JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Three of Israel’s best-known soccer clubs face an uncertain future after learning that they will lose their financial backers.

Alona Barkat of Hapoel Beersheba and Maccabi Netanya’s Daniel Jammer both said unruly behaviour by some fans was the final straw and announced last week that they would stop funding the two mid-table Premier League clubs at the end of the season.

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The debts of English football clubs are racking up, with teams both big and small in deep trouble. John Davidson explains how the debt issue in England is spiraling out of control and what the dire consequences could be.

It makes for alarming reading. The total of 18 clubs in the English Premier League are responsible for 56% of the money owed by all of the clubs licensed by UEFA, which is 732 clubs in total. This does not include debt-stricken West Ham, who was recently sold to new owners, or the more damaged Portsmouth. English clubs have a combined debt of GB$3.5 billion pounds, which is four times higher than the combined debt owned by clubs from the Spanish La Liga.

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LONDON (Reuters) – Organisers of the 2012 Olympics will be hoping to emulate the street-party atmosphere of Vancouver now that the curtain has come down on the Winter Games and all eyes turn to London.

London organisers have always promised a “compact and atmospheric” Summer Games, largely as an antidote to the glitz of Beijing which is estimated to have spent 40 billion pounds ($59.58 billion) on staging the 2008 Olympics.

London also pledged it would provide efficiency, with the added commitment of delivering a legacy which would avoid the white elephants of some previous Games such as Athens.

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Asia is rising as a force in world sport with new leagues, competitions and athletes emerging. But just who is the region’s most potent sports marketing force? John Davidson finds out.

Last month Bloomberg and BusinessWeek unveiled its annual ranking of the 100 most powerful athletes in sport. This list covers the earning potential for athletes both and on and off the field. Topping the 2010 rankings was unsurprisingly Tiger Woods, and the top 100 featured a lot of the usual suspects. Coming second was NBA star LeBron James, followed by golfer Phil Mickelson, baseballer Albert Pujols and American football star Peyton Manning. Other names that achieved a high spot in the US-centric rankings were Dwayne Wade, Michael Phelps, Shaquille O’Neal and Lance Armstrong, with David Beckham finishing 35^th.

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The competition for the 2018 and 2022 football World Cup hosting rights is panning out as a two-horse race between sporting rivals England and Australia.

Both countries have brought out some of their big names as ambassadors, England with David Beckham and Australia with Nicole Kidman. By 2018 both will have recent Olympics hosting under their belt – the Sydney 2000 Games and London’s 2012 Games. England has the edge when it comes to stadia, as it boasts sufficient stadium right across the country. It also has the edge when it comes to history – being the birthplace of football and having won the World Cup on home soil in 1966.

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LONDON (Reuters) – Rocketing prices in South Africa are causing major concern among World Cup organisers, who fear profiteering could deter more soccer fans than alarmist reporting about violent crime.

South African and FIFA officials have angrily condemned what they see as emotional and inaccurate reporting, especially in England and Germany, about the dangers to soccer supporters from some of the world’s most violent criminals.

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Attempting to delineate Indian team sport from politics, disputes, legal action and ego clashes is a bit like eating aloo parantha without butter, chutney or raita. Us – consumers of sport, are bored to death reading the sad stories surrounding cricket, hockey, football, volleyball, basketball etc. If it is not fighting for the office of president of the association, then it is last minute scheduling of practice or missed flights for an international tour due to lack of visa procurement. Why are association sports so badly run? And in the case of the two larger sports – hockey and football – is it because of two veterans, in P D Munshi and K P S Gill, regarding the sports they looked after, as their fiefdom’s?

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2009 was tough year for the sports world with match-fixing incidents, numerous scandals and many sponsors pulling their endorsements. John Davidson reviews the year and asks, what will 2010 bring?

By any measure, 2009 was certainly a difficult year for the world of sport.

Thanks to the global recession many companies scaled backed their investments in sport and their sponsorships of athletes.  Some sports events folded without big business support. Michael Phelps’ marijuana use at a party came as a shock to many, while the fallout from the scandal around Tiger Woods was unprecedented. Most of Woods’ sponsors have head for the hills, while many golfers fear the sport is heading for a huge decline if Tiger isn’t competing.

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The situation – Last day of the Ranji Trophy 2003 semi-final, Delhi against Tamil Nadu; Delhi are 159 for 5 chasing 332 to win. The likelihood – Looks tough for Delhi. The “But…” factor – Virender Sehwag. Overnight 98 not out off 108 balls. 19 hits to the fence and one mighty one over. The scene, as should be – A buzz around. Sehwag, playing an important Ranji game after 3 seasons, nearing his century. Will he carry Delhi across into the final? Will he do it in one session, or finish them off in the second? The scene, as it was – there were 14 spectators. Buzzzzzzzzzz… The game – Sehwag got bowled for 99 and Delhi was bowled out for 200. And this is an important cricket match. The situation for volleyball, shooting, squash and other sport are just as disappointing if not more. Why don’t people come to support sport, not international events but our domestic competitions, across various disciplines?

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Growing up, it used to be a treat to watch a cricket series or a football game live on television. One would stay up or wake up to watch a one day game in New Zealand or a European Cup Winners Cup Final. Sometimes, there was no notice and one would stumble upon, say, a tennis match coming live on a French channel. These instances, being few and far between, became special and are still present in the memory vault.

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