LONDON (Reuters) – English soccer clubs must be prepared for salary capping, former Football League chairman Brian Mawhinney warned on Monday.

The 60-year-old, who was succeeded after seven years by businessman Greg Clarke on Friday, believes that the current financial model at league clubs outside of the Premier League is not sustainable.

“The business model of professional football in this country doesn’t work, it’s broke and you see that reflected in the administrations and all the rest of it,” Mawhinney said.

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LONDON (Reuters) – Debt-ridden English minor league side Chester City were wound up by the High Court on Wednesday, the Press Association reported.

The 126-year-old club had been expelled from the Football Conference (fifth division) last month for failure to pay taxes of 26,125 pounds ($38,970) and without any court representation their fate was inevitable.

Chester were formed in 1885 and reached the League Cup semi-finals in 1975. They were a Football League club until their relegation to the Conference 10 years ago.

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LONDON (Reuters) – A group of wealthy supporters looking to put a bid together for English soccer club Manchester United have approached Nomura to see if it will act as financial adviser, a person familiar with the situation said.

Japanese investment bank Nomura would not comment.

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LONDON (Reuters) – A group of wealthy supporters looking into a possible bid for English soccer club Manchester United said they would not overpay, and dismissed financial numbers circulating in the media as purely speculative.

The Times newspaper reported on Friday that 60 investors have pledged up to 1.5 billion pounds ($2.26 billion) in their bid to seize control of the club. A spokesman for the group said they had received a very good level of interest.

The “Red Knights”, a collection of City figures including former Football League chairman Keith Harris and Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jim O’Neill, have said they are looking at the feasibility of putting together a bid for the world’s third-richest soccer club.

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MUMBAI – The Indian Premier League have signed a broadcast deal with ITV for UK. IPL 3 which is to be held from March 12, can be seen in the United Kingdom on ITV, the Twenty20 League’s commissioner Lalit Modi announced yesterday.

“The UK market has traditionally been very difficult to crack and Sky TV has always been difficult to deal with and that’s why this deal with ITV, which is the oldest commercial broadcaster in the UK, is very huge for us,” said Modi at a media conference here.
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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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LONDON (Reuters) – Premier League club Portsmouth have been called back to the High Court on Tuesday after the Government’s Revenue and Customs department (HRMC) challenged their voluntary administration.

Andrew Andronikou, the administrator appointed when the club went into administration last Friday, told Sky Sports News: “We are having to go to court to show that the debenture is valid.

“I don’t understand the exact reason why this is, we’re just following normal protocol. We are not unduly worried.

“It’s not standard procedure but I’d imagine that HMRC are basically crossing their Is and dotting their Ts. We are expecting the administration to proceed.”

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DUBAI (Reuters) – United Arab Emirates businessman Sulaiman al-Fahim resigned from his position as the non-executive chairman of debt-ravaged Premier League club Portsmouth on Monday and gave his 10 percent shareholding to the club’s supporters’ trust.

Fahim confirmed the developments to Reuters as moves continued in London to save the 112-year-old club from going into liquidation.

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MUMBAI -  Indian Premier League (IPL) team Rajasthan Royals have signed a global alliance with top ciricket clubs from England, Australia, West Indies and South Africa at Loards Cricket Ground.

The Royals have created thier own franchise based league with teams like Hampshire, Cape Cobras, Trinidad & Tobago and Victoria Busrangers. These clubs will add the Royals name.

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