Football and Fashion |

The Olympic Association which is organising the Olympic Games which are coming to London next summer has stated that they want to see a British football team compete. Football associations from the United Kingdom, excluding England, have said that they do not wish to field a team as football at the Olympic Games would greatly overshadowed other events. Dai Greene has also agreed with the statements by the football associations, stating, “The Olympic Games doesn’t have a place for football.”

Mr Greene continued, “In football the crowning achievement is not becoming an Olympic champion but is winning a cup. Therefore there seems to be no reason for football to be involved in the Olympics. Football players do not grow up with the dream of becoming an Olympic champion, they dream of the Champions League trophy and victory in the Premiership. It seems unnecessary to me for football to form part of the Olympic Games.”

Mr Greene is a Welsh athlete, who this summer is hoping to complete his collection of medals for every one of athletics major event. This would make him the fourth British person to do this and put alongside such greats as Daley Thompson and Linford Christie. He will also be the first Olympic champion from Wales in the track and field events since Lynn Davies in 1964.

He has previously played football in Swansea for their youth team and feels that his comments against football being played at the Olympics would be welcomed by other athletes who are competing. He remarked, “Unfortunately the UK is obsessed with what goes on in football and at the games it would significantly overshadow other events.”

A kickbacks case has forced one of the 24 members of Fifa’s ruling panel to leave his position. Sepp Blatter, the president has said that a member of the panel had been accepting kickbacks for offering television and sponsorship deals for the World Cup during the 1990s. He has said that it is likely that some people involved will be exonerated but it seems almost certain that one person at least will be leaving the executive committee. This information has appeared in a German newspaper which was published last Sunday.

The broadcasting rights were given to a marketing agency who went bankrupt in 2001. After this investigation was launched into alleged kickbacks and BBC documentary showed that Ricardo Teixeira had received significant sums in order to help them secure contract. All of those involved in the allegations have denied them.

Mr Blatter, the current president, has had a long commitment to tackling corruption and encouraging reform in the body. A report about the kickbacks situation will be published in late December after a meeting in Tokyo. If members are found guilty of any wrongdoing and external body will offer advice to Fifa about what action they should take.

One of the members accused of taking kickbacks was Mr Hayatou, who the BBC claimed he took around $20,000 in 1995. Mr Hayatou has claimed this was a gift and Mr Blatter has defended his actions. He is also a member of the Olympic Committee and is currently being investigated by the ethics commission for any potential wrongdoing. Disciplinary action will be considered by the board at a meeting in Switzerland early next month.

Gordon Taylor is the Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers Association that has recently commented that the situation between Manchester City and Carlos Tevez becomes more impossible with each day. The striker for the team had been on a visit to his home country in Argentina and he is now remaining there despite his club requesting that he comes home. It has been reported that there are still negotiations going on between representatives of the player and the club’s officials.

In an interview Taylor commented, “The longer he remains out of the country the worse the situation is going to become. The trip back home is unauthorised in the first place and this saga of him refusing to play has been dragging on since September.”

He initially failed to return after the clubs first request and he simply did not show up the training. This has caused a greater the speculation over the player’s intentions and his actual whereabouts. Reports in South America suggest that he is remaining there because he is medically incapable of leaving.

Once the lights have been switched on, it is safe to say that the Christmas shopping frenzy is about to begin. To help out those who are seeking gifts for football fans, the leading retailer of  football boots SportsDirect.com have rounded up all the most sought after football related items and put them all on their website, and are selling them on their website at SportsDirect.com’s famously low prices.

Starting from the bottom, one of the big must haves this Christmas are the new Adidas F50 football boots which include the ingenious miCoach. These have been described as football boots with brains, as the speedpod within the soles of the F50′s can track speed, distance, and so much.

These are the most technologically advanced football boots yo can get, and they will be available on the SportsDirect.com website for less than £200 from December 2^nd.

Gloves are always a winter favourite, and goalkeeper gloves from SportsDirect.com are definitely a Christmas favourite. SportsDirect.com have got a massive collection of goalie gloves from as little as £2, so you can save money whilst they are saving goals! Team themed gloves are available online like Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool, as well as branded favourites like the adidas Response and Fingersave gloves.

If you’re football fan is more of a watcher than player, you can give them a blast from the past to support the lads with the collection of retro football shirts available from just £12. The range includes the popular Manchester United 1999 champions league final shirt, Tottenham Hotspur 1961 home shirt and the Arsenal 1988 home shirt; all available to order online today.

Whatever your football fan needs, get them what they want this Christmas by logging on to www.SportsDirect.com. Check out all the latest offers and deals on Facebook and Twitter too!

FIFA may be in charge of governing football across the globe, but lately the leading authority has been involved in a great deal of corruption and scandal creating a negative image for the organization and world football in general.  In fact, in terms of morality FIFA has little ground to stand on but yet it did not announce that England, Scotland, and Wales football teams should not place poppies on their shirts over the weekend because it would be a political symbol that does not adhere to the standards of keeping football a neutral sport.

However, despite the claims by FIFA not too many people seemed actually concerned about the idea of the UK teams wearing poppies given the fact that most would not even likely notice.  FIFA claimed that doing so would offend the Germans in the future if England were to play against their national team, but a senior football official in Germany stated that the German Federation would have no problem with this occurrence and that they would not be offended by the issue.  Despite this fact FIFA seems to have a problem with the simple poppy symbol that they do not seem willing to give up.

According to FIFA the poppy is too political controversial to be worn on the shirts, but in fact the poppy is actually the opposite of a symbol of politics as it is not meant to stand for any nation, party, or even class.  Instead, the poppy is supposed to be worn to help honour those who have died in past wars fighting to protect Britain.  The UK is not the only country that uses the poppy as its symbol of veteran remembrance as Canada also distributed poppies to help remember their fallen soldiers on Remembrance Day.

David Cameron himself stated that the poppy is not meant to be an issue of the right, left, Conservative, or Labour but that is instead something that can be worn to help show gratitude towards those that have served their country faithfully.  It is meant to be something that unites the country which is why it is so odd that the FIFA organization that is supposed to be based in neutral Switzerland would have such a large problem with the England team wearing the poppies in remembrance in their game against Spain the day before Remembrance Sunday actually takes place.  More ironic is the fact that the England team is playing on British soil and must listen to what is instructed to them by FIFA in Zurich.

It should not be too much of a surprise that FIFA is corrupt however given the fact that their Bureaucrat-In-Chief is a Frenchman named Jerome Valcke who serves as a general secretary with quite a spotted history.  In 2004 he was found guilty by a New York City judge of a sponsor agreement with VISA even though FIFA is supposed to have an exclusive contract with MasterCard and fined a large $60 million as a result with the entire organization still standing behind him.

What is ironic is that FIFA has taken such a harsh attitude over the issue when the team had the good graces to make them aware of their decision to wear the poppies in the first place.  Most likely, had England not said anything and simply showed up at the game wearing the poppies there is a very good chance that their choice would not have even been noticed.  Even if it had there would not have been any time to change it anyhow and likely the entire issue would have been void.

Despite being 36 years old, David Beckham still wants to play for his country in the Olympic Games which are taking place next year. The player has said that he still has the desire and determination to play and  has said that competing in the Olympic Games is a key goal in his career.

The football tournament that takes place at the Olympic Games is primarily for people under the age of 23, however three players who are older than this are allowed to compete. Stuart Pearce is organising the squad for the Olympic Games and it seems as if he is considering Beckham for the squad.

Beckham has commented, “It would be a great honour to be chosen to play for my country and despite people saying that I am too old, I do still play for the country and have been doing so for a long time. I’m still fit and enjoy playing so I’m not done yet.”

Some people have criticised David Beckham saying that he lacks pace and his playing is predictable, often this criticism comes not because of his age but because of his style of playing. However Mr Beckham seems unaffected by those people who want him to leave football behind.

Right now, Beckham is dedicated to helping his current team, LA Galaxy win the trophy in the Major Soccer League which is currently taking place in the United States. Several clubs in the UK have also shown an interest in recruiting him into their current squad, he has said, “To be considered for such great teams at this late stage in my career is a great honour.”

Beckham has not said much about his plans for after he retires, but many expect that he would take a franchise share in the American league.

Millwall is a football club that has been publicly owned for over 20 years  but John Berylson, an American businessmen, has just announced that he will be making it private. Since 2007 when he made his first investment in the club, Berylson has slowly been taking control of the club and has been involved in a great many restructurings of the finances of the club.

The delisting will leave the club in near total control by the chairman and when it was announced that the club would be going private shares fell nearly 40%. Only five years ago most of the club was owned by fans and small shareholders, but now the vast majority of it is owned by Mr Berylson and other directors of the club. This meant it was very easy for them to decide to make the club a private entity.

Once the club has been taken private it is expected that the board will vote to redevelop the grounds and stadium where the club play. It is expected that this investment will ultimately bring a good return to any shareholders who are left. Despite its recent promotion to the championship, Millwall continue to make a loss and the club has only survived thanks to loans from Mr Berylson. These loans were later traded for equity in the club.

The reason for the delisting has been given by the club as a cost saving exercise. Its shares are traded relatively infrequently and the club estimates that it is having to pay £100,000 a year to be a public company. A third party body will be set up to help those with a small interest in the club sell their shares.