Tag Archives: olympics

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2020 Olympic football could have midnight twist

If Japan win their bid to host the 2020 Olympics, the team that wins gold won't be the only ones having a late night

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Winners: Mexico celebrate gold in 2012

As Tokyo announced their official Olympic bid earlier this month, it was revealed that the football event could be given the graveyard shift with some games ending as late as midnight.

In an effort to maximise live television audiences across Europe, the possible host city has announced that time differences will dictate the airing time of several games from the quarter-final stages onwards, meaning they will be televised later than the matches that were screened in Europe during the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

A Tokyo 2020 spokesman said: “The 21:00-24:00 football match time-slots shown in the Candidature File refer to the time-frame the venue has been secured.”

“With regards to TV audiences, yes, keeping the possibilities as great as possible for spectators in other time-zones to enjoy the Games in real time is absolutely important.”

In contention to host the 2020 Summer Games alongside Madrid and Istanbul, Tokyo is the bookmakers’ favourite to win, receiving the highest praise in an IOC technical report last year that said the Japanese bid presents “a very strong application.” The same report suggested Madrid has a “strong application,” while Istanbul’s project “offers good potential.”

 

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PFA wage war against low salaries for England women

Players’ union chief Gordon Taylor has labelled a contract offer tabled by the Football Association to England’s top women footballers as “embarrassing” and looks to get FA to reconsider.

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Team GB's Steph Houghton rounds the keeper to score against Brazil at Wembley at London 2012

The recently proposed increase of the England women’s football players’ current salary from £16,000 – which has been in place since 2009 and ended in November last year – to £18,000 has sparked outrage amongst officials and female players, and it is rumoured that the Professional Footballers’ Association has told Hope Powell’s charges not to sign the initial offer handed to them in hope of an improved proposal.

The contracts would allow a core of 17 England women to play full-time, but the deals are worth less than a tenth of what the high-rollers in the male league earn in a week.

Going unpaid last month, England women are awaiting a response as the PFA negotiate and agreement with the FA, who argue that their offer coincides with the clause that allows players to work a further 24 hours per week in addition to their central contracts and any monies they earn from their clubs on a semi-professional basis.

Some players have to take part-time jobs to support their income, but demands for club and country mean most cannot always find employment that offers enough flexibility.

The grounds on which the PFA base their argument follows on from the success of women’s football in this summer’s Olympic Games in London. More than 70,000 turned out at Wembley for the GB women’s win over Brazil that took them into the final eight of the tournament. They also qualified for Euro 2013 in Sweden back in September with a 3-0 win over minnows Croatia, to top their group.

The FA have are seeking to increase revenue with sponsorship and more television coverage, as the women’s game is steadily experiencing an increased interest. Back in October 2012, The Guardian reported that The Football Association had unveiled plans to help women’s football overtake cricket as the second-most played sport in the country by initiating a five-year plan to build on the 253,600 women who play football each month by 2018.

England’s football governing body has made plans to appoint a head of elite development and create an elite performance unit that will help nurture future stars, and with enough interest, the semi-professional Women’s Super League which was established in 2011, will be expanded to two leagues from the summer of 2014.

Despite this, they still earn peanuts compared to their male counterparts.

 

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PlayUp’s Top 50 Photos of 2012 – Part 5

We round up our top 50 photos of the year, as featured on our Facebook page and Twitter accounts

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41a.

After failing to score in 5 matches, FC Magdeburg fans show their players where the goal is!

41b.

…after the goalless run continued, the fans tried a formation that was perhaps a little harder to ignore!

42.

Excellent levels simmered (at best) as the GB kit was revealed for the London 2012 Olympics

43a.

Players show their support as Muamba recovers in hospital after collapsing during a Bolton match

43b.

Players show their support as Muamba recovers in hospital after collapsing during a Bolton match

44.

Phil Down gets up close and personal to Lee Cattermole (so unlike him) in February

45.

Chelsea advertising executives struggle to spell their own club name

46.

Special Edition Darren Gibson PS2 controller

47.

Zlatan scores an incredible overhead kick against England

48.

Ibrahimovic shows his hidden talents as a pace bowler for Sweden

49.

Mancini wants rematch after mystery man interferes with ref Chris Foy

50.

Halloween fancy dress gets creative - Kammy style

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PlayUp’s Top 50 Photos of 2012 – Part 4

We round up our top 50 photos of the year, as featured on our Facebook page and Twitter accounts

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31.

FC Bayern's stadium, the Allianz Arena, showed off how their stadium would be decorated should any of the (then) UCL semi finalists win the tournament

32.

If Wayne Rooney had Adam Bodgan's (Bolton) hair

33.

Szczesny takes a sip of beer from a bottle thrown at him during the Arsenal - Man City game

34.

Frank Lampard spotted playing in the IPL in April

35.

Kris Commons gets a dead leg and a half!

36.

Daniele de Rossi shows off his tattoo

37.

A footballers' low point

38.

AC Milan fans show off during a home game

39.

Abramovic gives his pal Terry a heads up

40.

Carlos Tevez's payslip allegedly posted, circulated the internet

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PlayUp’s Top 50 Photos of 2012 – Part 3

We round up our top 50 photos of the year, as featured on our Facebook page and Twitter accounts

1

21.

Ashley Cole takes part in the 400m hurdles for Mozambique during the Olympics

22.

Samir Nasri spotted playing at Wimbledon in June

23.

Great banter from Gary Neville as he poses for a photo with some England fans

24a.

Iniesta surrounded by 5 Italian players during Euro 2012...

24b.

…then Croatia tried the same tactic

25.

Henderson and Kelly get call-ups to the England Euro 2012 squad...

26.

We absolutely loved these Subbuteo recreations!

27.

As Rooney's horse ran its first race, someone seemed to let a donkey take part too

28.

Chris needs to find a new best man! (aka why you shouldn't organise your wedding during the football season)

29.

One of the many Balotelli memes this year

30.

A lone Danish fan celebrates Denmark's victory over Holland (in Amsterdam)

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PlayUp’s Top 50 Photos of 2012 – Part 2

We round up our top 50 photos of the year, as featured on our Facebook page and Twitter accounts

2

11.

Rooney admits to putting on 7 lbs over the summer

12.

The yellow wall of Dortmund fans!

13.

PlayUp reveals why girls and boys cannot play football together

14.

The difference between Modric and Ronaldo signing for Real Madrid

15.

Rooney sprays Ashley Young with water while he lays injured

16.

After returning from a lengthy absence, it seems even the United staff have forgotten who Anderson is

17.

In Hungary, you don't make football pitch, football pitch makes you

18.

A terrible waxwork museum closes down - we have no idea why looking at the quality of the work

19.

Unsure as to what the defender is trying to achieve here

20.

Spurs' new tactic is to clone Gareth Bale. Introducing academy player, Kenneth McEvoy.

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PlayUp’s Top 50 Photos of 2012 – Part 1

We round up our top 50 photos of the year, as featured on our Facebook page and Twitter accounts

1

1.

The 4th official gets stuck between a heated conversation between Ferguson and RDM

2.

The England staff amuse themselves as the Poland v England match is called off

3.

The latest PES and FIFA graphics show their differences in interpretations of the player appearances

4.

A committed fan gets his shirt tattooed to his body

5.

PES v FIFA sales. Enough said

6.

AVG and Freund celebrate a Spurs goal

7.

Best urinal ever

8.

Evra and Saurez answer the questions of many as they shake hands ahead of a much anticipated match

9.

Ronaldo spotted on a Spanish chat show

10.

Podolski brings out his favourite toy to celebrate

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Magnificient Messi Double Finishes The Job

All hail Lionel Messi. The Barcelona and Argentinean maestro smashes Gerd Muller's 40-year-old record with his 86th and 87th goals this year

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Record Breaker: Lionel Messi

If you are in line for a record-breaking fourth World Player of the Year award then what better way to underline your credentials than beating the all-time goalscoring tally set 40 years ago. That’s exactly what Lionel Messi did last night when he netted his 86th goal of 2012  against Real Betis.

Despite some fitness doubts after Messi received a knock in the Blaugrana’s last game, it was business as usual. It took Messi just 16 minutes to draw level with the record set in 1972 by West Germany and Bayern Munich legend Gerd Muller. And nine minutes later, the 25-year-old was on the score sheet again with a left footed shot that sent the travelling Barca fans into raptures. A cool finish following a backheel from fellow Ballon D’Or contender Andres Iniesta sealed the deal and made Messi the most prolific goalscorer of all time in a calendar year.

If Messi is unstoppable, so too are Barca at the moment. The win for the Catalans meant that their start to this season’s campaign has been the most successful in the history of La Liga. With 14 wins and one draw from the opening 15 games, Barca are 11 points ahead of rivals Real Madrid and are steaming ahead towards securing their 22nd La Liga title.

2012 will definitely be one to remember in the Messi household scrapbook. Back in March, he broke Cesar Rodriguez’s leading all-time Barcelona goalscorer record of 232 and with 14 goals in last season’s competition, is also the joint-top all-time leader of goals scored in a single European Cup.

With 3 league games left to go before the New Year, he has now scored 74 goals for his club whilst also bagging 12 for his country.Still time to add a few more to the record.

 

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PlayUp’s 10 Christmas Wishes

We've been good eggs this year, so the child inside us couldn't help but write a list of things we want for Christmas to jolly old Saint Nick.

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Fernando Torres has struggled to find the net since his £50m pound move, but his record this season is better than others'...

1. For the world to cut Fernando Torres some slack

It’s a sorry state of affairs when your striker scores a Champions League brace, only to acknowledge his feat with a sullen face that would put Susan Boyle to shame. You may not believe this, but Torres has scored 9 (NINE) goals in all competitions this season; the same amount as Wayne Rooney, Mario Balotelli and Andy Carroll put together. Granted, of late, he’s missed the target more times than an inebriated lavatory-goer, but with a bit of support from his fans, rather than sarcastic applause when he scores in the warm-up, he may just overcome his writer’s (or scorer’s) block.

 

Parlez-vous française Joey Barton?

2. Elocution lessons for Joey Barton (and Steve McLaren)

We’re not sure if you’ve noticed or not but something fishy seems to be going on when an English footballer makes the rare move away from their native country. Joey Barton perfectly encapsulated this when he gave an interview to the French media sounding like Pepe Le Pew. Riddling his sentences with grammatical errors and raising the pitch of his voice at the end of each oration, Barton continued to tag the French premiership as “uhhh… Boring” with the arrogance of a born and bred Parisian. Let’s just hope the next thing the French pass on to him is a bit of their apprehension to fight.

 

Could Guardiola be coming to England?

3. Pep Guardiola to the Premier League

Whoever isn’t excited about the thought of having Pep Guardiola, or Jose Mourinho, bringing their mutual animosity to the Premier League should seriously reassess their life. For all the good that Sir Alex Ferguson has done at Manchester United, he’s in the twilight years of his managerial career and with Roberto Mancini’s job at Man City as secure as a Greek bank account, there is certainly a possibility that Pep and Mou could both end up plying their trade on opposing sides of Manchester. Mourinho will not be renewing his contract at Madrid at the end of this season and has already managed in the Premier League. Guardiola has been a top priority for Chelsea but their countless advances have been ignored so far. Whatever the outcome, having the pair in the Premier League would be top drawer.

 

Unhappy customers: Chelsea fans want Benitez out.

4. Chelsea fans to stop whinging

It’s about time Chelsea fans stopped complaining about how they want Rafael Benitez out of Stamford Bridge. Fair enough, the dismissal of Roberto Di Matteo left many of us flummoxed, and yes, a few things were said when Benitez was in charge of Liverpool. But the Spaniard was brought in on a short-term deal that was never going to exceed six months and his managerial record boasts 2 La Liga titles, 1 Uefa Cup, 1 FA Cup, a Champions League trophy, 1 Uefa Super Cup, an Italian Supercoppa and two Uefa Manager of the Year awards. Maybe Chelsea fans should be more interested in watching and supporting their team rather than anticipating the sixteenth minute to hail the late, great Roberto Di Matteo.

 

Harry Redknapp brings a whole new meaning to transfer window

5. Return of the through-the-window Transfer Deadline interview

Never has slouching around the house in your pyjamas whilst doing your best not to move from the sofa been more socially acceptable than on Transfer Deadline Day. Throughout the course of the day, the hot-off-the-press rolling coverage can get a bit repetitive and the only thing that will get you up out of your seat other than a multi-million pound signing is the traditional Harry Redknapp ‘through-the-window’ interview. Before the season started, we thought we’d seen the last of this bi-annual phenomenon, but thanks to QPR chairman Tony Fernandes bringing ‘Arry on board at Loftus Road, we can stop panicking.

 

Even though the net was empty he still managed to miss.

6. Emile Heskey back in the England squad

An absolute hit Down Under, Emile Heskey has his own song, his own red button player cam and if that wasn’t enough, he’s also scored five goals in eight games for Aussie outfit Newcastle Jets. Once revered for his ability as a striker who assisted more goals than he actually scored, Heskey has been taken under the proverbial A-League wing since moving in September. He’s also had time to practice his karate on an opposing goalkeeper during his debut game against Adelaide, knocking him out in the process. Classic Heskey.

 

Beckham and his sons celebrate with the MLS Cup.

7. David Beckham back in the Premier League

If we all look deep within ourselves it’s safe to admit that in one way or another, we have a man-crush on Mr. Beckham that is bordering on the unhealthy. What he has done not only for football, but also for sport in general is incredible. Working tirelessly to bring the Olympic Games back to London and acting as an ambassador throughout the whole process caused him to rise in a lot of people’s estimations. Now he has played his last game for LA Galaxy, we plead you David – Come back home!

 

Taking a dive: Gareth Bale has received criticism for his dramatic tendencies.

8. Put a stop to diving

A recent stat that had the PlayUp office furiously debating the dignity of the Premier League was the horrifying news that behind Serie A, with 19 yellow cards, the English top flight is the worst of the top five European leagues when it comes to diving. The worst offender is Gareth Bale who has racked up four bookings for simulation, making up over a fifth of the total bookings for simulation this season. Not far behind is Luis Suarez who has also received criticism for his play-acting. Whatever happened to staying on your feet? Not only are these players embarrassing themselves, they’re also putting shame to the reputation of English football.

 

Wouldn't that be a sight...

9. Freddie Flintoff to play centre-back for Chelsea

There’s something quite intriguing about watching sports stars take the leap from one sport to another. We’ve seen it before, with Michael Jordan trading the NBA for the NBL, Dwayne Chambers trying his hand in rugby and Ian “Beefy” Botham making 11 appearances up front for Scunthorpe United. Last weekend, Freddie Flintoff took to the boxing ring and won in his first professional bout against American Richard Dawson. Saying he would like to move on after his debut win, we think it would be brilliant for Flintoff to use his brawn to help out the struggling David Luiz in the centre of the Chelsea defence. Based on recent performances, who knows with a few months training he’d certainly challenge Luiz for his place!

 

Class act: Messi has almost levelled with all-time goalscoring legend Gerd Muller

10. Lionel Messi to beat Gerd Muller’s goal record

At number ten, what could be more fitting than making a wish for the best number 10 of this generation? Injured in Barcelona’s Champions League game against Benfica, Little Lio was taken off the field on one of those golf buggies the Spanish leagues love to use. As worried fans looked on, Barcelona headed to a 0-0 draw with Muller’s record of 85 goals in a calendar year still in tact. With just four games remaining for Messi this year, the race is on. Fingers crossed he makes it back in time to finish the job.

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Wembley Crowd Tops World Stats Table

It was verging on eerie to see unfilled seats at Wembley for the England vs Ukraine WC Qualifier. But the turnout was still the highest for any of the international fixtures worldwide

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So should we be concerned about what appears to be a sudden outbreak absenteeism at Wembley? As fans are we neglecting our duty to follow England through thick and thin (mainly thin)? Are we suffering POD (post-Olympic depression)? Or is everything actually OK in football’s Garden of Eden or Dante’s Inferno – depending on how you want to look at it.

EnglandvsUkraine.jpg

Just 68,000 fans watched England vs Ukraine

Ignoring the fact there were 20,000 empty seats at the match versus Ukraine, it was the highest attendance of all the World Cup qualifiers anywhere in the world on that night, beating the second highest attendance at Japan v Iraq by 8,000 spectators.

Reports from the FA suggest that England’s next qualifier against San Marino is expected to out sell the Ukraine match, as ticket sales have already exceeded those recorded at a similar stage before Tuesday’s game.

This is despite the FA keeping ticket prices the same as at the Ukraine game (£20-£40), which had always been expected to be a ‘quiet’ affair due to it being so close to the Olympic and Paralympic games. The spokesman also stated the fact it was played on a Tuesday night added to a decline in numbers.

To try and combat the problem the FA are planning to schedule friendly games against the likes of Brazil, Argentina and Germany next year to mark the 150th anniversary of the Football Association, as well as the World Cup qualifiers that are in place for 2013.

It’s not just the international games that have seen fans tempted to shy away from matchdays. At the start of last season, the BBC carried out a survey where every club in the four English divisions and the Scottish Premier League were asked for the prices of their cheapest and most expensive adult tickets, combined with that of a cup of tea, a programme and a pie, so it was possible to calculate how much a day out at the football would be.

Assuming these prices have stayed the same, only 11 of the 104 clubs were able to provide a day out for a single adult for under £20, with Blackburn Rovers (before relegation in 2012) and Watford topping the list in the Premier League and Championship with an impressive £17.50 and £17.30 respectively.

In the other leagues, Rochdale and Preston in League One and Rotherham and Torquay in League Two proved the best deals, while Inverness CT were the best value for money in the Scottish Premier League.

At the time of release in August 2011, the survey prompted a response from the Premier League in which it stated:

“With Premier League grounds over 92% full on average in each of the last three seasons, fans are clearly enjoying the football”.

They also highlighted that Premier League clubs had invested more than £2bn in facilities and player development.

All this said and done, fans should still be satisfied that football matches compare favourably with other live sport. The cheapest day out at Super League side Hull FC is £27, while an equivalent day watching England’s four-day, Test match, victory over India at Trent Bridge would have cost at least £41.10 (Source: BBC)

So despite the apparent ‘dwindling numbers’ at England’s game this week, and the continual panic that possesses fans when it comes to the protection of English football, it may well be preamtiure panic. We looked at the previous ten matches at Wembley Stadium which proved good reading.

Since March 2010, eight of the ten games had a 70,000+ attendance, which isn’t bad considering six of them were midweek games. Only one of them was sub-50,000, the first time since 1998, that being the victory over Sweden in November last year.

 

Date Opposition Score Attendance
Tues 11/09/12 Ukraine 1-1 68,102
Sat 02/06/12 Belgium 1-0 85,091
Wed 29/02/12 Holland 2-3 76,283
Tues 15/11/11 Sweden 1-0 48,876
Sat 12/11/11 Spain 1-0 87,189
Tues 29/03/11 Ghana 1-1 80,102
Wed 17/11/10 France 1-2 85,495
Wed 11/08/10 Hungary 2-1 72,024
Mon 24/05/10 Mexico 3-1 88,638
Wed 03/03/10 Egypt 3-1 80,602

 

The reality is, attendances have been consistently high throughout England’s last 10 home games regardless of opposition or day of the week. Clearly not much research was put behind the FA’s decision to partly blame the ‘low’ attendance on the fact it was a Tuesday night.

With the game being so close to the closing ceremony of London 2012, it’s not surprising so many empty seats we seen at Wembley. The success of the Games may have exhausted a few of the regular Three Lions faithful. But die-hard England fans need not worry, normality is expected to resume against San Marino next month.

 

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