Ramsgate FC plea to stay away fans

Fifacup[Wednesday January 05,2011]
Ramsgate Football Club’s vice-chairman, Paul Jefcoate has urged fans to come out and support the club after a drop in attendances this season.

Attendances at Southwood have regularly dropped below 150 this season and the Rams have struggled throughout the campaign to find any sort of consistency on their own patch.

Jefcoate praised the club’s loyal followers, but insisted more was needed, both on and off the pitch, if the Rams were to have any chance on sneaking into the play-offs this term.

He said: "We’ve had a very good core support through thick and thin and over the last few years, even when we’ve been heading in the wrong direction. Unfortunately, the support we attracted when things were successful has rapidly dissipated, so where are they now?

"We’ve got to see more consistency from the team this year because that’ll drag more people through the gate, which is what we’re sadly lacking. We can’t go and press-gang them into coming along so we’ve got to provide entertainment. If people don’t think they’re going to see something they’ll enjoy, why should they pay for it?"

Ramsgate face two away trips in the next week as they head to Chipstead and Dulwich Hamlet, looking to record back-to-back away wins for the first time this season.

"We’ve been thoroughly inconsistent, producing some quite surprising results," Jefcoate said. "We had two very good draws against Leatherhead and Met Police then we’ve been losing games like the one at Whitstable.

"We certainly can’t drop below the level we’re currently at. Richard [Lawson, chairman] is not prepared to dig so deep in his pockets, it’s something we all agreed with, so we’ve got to build things a bit more slowly."

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Northampton Town FC chairman gives 'cautious welcome' to council motion

Cinemimi[Wednesday January 05,2011]
Northampton Town Chairman David Cardoza has given a 'cautious welcome' to the motion passed by Northampton Borough Council on Monday night.

Conservative group leader Councillor David Palethorpe had proposed a motion to the Council that recognised 'the importance and value of Northampton Saints and Northampton Town Football Club to the sporting, cultural and economic wellbeing of our town' and instructing 'the Leader and Deputy Leader to write to the Homes and Communities Agency, Northampton Saints and Northampton Town Football Club informing them that Northampton Borough Council has no underlying objections to, and would support any planning applications (subject to the normal planning process), that will help to ensure the continuing development and success of the clubs'.

The motion received the full backing of the Conservative, Labour and Independent groups, and with the Liberal Democrats either voting against, abstaining or excusing themselves from the vote the motion was passed with a healthy majority.

"We have been looking to proceed with our re-development for a number of years so we give a cautious welcome to the news," said the Cobblers Chairman.

"Our welcome is only cautious, because we have been here and seen this before. However this motion does give us renewed hope and optimism that the Borough Council can see sense and that we can work in partnership to fulfil our ambitions on behalf of the club, the community and the town.

"What we need now is action and co-operation as well as supportive words, but we look forward to working with the Borough Council and our re-development partners to see what can be achieved.

"It is a small but welcome step forward on a long road, and we hope it will mark an important change in the policy of the Council.

"It is clear that the people of Northampton want to see the sports clubs supported and flourish. The Northampton community want their elected councillors to support the Saints and the Cobblers and we hope this will be the start of a period of action rather than the years of inaction we have endured while other towns and cities, including nearby Milton Keynes, have shown what can be achieved."



The club will issue a more comprehensive response in due course.

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New funding criteria announced for football stadia improvement work

Fifacup[wednesday January 05,2011]
The Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF) has announced new funding criteria for stadia improvement projects.

With an annual budget of £5m, provided by the Premier League, the new deal ensures that the FSIF can continue to offer grants to professional and amateur football clubs in the Football League and National League System (NLS) towards stadia improvement, such as building new stands, floodlights, pitches and CCTV.

All applications will be judged on financial need and available budget. Grants will be limited to 50% of eligible costs and the following upper limits will be applied:

·Football League Clubs: £750,000

·NLS Step 1: £400,000

·NLS Step 2 to 4: £150,000

·NLS Step 5 and 6: £100,000

·NLS Step 7 and below: £20,000, but up to £50,000 for applications including changing rooms.

In addition, a total of £200,000 of the FSIF annual budget will be ring-fenced each year to support the two clubs promoted from the Football Conference to the Football League to cover the costs of required safety installations, such as computerised turnstiles, CCTV, stadium control rooms, etc.

Women’s pyramid clubs are eligible for funding. The default level will be set at NLS Step 4 for clubs in the Women’s Super league, but as with all applications to the FSIF, applications will be judged on value for money and available budget.

Demand for these funds is expected to be high, and the FSIF will suspend the fund each year, once the annual budget has been exhausted.

Full eligibility criteria for all the above grant schemes can be found on the Football Foundation’s website www.footballfoundation.org.uk. Expressions of interest in applying for funding should also be made via the Foundation’s website.



Paul Thorogood, Chief Executive of the FSIF, said:“Supporters are the lifeblood of our national game. They generate the atmosphere, they bring colour to matches and they help fund their club’s existence.

“I am therefore delighted that the Premier League is securing the FSIF’s future. This means that vital funding towards stadia improvement will continue to help ensure that football fans and players across the country, and at all levels, enjoy their matches in comfort and safety.”

Richard Scudamore, Chief Executive of the Premier League, said: “The Premier League has funded the FSIF since it was launched in 2000. In that time it has provided crucial financial assistance for clubs throughout the football pyramid to improve their stadia.

“It has always been important to us that clubs and their fans at all levels of the game continue to benefit from Premier League funding. This new deal ensures that going forward.”

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Aberdeen chairman outlines plans for new stadium move

Fifacup[Wednesday January 05,2011]
Aberdeen Football Club’s chairman Stuart Milne has revealed that the club has no option but to move to a new stadium

Speaking at the club’s AGM the topic of moving to the proposed 21,000-seat stadium at Loriston Loch was top of the agenda.

"We don’t have the option of doing nothing,'' Milne said.

Aberdeen’s current ground and home for more than a century The Pittodrie Stadium is in need of major repair at a cost that would far outweigh any benefits; “This stadium has a limited life and every year we stay here it costs us a lot of money. That’s just going to continue to increase. At some point we have got to make the move.

"If we don't move we won't have a viable club, it's as simple as that."

The Chairman also revealed he was hopeful that the Dons would have moved into their new home in time for the 2013/14 season.

"We hope to get planning consent from the council in February. It will then be called in by the Scottish Office and we would hope for a decision before the break-up of parliament next year, around April.

"We then will go on to the contractor work and the aim would be to have all the funding in place by the first quarter of 2012 with a view to starting the project in the second part of 2012 to have the stadium ready to play in for season 2013-14.

"The estimated cost of the stadium is around £35million and the main funding areas are the sale of Pittodrie, a share issue and a long-term mortgage on the new stadium. We would see that raising £20 million.

“There are other areas, naming right, rental, development money from the other areas and some other things we are working on in the background. Between all of them we can I would hope bring in a further £15million.

"The soccer academy will be £4million and we are looking at alternative ways of raising that money and, by the middle of 2011, we hope to be able to say we can fund that. I can assure no one is under-estimating the scale of the challenge of putting this together and securing the funding for it, especially in the economic conditions prevailing and likely to be prevailing for the next few years.

"That is the challenge we have got. We have to square up to it and there is no option of sitting back and doing nothing."

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Newcastle firm in running to build WC 2014 stadiums

FifaCup[Wednesday january 05,2011]
A North East firm has put together a consortium which is in the running to build several new football stadiums in Brazil ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

Newcastle-based A World of Golf (AWG) has brought together a group of heavyweight businesses from the sports consultancy and construction sectors to bid for a share of 11 contracts for new build stadiums across Brazil.

AWG, which is primarily involved in designing and managing the construction of golf courses and resorts around the world, is hopeful of winning up to five of the contracts.

A decision on the contracts will be made by Brazilian state authorities - in partnership with football’s governing body FIFA - by the end of this year.

If successful, AWG will work alongside global construction firms Davis Langdon and Waterman Group, sports turf specialist SIS and Top Green – a French firm which develops grass suitable for various sports.

Brazil will host the World Cup for the second time in the tournament’s history in 2014 and the country’s authorities are keen to upgrade the stadiums and surrounding infrastructure in the host cities.

AWG will draw on its expertise of managing the development of large-scale golf courses and related facilities such as hotels, access roads and entertainment venues.

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Fifa 2014 Brazil Venues, Stadiums, and Plan

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AFC Asian Cup Qatar Available Live in 65 Million US TV Households

Fifacup[Wednesday January 05,2011]
AFC Asian Cup Qatar Available Live in 65 Million US TV Households
The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 will be available to more than 65 million U.S. TV households as a result of distribution agreements executed by One World Sports with leading cable and satellite groups in the United States.

The games will be distributed live and delayed in English and in High Definition.

One World Sports is a unit of One Media Corp, Inc. One World Sports acquired the rights to broadcast the event through Singapore-based World Sport Group, the AFC’s exclusive marketing and media partner.

The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 is Asia’s premier football tournament and brings together the top 16 national teams from across that continent. It is held once every four years, and is the first major international competition pitting nation against nation since the FIFA World Cup 2010 last summer in South Africa.

Iraq, the defending champion, will be joined by Japan, China, Iran, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, a quintet that historically fields the strongest teams. The 2011 event will also include Australia, India and North Korea, in addition to Gulf Region teams from hosts Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.

“The response from the leading cable and satellite providers has been overwhelming,” said Preston Bornman, Chief Operating Officer of One World Sports. “They see the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 as a natural extension of the success they had with last summer’s FIFA World Cup in South Africa, which saw a dramatic rise in viewership.”

Matches can be purchased by consumers on a per-game basis via Pay-Per-View. One World Sports has licensed the full event to iN DEMAND (www.indemand.com), which will distribute the tournament to Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Charter, Mediacom and many other U.S. affiliates; DISH Network (www.DISHNetwork.com); and Avail/TVN (www.Avail-TVN.com), which includes AT&T and Verizon FiOS among its affiliates.

Broadband coverage will be available live via One World Sports Broadband, which can be found at www.OneWorldSports.tv. Mobile video coverage will be available on Verizon Wireless V CAST Video at www.VerizonWireless.com.

“Asia has become increasingly important to the United States economically and culturally. One of the best ways to gain insights on different parts of the world is through sport, and the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 comes at a time of heightened interest in the region,” Bornman said.

“World Sport Group is delighted to have One World Sports as our Broadcast Partner for North America and we are also very excited at the prospect of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 being seen in up to 65 million households there,” said James Clarke, Senior Vice President – Content, World Sport Group.

“There is huge interest in the event among the Asian communities in North America, particularly among Iranians, Japanese, Koreans and Chinese. For the first time, we have a nation-wide broadcast platform that can serve our North American fans,” Clarke said.

The 32 game tournament begins Jan. 7 and concludes on Jan. 29, 2011. There are 24 matches during the Group Stages, followed by four knock-out games between the four group winners and second-place finishers. Two semi-final matches will be held Jan. 25. The third-place match will be held on Jan. 28, followed by the final on Jan. 29.
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According to the FIFA Calendar

Fifacup[wednesday january,05 2011]
According to the FIFA Calendar, the preliminary draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup will be held on July 30, 2011 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. That will be barely a year after World Cup South Africa 2010. In order to permit the confederations to begin their qualifying competitions in good time, the Executive Committee decided to endorse the change of date for the preliminary draw of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which will be held six months prior than in the past.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup will feature 32 teams. One place has been allocated to the hosts, Brazil. The remaining 31 places will be determined by a qualification process, in which entrants from among the other 207 teams from the six FIFA confederations will compete. In the past, most qualification has been determined within these confederations, with a limited number of inter-confederation play-offs occurring at the end of the process.

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