Here are some of the top stories from last week around the global soccer industry…
Billionaire’s Claim of FIFA Election Fraud Said to Be Dismissed (Bloomberg)
FIFA will reject an official complaint of electoral fraud made by a billionaire Korean businessman who wants to become the global soccer body’s next president, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Chung Mong-Joon, FIFA’s honorary vice president, made the accusation against the Asian Football Confederation, which represents 47 of FIFA’s 209 members. The AFC sent out letters to most of its member associations asking them to back favorite Michel Platini, who leads European soccer body UEFA.
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FIFA Reform Chief Explains Comments on U.S. Justice, Soccer (Reuters)
FIFA’s reform chief meant no offence to United States authorities when he questioned why they were investigating corruption in football, he said on Thursday.
Francois Carrard, head of FIFA’s recently-created reform committee, also told reporters that he had failed to make himself properly understood when he described soccer in the United States as “just an ethnic sport for girls in schools.”
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Manchester United Explore Digital Frontier With HCL Technologies (FC Business)
Manchester United are set to take a step into the digital unknown with a ground-breaking global partnership with leading IT services company HCL Technologies.
As part of this partnership, HCL and Manchester United will work together to explore and unveil a number of digital initiatives to transform the experience of the club’s 659 million global followers.
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Barclays Premier League Week 4 Posts Lowest Average Attendance So Far (Business of Soccer)
The Champions League group stage is set, the silly season is officially over, and the first international break of the season is upon us. I think it’s safe to say, football is back in full swing.
Overall, attendance in GameWeek 4 of the Barclays Premier League has brought the total cumulative attendance in the league to 1,460,507. This actually on the season, is a 96% fill rate against the 1,515,636 total cumulative capacity and potential when taking every home team’s stadium capacity into account. So without further ado, lets get into GW 4 specifically.
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Infront Sports & Media Acquires Two Italian Agencies (Soccerex)
International sports marketing agency Infront Sports & Media has acquired Italian agencies Gsport and Sport09. Based in Montichiari in northern Italy, Gsport is primarily a soccer marketer, working with a number of top Italian clubs including Parma, Fiorentina and Cesena.
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FIFA Ruling Sends Ben Lederman Back to U.S. (New York Times)
Ben Lederman, the teenage soccer player whose career at Barcelona was cut short by FIFA transfer regulations, has returned to the United States and plans to enroll at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
Lederman, 15, was the first United States-born player invited to train at theBarcelona academy, joining when he was 11. But he has been unable to represent the club in more than a year after FIFA punished Barcelona in a dispute about the registrations of underage players, and he has spent the past year in bureaucratic limbo, barred from matches but training with his team.
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Bayern Munich and Other Soccer Teams Pitch in to Help Europe’s Waves of Refugees (Washington Post)
As the refugee crisis in Europe continues to grow, help is coming from a place most might not expect — soccer. Reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich announced on Thursday a plan to offer training camps, language lessons and more to children of refugees. To inaugurate the upcoming program, Bayern players will be accompanied to the field by refugee children before their Sept. 12 match against FC Augsburg.
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Prince Ali Believes He Can Win Fresh FIFA Presidential Poll (Boston Herald)
Prince Ali bin al-Hussein gave a strong indication Monday that he would be standing for the FIFA presidency again.
“If the election is done correctly, cleanly and properly, I believe I can win,” the prince said at the SoccerEx conference.
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Stillitano’s Rise From MLS GM to World Soccer’s Best-Connected American (Sports Illustrated)
How do you go from being a washout as an MLS general manager to being the best-connected American in European soccer?
It’s a question worth pondering when you’re watching TV on a Saturday morning, and the camera shows Sir Alex Ferguson at a Manchester United game, and the guy sitting next to him is … wait … is that Charlie Stillitano?!? The guy from New Jersey? The old MetroStars GM?
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FIFA’s Mutko Extends Influence in Russian Football (World Football Insider)
Vitaly Mutko, sports minister and 2018 World Cup chief, has increased his grip on Russian football after being unanimously elected president of the country’s soccer federation on Wednesday.
The FIFA vice president was the sole candidate in the election after government minister Igor Lebedev withdrew in July.
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This article originally appeared on Business of Soccer. To learn more about BOS you can follow them on Facebook or Twitter.
