FIFA 2018 worth £3 billion

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FIFA 2018 worth £3 billion London has especially high stakes in the possibilities of a FIFA 2018 World Cup Event.  The country as a whole would be expected to benefit from about £3 billion spent on investment and tourism.

Out of that, it is estimated that London itself would receive in the neighbourhood of £1 billion.  This is according to Neale Coleman, advisor to the mayor of London.  Coleman is also on the London United team, which represent the city’s interests in the FIFA bid.  As of now, he says the bid is tight and there is no emerging lead.

Coleman will fly to Zurich with Mayor Johnson to b present for the bid announcement, due on Thursday.

London’s main stadium would be Wembley and it is expected that, should England win the bid, it would host the World Cup opening ceremonies, along with the first and last matches.  Other facilities that would be used would be the Olympic Stadium, Arsenal’s Emirates, along with an arena in White Hart Lane.

It is predicted that nearly all of London’s club grounds would be used in some capacity by competing teams.  Available facilities for training and practice would be booked solid.

The media would play a large role in the booking of accommodations, restaurants and the like.  It is estimated that 20,000 strong reporters from print, television, radio, and digital mediums would headquarter themselves in London.

Add to that thousands of fans and tourists and you can begin to imagine the magnitude of a World Cup event on London and the whole of the country.

Scottish Football Association struggles with referee crisis

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Scottish Football Association struggles with referee crisis The Scottish Football Association is in deep trouble dealing with the current referee’s crisis.  A call out to several other countries resulted in a response from Polish officials and the Scottish Football Association thought it had a match on, when it appears they did not.

The Polish referees who had agreed to participate in the Morton v Falkirk match backed out and now it is quite apparent that the whole Polish FA has backed out on their promise to help the Scottish Football Association by sending 12 match officials.

This has resulted in the cancellation of the 26 November Morton v Falkirk match and will result in further cancellations throughout the Scottish FA.

It looked like a situation where matches would be cancelled had been avoided when the Polish FA agreed to send officials, but the association reversed itself at the seeming last minute.  As of yet, no explanation for the reversal is clear, but the Scottish FA has had trouble enticing the aid of other countries since the problems with its own match officials began.

The threat of a similar strike action on the part of Welsh match officials was beaten down when the FAW sent emails that they said were letters of resignation and the referees were given the choice to agree to work matches or resign.  The threatened expulsion destroyed the unity of the protest and all hopes of strikes fell apart at that point.

Whatever the reason, it is clearly apparent that other countries want no part of the Scottish crisis, cancelled matches or no.

World Cups 2018 and 2022 decision approaching

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World Cups 2018 and 2022 decision approaching The 2 December deadline for deciding the Fifa World Cups in 2018 and 2022 is fast approaching.  Because of this, a number of bidding nations had strong representation at the current Soccerex football seminar in Brazil.

There has been talk and speculation for quite a while about who is running ahead to win the bids on 2018 and 2022 and while there was a strong representation by many bidding nations, some like England, were not present at all or had scant representation.  The talk has also slowed as 2 December looms nearer and nearer.

The strongest competition may come over the 2022 World Cup, which has Qatar, Japan, Australia, and the U.S. competing among the nations wanting the slot.

South Korea is also in this group, but is believed to have slim to no chance of being awarded the opportunity, even though it has been suggested that just such an award might go a long way toward normalizing relations with North Korea.

This is just the sort of political tone they add to try and get a leg up, says one official.  He went on to say that relations between the two Korean countries are as normal as they ever get.

He is right to assume that the competing countries play every card and innuendo they can in an effort to get the World Cup to come to their country.

These Fifa events are big time, says another expert.  Not only is there the exposure on the world stage and the national pride to gain, but the World Cup can be a huge boost to a sagging economy, and everyone’s economy is sagging right now.

FIFA strike back at vote sellers

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FIFA strike back at vote sellers Reynald Temarii and Amos Adamu of the FIFA executive committee were recently banned and fined for attempting to exchange their votes for the world Cups in 2018 and 2022. Adamu, of Nigeria was banned from all football activities for the next three years and stiffly fined, while Temarii, from Tahiti, was banned from football for a year and levied a smaller fine.

Four additional FIFA officials were fined and banned for violations of ethics codes, including Slim Aloulou, who is chairman of the committee tasked with settling disputes between coaches, clubs, and players. All of these dismissals and fines are quite a scandal for FIFA. It casts a pall over the negotiations for the upcoming World Cup Tournaments at a time that the executive committee is making some very important decisions, experts report.

FIFA says that the voting for 2018 and 2022 tournaments will go on with two less executive committee members and that the contentious decision to award both tournaments at a single sitting shall proceed, as well.

The four FIFA officials banned and fined in conjunction with Aloulou were not executive committee members and their actions, therefore, had nothing to do with attempting to sell votes.
The executive committee members attempting to sell votes were caught in the act by reporters pretending to be part of an American consortium trying to steer the games to the United States.

Right now, Russia and England, along with joint bidders Belgium/Netherlands and Spain/Portugal are bidding for the 2018 Cup, while the United States, South Korea, Qatar, Japan, and Australia try for the 2022 Cup. FIFA reports that there was no collusion on the part of any bidding countries in regard to the actions by the dismissed executive committee members.

England’s cutest football supporter, Carlisle United supporter, Freddie Tilley

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England's cutest football supporter, Carlisle United supporter, Freddie Tilley

Carlisle United star Tony Kane is pictured with Trophy Tot Freddie and his mum and dad, Lauren and Steven

Young Carlisle United fan Freddie Tilley celebrated his new found fame as England’s cutest football supporter with a trip to his favourite team with his mum and dad.

The Johnstone’s Paint Trophy’s official ‘Trophy Tot’ was whisked up the M6 with his parents to receive his award, before watching his side beat Southampton at Brunton Park 3-2.

The trophy has been asking supporters to help create a ‘young and hungry’ fan base by launching an appeal to find its official ‘Trophy Tot’ for the year, and Freddie won after receiving hundreds of votes.

He received a £50 voucher for the Carlisle United clubshop and a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy goody bag, filled with Johnstone’s Paint Trophy memorabilia including a runner-up medal from last season’s final.

The trophy tot competition was created in a light hearted effort to engage with clubs up and down the country.

Freddie’s dad Steven is a lifelong Carlisle United fan and travels from his home in Coventry to Brunton Park for every home game.

Freddie and his mum and dad received their award at Carlisle United’s weekend game, which ironically was the fixture for last season’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final at Wembley.

Freddie’s mother Lauren said: “We had a wonderful day out and would like to thank the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and Carlisle United for their hospitality.

“The result was just the icing on the cake and to be able to wave to all the fans before kick-off was a dream come true.”

For the latest news on the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy please click on www.johnstonespainttrophy.com