The Premier League will refuse requests from the troubled sports broadcaster Setanta for renegotiation of its £392m contract, increasing fears over its future.

The company, thrown into disarray earlier this year by the loss of 23 of its current 46 Premier League matches from 2010 after it misjudged its bid, is engaged in a race against time to safeguard its future.

Since February it has been seeking talks with its major rights holders in an attempt to renegotiate existing and Read the full story

All India Football Federation today dropped its ambitious Rs 40 crore plan of preparing the national team for two seasons for the prestigious 2011 Asian Cup without allowing them to play in the I-League.

The AIFF did not give any reasons for dropping the plan though apparently it was because of financial reasons. It issued a release giving out the schedule of the national team for 2009-10 which provided a two-and-half month window from September 1 to November 15 for the I-League. Read the full story

Ticket sales for the highly-anticipated FIFA Confederations Cup are expected to gain momentum in the next few weeks after FIFA and the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Organising Committee came up with a masterplan that will accelerate the sale of tickets within South Africa.

The ‘over-the-counter’ plan, which has been given the thumbs up in South Africa, aims at simplifying the process of purchasing FIFA Confederations Cup tickets, a move that is certain to invite a flood of ticket applications for the ‘Festival of Champions.’ Read the full story

Hosting FIFA’s Confederations Cup in June and Indian Premier League cricket on short notice gives South African officials confidence the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be staged without major problems. South Africa’s US ambassador Welile Nhlapo said on Monday that past cricket and rugby World Cup successes together with the ongoing cricket matches moved from India for security reasons will allow for greater testing of security measures. “These events will give us the chance to deal with all sorts of Read the full story

Southampton will go out of business in eight days unless they find a buyer, ­according to a source at St Mary’s. The Championship club, whose holding ­company went into administration last month, were relegated to League One on Saturday, the first time since 1960 they will have been in the third tier. The ­players are understood to have been paid last week thanks only to £130,000 raised by fans under a Save Our Saints appeal.

Southampton will play their final game of the season at Nottingham Forest on Sunday but the source says they will be forced to fold two days later unless one of the consortiums which have expressed interest in the club completes a deal. Two buyers are said to be keen.

Adding to Saints’ worries is the pitch invasion at the end of Saturday’s 2–2 draw at home to Burnley, which saw home supporters throw objects at the visiting fans and exposes the club to a possible fine from the Football Association. “I just hope they don’t punish us for that as well because the club has to find a buyer and any further threat of punishment will not help us to do that,” said Mark Fry, the joint administrator.

Southampton already face the prospect of starting next season with a 10-point penalty. That was imposed last Thursday by the Football League, which ruled that the holding company, Southampton Leisure Holdings plc, the stadium company and the football club were “inextricably linked as one economic entity”.

The penalty was such that, if they pulled out of the relegation places, it would apply this season and so take them down; or, if they did not escape by their own means, it would apply next season. The draw with Burnley condemned them to relegation regardless. “I am not condoning the invasion,” said Fry, “but after the announcement on Thursday emotions were bound to be running high.” Read the full story

Sheffield United has today confirmed a groundbreaking sponsorship deal with the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) that will see the 2008/2009 Hong Kong FA Cup titled ‘the Sheffield United FA Cup’. Sheffield United’s agreement with the HKFA has been announced in partnership with the Chengdu Blades Football Club in China. Read the full story

Football star Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a two-year sponsorship deal with motor oil company Castrol.

The World Cup sponsor announced yesterday that the Manchester United and Portugal winger will be a “global ambassador” for the company’s football initiatives heading into the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

The Portugal and Manchester United star has agreed a two-year deal with Castrol, which was a sponsor of UEFA Euro 2008 and is a partner for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Read the full story

Goan football club Churchill Brothers, which also is winner of I-league football, has selected Total Sports Asia (TSA) as its exclusive marketing and sponsorship partner.

TSA will be managing all sponsorship and marketing tie ups for the club. The integrated sports marketing agency

already handles sponsorship and licensing activities for top European clubs.

“We are proud to have won the title this year after being runners up four times previously. This victory has cemented our position as one of India’s leading football clubs. We hope to retain all our players and win the I-League next year too,” said Churchill Borthers Sports Club president Joaquim Alemao. “We look forward to working together with TSA in building commercial partnerships and also developing football in the region.” Read the full story

Manchester United’s parent company’s borrowings have rocketed towards £700m – despite the club winning the Champions League and achieving a record turnover of £256m.

Accounts published on Thursday reveal that Red Football Joint Venture Ltd – who ultimately own the club – made a pre-tax loss of £44.8m in the year to June 2008. ‘ Read the full story