Scottish Football Association delays appointment of performance director

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Scottish Football Association delays appointment of performance director Despite his continuous search for a performance director, Scottish Football Association Chief Executive, Stewart Regan, believes it could be next season before an appointment is made.

Last April, The SFA published Henry McLeish’s Review of Scottish Football report. One of the main recommendations of the report was to provision the role of SFA Performance Director.

Supervision of the new academy structure in order to elevate the standard of footballers, will be the main priority for the new performance director. Therefore, it is essential for the SFA to get this appointment right and find the right person for the job, According to Regan.

The former chief executive of Yorkshire Country Cricket Club revealed that the SFA are keeping an open mind in their current search for a performance directory. The SFA will not limit themselves to looking in the football community. The search will extend to sports community, not only in Scotland but in other countries as well.

Regan declined to comment on whether Walter Smith is a potential candidate for the job.  Notably, by the end of the season, Walter Smith is stepping down as Glasgow Rangers Managers.

‘Commenting on individuals is incongruous,’ said Regan. ‘We would like to see the position filled in time for the start of the new season.’

Football Association selects new chairman

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Football Association selects new chairman The unanimous vote by the eleven-member board to nominate David Bernstein as chairman of the Football Association heralds what many feel is a great new era for football in England.  Even the man who was really the only other candidate for the position, David Dein, said that he knows and likes Bernstein and wishes him all success.

Bernstein certainly has impressive qualifications for the job.  He took over the chairmanship of Wembley Stadium in 2008 at a time when the FA was at risk of defaulting on their £341.5 million bank loan.  Working with the FA’s general secretary, Alex Horne, and with Roger Maslin, Wembley’s chief executive, Bernstein helped to negotiate a refinanced loan that eased the pressure.

Bernstein has extensive experience at several levels of English league football.  He spent nine years as a Manchester City director, five of those years as chairman, and during his tenancy in that office the club regained Premier League status.  As a chartered accountant, he has also spent many years on the boards of large companies, so he knows how corporate governance should be implemented.

The expectation seems to be that Bernstein will rise admirably to the challenges he will face, not least the less-than-cordial relationship between FA and Fifa following the World Cup vote.  Bernstein, whose appointment may have been a surprise in Nyon and Zurich, said he knows he’ll have his job cut out for him trying to repair the rift, but he appears to be up to the task.  He said he intends to work very hard to get a good grasp of the most pressing issues in the FA and the best way to deal with them.

Though the council still has to approve Bernstein’s nomination at its meeting on January 25th, there is little doubt that he will be dealing with those issues as of that date.

Henry McLeish wants summer Scottish football

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Henry McLeish Henry McLeish wants summer Scottish football thinks that Scottish football should be played during the summer season because the current schedule has forced players and teams to take on their matches in the cold for far too long.

McLeish, the former First Minister, ordered that the SFA be scrambled and after last week’s cold game it is predicted that a change is even more imminent.  He recommends that the season should start in July with a winter break to help bypass some of the colder times but he did not go into great lengths about the possibility of changing the calendar to match up with all summer months.

Last Tuesday, only a little over 3,000 fans turned out to see the Motherwell vs. Hearts league match due to the poor weather.

McLeish stated that with the climate being what it is Scotland will continue to have problems drawing in youngsters to play that have the potential to shine on the national team and possibly help England to the World Cup Finals.

He explained that the country is already thinking about moving the calendar around for women’s and kid’s football so that practice takes place in decent months weather wise and that if they are talking about moving around the minor football leagues why not consider it when it comes to the senior game.

He added that while he is not an expert on the climate change and what its effects may be, if this year is an indication of how the weather in Scotland is going to be over the next ten years then something should be done because it will be impossible to nurture great players with the current conditions.

Win Champions League tickets to Valencia v Schalke

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Win Champions League tickets to Valencia v Schalke Tour Spain and the Valencia City, Province and Regional Tourist Boards are giving British football fans a chance toto relive and share via Facebook their favourite Champions League moment, with the chance to win tickets to the Valencia CF v Schalke 04 match on the 15 February 2011.

‘My Champions League Moment’ would like to see football banter put in to action … instead of just talking about what was the best Champions League moment, show it.

Fans must upload a photo of themselves re-enacting what they consider to be a stroke of Champions League football genius or share their own treasured photo from a Champions League match to http://www.facebook.com/My.Champions.League.

From watching Liverpool triumph against AC Milan after being 3-0 down, to the heart-stopping two goals Manchester United scored in the last few minutes against Bayern Munich, or John Terry’s penalty miss that gave Manchester United the title – there are many ‘Champions League moments’ to choose from.

Entries must be uploaded and votes cast by the 23 January 2011. The photo with the most ‘likes’ will win this unique competition

The successful fan will win flights and accommodation for two people and the chance for two tickets to the match between Valencia C.F. vs. Schalke, on the 15 February at 20.45 at Valencia’s historic Mestalla Stadium

Visit http://www.facebook.com/My.Champions.League#!/My.Champions.L… for full information on the competition rules and regulations.

World Cup finals may move to winter

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World Cup finals may move to winter Following the decision to award Qatar the organization of FIFA Football World Cup in 2022, many have expressed their concern because of the high temperatures in the Middle East during the summer season. Some members of the football community have proposed rescheduling the World Cup to be played in January or February, when the temperature is more manageable in the area. If it happened, the move will be the first of a kind. It will also mean that the world club will interrupt major European leagues.

Sepp Blatter, the FIFA President, expressed that he is in support of the idea.‘Playing in winter is more appropriate not only, for the fans, but for the players as well,’ Said Blatter at the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi. ‘If it is possible, and it should be, playing in winter will offer more protection to footballers.’

‘The international could be an issue,’ admitted blatter.’ but it has been eleven years so it should be possible,’ The organizers on the other hand, have submitted plans to air-condition all stadiums and training facilities.

So far, FIFA has not received any official request to change the tournament timing. However, high profile support for the schedule change may make it a reality. ‘Flexible schedules will mean that the World Cup can go to many more countries,’ said the FIFA general secretary, Jerome Valcke.

Blatter also took the chance to apologies for his calling on gay fans travelling to Qatar to refrain from sexual activities during their visit. ‘I regret and apologies if my statement offended anyone; It was never my intention,’ Blatter said.