British Football fans who wish to see future World Cup football finals tournaments on TV may soon have to pay for the right to do so.
The world football governing body, FIFA, and the European equivalent, UEFA, are appealing against a earlier court ruling that the World Cup, as well as the European Championships, must remain available on free-to-air.
Sir Henry Cooper, Britain’s great boxing legend, has died. A man of both integrity and honour.
We shall miss you.
The decision earlier this year by the Olympic Park Legacy Company to award the athletic stadium in Stratford, east London, to Premiership football club West Ham United for their use after the games, has predictably unleashed a huge legal can of worms.
For a start, there is the location issue. The stadium is just around a mile from League One club Leyton Orient‘s Brisbane Road ground. They are taking legal action claiming that they could go out of business within a few years.
So, England failed to bring the tournament home for 2018. Thank goodness for that.
Conspiracy theorists would argue that the decision by the BBC to show it’s flagship current affairs programme Panorama over the alleged corruption of some FIFA officials had probably influenced the vote.
But is it in the public interest that England be given a chance to hold such a major sporting event when at the moment we cannot even get people from one place to another in the snow?
Thank you Russia. Thank you FIFA. Above all, thank you the world, for rejecting England. Thank you for thinking out of the box….
Congratulations too, for Qatar, for getting the chance to hold the tournament in 2022. Two countries where the World Cup has never been held. This joint decision is great for fans of international football. Looking forward to tournaments on three continents (Brazil’s next up in 2014)… if I stay alive long enough….
No, not in Korea, thankfully, but in Australia, when the current England national cricket team will be defending the Ashes at the first test in Brisbane on Thursday.
Many pundits have predicted this series to be the closest for a long time. For too long, England have suffered a long inferiority complex when going up against the long-dominant Aussies. However, with the hosts suffering from indifferent form, and the tourists finally getting the knack of winning matches, this could serve up a great feast for fans.
England will want to avenge the heavy 5-0 defeat and retain the famous urn, but captain Andrew Strauss is understandably cautious as he hopes to help his team win for the first time in 24 years in the old enemy’s back yard.
Meanwhile, if you are one of the majority of Brits at home who didn’t make it Down Under, you can either watch on Sky Sports, or listen to Test Match Special on BBC Radio 5Live through the night… that’s if you can stay awake long enough.
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