This week the All Party Parliamentary Football Group (APPFG) delivered a frank set of suggestions regarding the finances of top English football clubs, in publishing the findings of a six-year repo

The three-year deal will run until the end of the 2011-12 football season and will see MasterCard continue to leverage the sponsorship through its exclusive ‘payment systems’ product category.
Shares in BSkyB fell 4.3 per cent after Cazenove downgraded the firm to "in-line", saying its investment plans, dollar strength and its recent Premier League TV acquisitions put pressure on forecasts.
China, which had been widely expected to make a bid to stage either the 2018 or 2022 football World Cup, has decided not to enter an application to FIFA.
MP & Silva acquired exclusive international media and marketing rights to a selection of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup 2011 qualifiers.
Premier League football clubs have already spent more in this year’s January transfer window than they did last year, according to analysis by accountants KPMG.
Mastercard said it has been a proud sponsor of the UEFA Champions League since 1994 and is in "ongoing discussions” with UEFA, reviewing how their alliance could be extended.
One in four Premier League and Football League season ticket holders are considering cancelling their season tickets according the latest edition of Virgin Money’s Football Fans’ Inflation Index.
Thomas Cook Sport was appointed participating tour operator for the 2010 FIFA World Cup(TM) in South Africa, which will see the company operating tours from five European regions.
Scottish Premier League club Celtic FC is reported to be in final negotiations with Nike for a shirt sponsorship deal that could be worth £29 million.
Keystone Sports and Entertainment, LLC, the MLS Philadelphia 2010 ownership group, named Panasonic as the "Official Technology Partner" of its new stadium and waterfront complex.
Aston Villa FC and Thomas Cook Sport, agreed a new holiday and travel partnership.
Stephen Hornsby, partner of London law firm Davenport Lyons specialising in contentious rights & dispute resolution, regards the English Fo
FA Cup TV rating figures took a tumble last weekend, sparking worries that English football’s governing body the Football Association may be undoing the good work that many believe the BBC&rs

The Football Association, English football’s governing body, announced it is cutting ticket prices for England games in an attempt to boost attendances during the economic slowdown.
The Scottish Football League has announced an extension of a deal with Co-operative Insurance, extending their title sponsorship the Scottish League Cup for a further two years until 2011.
Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family with a reported fortune of £15 billion, toppled Roman Abramovich in British football's rich list.
The owners of English Premier League club Liverpool have been given an extra six months to pay back a £350.5 million debt owed to lenders the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia.
Emirates, the Dubai-based airline, renewed its sponsorship with German Bundesliga football club Hamburg SV.
International sports media company, MP & Silva, signed a long-term, broad partnership with Major League Soccer (MLS), North America’s top-flight professional soccer league.
Portuguese free-to-air broadcaster Sic and pay-broadcaster Sport TV agreed deals with UEFA, European football's governing body, for the media rights for the 2009-12 UEFA Europa League.
Europe’s top football clubs earnt an average of €38.45million for reaching the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League, according to research commissioned by Official Sponsor, MasterCard.
Barclays, which has lent its name to the Premier League since 2001, became the latest global brand to signal a wide ranging review of its sponsorship priorities, UK newspaper, The Guardian reports.
Coors Brewers agreed to extend their deal with the Football League to sponsor the Carling Cup, for a further three-years, from 2009-10 to 2011-12.
UEFA, European football's governing body, announced that the tender process for the media rights for Euro 2012, will be launched in early 2009.
FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, has dismissed talk of ditching South Africa as 2010 World Cup hosts saying there was "no Plan B”, Reuters reports.
Airline conglomerate, Flybe, extended its sponsorship deal with English Championship club Southampton, until 2010.
Poland may host the 2012 European Championship on its own if Ukraine does not complete its Kiev stadium on schedule, UEFA president Michel Platini was quoted as saying by Polish media.
European football's governing body, UEFA, is opposed to three-nation bids for the expanded 2016 European championships, Reuters reports.
Barclays, the official global title sponsor of the Premier League published its 2008 Global Fans Survey.
Denmark has been appointed as host for UEFA European Under-21 Championship in 2011 by UEFA.
Tokyo 2016 welcomes some of the world's finest footballers for the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2008.
Football Federation Australia will receive A$45.6 million from the Australian Federal Government to officially launch and lobby for the 2018 World Cup, according to local press reports.
UEFA, European football's governing body, agreed deals for the UEFA Champions League rights and UEFA Europa League media rights in Italy and Spain respectively, from 2009-12.
Ukraine and Poland will tell UEFA this week that recent major organisational changes have started to solve their many problems in jointly hosting Euro 2012, Reuters reports.
The ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum,is no longer interested in bidding for English Premier League club Liverpool, according to UK newspaper, The Guardian.
English clubs received £4.14m and Scottish clubs £359,196 from Uefa, European football's governing body, for releasing players to play in Euro 2008.
Car manufacturer, Audi AG, extended its sponsorship of Bundesliga football club Hertha BSC for three years, from 2008-09 to 2011-12.
Scotland and Wales have held "tentative talks" about the possibility of hosting the European football championship in 2016, according to the Scottish FA.
Thomas Cook Sport agreed a new four-year deal with Chelsea Football Club to become the team's official travel partner until 2012.
Coca-Cola is committed to sponsoring major football events such as the World Cup and European Championship despite financial pressures created by the credit crunch, its European chief said.
The German football league, the DFL awarded Premiere pay-TV and Web rights to show live Bundesliga football matches for the next four seasons.
MP & Silva signed a four-year deal to exclusively distribute the marketing rights to United Arab Emirates (UAE) Football League (UFL).
MLS Deputy Commisssioner Ivan Gazidis is to become chief executive of English Premier League club Arsenal.
The Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) agreed a deal with FIFA, football's world governing body, for the free-to-air terrestrial TV rights for the 2010 World Cup.
Figures released today show that German football's top domestic league, the Bundesliga, has overtaken the Barclays Premier League as the league with the largest total income from shirt sponsorship.
FIFA, football’s world governing body, is considering selecting the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups at the end of 2010 to allow more time for major infrastructure work, Reuters reports.
Ukrainian broadcaster, Poverkhnost, acquired the media rights for the 2009-12 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League from European football’s governing body, UEFA.
Ukraine's government is dissolving an agency overseeing preparations for Euro 2012 after UEFA, European football’s governing body, complained that it was inefficient, Reuters reports.
Manchester United have been reported to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) by a group of their own fans, UK newspaper, The Guardian reports.
Delegates at the Opening Ceremony of Soccerex 2008, the business conference for world football, will be welcomed by one of the most influential figures in South African football, Dr. Irvin Khoza.
Chinese free-to-air channel, CCTV 5, agreed a three year deal with UEFA for Champions League television rights, from 2009 to 2012.
European airline, Lufthansa AG, agreed a deal with the Sportsman Media Group to show highlights of the German Bundesliga for the current matchday on board all of its intercontinental flights.
Leaders in Football, the international business summit for senior decision makers in the football world, extended its partnership with Chelsea football club for 2009.
Australia’s bid to win the rights to host the 2018 World Cup has been boosted by the news that rival rugby league and Aussie rules stadia will be utilised.
Goldsmith, the man best recognised for creating large-scale music events under the production company that bares his own name, told the Sports Event Management conference held at St.

The Dutch and Belgian football associations agreed to establish a joint foundation to prepare their bid to co-host the 2018 World Cup finals, Reuters reports.
The clubs of the top flights in Europe's six top football nations earn an annual total of €615 million from merchandising, according to new research.
Barack Obama's election as US President could derail England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup, according to a "high-placed" Fifa official.
Swiss watch brand, Ebel, agreed a long-term sponsorship deal with Scottish football club, Rangers.
Leading climate change authority, Nick Stern, has joined the England Football Association’s World Cup 2018 bid as a vice-president to advise on the possible carbon footprint.
A consortium of South African executives is understood to be in the advanced stages of finalising a £70 million deal to take over the FA Cup holders, Portsmouth, according to UK press reports.
GolTV acquired the North American rights for the international friendly between Germany and England on November 19.
Dubai-based airline, Emirates, extended its sponsorship agreement with French Ligue 1 club, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), until 2014.
Singapore-based telecom company, SingTel, acquired the internet rights for Italian football’s top-tier domestic league, Serie A, for its 'mio TV' IPTV service.
Football Association chairman Lord Triesman called for more Premier League cash to reach Football League clubs.
UEFA, European football’s governing body, invited interested parties to bid for the media rights for the European Under-21 Championship.
Infront Sports & Media acquired the marketing rights to the DFB Cup (DFB Pokal) from the Deutsche Fussball-Bund (DFB) for three seasons from 2009 to 2012.
Qtel agreed a new deal with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to sponsor the 2011 AFC Asian Cup and the Asian Champions League from 2009 to 2012.
Greece’s premier football league, the Superleague, has agreed deals worth over €162 million for the broadcasting rights for the next three seasons, from 2009 to 2012.
Global brands, Motorola and AC Milan are to join the licensing and sponsorship panels at Soccerex 2008.
English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur confirmed that a naming rights partner will be sought to support the financing of plans for the club’s proposed new stadium.
Germany’s top-tier domestic football league, the Bundesliga, launched a tender for its domestic broadcast rights.
Arabic-language sports channel, Al Jazeera, agreed a $23.5 million (Dh 86,362,000) deal for the exclusive rights to broadcast the 19th Gulf Cup.
English Premier League club, Tottenham, confirmed its intention to build a new 60,000-capacity stadium near its current White Hart Lane ground, according to UK press reports.
Swiss watchmaker, Hublot, agreed a multi-million pound sponsorship deal with English Premier League club, Manchester United.
The UK’s longest-serving Sports Minister and current World Cup Ambassador, Richard Caborn MP, will address the Sports Event Management 2008 conference in London on November 12, 2008.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is set for the re-launch of the AFC Champions League by the end of 2008, following a seminar for General Managers of Asian football.
FIFA 2010 and 2014 sponsor Satyam signed up as title sponsor for Soccerex’s 2008's Media Workshop, one of six sector-specific workshops at the inaugural International Football Club Summit.
Chinese media group, XFMedia, has acquired the free-to-air media rights for the UEFA Europa League for three years from European football’s governing body, UEFA.
David Beckham’s proposed loan move to Italian giants AC Milan could be worth up to £10 million to the club over six months.
Soccerex will hold a tender workshop for all cities interested in hosting Soccerex events at the Soccerex Convention 2008.
Italian pay-television broadcaster, Sky Italia, has acquired the broadcast rights for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016 from the IOC.
English Premier League club, Liverpool FC, has announced a series of new commercial partnerships with a total value in excess of £10 million.
FL Interactive, the online arm of The Football League, has paid out record financial distributions to clubs of more than £3 million for the 2007/08 season.
The Eurosport Group has acquired the exclusive live rights for the Bundesliga, Germany’s top-tier domestic football league from the DFL Sports Enterprises GmbH.
Authorities in Ukraine are facing a further crisis after an Austrian firm pulled out of constructing a stadium for the Euro 2012 finals, an official said on Monday.
Switching to four-year contracts could allow owners of the rights to plan better and could raise more money for the league, the magazine said, citing league sources as saying discussions with German a
The Sportfive agency agreed a deal for international rights for the Bundesliga for the 2009-10 – 2011-12 seasons in parts of Europe and Asia.
The UK government has made its long-awaited intervention in the running of English football, calling on the game's authorities to respond to a variety of threats to its long-term future.
Italian Serie A club, Juventus has agreed a long-term partnership with MP & Silva to jointly develop the club’s official local-language websites and mobile sites in China, Japan and Indonesia.
Spanish Primera Liga club Barcelona is set to launch a bid with a Bolivian entrepreneur to become co-owners of a Major League Soccer franchise in Miami, according to the BBC.
Portuguese public service broadcaster RTP and pay-television broadcasters RTP agreed a three-year deal with UEFA for the TV rights for the UEFA Champions League.
MP & Silva (MPS) acquired the exclusive media rights in Korea for France’s top-tier professional football league – Ligue 1 for two years from French media group, Canal Plus.
Jérôme Valcke, FIFA Secretary General, will join Dr. Danny Jordaan, CEO, South Africa 2010 LOC, to provide an exclusive 2010 FIFA World Cup update at Soccerex 2008.
Australian telecommunications company, Optus, agreed a three-year, multi-million dollar sponsorship deal with Football Federation Australia (FFA) and the Qantas Socceroos.
The Kentaro agency agreed a six-year deal with the US Soccer Federation (USSF) to distribute its global media rights.
FIFA and UEFA will address the latest media issues affecting the football industry as part of the inaugural International Football Club Summit at Soccerex 2008.
UEFA has set up a working party to investigate ways of controlling football clubs' debts, general secretary, David Taylor has said.
Anheuser-Busch renewed its Budweiser brand's sponsorship of Premier League club Manchester United for the 2009-10 season.