Sir Alex Ferguson says US football is taking off

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Sir Alex Ferguson says US football is taking off Sir Alex Ferguson believes that football is starting to get popular in the United States with the Manchester United manager expecting a competitive edge on their upcoming matches as they leave Monday for their Chicago training base.

The US was able to hold England to a World Cup draw and Ferguson is convinced that the Major League Soccer standard is better than ever.

Ferguson stated that American soccer is starting to make an impact and that he had commented before the World Cup that the US team were going to play like the athletes that top football players in England are.

He continued to say that this is also the way that American football players are, athletic and fit with a good feel for the pitch.  Ferguson explained that he can see the improvement throughout the MLS and has spoken to many people over the last few months about this fact and seen an upsurge in the excitement around it.

Darren Fletcher, Edwin van der Sar, and Dimitar Berbatov will be travelling to the United States along with many youngsters which include Fulham’s former defender Chris Smalling.

Ferguson added that winning is the challenge in front of the team but at the same time the idea is to get everyone a chance to play so that when they come back they are prepared for the season.

United will play against Philadelphia Union on July 21st at the Lincoln Financial Field followed by a match in four days at Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Wizards.  They will finish out their United States tour in Houston playing the MLS All-Stars on July 28th.

Facebook rumoured to be new England sponsor

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Facebook rumoured to be new England sponsor Facebook has denied rumours that it is talking to the Football Association about taking over the England team as its major sponsor. The landmark social networking website is one of four companies reportedly looking for the available contract as the English football body is hoping to find a replacement for Nationwide, which it lost, valued at £20m.

The building society will discontinue its sponsorship at the close of July, after withdrawing the effort that they made to the Football Association prior to the World Cup.  Santander the banking group and telecommunication giants Orange and O2 all made the shortlist.

Facebook however had continued to deny that they have considered the sponsorship or met with the FA stating that any rumours are ‘bizarre.’  In an official statement they said that they are not speaking to the FA, and that they are not sure where the rumours started, but it’s not true.

The statement also acknowledged that they do work with many brands and the FA has made use of the Facebook platform thus they have spoken to them about these matters but in no way different than any other brand.

Facebook is just one of many blue-chip companies that have spoken out against rumours that they may become the new sponsor of the England team.

Nationwide pulls out of England sponsorship

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Nationwide pulls out of England sponsorship England’s footballers suffered more humiliation last night after Nationwide, their official sponsor, dumped them after 11 years. The building society confirmed this week that it will let the £20m contract expire at the close of July.

It was generally understood that the building society was prepared to pledge another four years of sponsorship to the team before the lacklustre performance at the World Cup 2010.

The FA however kept its options open believing that they would be successful at the World Cup thus attracting sponsors that were prepared to pay a much larger amount of sponsorship.  However, at the time they believed that Nationwide would keep its offer opening even if England did not perform well.

However, now that their risk failed the FA has to desperately search for a new sponsor before the August 11th match against Hungary at Wembley.

Many of the 15 million members of Nationwide should be pleased with decision as they became irritated of supporting England in the midst of its financial problems.

Some have even expressed frustration with England’s website with Clive Totman stating that given the current financial situation many directors question if football passions should be expressed when the money would be better spent on lower mortgage rates or member benefits.

The past deal included media interview backdrop boards, an all training kit, broadcast sponsorship rights, and ticket rights.

Nationwide also was able to use the Three Lions crest on promotions, advertising, and had access to players for personal advertising efforts.

Fans take over Stirling Albion

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Fans take over Stirling Albion Owner of Stirling Albion, Peter McKenzie, stated that he is thrilled to offer the supporters the task of running the club after an agreement was reached on a groundbreaking takeover.

The Binos are now owned by the ‘Supporters’ Trust thus making history as the first senior football club in the UK to be owned 100% by the community.

McKenzie reached a principal agreement with Supporters Trust that will allow the Trust to take immediate control of the day-to-day activities subject to the finalization of legal formalities.

The deal value which is a settlement of a one off cash payment to McKenzie at about £300,000 and a settlement of debts also includes the agreement that a £1.2m loan from the previous owner will be written off.

The chairman announced that he is glad that true fans will now be responsible for the club’s future and that although there were various offers on the table for the club he is glad to see it go to the local community.

Paul Goodwin, the ‘Buy Stirling Albion spokesperson, stated that he is also thrilled at the news and stated that throughout all of the negotiations McKenzie kept the wellbeing of the club and community in mind and since those are the central points of the trust they are glad to see the finished result.

Goodwin continued to say that the acquisition has the potential to change the way that people view Scottish football within communities.

Fabio Capello will probably stay with England

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Fabio Capello will probably stay with England Fabio Capello seems safe in his job with England after the Football Association hierarchy has offered a large amount of support. Premier League chairman, Sir David Richards, who is the head of ‘Club England’ is being urged to offer his recommendation to the FA board that Capello is kept at as the England boss even thought the team failed at the World Cup.

FA director of football development, Sir Trevor Brooking, is also understood to want Capello to fulfil his contract which runs until 2012.

Brooking is said to feel that replacing Capello will not solve the English football team’s problems and a group of FA board members also feel the same way.

Instead, Brooking is expected to argue that a better funding marsterplan be created so that young players will be attracted to the sport and also that coaches be increased at the youth level.

Also adding to the argument to keep Capello is his ten years of experience with the AC Milan academy as he could offer valuable input into how to develop the talent of young players.

In addition, a few FA figureheads think that the club could save £9m by not firing Capello and spending time and money looking for a replacement.  Instead, the money could be spent on youth development.

In addition, the last two years left on Capello’s contract would offer Stuart Pearce the opportunity to gain more experience as Capello’s assistant and at the under 21 level.