A day out at a football match at Wembley Stadium costs an arm and a leg. With the ever increasing costs of tickets, food, drink, replica kit and travel involved with attending a match, there is at least one-way in which you might be able to save some cash. With only a few weeks to go until the FA Cup Final at Wembley, Parkatmyhouse.co.uk, is an online marketplace that connects property owners with a spare parking space to drivers in need of a convenient and affordable place to park, has reported a surge in bookings from fans keen to save time and money.
Controlled parking schemes that operate in local areas around Wembley and other London stadiums mean parking, where available, is expensive. Around Wembley Stadium, motorists who are unable to take public transport can expect to pay parking fees of up to £27.50 for a car and £63.50 for a coach/mini-bus. Football supporters have been quick to discover that renting privately through Parkatmyhouse.co.uk costs as little as £7.50 to attend the match.
Brian Stewart, a 43 year old market analyst, has been renting his driveway in Wembley for two years. “Most of my customers are families with young children. Many drive long distances so they are grateful for my offer of a cup of tea and use of my loo on arrival. And if they parked at the stadium they can only leave their car there for the duration of the match. With my driveway there is no time limit so they can enjoy a full family day out.”
Mike Barrett, a security consultant living in Southampton parked on Brian’s drive last year and has just rebooked to attend the FA Cup Carlsberg Vase Final between Whitley Bay and Wroxham in May. “It’s more economical to park on someone’s drive near Wembley”, he says. “And given security is my game I am very conscious that his drive is a safe place to leave my car. It’s in a safe area, it’s close to the grounds, and I know that Brian will take care of it.”
More details at Parkatmyhouse.co.uk
David Beckham is still the highest earning football player across the globe for the third year in a row, according to the annual feature in Forbes magazine. In 2009 the 35 year old football player earned £40m out of which 80% came from his sponsors, who include Giorgio Armani, Adidas, and Motorola. Beckham unfortunately is predicted to lose some of his larger sponsorship money this year due to the fact that he tore his archilles tendon in March, which will force him to sit out the South African World Cup. Second on the Forbes list was Christiano Ronaldo who earned £30m in the past year. Credits to his name include the 2008 World Player of the Year and the title of the highest salary paid football player in the world when Real Madrid purchased him from Manchester United. His contract is for six years and started at about £15.5m but will increase by a quarter every year after. Sponsors of Ronaldo include Coca-Cola, Giorgio Armani, and Nike. In third place on the list of top earners is Kaka also a Madrid player who earns £25m per year. His sponsors are also Giorgio Armani and Adidas. Fourth place is Ronaldinho who also earns £25m per year and in fifth place is the Barcelona striker from France Thierry Henry who earns about £24m per year. Last year Beckham was estimated by Forbes to have earned £46m while Ronaldinho was estimated to make £33m in second place and Henry was in third place with £28m.
Manchester United may not have earned a place in the Champions League and will have to scrape to keep their Premier League title, but they still have been able to keep the lead as one of the most valuable clubs globally.
Portsmouth plans to appeal to the FA in an effort to secure a Uefa club licence so that they can play next season in Europe.