CONCACAF finances laid bare (From York Press) - The Press in York
CONCACAF finances laid bare
5:21pm Wednesday 23rd May 2012 in National Sport News © Press Association 2011
The full stunning picture of financial malpractice involving former football leaders in the Caribbean and north and central America has emerged.
A £15million centre of excellence in Trinidad funded by development cash secretly ended up in the ownership of disgraced former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner.
The USA-based CONCACAF federation covering 40 countries also faces financial penalties after not making tax returns for a number of years, their legal adviser confirmed to a their annual congress taking place in Budapest.
Meanwhile, former CONCACAF general secretary Chuck Blazer, the whistleblower who blew the lid on bribes last year, has himself been accused of overseeing financial irregularities and is suing the confederation for commissions - running into million of dollars - he says he is owed on TV and sponsorship contracts.
The revelations sparked fury from delegates - many of whom from Caribbean countries ended up being sanctioned by FIFA's ethics committee in the fall-out from the bribery scandal which saw Warner resign and Asian FIFA member Mohamed Bin Hammam banned for life.
CONCACAF's lawyer John Collins told the congress he had instructed lawyers in England and Trinidad to investigate the ownership of the Joao Havelange centre of excellence, built at a cost of 22.5m US dollars.
Collins said: "I received their report and it appears the centre of excellence was put in the name of two corporations owned by Mr Warner and his family.
"In 2007 a mortgage was placed on the property in the name of CONCACAF signed by Mr Warner and [ex-CONCACAF vice-president] Mr Lisle Austin without getting our approval."
Collins said CONCACAF should now take legal action to recover the centre from Warner.
In relation to the tax irregularities, Collins said no returns had been filed since at least 2007 and maybe before then. Blazer's contract with CONCACAF saw his paid commissions of 10% on all media and sponsorship deals to be paid to an offshore company of his called Sportvertising, based in the Cayman Islands.
Lambert: My focus is on Norwich - Football
Published: 23 May 2012 - 15:47:03
Paul Lambert has no intention of letting speculation over his future at Norwich deflect focus from plans to take the Norfolk club forwards next season.
Lambert reacted angrily to questions over links with the Aston Villa vacancy following Tuesday night's testimonial for long-serving defender Adam Drury against Celtic at Carrow Road.
The 42-year-old has transformed the fortunes of the Canaries since taking charge three seasons ago, guiding them up from npower League One and on to retaining Barclays Premier League status with a creditable 12th-placed finish. He said: "I don't think being a manager ever stops. I try to prepare Norwich for next season the best I can."
He added: "[Assistant manager] Ian [Culverhouse] and I have had a chat and we have in mind what we would like to bring to the football club.
"Hopefully we can get those lads in and keep progressing the club. I have told the club and [chief executive] David [McNally] knows the lads I want to bring.
"If we get them, then hopefully we will be okay."
Lambert, however, appreciates it will be another test to secure the type of player who fits in both to the current squad's work ethic and wage structure.
"The higher you go the more the challenge it is to bring in players, but it is something I enjoy," he added.
"We have been abroad to look at games numerous times and there are some terrific footballers out there, but they will demand an awful lot of money. But there are lads we have identified."
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Media360: Virgin Media marketing chief on David Tennant signing - Marketing
"We knew he'd be good but we didn't know quite how good," Gilbert said of the former 'Doctor Who' actor, who has appeared in three ads for the brand since the end of March.
"Millward Brown tell us it's the most successful use of a personality that they've seen."
Gilbert was speaking at Haymarket's Media360 event on Friday (18 May), where he was asked whether the brand had lined Tennant up to appeal more to women.
"We didn’t specifically choose [him] because of women, but we wanted someone who was really engaging and who wasn’t commonly used in advertising," he said.
"He's only ever done ads once before and that was 10-years ago before he became famous.
"It was an opportunity to choose someone who has quite broad appeal but who was able to deliver and be believable in delivering these kinds of stories."
Despite Gilbert's approval, the ads have not been entirely problem-free. One had to be pulled after BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, complained that featuring Tennant, a 'Doctor Who' programme logo and Virgin founder Branson using a time machine, implied that the long-running BBC sci-fi series was endorsing TiVo.
Gilbert also indicated he was very happy with the brand's first sponsorship of 'Britain's Got Talent' with production companies Syco and Fremantle Media and broadcaster ITV.
The cross-platform sponsorship included broadcast sponsorship of all 'Britain’s Got Talent' programming, online sponsorship, mobile and off-air licensing opportunities as well as sponsorship of 'America's Got Talent'.
"It has been a really good experience and we’ll probably do some more of that," he said.
Gilbert credited the sponsorship with helping create internal advocacy for the brand, explaining that Virgin Media invited a large number of staff and customers to get heavily involved.
"We put them in the idents," he said. "Some of those idents with people showing credits are actually customers, some are staff and one or two of them are famous people."
There are further plans to involve Virgin Media staff with the brand via an internal communications programme, Gilbert revealed.
"We are beginning to do a roadshow around sharing the work that we've been doing. We have a programme that will be kicking off either later this year or next year."
BSkyB to escape restrictions in pay-TV film market - Media Week Online
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The Competition Commission has found that BSkyB does not hold a competitive advantage in the pay-TV film market, because of the arrival of competition from Netflix and LoveFilm, and the imminent launch of BSkyB's internet TV service. In a major U-turn by ...
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