Sports Agent Blog » Chelsea FC

FIFA President Relates Issue to “Child Slavery”

Cruz Herr — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:00:47 +0000

If you haven’t read my previous article about FC Barcelona offering a place in their youth academy to a 7-year old boy, I suggest you do as this will go hand in hand with those issues. Not only is FIFA growing more and more concerned about national programs acquiring youngsters, but they are equally worried about teams poaching players. The current FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, was noted relating the issue to “child slavery.” The President of FIFA was involved in a meeting in Cardiff, England earlier in the week and stated that there are numerous clubs reviewing their actions and many could be accused of the same offense of Chelsea FC. Chelsea FC was accused of poaching and recently lost their rights in the next two transfer windows.

The punishment for this offense is very harsh considering the amount of teams that have used poaching methods in acquiring players. However, Chelsea FC has served as a warning rather than a lesson for the rest of the teams in the league. Fortunately, FIFA and UEFA are on the same page on the issue and are gaining a better understanding of the issue by holding conferences. UEFA President, Michel Platini, has also reviewed the matter and labeled it similar to “child trafficking.” Another thing the two Presidents agree on is that an alternative punishment needs to be contemplated. Currently, the preeminent thought is to deduct points from the clubs that abuse the poaching rules. A few reasons why I like this idea:

Youth players generally don’t make an immediate impact on pro levels, so it is unfair to disallow a team the option of signing great players during transfer periods.
A lot of teams are guilty. If Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid etc. all are accused, that will displease fans and make transfer periods extremely dull.
If a team is accused of poaching youngsters, losing points in their league will have serious consequence anyway.
Finally, it will save young players from getting substantial fines they cannot afford.

FIFA President Relates Issue to “Child Slavery” from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

FC Barcelona Makes Offer to 7-year old Prospect

Cruz Herr — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:00:55 +0000

If someone asked me what I aspire to do at the age of 7 years old it would have been something along the lines of work at Chuck E. Cheese Pizza or drive Go Karts. I can assure you that I would not have said play soccer for FC Barcelona. According to some sources, Barcelona has raided Olympique Lyon for a kid named Kais. Supposedly, Lyon signed the 7-year old youngster after viewing a match he played for FC Gerland and most recently Barcelona has taken the boy into their youth academy by offering him a spot in May. Whether it is total BS or not is difficult to find out, but it certainly is not the first time inquires like this have been made. La Tribune de Lyon stated insiders claim that in 30 years they have seen only one other youngster with the ability of Kais – Karim Benzema, now one of Real Madrid’s superstars. Of course, media has taken off with this story, especially in Europe because of the heavy criticisms on UEFA for banning under 18 transfers for clubs.

To make the situation a bit more clear, the boy has not been offered any sort of money or contract, rather a simple opportunity to play with Barcelona’s academy. Oh, and by academy, I mean soccer school. This offer to Kais is very similar to a scholarship that someone may receive for any college athletics.

soAt 7 years old, if you can get lift under the ball more than likely you will stand out from your peers. This story is remarkable and unfortunate as this boy will be under serious pressure for the rest of his life if he continues to play. It also reminds me of some extravagant rumors that Chelsea FC asked their long time defender John Terry and his wife to bear a child in hopes living up to his father’s potential. Sickening—what’s next? At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cristiano Ronaldo and his future spouse get offers for their fetus!

FC Barcelona Makes Offer to 7-year old Prospect from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Premier League Hits Global Markets Hard

Cruz Herr — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:00:21 +0000

In the midst of a recession, the international demand for European soccer is at its highest. Specifically, England’s Premier League sent each one of the clubs abroad for a tour this summer. One example is Chelsea FC, a powerful English club, which played several friendly matches in the USA earlier this summer and pocketed $3.3 million dollars from the deal. Increasing demand and expanding markets in places like China, USA, and India have alleviated a lot of the financial discomfort the league had been experiencing. Fueled by these growing markets abroad, the Premiership expects annual revenue to exceed $1.65 billion dollars, a new record. The league will encounter substantial growth in 2010 due to many broadcasting and television rights contracts expiring at the end of this year. During the negotiations, the league expects to celebrate record setting contracts that will give the league some financial breathing room.

The Premiership offers matches in 211 countries and 575 million different homes that account for the overseas revenue. One country the league has experienced tremendous growth in is the United Arab Emirates. A broadcasting network in UAE, Abu Dhabi Sports Channel, won the rights to broadcast the games for $319 million dollars, three times the contract paid by Showtime Arabia last year. The Premiere League’s current overseas television contracts were signed in 2007 and expire at the end of 2009. The net worth of the overseas contracts surpasses $1.03 billion dollars, which equates to nearly a third of the leagues television revenue. Where will the league experience the most growth? China of course! The country currently contains a small market of 20,000 viewers because matches can only be viewed by audiences through pay per view. In 2010, China will offer matches to air for free allowing 30 million potential viewers rather than 20,000. The Premiere league has 97 broadcasting affiliates that it will be negotiating with for the next 4 months.

Premier League Hits Global Markets Hard from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules