News
8:41 PM Sat 20th Aug, 2011 - Admin
After several false starts and more than two months of tortuous wrangling, Socceroos star Harry Kewell has agreed to join the Melbourne Victory.
Kewell has signed a three-year deal with the A-League club and will join his new team-mates in Melbourne in the first week of September.
The Victory have been negotiating with Kewell and agent Bernie Mandic since June towards a deal with the club involving a complex revenue-sharing deal. Several stumbling blocks, including a side deal with Football Federation Australia, have threatened the deal going ahead.
Club chairman Anthony Di Pietro said: "We are delighted to announce that Harry has chosen to play for our club.
"Harry is an Australian sporting icon and will bring not only incredible talent to Melbourne Victory but will attract more fans to football and boost greater interest and participation in the sport in Australia. ...
Kewell has signed a three-year deal with the A-League club and will join his new team-mates in Melbourne in the first week of September.
The Victory have been negotiating with Kewell and agent Bernie Mandic since June towards a deal with the club involving a complex revenue-sharing deal. Several stumbling blocks, including a side deal with Football Federation Australia, have threatened the deal going ahead.
Club chairman Anthony Di Pietro said: "We are delighted to announce that Harry has chosen to play for our club.
"Harry is an Australian sporting icon and will bring not only incredible talent to Melbourne Victory but will attract more fans to football and boost greater interest and participation in the sport in Australia. ...
11:49 PM Tue 9th Aug, 2011 - Admin
Australia international midfielder Marco Bresciano has left Lazio to join Al Nasr in the United Arab Emirates in a deal believed to be worth around £3.4 million.
Bresciano, 31, spent a year at Lazio following more successful spells at Parma and Palermo, and Al Nasr's team manager, Khalid Obaid, told Gulf News his team can now look to challenge for trophies on all fronts.
He said: "Bresciano is a good addition to the team with European experience. The board has supported (coach) Walter Zenga's ambition and with Bresciano we will challenge for the title and Asian Champions League progression this season.
"Zenga is a hard-working coach and after last season's growth and with this signing we're expecting to challenge. They've all worked very hard we just need a little luck. But Zenga has made the difference. He's built a team without any stars, the star is the team, there is no one player." ...
Bresciano, 31, spent a year at Lazio following more successful spells at Parma and Palermo, and Al Nasr's team manager, Khalid Obaid, told Gulf News his team can now look to challenge for trophies on all fronts.
He said: "Bresciano is a good addition to the team with European experience. The board has supported (coach) Walter Zenga's ambition and with Bresciano we will challenge for the title and Asian Champions League progression this season.
"Zenga is a hard-working coach and after last season's growth and with this signing we're expecting to challenge. They've all worked very hard we just need a little luck. But Zenga has made the difference. He's built a team without any stars, the star is the team, there is no one player." ...
10:19 AM Mon 27th Jun, 2011 - Admin
Marcos Flores will no longer be an Adelaide United player according to the following report in the Adelaide Advertiser.
The Johnny Warren medal winner will walk away from Adelaide's marquee contract offer in favour of Chinese football. Flores will be transferred to China's Henan Jianye during the FIFA July/August transfer window's first day of business on Friday.
The proposed Adelaide deal which would have tied Flores to the Reds until 2014 wasn't good enough. Flores was still hoping to agree to terms with the Reds last Friday when he was interviewed by Fox Sports football host Simon Hill during The Martyn Crook Foundation dinner.
Hill highlighted the fact Flores had lit up Alice Springs and Uluru during the flying Reds visit to Central Australia with Eugene Galekovic and Daniel Mullen a fortnight ago before asking the inevitable "will you stay or go" question.
"Love and business are two different things," Flores said.
Adelaide chairman Greg Griffin confirmed Flores was on his way to China. ...
The Johnny Warren medal winner will walk away from Adelaide's marquee contract offer in favour of Chinese football. Flores will be transferred to China's Henan Jianye during the FIFA July/August transfer window's first day of business on Friday.
The proposed Adelaide deal which would have tied Flores to the Reds until 2014 wasn't good enough. Flores was still hoping to agree to terms with the Reds last Friday when he was interviewed by Fox Sports football host Simon Hill during The Martyn Crook Foundation dinner.
Hill highlighted the fact Flores had lit up Alice Springs and Uluru during the flying Reds visit to Central Australia with Eugene Galekovic and Daniel Mullen a fortnight ago before asking the inevitable "will you stay or go" question.
"Love and business are two different things," Flores said.
Adelaide chairman Greg Griffin confirmed Flores was on his way to China. ...
4:43 AM Thu 23rd Jun, 2011 - Admin
A Fifa report seen by the Press Association says there is 'overwhelming evidence' that Mohamed bin Hammam used bribery in his presidential campaign.
The ethics committee also stated that former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner was "an accessory to corruption".
Warner resigned from his role on Monday and quit all football activities.
As a result, football's governing body dropped all investigations into Warner, adding that "the presumption of innocence is maintained".
However, the full report of the ethics committee headed by Namibian judge Petrus Damaseb said there was "comprehensive, convincing and overwhelming" proof that bribes had been paid to officials to support Bin Hammam's campaign for the Fifa presidency, and that Warner had facilitated this.
Both 68-year-old Warner, from Trinidad and Tobago, and Qatar's Bin Hammam, 62, were provisionally suspended on 29 May. ...
The ethics committee also stated that former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner was "an accessory to corruption".
Warner resigned from his role on Monday and quit all football activities.
As a result, football's governing body dropped all investigations into Warner, adding that "the presumption of innocence is maintained".
However, the full report of the ethics committee headed by Namibian judge Petrus Damaseb said there was "comprehensive, convincing and overwhelming" proof that bribes had been paid to officials to support Bin Hammam's campaign for the Fifa presidency, and that Warner had facilitated this.
Both 68-year-old Warner, from Trinidad and Tobago, and Qatar's Bin Hammam, 62, were provisionally suspended on 29 May. ...
9:31 PM Fri 10th Jun, 2011 - Admin
Well, wasn't that a super night's entertainment at Etihad Stadium? Top-quality football, two committed sides, a vibrant atmosphere, and some real stars of the future on show.
At least, that’s the game I thought I had attended along with 28,000 others - until I read one of the following days AFL-centric Melbourne papers.
To my horror, I discovered I must have been dreaming.
Apparently, I had been among a hate-filled seething mass, intent on causing trouble, stirring up ethnic tensions and wrecking the stadium; it’s a good job the roof was closed because clearly the sky was falling in. Wow, the things you miss!
In the battle of the Australian football codes, all's fair in love and war. But if it's a war against football ... maybe it's time the fraternity returned fire.
Now it’s true that there were flares, and I’m not condoning the few idiots who saw fit to throw them near the pitch. But that’s exactly what they were; a few idiots among a colourful, noisy, well-behaved majority. ...
At least, that’s the game I thought I had attended along with 28,000 others - until I read one of the following days AFL-centric Melbourne papers.
To my horror, I discovered I must have been dreaming.
Apparently, I had been among a hate-filled seething mass, intent on causing trouble, stirring up ethnic tensions and wrecking the stadium; it’s a good job the roof was closed because clearly the sky was falling in. Wow, the things you miss!
In the battle of the Australian football codes, all's fair in love and war. But if it's a war against football ... maybe it's time the fraternity returned fire.
Now it’s true that there were flares, and I’m not condoning the few idiots who saw fit to throw them near the pitch. But that’s exactly what they were; a few idiots among a colourful, noisy, well-behaved majority. ...
6:59 PM Thu 9th Jun, 2011 - Admin
Westfield Matildas Head Coach Tom Sermanni today announced his 21-player squad to compete in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany.
The Westfield Matildas squad contains 13 FIFA Women’s World Cup debutants and an average age of just under 22 making this team the youngest squad Australia has ever sent to a World Cup.
Seven players under the age of 20 have been selected in the squad including Westfield W-League Player of the Year Kyah Simon, Tameka Butt, 16-year-old Caitlin Foord and 17-year-old trio Emily van Egmond, Sam Kerr and Teigen Allen.
Star striker Lisa De Vanna has been selected in the squad following her efforts at the recent Gold Coast training camp and will join her teammates on June 14 in Sydney to travel to Germany.
“This has been one of the toughest selection processes I have ever had to go through and there were a lot of variables the coaching staff had to weigh up before selecting this final 21 player list,” said Sermanni. ...
The Westfield Matildas squad contains 13 FIFA Women’s World Cup debutants and an average age of just under 22 making this team the youngest squad Australia has ever sent to a World Cup.
Seven players under the age of 20 have been selected in the squad including Westfield W-League Player of the Year Kyah Simon, Tameka Butt, 16-year-old Caitlin Foord and 17-year-old trio Emily van Egmond, Sam Kerr and Teigen Allen.
Star striker Lisa De Vanna has been selected in the squad following her efforts at the recent Gold Coast training camp and will join her teammates on June 14 in Sydney to travel to Germany.
“This has been one of the toughest selection processes I have ever had to go through and there were a lot of variables the coaching staff had to weigh up before selecting this final 21 player list,” said Sermanni. ...
11:56 PM Fri 3rd Jun, 2011 - Admin
New witnesses have come forth in the FBI-aided bribery investigation into FIFA’s executive committee members Mohamed Bin Hammam and Jack Warner. The investigation is being conducted under the supervision of FIFA’s ethics committee led by the former FBI director Louis Freeh.
Both Hammam and Warner are accused of offering bribes of $1 million in order to secure votes in the presidential election that took place earlier this week. The bribes were said to have been dispersed in envelopes containing $40,000 dollars each and were apparently distributed to members of the Caribbean Football Union.
Members of the CFU were warned to come forward and return any money they may have accepted or face further sanctions.
New CFU members have come forward since the official investigation was launched, including members reportedly at the meeting where the transgressions took place. Hammam was forced to step down in his bid from FIFA presidency due to tremendous outside pressure. ...
Both Hammam and Warner are accused of offering bribes of $1 million in order to secure votes in the presidential election that took place earlier this week. The bribes were said to have been dispersed in envelopes containing $40,000 dollars each and were apparently distributed to members of the Caribbean Football Union.
Members of the CFU were warned to come forward and return any money they may have accepted or face further sanctions.
New CFU members have come forward since the official investigation was launched, including members reportedly at the meeting where the transgressions took place. Hammam was forced to step down in his bid from FIFA presidency due to tremendous outside pressure. ...
10:31 PM Tue 31st May, 2011 - Admin
After another breathtaking day of allegations from within Fifa, the decision to give Qatar the 2022 World Cup must be overturned.
At the very least, the vote has to be re-run, following the corruption claims surrounding Mohamed bin Hammam, the Qatari Fifa delegate credited with delivering the showpiece to his country.
Indeed, if Sepp Blatter is serious about leaving some kind of legacy – even as a sop to those of us who know that his return to power tomorrow will be a complete farce – then he must order a new vote for 2022.
Advertisement >>
Qatar was a crazy choice in the first place. A World Cup there would see matches played in 50C heat, with Planet Football descending on a state half the size of Wales.
The talk now is that the country most likely to benefit from a restoration of common sense is America – but if there is any justice, the World Cup will go to Australia.
There is no logic in handing it back to a country that has hosted it before. ...
At the very least, the vote has to be re-run, following the corruption claims surrounding Mohamed bin Hammam, the Qatari Fifa delegate credited with delivering the showpiece to his country.
Indeed, if Sepp Blatter is serious about leaving some kind of legacy – even as a sop to those of us who know that his return to power tomorrow will be a complete farce – then he must order a new vote for 2022.
Advertisement >>
Qatar was a crazy choice in the first place. A World Cup there would see matches played in 50C heat, with Planet Football descending on a state half the size of Wales.
The talk now is that the country most likely to benefit from a restoration of common sense is America – but if there is any justice, the World Cup will go to Australia.
There is no logic in handing it back to a country that has hosted it before. ...
7:38 AM Tue 31st May, 2011 - Admin
This is a picture of the money that a Caribbean football official says he was offered following a presentation by FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam.
Fred Lunn claims this is the money offered after Mohamed bin Hammam's presentation
PA PhotosFred Lunn claims this is the money offered after Mohamed bin Hammam's presentation
The money, as the picture clearly shows, was delivered in a brown envelope with the name of the Bahamas FA on it. Inside the envelope was US $40,000 in crisp, new $100 bills - four packs each of $10,000.
For many officials from the Caribbean's smaller islands, this would be the equivalent of several years' salary.
The date was May 10, the place the Hyatt Regency hotel in Trinidad where the members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) had been invited to a special meeting to listen to FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam present his manifesto. ...
Fred Lunn claims this is the money offered after Mohamed bin Hammam's presentation
PA PhotosFred Lunn claims this is the money offered after Mohamed bin Hammam's presentation
The money, as the picture clearly shows, was delivered in a brown envelope with the name of the Bahamas FA on it. Inside the envelope was US $40,000 in crisp, new $100 bills - four packs each of $10,000.
For many officials from the Caribbean's smaller islands, this would be the equivalent of several years' salary.
The date was May 10, the place the Hyatt Regency hotel in Trinidad where the members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) had been invited to a special meeting to listen to FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam present his manifesto. ...
12:21 AM Tue 31st May, 2011 - Admin
The FIFA bribery scandal is set to force a re-vote of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.
FIFA has been given a blunt warning by the Swiss government it must demonstrate it has rid itself of corruption otherwise the Swiss government will take action that will force a re-run the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.
The Swiss government has had enough of the damage that FIFA is doing to the country's reputation. The Swiss Government is threatening to strip Fifa of its coveted “association” status, which allows it to avoid transparency, and remove its favourable tax-avoidance arrangements.
The threats from the Swiss Government increase the already immense international pressure to re-run at least the 2022 World Cup bidding process. Qatar's successful 2022 bid was dealt another blow today when FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke confirmed he sent suspended vice-president Jack Warner an email stating the 2022 World Cup in Qatar had been "bought".
FIFA has been given a blunt warning by the Swiss government it must demonstrate it has rid itself of corruption otherwise the Swiss government will take action that will force a re-run the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.
The Swiss government has had enough of the damage that FIFA is doing to the country's reputation. The Swiss Government is threatening to strip Fifa of its coveted “association” status, which allows it to avoid transparency, and remove its favourable tax-avoidance arrangements.
The threats from the Swiss Government increase the already immense international pressure to re-run at least the 2022 World Cup bidding process. Qatar's successful 2022 bid was dealt another blow today when FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke confirmed he sent suspended vice-president Jack Warner an email stating the 2022 World Cup in Qatar had been "bought".
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