Southampton look to Africa

tribalfootball.com

Radhi Jaidi is to take up an overseas development role with newly promoted to the Premiership Southampton after confirming his retirement.

The 36-year-old Tunisian defender will now step into the newly-created position to help the club build links in Africa.

"I can help find the club talent from all round the world, especially in Africa where there are a lot of talented and quality players," said Jaidi.

"We just need to show them the way and I think the Southampton way is one of the best in the Premier League, which I think will be really interesting to African players.

"It's kind of like I'm giving back to my country as well as to Southampton, it's a really good thing to do.

"I was looking at what to do without staying in Southampton but when the opportunity came up I thought 'why not'?"

NIGERIAN DEBATE: WHAT TO EXPECT IN LONDON AFTER THE BEIJING DISASTER

Female Relay team in Atalanta 96

After the Atlanta 96’ games, many expected more from Nigeria, but what a story...

It was a long journey from Lagos to Beijing and you can bet that for both athletes and officials of team Nigeria the journey back to Nigeria took forever after the team failed to win a single gold medal in Beijing. Since 1996 where Nigeria won 2gold medals in athletics and football, Nigeria has failed to secure a Gold medal in any events at the summer games. It is a common saying that “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” but the Nigerian Olympic committee have been too busy battling for seats on the committee’s board to realise that, and these scuffles past and present have seriously hampered the progress of Nigerian athletes in competitions overseas. The Athletics federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the Soccer Dream team have performed best and achieved the most medals at the Olympic Games and many had thought that the NOC would have encouraged those organisations by ensuing proper funding and providing adequate equipments for improved results but when we review the records since the Atlanta games in 1996 till date, it’s quite obvious the budgets are not being utilize for what we are told that they are meant for. Meanwhile, no significant progress has been made encourage Nigerians to indulge in more sporting activities, especially at grassroots levels; this means all our hope still lies in soccer and athletics. It is fairly obvious that personal interest more than the development of the nations sporting records is on the minds of the NOC. The next Olympic games comes up very soon which is barely a few months away and with the failure of both the male and female football teams to qualify, it’s wise for Nigerians not to hope for medals when the tournament kicks-off. Furthermore it’s obvious that winning gold medals at the Olympics is simply a case of practise makes perfect rather than otherwise thought, and this is seen with Nigerian born athletes such as Francis Obikwelu (Portugal) who competed at the highest level in both the 100 and 200meters sprint events. This certainly shows that Nigerian can compete at the highest levels if given the right training and exposure.

What are your views on this topic? What do you think the NOC should do to improve the nation’s chances in 2012? One Sport wants to know what YOU think...

Egbochuku Chikezie, ONESPORTMEDIA

Arsenal partner with Malta Guinness

Arsenal.comArsenal Football Club has agreed a three-year partnership with Guinness Nigeria for Malta Guinness, Nigeria’s number one malt drink, to be the Official Malt Drink of the Club in Nigeria. The Gunners will work in tandem with Malta Guinness in Nigeria as well as in Ghana, Kenya, Cameroon, Uganda and Tanzania.

The agreement has been reached following confirmation that the Arsenal first team is visiting Nigeria in August for the first time in their history as part of their pre-season build up.  Arsène Wenger’s side will play at the 60,000 capacity Abuja National Stadium on Sunday, August 5, with the opposition likely to be a leading African national team.

As part of this relationship, Malta Guinness Low Sugar will be the Official Malt Drink of Arsenal Football Club around Arsenal’s Nigeria tour. 

Arsenal’s Head of Global Partnerships, Vinai Venkatesham, said:  “We have a huge following in Africa, and Nigeria in particular.  By partnering with Guinness Nigeria and the Malta Guinness brand, we are delighted to be aligning ourselves with one of Nigeria’s foremost companies and most well known brands.  We’re looking forward to working together to connect with our many millions of fans in the region during the tour and beyond.”

Managing Director of Guinness Nigeria PLC, Devlin Hainsworth, said:  “Malta Guinness is proud to confirm this agreement with Arsenal Football Club and for our new Malta Guinness Low Sugar to be the Official Malt Drink of the Club’s August tour.

“Arsenal’s great history and exciting style of play is set to energise and inspire Nigerians when they tour here in August whether they be fans of the Club, fans of football or simply fans of the good things in life.  We look forward to giving them a great reception on their first ever visit to Nigeria and to showing them the passion we have for our football as well as the vitality and energy of Nigeria and its people.”

Al-Jazeera vs BSkyB: let the battle begin!

manufacturingtodaynigeria.com

In a league that generates over £2.7b, the premier league is said to be the highest earner when it comes to TV deals, although the German league is the most profitable. In 2010, BBC paid the premier league £173m over three years to secure the future of ‘Match of the Day’ by retaining the rights to domestic highlights. The figure was a modest increase on the amount it currently pays, but includes extra internet rights. Another two live games package, which is believed to amount to 46 games kicking off mainly on Saturday afternoon and Monday evening, is considered to be worth over £400m. BskyB, the main sponsors paid a figure believed to be in excess of £1.5bn to retain the live television rights to the majority of the biggest matches from 2010 until 2013.

The next broadcasting rights deal is seen as crucial in providing some certainty of income in a difficult climate, as clubs with heavy commitments to wages and debt repayments face up to pressure on season-ticket sales and sponsorship revenues.

It is now believed that Premier league clubs could be in for another huge television cash windfall with a serious challenge to Sky's domination of top-flight domestic TV coverage by al-Jazeera now a "realistic prospect", according to the European head of ESPN. Now Ross Hair, the head of ESPN for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, believes al-Jazeera is likely to challenge Sky – a move that if successful would pose a serious threat to the Rupert Murdoch-owned satellite broadcaster.

The possibility of the Qatar-owned broadcaster going head to head with Sky has been the subject of speculation since it beat Canal Plus to the French Ligue 1 and Champions League rights. A bidding war could result in an increased offer for the 2013-16 domestic rights – the current three-year deal is already worth an estimated £1.782bn.

Premier League football has been the driving force behind Sky's satellite TV success in the UK but it has not had a challenger of such potential before. It is also believed the apple might also make a bid but at the moment, it is still unlikely that would happen.

Qatar’s ruling elite, which can draw on the country’s vast oil revenues, is desperate to bolster support for last year’s successful, but highly controversial, bid to stage the 2022 World Cup.

A source said: ‘There is definitely a sense that Al Jazeera is looking at acquiring Premier League rights. Of course, they have the money to outbid Sky and billions is not a problem.

It’s expected that there is going to be another auction between April and May for the rights of 2013-2016 seasons, and clubs, fans and pundits alike would take a keen interest in the outcome, but no matter what happens, it must be said that the premier league clubs are set for huge financial hand-outs.