal Plus eventually agreeing on a deal for Ligue 1 to the end of the 2020-21 season, while BeIN showed all Ligue 2 games.
beINSport lose their case to make Canal + keep the subcontract for the smaller portion of the French Ligue rights that the LFP refused to retender. As beIN don't want to pay for it (now Canal + don't have to) they are to sue the LFP just so Canal + are compelled to keep honouring their contract. Confusing isn't it - Here is SportsBusiness..com with the detail

BeIN ‘compelled’ to sue LFP as court rules in Canal Plus’ favour
Martin Ross
July 23, 2021

Pay-television broadcaster beIN Sports has been “compelled” to take legal action against France’s Professional Football League (LFP) after losing a legal case against Canal Plus this afternoon at the Nanterre Commercial Court in Paris.

BeIN had taken legal action in a bid to force Canal Plus to honour the €332m- ($390.6m-) per-season Ligue 1 sublicensing deal between the parties.

The court has ruled that the Vivendi-owned pay-television broadcaster is legally entitled to suspend its sublicensing contract with beIN, a deal due to run until the end of the 2023-24 season.

However, the court has also ordered that the payments must resume if beIN sues the LFP. Canal Plus had made an earlier, and unsuccessful bid, for beIN to take legal action against the league authorities.

SportBusiness understands that beIN is now preparing the initiation of a range of legal proceedings over the coming days, including cases with the French competition authorities, the European Commission, a civil court case and a damages case against the LFP.

Canal Plus wrote to the LFP on July 15 to inform the league body that it would exit its contract with beIN.

Canal Plus had warned it would no longer show Ligue 1 matches after the LFP awarded online retail giant Amazon the rights inventory to the top two divisions previously held by Mediapro. The Vivendi-owned broadcaster took on the Ligue 1 rights held by Mediapro for the remainder of the 2020-21 season, following the collapse of the deal with the agency and production group.

In a statement, beIN Sports France said: “We take note of the interim ruling of the Nanterre Commercial Court, which compels us to take legal action against the League in order to force Canal+ to comply with its contract.

“We are now considering all legal options. After over a year of chaos following the default of Mediapro, it is regrettable that French football is still facing such uncertainty just weeks before the season re-starts.”

Canal Plus sublicensed its rights from beIN as part of a renewable five-year exclusive distribution deal. The latter acquired them from the LFP in 2018 for €332m per season.

The matches take place at 9pm (CET) on Saturdays and 5pm on Sundays.

Amazon is paying €250m per season for eight Ligue 1 matches per match week from 2021-22 to 2023-24. Both Canal Plus and beIN, who had been in talks with the LFP to acquire the same rights, have been irked by the award of rights to Amazon, along with the value of its agreement compared to their outlay.

BeIN’s next Ligue 1 rights fee instalment of €55m is due on August 5, two days before the league begins its 2021-22 season.

BeIN also holds rights to two Ligue 2 matches per match week for the 2020-24 cycle, for which it paid €30m per season. In the wake of the Amazon award, beIN delayed paying its €7.5m July instalment for these rights.

Vincent Labrune, president of the LFP, recently called for Canal Plus to show “common sense”. Speaking in the middle of last month, he also told L’Équipe: “We have a contract with beIN Sports, which has not yet expressed its desire to terminate it.”

The LFP awarded rights to Amazon after France’s competition watchdog, the Autorité de la concurrence, rejected a complaint submitted by Canal Plus against the league over its decision to exclude the broadcaster’s rights to two matches per week in an earlier unsuccessful auction of Mediapro’s rights.

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Tue Jul 27, 2021 6:12 pm

The Premier League has published an initial version of the 2021/22 handbook - Appendix 15 Match Day protocols is blank as the draft has still to be agreed and voted on. Appendix 16 Calculation of the 2019/20 Reduction share indicates a refinement from the 2020/21 handbook which reduces Bunly's contribution to the rebate by £0.5m - there is mention of the 2020/21 Calculation but no table setting it out. Further the Premier League for the second season running have opted not to show it's distribution payments - was it only last week that three Appeals Court Judges admonished them over transparency

https://resources.premierleague.com/pre ... _22.07.pdf

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Tue Jul 27, 2021 6:22 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Tue Jul 27, 2021 6:12 pm
The Premier League has published an initial version of the 2021/22 handbook - Appendix 15 Match Day protocols is blank as the draft has still to be agreed and voted on. Appendix 16 Calculation of the 2019/20 Reduction share indicates a refinement from the 2020/21 handbook which reduces Bunly's contribution to the rebate by £0.5m - there is mention of the 2020/21 Calculation but no table setting it out. Further the Premier League for the second season running have opted not to show it's distribution payments - was it only last week that three Appeals Court Judges admonished them over transparency

https://resources.premierleague.com/pre ... _22.07.pdf
ignore the bit about reduced rebate - i am wrong, unfortunately the edit function has been removed after a user abused the privilege

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Wed Jul 28, 2021 6:27 pm

Episode 12 of the Bundle Podcast from Unofficial Partner looking at the business of media rights for sport

the blurb for this edition

Unofficial Partner|7/23/2021
This is episode 12 of The Bundle, our regular deep dive in to the media rights market with regular co-host Yannick Ramcke and our guest is Murray Barnett, ex ESPN, World Rugby, F1 and current founder of D2C Sport.

If you like the podcasts you’ll love the Unofficial Partner newsletter, that goes direct to the inbox of thousands of senior executives across the global sports business every Thursday.

To join them, sign up via unofficialpartner.com

Here’s ten things we talked about:

Amazon is beginning to look like just another sports broadcaster.

There’s fun to be had over-interpreting the basket case that is the French sports rights market. Amazon price structure for Ligue 1 suggests the end of cross-subsidization, which could be good news for rights owners; increases potential for future rights acquisitions.

The Bundle price inflation: ESPN just announced their second rise in 2021.

Does ESPN have an international vision, or it just an American thing? I live in the UK and never think of subscribing and I wonder if that’s significant.

Does corporate memory shape strategy? ESPN got burnt from their experience with Premier League a decade or more ago, picking up scraps from Setanta and then losing them to BT Sport four years later. Does that experience still shape the company’s strategy, even though the people at the top are different?

The reason Big Tech and football don’t fit seems too obvious: Football is a market by market thing whereas tech platforms are about breaking down that structure, like music, films and shopping. Note, Netflix is going after gaming not sport.

Amazon’s NFL deal is an enormously expensive anomaly.

DAZN x YouTube x Women’s Football: Globalization driving increased sponsorship opportunity; Limited downside, unlimited upside; UEFA’s recent deal for the Women’s Champions League could be the most significant of the year.

When does a rights holder become a betting company? DraftKings new MLB deal includes live games alongside odds. The US discovers betting (streaming) rights, already a constant (and significant source of revenue) in European sports.

Riches in the Niches, or is the Long Tail just too much like hard work?

The Podcast

as ever it provides a good insight to the marketplace

https://www.unofficialpartner.com/podca ... -bundle-12

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Thu Jul 29, 2021 4:17 pm

Deloitte have produced their 2021 edition of their Annual Review of Football Finance (it is the 30th addition) - you can download it for free here

https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/s ... nance.html

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Thu Jul 29, 2021 5:01 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Tue Jul 20, 2021 5:50 pm
Swindon Town Supporters Trust are claiming the takeover has been given EFL approval and is in process of handover

https://twitter.com/TrustSTFC/status/14 ... 3001927680
In what I hope is the end of the matter as far as Swindon Town are concerned the Athletic with a disturbing read as to just how bad things got for them

https://theathletic.com/2735870/2021/07 ... -town/?amp

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:19 pm

I am going to have to do a bit of searching for context on this one - but for now you can read this

STATEMENT FROM BARCELONA, JUVENTUS AND REAL MADRID
30 JULY 2021


STATEMENT FROM BARCELONA, JUVENTUS AND REAL MADRID
FC Barcelona, Juventus, and Real Madrid CF welcome today's Court's decision enforcing, with immediate effect, UEFA's obligation to unwind the actions taken against all European Super League founding clubs, including terminating the disciplinary proceedings against the undersigning three clubs and removing the penalties and restrictions imposed on the remaining nine founding clubs for them to avoid UEFA's disciplinary action.

The Court backs the request made by the promoters of the European Super League, dismisses UEFA's appeal, and confirms its warning to UEFA that failure to comply with its ruling shall result in fines and potential criminal liability. The case will be assessed by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which shall review UEFA's monopolistic position over European football.

We have the duty to address the very serious issues facing football: UEFA has established itself as the sole regulator, exclusive operator, and unique owner of rights of European football competitions. This monopolistic position, in conflict of interest, is damaging football and its competitive balance. As shown by ample evidence, financial controls are inadequate, and they have been improperly enforced. Clubs participating in European competitions have the right to govern their own competitions.

We are pleased that going forward we will no longer be subject to ongoing UEFA's threats. Our aim is to keep developing the Super League project in a constructive and cooperative manner, always counting on all football stakeholders: fans, players, coaches, clubs, leagues, and national and international associations. We are aware that there are elements of our proposal that should be reviewed and, of course, can be improved through dialogue and consensus. We remain confident in the success of a project that will be always compliant with European Union laws.

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:36 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:19 pm
I am going to have to do a bit of searching for context on this one - but for now you can read this

STATEMENT FROM BARCELONA, JUVENTUS AND REAL MADRID
30 JULY 2021


STATEMENT FROM BARCELONA, JUVENTUS AND REAL MADRID
FC Barcelona, Juventus, and Real Madrid CF welcome today's Court's decision enforcing, with immediate effect, UEFA's obligation to unwind the actions taken against all European Super League founding clubs, including terminating the disciplinary proceedings against the undersigning three clubs and removing the penalties and restrictions imposed on the remaining nine founding clubs for them to avoid UEFA's disciplinary action.

The Court backs the request made by the promoters of the European Super League, dismisses UEFA's appeal, and confirms its warning to UEFA that failure to comply with its ruling shall result in fines and potential criminal liability. The case will be assessed by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which shall review UEFA's monopolistic position over European football.

We have the duty to address the very serious issues facing football: UEFA has established itself as the sole regulator, exclusive operator, and unique owner of rights of European football competitions. This monopolistic position, in conflict of interest, is damaging football and its competitive balance. As shown by ample evidence, financial controls are inadequate, and they have been improperly enforced. Clubs participating in European competitions have the right to govern their own competitions.

We are pleased that going forward we will no longer be subject to ongoing UEFA's threats. Our aim is to keep developing the Super League project in a constructive and cooperative manner, always counting on all football stakeholders: fans, players, coaches, clubs, leagues, and national and international associations. We are aware that there are elements of our proposal that should be reviewed and, of course, can be improved through dialogue and consensus. We remain confident in the success of a project that will be always compliant with European Union laws.
It seems that this was another ruling of the "friendly" Madrid commercial court - you know the one that ordered the European courts to make a swift adjudication and was effectively told where to go

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Vegas Claret » Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:48 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:36 pm
It seems that this was another ruling of the "friendly" Madrid commercial court - you know the one that ordered the European courts to make a swift adjudication and was effectively told where to go
so basically has zero authority outside of Spain then

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:51 pm

Vegas Claret wrote:
Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:48 pm
so basically has zero authority outside of Spain then
not quite - it will put a break on UFEA I suspect - but only until the European Courts make a judgement

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:09 pm

I have posted before about Danish Authorities considering a form of Owners and Directors test as their clubs are increasingly targeted by foreign investors - here OffthePitch.com looks at what has been happening with American Investors

Fear and loathing in Western Denmark: New American club owners hit by scandals of alleged abuse and lack of knowhow
29 July 2021 1:01 PM
  • Several Danish clubs have recently been acquired by foreign investors, including American, who see potential in the Nordic country.
  • But some have been hit by accusations they are out of their depth and lack the understanding of the European football industry.
  • In one club, a head coach hired by the new investors has been accused of abusing players physically and verbally.
  • Denmark's football association has launched a task force to assess whether to implement an owners' and directors' test.
EMIL GJERDING NIELSON nielson@offthepitch.com

Many have looked with excitement at the American investors that in the last few years have entered European football promising professional and sustainable strategies meant to take clubs to new heights.

And in Denmark, where two clubs over the past year have been acquired by US groups, it's no different.

But for some, the new owners have more recently only served to confirm fears that foreign owners lack the knowhow and understanding of what it takes to run clubs that typically depend on strong local support and engagement.

In comes Esbjerg fB, in which Barnsley FC-owner Pacific Media Group (PMG) acquired a minority stake earlier this year, and SonderjyskE that are owned by the American Platek family.

Let us begin in the fifth biggest city in Denmark where second tier Esbjerg fB in the last couple of weeks have drawn headlines for the appointment of a German head coach whose approach has been controversial to say the least.

"I have never hit a player"

It culminated when the Danish players' association in July reported Esbjerg fB to the Danish Working Environment Authority, the first ever such case in the country, after members of the squad accused the new coach, Peter Hyballa, of verbal and physical abuse. He has entirely denied the accusations.

Daily tabloid Ekstra Bladet had earlier reported that players accused Hyballa of accounts of being hit, shamed and what was described as "verbal torture". One player anonymously claimed to have been the subject of a so-called nipple twister.

Hyballa, who by the newspaper was dubbed as "terror-coach", later in an interview denied ever hitting a player and instead pointed to cultural differences leading to misunderstandings. Off The Pitch could not confirm whether or not nipple twisters are commonplace in football coaching.

In response to the accusations Esbjerg fB's chairman of the board, Michael Kalt, also pointed to cultural differences and claimed that workplace etiquette in football simply is different than in any other type of business. Nonetheless, no other clubs in Denmark have been hit by similar accusations. Ever.

Now former player at the club Kasper Pedersen earlier this week in an interview spoke out against situations he described as "transgressive" and "insane". Pedersen, who agreed to mutual termination, said he left the club just six months after joining as a direct consequence of what has transpired over the last five weeks.

"I can confirm that an almost united squad is deeply unhappy with Peter Hyballa and his methods," Pederson told Ekstra Bladet.

"Yellow journalism"

To little surprise, Pedersen's comments have not been received well at Esbjerg fB. In an explosive live interview on Tuesday night, PMG spokesperson Paul Conway lashed out at local media which he accused of perpetrating "yellow journalism", while also questioning the integrity of the players that have spoken out.

"The media here needs to do better journalism," Conway told broadcaster TV3, claiming players have apologised for what has transpired.

"The local media, there is no journalism, it's a joke," he continued.

The club have brought in external advisors to assess the situation but refused to guarantee employees' anonymity. As such, the players' union has recommended no members of the organisation cooperate with the internal investigation.

According to sports and football business researcher and strategist Dr Kenneth Cortsen from the University College of Northern Denmark, the case has revealed a lack of understanding from the new owners of the key values in Danish sports.

"Danish sports culture is built on a sense of togetherness as we saw in the national team during the Euros. This, on the other hand, is a case of management being distanced from the club and the Danish culture, but also in terms of the understanding necessary to lead across different cultures," Cortsen says.

United squad speaks out

Just three days after Conway's attack against the Danish media a united Esbjerg fB squad of 21 players publicly came out against the new coach.

"Peter Hyballa in our opinion lacks the necessary professional or human qualities to lead the playing squad," the letter addressed to management read.

The 1400-word letter details a series of incidents including "daily threats of termination, mocking, sexist and humiliating remarks".

Players also say they have repeatedly been the victims of "bodyshaming", and that Hyballa twice hit a player. During a training match, Hyballa allegedly told a player he was "a joke", and that he could "just call the owners and then it's bye bye'."

Furthermore, the squad say management has failed to address the situation properly despite eight players appearing at the director's office to detail their concern and dissatisfaction.

"We strongly feel that our views and opinions haven't been addressed at all, and we are truly really, really tired of hearing that it is just a few players who are creating issues, or that it is a question of adapting to a different playing and coaching style," the letter read.

The letter nonetheless provoked little change in attitude from Conway.

"It is so unprofessional, I've never experienced anything like it. The players will never be the ones deciding who plays, and who gets to be the coach. Our coach is Peter Hyballa, we have complete trust in him, and this changes nothing," he told local paper JydskeVestkysten.

Lack of football knowledge and advertising for a new head coach

Only 100 kilometres to the south-east we find first division club SonderjyskE where the American family who acquired the club last year has come under fire for initiating an employee exodus that has seen several key workers make their departure.

First to go was successful head coach Glen Riddersholm who led the Southern minnows to consecutive cup finals, winning one of them and securing the club's first ever trophy in 2020. He was sacked just shortly after last season's end despite safely avoiding relegation twice on a bottom-table budget.

The club's sporting director, meanwhile, left to join top six side AGF Aarhus before his appointment was cancelled due to an alleged #MeToo case, one of the first of its kind, at least publicly, in the entire football industry.

More recently, fan favourite Niels Lodberg quit as assistant coach allegedly because he could not align himself with the vision of the Plateks, who also own Serie A side Spezia and Portuguese Casa Pia.

"Our DNA is about to disappear," one supporter commented on social media, reflective of the strong emotional connection at stake when it comes to implementing a new strategy in football.

According to Off The Pitch information, some former employees have expressed serious concern over the club's long-term project if the Plateks fail to engage further with the club.

Following a period without key personnel, the club have prior to the new season's beginning brought in German Michael Boris as head coach in replacement of Riddersholm, while English Joe Manns was hired as head of player development and recruitment.

Curiously, Boris' appointment came in part thanks to a publicly advertised job on the club's website, a somewhat atypical approach when it comes to hiring in football.

Innovation versus hubris

While the decision to publicly advertise for a head coach could seem insignificant in the bigger picture, the move was seen by some as a further indication of the American owners not understanding what it takes to run a European football club.

Also part of that narrative is the organisational structure the Plateks have put in place to manage not only SonderjyskE but all three clubs they have acquired.

That has prompted accusations they are neglecting their obligations in the Danish side as they instead focus on Spezia who play in a bigger league on a bigger budget.

Meanwhile, for the head of the family, Robert Platek, a wealthy businessman from New York, football is just a small part of an extensive portfolio which means some don't believe he can allocate the time needed in the clubs he owns.

"Sometimes in football you see investors come in and throw a bag of money at a club and expecting success. And of course, money makes a difference over time in the football economy, but this goes to show that you need to activate those resources with good and proper management and contextual understanding," Cortsen says.

Owner scrutiny

Off The Pitch could recently reveal that the Danish football association (DBU) has launched a task force to assess the implications of the influx of foreign investors. That could lead to the implementation of an owners' and directors' test similar to that in England.

As Cortsen point out, however, there are also examples of foreign owners in Denmark successfully implementing a clear strategy without compromising clubs' values.

"You can't simply say that all foreign owners are the same. In Denmark, we've seen examples of foreign investors having great success in FC Midtjylland and FC Nordsjaelland. This shows what you can do when you are able to execute on a strategy that is thought through," he says.

"But contextual understanding is crucial to success with the investments you make. And that covers several different and complex areas of football management including communication, leadership and cultural and strategic intelligence and consciousness."

Neither Esbjerg fB nor SonderjyskE responded to Off The Pitch's request for comment.

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:28 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Sun Jul 25, 2021 6:25 pm
re Man City - It is the same story as that at the top of the page - I have been posting about it since it came to light at the time of the last UEFA ban - The Premier league do not have the same self imposed expiry on investigations and charges as UEFA which is what is worrying Man City - they are running out of Technicalities on which to put an end to the investigation - while they continue to strongly claim their innocence - if that was the case why cannot they just hand over the requested data and get in over with
This should be no surprise re the Premier Leagues investigation into Manchester City - the threat that it could run for years - typical Man City approach of dragging things out and making it expensive for the authorities - from the MAil

Man City's legal battle over alleged breaches of financial rules could rumble on for YEARS but Premier League are expected to fight on as they are 'likely being pressurised by the 19 other clubs'
Premier League's ongoing legal battle with Manchester City could last years
Warning of ongoing turmoil comes from former financial advisor to the club
Stefan Borson also expects the Premier League to push on with their fight
Case relates to Financial Fair Play and whether City inflated their income
By NICK HARRIS FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

PUBLISHED: 22:31, 31 July 2021 | UPDATED: 01:08, 1 August 2021

The Premier League's ongoing legal battle with Manchester City over alleged breaches of League rules could 'move glacially on for many more years'.

Two weeks before City's title defence begins, the warning of ongoing turmoil comes from Stefan Borson, a former financial advisor to the club who also has experience dealing with complex litigation around accounting practices.

But Borson also expects the League (PL) to push on with their fight as he believes that are 'likely being heavily pressurised by the 19 other clubs'.

As detailed in The Mail on Sunday last week, City have been embroiled in the secret battle since 2019, when the PL announced a formal investigation into allegations that arose in the 'Football Leaks' files published by German magazine Der Spiegel in 2018.

After a request for 'open justice', this newspaper was the only media company allowed into court recently to hear some proceedings on the case and, while no specific details are known about what the League are probing, it relates to Financial Fair Play (FFP), and is likely to be focused on whether City inflated their income in contravention of the rules.

Borson worked with City between 2002 and 2007 and it was on his advice that the club accepted a £90 million takeover offer the club by Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thai Prime Minister.

A City fan, Borson is also a lawyer, and now chief executive and general counsel of a public company, Watchstone, formerly known as Quindell. Since 2015, he has been leading their defence against allegations of historic faulty accounting.

'This has entrenched my group in the sort of regulatory and other litigation battles that City have faced,' says Borson.

He has closely followed City's FFP tribulations, from a first punishment by UEFA in 2014 for breaking the rules, to a second UEFA investigation in 2019, to a two-year Champions League in 2020, to a reversal of that verdict at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last summer.

'The underlying allegations made against City are not 'rap on the knuckle' matters,' said Borson. 'It is apparent the PL are not yet minded to give up and are likely being heavily pressurised by the 19 other clubs to prosecute City to the full force of their powers, no matter how difficult.

'This is an unenviable position for the PL which needs to protect the integrity of its rules whilst being cognisant of the legal and commercial power of City.'

'If the PL decide to lay serious charges against City, this could yet move glacially on for many more years with the only real winners being lawyers.'

The most recent Court of Appeal judgements were defeats for City in as much as they meant the very existence of the battle with the PL should be made public, against their wishes.

'The judgments also made plain the judges think City have been fighting with weak and tenuous tactical arguments for many months,' said Borson. 'Litigation is heavy going and parties fight hard. The idea that City should throw open their books and worldwide documents to scrutiny by UEFA, the PL or whoever else is unrealistic.

'Battles around the disclosure of documents are routinely arduous. The League are not entitled to go on a fishing expedition, even less to demand documents from the palaces of Abu Dhabi.

'Rightly, City will feel the burden is for others to prove a case against them. They have more than 10 years of clean audited accounts under the current owners. Which is why City's approach is consistent with a leaked email from 2013 published by Der Spiegel in 2018.

'It featured City lawyer Simon Cliff explaining that, rather than settle with UEFA in the then ongoing tussle over FFP, the club's chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak 'would rather spend £30m on the best 50 lawyers in the world to sue them for the next 10 years'.'

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by GodIsADeeJay81 » Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:45 pm

How can City keep dragging it out?
Surely a judge will just get annoyed and give them a final deadline?

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Sun Aug 01, 2021 8:40 pm

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:45 pm
How can City keep dragging it out?
Surely a judge will just get annoyed and give them a final deadline?
Premier League are unlikely to take them to court - the court cases were brought by Manchester City, who did not want to share information requested (probably arguing that the Premier League were applying retrospective rule changes, the other case was about not sharing the information publicly which the Premier League partly agreed with - they just wanted to be able to tell other clubs in the future that they had legal precedent in demanding such information, not let it become knowledge to the general public.

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Aug 02, 2021 12:58 am

Chester Perry wrote:
Mon Jul 19, 2021 7:03 pm
Not content with angering fans with their short lived Super League venture Arsenal have now announced they are joining the Socios fan token nonsense

https://www.arsenal.com/news/socios-par ... experience

for those new to the subject or in need of a refresh @UglyGame is the writer that has been following this obscenity the best - here is a a quick review he posted today

https://twitter.com/uglygame/status/1417134608806813700
City a.m. looks behind Socios after Arsenal became the latest club to sign up yto the fan token nonsense

Socios: The blockchain-enabled fan token platform promising to unlock revenue from the global fanbases of sport's most famous teams
Frank Dalleres

Football’s transfer market may have lacked headline-grabbing deals so far this summer but the same can’t be said for Socios.

The platform, which sells “fan tokens” offering supporters the chance to influence decisions at their team, has instantly increased visibility with a clutch of major partnerships.

Last week Socios announced the launch of an Arsenal token, adding another storied club to a roster that already includes Barcelona, Juventus, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

Days later, it signed a deal with Inter Milan that will see the Italian champions’ fan token advertised on their famous blue and black shirts next season.

And earlier in the month, the brand boosted its South American presence by sponsoring Argentina’s top football division, now renamed the Torneo Socios.

These partnerships have thrown the spotlight onto the blockchain-based platform, billed as a fan engagement tool not just for football but also other sports and entertainment.

But the deals have also revived debate about the platform, which has been criticised and, in one case, forced out of a club by angry supporter groups.

The company’s story highlights the tension between teams courting overseas followers and keeping their domestic faithful onside at a time of heightened awareness of fan power.

Socios: inception, growth and how it works for fans and teams

Socios borrows its name – and the kernel of its concept – from the Spanish word for members of supporter-run clubs such as Barcelona and Real Madrid.

By owning fan tokens, which cost £2, supporters can use the app to vote on decisions such as what to name a training ground or which song should be played at games after a goal.

The app has taken off quickly, with 1.2m downloads since it launched in 2019. The company says it has 900,000 active users.

For teams, the incentive is a 50-50 split of revenue when their tokens are sold or traded, meaning multi-million-pound payouts potentially for several years as more tokens are issued.

Socios already has 45 partners in football, cricket, motor racing, NBA basketball and mixed martial arts who have shared in $150m of revenue this year.

Its emergence is also an example of cryptocurrency’s incursion into sport, a trend already visible in the NFT boom and an increasing number of sponsorship deals.

The platform is owned by Chiliz, a company whose eponymous cryptocurrency is used for buying Socios fan tokens and is traded on major exchanges.

It is the brainchild of Frenchman Alexandre Dreyfus, an internet entrepreneur since the mid-1990s who previously ran an online poker league.

It was while trying to find ways to monetise followers of the teams in his poker league that he settled on the idea of selling voting rights on certain decisions.

He quickly realised it would be better applied to more popular and established sports, and Socios was born.

“We believe that the future of the sports industry is to go from the passive to the active fan,” Socios and Chiliz chief executive Dreyfus tells City A.M.

He points out that while it is possible to buy shares in publicly traded football teams such as Manchester United and Juventus, it is expensive and comes with no guarantee of influence over decisions.

So Dreyfus reasoned that Socios could “create a new level which is not a share in the company but a share of influence.”

‘Not acknowledging fans in Korea or Brazil is discrimination’
It may not be explicit in the marketing materials of Socios or its partners, but the platform is aimed at the sizeable global fanbases of top sports teams.

For that reason it has focused on those with worldwide reach such as Atletico Madrid and AC Milan, and the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Socios has also issued fan tokens for Formula 1 teams Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo, and Indian Premier League cricket franchises Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings.

“My job is to monetise the 99 per cent of fans that aren’t in the stadium,” he says.

A Premier League club or NBA team might have 100m supporters worldwide, Dreyfus explains, but only know how to sell to the 50,000 who attend games. On top of that, he says, they lack the appetite for risk to launch a project like Socios by itself.

“We are not targeting the guy who has a tattoo and is a season ticket holder. Our clients are the guys who will most likely never go to the stadium and yet dream about the team but were born in Korea, Japan, Turkey or Brazil. Not acknowledging them is discrimination.”

Meanwhile, teams are on the hunt for any new revenue streams as broadcast rights values plateau or fall and ticketing and sponsorship income has a ceiling.

“Of course it is money driven,” Dreyfus says. “Sports teams need to pay their players; players are more and more expensive; therefore you need more and more revenue. We are a new revenue stream – period.”

Why some supporters’ groups have criticised Socios
Chasing engagement from overseas fans by partnering with Socios has not gone down well with some domestic supporters.

The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), which helped the Department for Culture, Media and Sport draw up guidelines for clubs to engage with fans, has said: “Socios attempts to monetise fan engagement which the leagues and clubs have committed to doing for free. There should be no financial barrier to engaging with your football club.”

When West Ham United announced in 2019 it had become the first Premier League club to partner with Socios, a coalition of Hammers fan groups launched a “Don’t Pay To Have Your Say” campaign. The club and Socios decided not to go ahead with the West Ham fan token.

The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust, meanwhile, gave the announcement of its club’s plans to join the platform a cool response.

“It is a concern that the club is trying to monetarise fan opinion and engagement,” said the AST, who added it had not been consulted on the decision.

Just months ago, clubs including Arsenal vowed to engage more with fans after their vigorous opposition helped derail the European Super League project.

That episode has also shaped the recommendations of a UK fan-led review of football governance, currently being led by former sports minister Tracey Crouch.

When the Arsenal-Socios deal was announced, the FSA tweeted: “One day saying you’re committed to supporter engagement. The next day, trying to monetise it.”

‘Gimmicky? Sometimes. But not a gateway to Bitcoin trading’
Socios emphasises that is not just about influencing decisions at a team; it also offers unique prizes and experiences, and promises to connect a like-minded community.

Dreyfus says that Socios users will not supersede or silence other supporter voices since all season ticket-holders or members of partner teams are offered a free fan token.

But he also dismisses the company’s critics as a disproportionately vocal minority, or “50 guys who make a noise”.

“The messaging of ‘we have to pay to have a say’ is not true,” he adds. “One: the people already engaging in a traditional way get a token for free. Two: some people – just in the UK – are complaining because for the first time they have a say and it’s thanks to us.”

Dreyfus says charging Socios users for influence “makes sense”. “Me giving my say in something that matters – of course it has a price. It’s valuable.”

He also rejects the suggestion that Socios overstates the influence its users have over teams, when many of the matters put to vote appear inconsequential.

The platform is transparent about what is and isn’t on offer, he says, and has pledged to teams that it will not meddle in sporting or business decisions.

“These kind of small things, are they gimmicky? Yes, sometimes they are, but it’s still more than what you had the day before.”

On the question of whether Socios encourages trading, he says: “Maybe. Some will hold their token forever, some will trade because there is a gamified element to it, so why not?”

It won’t make them start buying Bitcoin, though, he argues. “Does it educate you about the fact there’s a trading component involved with stock? Yeah, sure, probably, and that’s fine.”

Socios ‘no worse than Facebook or TikTok’, ‘here to stay’ and targeting US sports
Socios has more signings in the pipeline and, unlike some of its clients, it won’t stop when the transfer window closes next month.

It is preparing announcements for partnerships that have already been inked with multiple Premier League clubs and Dreyfus expects to agree more in August.

It has big plans for US sports, where it has struck deals with more than 20 teams, including some in the NFL, that are also waiting to be unveiled.

The company was close to a music partnership before the pandemic shut down concerts, he adds, but also intends to move into entertainment.

“We’ve proven that we are here to stay,” Dreyfus says he tells potential clients. “This is not about you believing it [or not] because it is happening. The question is whether you embrace it now or later.”

Despite the popularity of NFTs, Chiliz is committed to focusing on its share of the blockchain-enabled sports market.

In a statement of intent, the company recently spent $6m on acquiring fantoken.com, its trademarks and Twitter account.

“We’re not here to take money from the fans,” says Dreyfus. “What we do is not bad; we are not bad actors. We aren’t worse than Facebook or TikTok. It’s just the monetisation is different.”

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Vegas Claret » Mon Aug 02, 2021 1:29 am

Socios - trying to turn it all into some giant football manager game. A further nail in the coffin for me

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Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Aug 02, 2021 1:37 am

Vegas Claret wrote:
Mon Aug 02, 2021 1:29 am
Socios - trying to turn it all into some giant football manager game. A further nail in the coffin for me
There is a reasonable point about fans abroad, but this approach is just an abomination, I also do not like the need to buy cryptocurrency to buy and trade the tokens - that side of it is deeply concerning and could morph into situation along the lines of Football Index.

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