Villa Youth Snub, Qatar Slaves, Legalised Tout Backlash & Free Beer!
UEFA snub European Youth Champions Aston Villa
Remember last season Villa were the best youth team in Europe after beating Chelsea in the Next Gen Series final? Well, as most of you’ll know, the Next Gen Series mysteriously disappeared due to supposed claims it couldn’t attract sponsorship for another year. So, nothing to do with UEFA starting the ‘UEFA Youth League’, then?
Of course, the Next Gen Series was disbanded solely due to UEFA’s new initiative, which again provides an example of the football authority’s short-sighted desire of the maintaining of the status quo in football. Only teams that qualify from the Champions League quality for the UEFA Youth League. So not only do the English Top Four teams get to keep their strangle hold on the Premiership due to their Champion’s League prize money at senior level, but they also now get to develop their youth teams at a higher level too.
Also, now talented younger players will choose to go to Top Four teams due to the allure of ‘UEFA Youth League’ football, in the same way top players use the Champions League football as a reason to move to clubs (roughly translated for ‘more money’)
UEFA, FA and Premier League seem to be intent on taking all the elements of sport and fairness out of football. People mock the razzamatazz of NFL football in the states, but with their wage cap and draft system (the worst teams of the previous season get to pick the best new players), at least they are keen on keeping it a competitive sport. Football in Europe needs to take lessons fast.
Blood money – Qatar using slave trade to build World Cup
Another example of $$$ signs blinding logic and common sense judgement. We already know that Qatar is far from suitable to host the jewel in the football calendar, the World Cup, for many reasons (temperature, no football culture, tradition etc). It gets worse though… The abuse of migrant workers used to build their World Cup infrastructure is akin to slave trade conditions with many workers dying already in ridiculous conditions. The press are slowly outing what must rank as FIFA’s worst decision (30/09/12 – Guardian update on worker deaths).
Spurs fans pressure club to rid themselves of StubHub
The chair of the Football Supporters’ Federation, Malcolm Clarke has described ticket agencies such as Viagogo and StubHub as “legalised touts”, with supporters essentially being encouraged to rip their fellow supporters off by reselling tickets at inflated prices.Football fans though have been talking action against them.
Spurs fans have recently sent an open letter to their club requesting them to end their deal with Stubhub.
Schalke 04 fans have already got their club to terminate their deal with Viagogo and Manchester City fans have also campaigned to follow suit.
Fan run exchanges that try to ensure that tickets exchange hands for face value have ironically been considered illegal by clubs. It’s double-standards.
Free Beer Opportunity This Week
Down about Jores Okore being out for the season? Crushed by Benteke’s injury? Devastated by Villa’s limp League Cup exit? Expecting Villa’s poor home form to continue against Manchester City, Spurs and Everton?
Help is at hand to drown your sorrows, after MOMS spotted this offer that’s worth giving you a heads-up about, since there’s free beer involved… Unsurprisingly, it’s nothing to do with the football industry.
From Fri 27 Sep to Sun 6 Oct it’s Cask Ale Week and if you visit their website here you can get them to email you a free pint voucher that can be redeemed at various pubs in the UK.
You can search if there’s a pub in your area in on the free pint deal at www.freedrinkpubs.co.uk
In terms of Birmingham, there’s the Prince of Wales on Cambridge Street and also the Dog & Doublet at Bodymoor Heath, Sutton Coldfield. Then’s there are pubs in Stirchley, Walsall, Rowley Regis, Wednesbury, Coleshill, Halesowen and Tipton.
Worth checking out if you’re a proper beer lover too.
Follow MOMS on Twitter – @oldmansaid
