Here are some of last week’s top stories from around the global soccer industry…
Disputed Contract Shows Investor Influence on Soccer Trades (Bloomberg)
A contract at the center of a legal dispute between one of soccer’s most-storied teams and an investment company reveals the influence that some funds exercise in the sport’s $4 billion global player trading market.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport will rule as early as next month in a dispute betweenSporting Clube de Portugal and Doyen Sports Investments over the 20 million-euro ($22 million) sale of defender Marcos Rojo to Manchester United.
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Adidas Strikes Soccer School Deal with Chinese Government (Reuters)
Adidas has agreed a partnership with the Chinese education ministry to promote soccer in schools as part of a campaign to support the sport at the grassroots as it goes head to head with Nike in the basketball-obsessed nation.
The German sportswear maker said it had signed a three-year deal to develop a soccer programme for 20,000 primary and middle schools, train 50,000 teachers and also support a national summer camp for more than 400 students.
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The FA Announce Restructuring Plans (FC Business)
The Football Association have outlined final plans to save £30 million a year across the FA Group by the last quarter of 2015. The plans, headed by newly appointed CEO, Martin Glenn, will also include the proposed restructuring of the organisation along with significant investment in the elite England teams, facilities and grassroots coaching.
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U.S. Soccer Hero Carli Lloyd Signs Book Deal (Soccerex)
US women’s soccer captain Carli Lloyd has signed a deal with publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH). The agreement will see the Fifa Women’s World Cup-winning Houston Dash midfielder release a memoir in the autumn of 2016. The North American rights to the book were sold at auction to HMH by Lloyd’s representatives at William Morris Endeavour (WME).
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Chung Says Report of FIFA Investigation Proof of Blatter Sabotage (Yahoo)
FIFA presidential candidate Chung Mong-Joon said on Saturday that a report he was being investigated by the soccer body’s ethics committee was proof that outgoing president Sepp Blatter was trying to interfere in his campaign and should step down.
German newspaper Die Welt reported on Friday that South Korean Chung was facing an investigation into his involvement in a 2010 plan to set up a global football development fund related to South Korea’s bid for the 2022 World Cup.
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Soccer Diplomacy Still Kicking Despite Skirmish at North Korean Border (Wall Street Journal)
Tensions along the inter-Korean border are high after Thursday’s heavy-artillery clash and North Korean threats of further strikes. But in an indication that the situation hasn’t yet tipped into a full-blown crisis, young South Koreans on Friday played a rare soccer match in the North Korean capital.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry, the country’s main agency for inter-Korean affairs, said an under-15 international soccer tournament in Pyongyang began on Friday and is proceeding as planned. The competition involves squads from countries that include China, Brazil and South Korea.
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Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge Redevelopment Plans to Enter Next Stage as Wembley Deal Nears Completion (Mirror)
Chelsea’s plans to expand their Stamford Bridge home will move forward next week when the club hosts an exhibition. The English champions are looking to redevelop their west London home by increasing its capacity to around 60,000. Building work is anticipated to take around three years to complete and the Blues are close to sealing an agreement with Wembley to use their national stadium during this period.
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Philadelphia Union Brings Continent’s Largest Soccer League to Lehigh Valley (Lehigh Valley Live)
For the Philadelphia Union representatives evaluating the Lehigh Valley, the Women’s World Cup essentially sealed the deal.
Thousands of soccer fans, watching the United States’ victory over Japan, cemented the destination of the Union’s new United Soccer League team.
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Major League Soccer’s Most Valuable Teams 2015 (Forbes)
Two years ago, David Villa,Kaka, Steven Gerard and Frank Lampard were playing for some of the world’s most valuable soccer teams around the world. Today, all four call America’s Major League Soccer home, with each making well over $5 million annually. What’s even more impressive for the domestic soccer league is that, while even just a few years ago that sort of list would constitute the entirety of its star power, those four are now just a small handful of the league’s superstar names.
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Chung Mong-Joon Enters FIFA Presidential Race (World Football Insider)
Honorary FIFA vice president Chung Mong-Joon says he will clean the sport of football if elected president of FIFA.
Chung blames the previous president Sepp Blatter for the recent corruption scandals which have cast shadows over the sport and its organizing body.
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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.
