FIFA fiddles as football burns

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FIFA fiddles as football burns It is no news to football fans that FIFA is having major image problems.  Allegations of corruption on the part of senior officials and the large question of how Qatar landed the 2022 World Cup are only a few of the scandals afflicting the organization these days.

FIFA’s large corporate sponsors, including Adidas, Visa and Coca-Cola have been expressing concern over the perceived corruption, and recently McDonald’s joined in the voices calling for reform and ethical behaviour by FIFA officials.  However, according to marketing experts, the sponsors are unlikely to renege on any lucrative deals unless a really massive scandal erupts.

Chris Welton, a well-known sports marketing consultant, said that the average football fan is not really interested in whether FIFA is behaving badly or not.  They just want to watch and enjoy their football, and they don’t want to see the governing body in football embarrassed more than it already is.

Sepp Blatter, who just won his fourth four-year term as FIFA’s head honcho in an uncontested election, has finally acknowledged that the organization is having a crisis, and has promised that reforms will be made.  He said it would take some time, but he intends to “ . . . put FIFA’s ship back on the right course in clear, transparent waters.”

As part of the reforms, he said that in future all the 208 member federations would vote on the World Cup host, instead of FIFA’s 24-member executive committee.  David Bernstein, the English FA chairman who tried and failed to get the election postponed, said that it least his attempt had pressured Blatter into proposing reforms.

DOMINO’S INTERNATIONAL ROOKIE MANAGER OF THE YEAR CROWNED IN PORTSMOUTH

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27 year old Jenny Price, a Domino’s Pizza store manager from Portsmouth has walked away with the prestigious company award of ‘ International Rookie Manager of the Year’. She beat off stiff competition from over 1500 rookie managers from across the globe, and was awarded her title at Dominos annual awards ceremony on Monday the 23rd of May.

The celebrated title is awarded to a manager of a store who has been in charge for 18 months or less. In order to qualify for the competition there are strict targets for both store standards and sales. Jenny, who manages the store in Fratton, Portsmouth exceeded these goals and has a great passion for pizza, making her a perfect choice for the award.

Having joined Domino’s in 2009, Jenny originally planned for the job to be a stop-gap but within a week, she knew she wanted to stay and pursue it as a fulltime career. Her great work ethic and hands-on approach saw her become store manager after just nine months. Jenny’s people management skills have seen her create a 60 strong team at the Fratton store and achieve exceptional staff retention rates, while delivering outstanding customer service to pizza lovers in the area. She has also been getting stuck into community activities to raise funds for local causes, not to mention delivering to Portsmouth Fire Brigade to keep them going on their busiest day of the year – Bonfire Night.

Jenny was initially called to the stage at Domino’s annual awards on Monday to be given the title for Rookie Manager of the Year UK and the Republic of Ireland, but was immediately summoned back to receive the award for the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region. The double win was then topped off with her being presented the coveted International Rookie Manager of the Year award.

Jenny said: “I knew I had been nominated for the UK and Republic of Ireland rookie manager award and was staggered to win that, let alone be called back to the stage to also take the award for EMEA and then the ultimate prize – international! It was a very emotional moment and one that really made all the hard work worthwhile. I called my parents straight away afterwards to share the great news and I’ve already hung up my plaque with pride in the store. I love my job and I am determined to carry on developing the business and delivering more to customers in Fratton.”

Kory Spiroff, Vice-President – Domino’s Pizza EMEA, said: “Jenny is a fantastic ambassador for Domino’s Pizza. Her unwavering commitment to the brand, unending passion for her job and her genuinely contagious enthusiasm make Jenny a truly inspirational winner. We are delighted to present her with this award, recognising the crème de la crème of Domino’s Pizza rookie managers worldwide.”

Domino’s Pizza’s international awards recognise the talents and hard work of the franchisees and in-store teams from the company’s 9,350 stores in over 65 countries.

 

 

Sepp Blatter defiant in the face of football storm

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Sepp Blatter defiant in the face of football storm Sepp Blatter was cleared of any wrong doing by the FIFA world ruling body allowing him to run unopposed for the presidency in Wednesday’s election. The only challenger, Mohamed Bin Hammam, stood down amidst corruption allegations.

Bin Hammam as well as executive committee member Jack Warner received suspensions for all activity related to football after the ethics committee of FIFA said they would launch a full blown inquiry into the allegations of bribery made against the two.

The group agreed to investigate claims that financial incentives were offered to Caribbean Football Union (CFU) members. Both deny the allegations and Bin Hammam said earlier he rescinded his candidacy saying he did not want FIFA’s name to be dragged through the mud.

The ethics committee ruled in favor of Mr. Blatter by saying there was no need to investigate the present President who Bin Hammam accused of knowing about the alleged payments to CFU members.

The two Mr. Warner and Mr. Bin Hammam are accused of trying to bribe members with bags of cash that totaled £24,000 for each member of the CFU members in Trinidad. These alleged payments were to secure votes for Bin Hammam’s presidential election campaign.

The ethnics committee was presided over by Namibian judge Petrus Damaseb who told a news conference that Bin Hammam was provisionally banned from participating in an football activity until the ethics committee of FIFA take a final decision and the same for Mr. Jack Warner, also suspended pending further inquiry were Jason Sylvester and Debbie Minguell, CFU officials that are alleged to have handed over the bundles of cash.

WE’RE THE FAMOUS MAN UNITED

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OLD TRAFFORD IN THE ’80s: THE PLAYERS’ STORIES

With: Bryan Robson, Frank Stapleton, Gordon McQueen,

Arnold Muhren, Alan Brazil, Clayton Blackmore, Gary Bailey,

Arthur Albiston, Bill Garton, John Gidman and Ron Atkinson

NEW PAPERBACK EDITION!

Published by Vision Sports Publishing, Out Now!

RRP £7.99, ISBN 9781907637094

The 1980’s was certainly a barren decade for Manchester United as far as league titles were concerned, but they did bag two FA Cups during that time. The teams that conquered did so with grit, determination and some seriously dodgy perms. Eleven key players from that time have been tracked down by author Andy Mitten to tell their own stories in this new book.

They played hard on the pitch, and many played just as hard off it. Working class lads who got to live their childhood dreams by playing for the biggest and most glamorous team in the country. There are 11 chapters in the book, each one a mini-bio of the players involved. Through their stories we get the chance to build up a picture of what life was really like at Man Utd.

The football, the fights, the boozing sessions and the childish pranks are all recorded for posterity. This was an era when footballers were still one of us, they lived alongside the fans who turned out to watch them and went for a pint after training. These footballers weren’t celebrities and played for the love of the game, as there wasn’t much money to be made back then. When they retired they were lucky if they had a few medals to show for their efforts.


Rovers Going Inca

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IncaTrek2011

Rovers Going Inca

NSPCC Childline service.

Several members of Doncaster Rovers football club, players and management have decided this year to do something different in the hiatus between seasons. Instead of relaxing with family, they are flying to South America to take the Inca trail through the Andes. On the 5th of June the intrepid adventurers, led by their star midfielder Mark Wilson, will be reaching altitudes of 12,000 ft to raise funds for the NSPCC Childline service.

Joining Wilson will be James O’Connor and James Coppinger. They will be supported by 5 members of the Rovers’ management team, and 2 Rovers’ fans who are also local businessmen. This is no easy way to earn money for charity, as the Inca trail is a 62 miles trek upwards until they reach the roof of South America. The threat of altitude sickness will be a major factor as there are points on the trail that reach a mighty 15,000 ft. They plan to complete the walk in 6 days, not a task for the faint hearted.

Mark Wilson has said that they are taking on the challenge to raise public awareness of the NSPCC and Childline and raise much needed funds to enable them to finance it. This is something that Wilson has been thinking about doing for a while and wants to do all he can to help to stamp out child abuse.

“The other lads are just as keen as I am to get involved and even the ones who are not taking part have pledge money out of their wages to the Trek. Players like a challenge and to do this has given them that focus to help the NSPCC. They are really looking forward to it and know that it will be a test for us all as it will challenge us in different ways. Its going to be no picnic as we are doing an alternative route reaching heights of over 12,000ft. We land at high altitude them climb up to 15,000ft at the highest point of the trek. We will all have to watch out for altitude sickness as we are as high as some airline fly!. All of us are giving up our holidays to take this challenge on because its at a time we usually go with our families on a break, because when we get back it will be pre-season training ”

“This is a project we want the whole community in and we want every fan to get involved in any way plus any local business who want to get involved. We will be having special events all though the year including a special night for the ladies, so watch out on the clubs official website plus a new dedicated website and donations site we are setting up”

Steve Uttley, Media Manager “For me this is one the biggest challenges that I have undertaken but one I could not refuse when asked. I have a year to get myself up to fitness levels needed but If what I do saves one child’s life it will be worth all the pain and effort put in not only by me but by the rest of the team. I will be the oldest so will be the one who has the most punishing training regime but I have already started by walking in the Peak District as I build up”