Message brought to you by adidas

Singapore, Sunday, November 1, 2009 – Today, adidas launched an island-wide search for one lucky Singaporean between the age of 10 and 14 years, to walk the field at a UEFA Champions League game as an Official Ball Carrier. The contest is part of a global initiative to give youths access to the international football arena, getting them close to their football heroes to incite their passion for the game. In South East Asia, adidas will seek out an official UEFA Champions League ball carrier in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, with one winner to be chosen per country.
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SingTel says that it will cost $23 if you just want to watch the English Premier League on mio TV and for $2 more, you can get ESPN Star Sports.

And they’ll throw in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League for free too for one year (probably because not enough people are taking it up now).

As always, read the fine print.

And please remember – mio TV isn’t showing it until August 2010 and so there probably isn’t a need to get it right this minute.

The commissioner of Major League Soccer (MLS) Don Garber recommended a salary cap for European football this week.

MLS in America has a salary cap per team of US$2.3m.
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Remember the days when sports fans only needed to pay less than $30 for their sports fix? That was, of course, back in 2006 when another $20 would get you all the matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Not bad eh? Oh how we wish for those days now!
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English Premier League and UEFA Champions League fans will heave a sigh of relief that only one company has the rights to screen both competitions.

SingTel outbid StarHub to secure the rights and while the value of the bid was not disclosed, research analysts have estimated it in the range of $400 million. StarHub paid a $250 million in 2007 for the rights for three years (2007-10), outbidding SingTel in the process.

So no second set top box, no second remote, no cluttered television console.

But it comes with a price – probably a higher one.
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If you thought you could get the SingTel MioTV for free until November 31st, and then cancel it on December 1st, you’d might like to check the terms and conditions again.

On the SingTel MioTV ad published on the back page of the New Paperr on Tuesday, September 29th, it says:

“Sign up for Football Frenzy Pack now and enjoy FREE subscription till 30 November 2009. Promotion ends 31 October 2009.”

But if you read the small terms and conditions at the bottom, it says:

“Billing shall commence on 1 December 2009. Promotional customers will be charged from 1 December where the prevailing rate for Football Frenzy Pack shall apply. A one-time cancellation charge of $30 is applicable if the Football Frenzy Pack is terminated before the Billing Start Date (1 December).”

So that means, if you cancel before the end of November, you get charged $30. If you can cancel on 1 December, you also get charged (for one day?), at least based on their definition of the billing start date.

So it’s only free for up to November if you continue for the rest of the UEFA Champions League season and pay from December 1st.

At the very least, it’ll cost you $30.

Free is not free.

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When you have a Frenchman and an Englishman, they are not going to agree.

Michel Platini, the UEFA president, has driven through new regulation to prevent clubs from spending more than their revenues. In other words, they have to live within their means.

The rules are expected to come into effect in 2012 and will signal the end of rich businessmen like Roman Abramovich coming in to buy clubs.

Platini’s plans will bar any club that overspends from the lucrative European competitions.

However, Richard Scudamore, the chief executive of the English Premier League, calls these plans “unrealistic”.
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I do not reckon that Sir Alex Ferguson is a fan of 90’s alternative music, but I recommend that he has a listen to Welsh band Manic Street Preachers’ 1998 hit, “If You Tolerate This”.

Ferguson’s support for the Eduardo ban leaves a lot to be desired. In a previous article, I have argued that the two-match ban for the Croatian striker is a witch-hunt and I cannot believe that as a fellow manager, you can actually support such a decision by UEFA. Ferguson’s statements will eventually come back to haunt him.

Let’s all agree on this. Manchester United XI is not team of angels. Like every other team in the world, United had enjoyed their fare share of good fortune through simulation inside in the penalty box. Cristiano Ronaldo comes to mind, though the mercurial Portuguese is no longer with the team. However, I cannot believe that the reason why he was sold was because he was a follower of the Art of Diving.

Days after Ferguson made that statement, Wayne Rooney claimed in the media that he is an honest player and does not dive. A couple of days later, England Captain John Terry went one further to claim that English players do not dive in general.

Both statements were subject to much ridicule, especially in the British press.

The bigger joke of all was the nature as to how England won a penalty against Slovenia in a friendly at Wembley the very weekend after these comments came to light. Inside the box, Rooney tugged the shirt of a Slovenian defender, tripped and injured him but was awarded a penalty for his troubles. To add salt to injury, the referee booked the defender. For the record, the penalty proved to be decisive as England won the game 2-1.

Fair play to Rooney, he wasn’t exactly “diving” to earn this penalty. But the fact is he had “deceived” the referee by not informing him that he was in fact the perpetuator of the foul. In my eyes, this is no different from simulation.

There are few certainties in life (except death and taxes), but I have no doubts that Rooney would have done the same in a United shirt. Hypothetically, if he had done the same in Champions League match, should he not be subject to a two-match ban like Eduardo? I will love to see what Ferguson would have to say about that if that really had happened.

Sir Alex, if you tolerate this your children (players) will be next.

In 1873, Jules Verne wrote about how Englishman Phileas Fogg travelled around the world in 80 days. In this day and age, 80 days is an eternity, especially in football terms and 80 days is exactly the amount of time which has passed since Barcelona lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy in Rome when the first Group Stage games kick off.

New rivalries will be formed, old rivalries will be rekindled and as usual there will be highs and lows before the new Champions can be determined on 22 May next year.
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