Archive for July 13, 2010
History of Soccer
The history of soccer can be traced back to almost every country of origin. The game was so accessible that men of every status could afford to play. It’s easy to imagine that games of kicking a ball or something that resembles a ball have been around for thousands of years. The ancient Romans and Chinese are credited with the very first signs of soccer. China used to play games similar to football as far back as three thousand years ago and the Romans used to keep there warriors fit with football. A number of other countries laid claim to the sport as well including Japan, England, Italy and South and Central America.
Credit with the formal development of soccer history is rightfully given to England. They were the first to start incorporating rules and form associations or leagues. Around 1863 they began to separate soccer from rugby and formed the first Football Association. Teams from around the London area came together and began to formulate the basic rules that were agreeable by everyone. These included the size of the field, number of players and rules regarding contact. Ironically it wasn’t until six years later that the hand ball or no carrying of the ball was included.
The sport blossomed throughout England and held its first championship after just eight years. As expected the sport traveled throughout Europe and international competitions between England and Scotland formed. The sport brought in spectators and produced athletic stars which pushed the organizations to formalize their practices. New associations began to pop up throughout Scotland, Ireland and Germany.
The largest of all international associations was formed in 1912, Federation Internationale de Football Association, FIFA. Fifa held the now famous World Cup in 1930 and has grown to over 200 members throughout the entire world. Now there are tons of amateur, semi professional and professional leagues all over the world. Whether it’s young kids, professional athletes or weekend warriors soccer can be found anywhere in the world
Soccer history has evolved to today’s standard where it is played at the amateur and professional level all over the world. It is recognized as the most played and watched sport in the world. The basic rules and limited amount of equipment make soccer an easy sport to participate in for all.
Football Boots: Which To Buy?
It is undeniable that sportswear plays an important role in an athlete’s performance – rocket scientists are developing suits that reduce drag, making it easier for swimmers to move faster in water. Advances in bio-acceleration technology have led to the design of compressed sports shirts that reduce muscle fatigue of sportsmen and improve muscle performance. In the football world, advances in footwear over the past decade have taken the world by storm.
Sporting giants such as Nike, Adidas and Puma are outdoing themselves with attempts to come up with the next best pair of football boots – that are eye-catching, lightweight and capable of achieving all sorts of feats while providing maximum speed, comfort, grip, control and protection. To top it all, amazing advertising campaigns and endorsements by professional football stars add to the hype of footwear.
A few examples; the Predator PowerSwerve TRX FG from Adidas promises powerful shots with extra curve, more ball control and yes… better chances of scoring goals, and can be seen on David Beckham and Michael Ballack. The Nike Mercurial Vapor IV – extremely lightweight and ideal for maximum speed, is favoured by players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Theo Walcott. The v1.08 by Puma, worn by Peter Crouch, provides high speed and good control qualities.
With the endless brands and performance enhancing designs to choose from, shopping for your football boots can be a challenging experience! If you play football regularly and don’t mind spending more, there are ample choices similar to the hi-tech ones described above. If you don’t want the fancy designs and technology and prefer something simpler, basic style boots are sufficient – less expensive, good quality and long-lasting. And for those who play football occasionally, you may want to buy a cheaper pair of football boots, such as synthetic plastic uppers. Whatever your preference is, make sure that the boots you pick are comfortable to wear!
Another important aspect when buying football boots, is buying a pair that is suited to the surface that you would play on. For synthetic pitches, Astro turf boots with their multiple rubber studs will give you the best grip. Firm ground boots with longer studs are used mainly for wet conditions and muddy grounds, whilst boots with shorter studs are best worn on dry pitches. Soft ground boots are most suited for grassy surfaces and have screw-in studs which can be removed or changed to different lengths depending on how soft the surface is.
For more information on Football Boots and other sportswear here.
FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 LIVE MATCH SCHEDULE, Scores and ONLINE LIVE Streams AND LIVE watching TV LINK
The 19th FIFA World Cup, FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 which is an international soccer tournament, is finally going to happen to make the whole world together again. It is scheduled to place between June 11 to July 11, 2010 in South Africa . Enjoy each and every WORLD CUP 2010 MATCH LIVE with us. FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 LIVEMATCH SCHEDULE, Live Scores and Streams with online live streaming AND FIFA ONLINE watching TV LINK all are available here. STAY WITH US IN THIS 64 DAYS, WE WILL GIVE THE EXCITEMENT OF FIFA WORLD CUP MUCH. ENOY WORLD CUP 2010 , EACH AND EVERY MATCH LIVE ONLINE ON YOUR PC OR LAPTOP . SOCCER SOUL IS THE COMPLETE ENTERTAINMENT OF EVERY TYPE OF SOCCER NEWS, AND LIVE WATCH WATCH WORLD CUP 2010 LIVE ONLINE WATCH EACH OF 64 WORLD CUP 2010 MATCHES
DATE AND TIME VENUE GROUP MATCH (LIVE)US/EST1 Jun 11, 10:00am Soccer City, A South Africa vs Mexico(4:00pm local) Johannesburg 2 Jun 11, 2:30pm Green Point, A Uruguay vs France(8:30pm local) Cape Town4 Jun 12, 7:30am Nelson Mandela Bay, B Korea Republic vs Greece(1:30pm local) Port Elizabeth3 Jun 12, 10:00am Ellis Park, B Argentina vs Nigeria(4:00pm local) Johannesburg5 Jun 12, 2:30pm Royal Bafokeng, C England vs USA(8:30pm local) Rustenburg 6 Jun 13, 7:30am Peter Mokaba, C Algeria vs Slovenia(1:30pm local) Polokwane 8 Jun 13, 10:00am Loftus Versfeld, D Serbia vs Ghana (4:00pm local) Tshwane 7 Jun 13, 2:30pm Durban, D Germany vs Australia(8:30pm local) Durban 9 Jun 14, 7:30am Soccer City, E Netherlands vs Denmark(1:30pm local) Johannesburg 10 Jun 14, 10:00am Free State, E Japan vs Cameroon(4:00pm local) Bloemfontein 11 Jun 14, 2:30pm Green Point, F Italy vs Paraguay(8:30pm local) Cape Town12 Jun 15, 7:30am Royal Bafokeng, F New Zealand vs Slovakia(1:30pm local) Rustenburg 13 Jun 15, 10:00am Nelson Mandela Bay, G Côte d’Ivoire vs Portugal(4:00pm local) Port Elizabeth14 Jun 15, 2:30pm DPR Ellis Park, G Brazil vs Korea(8:00pm local) Johannesburg15 Jun 16, 7:30am Mbombela, H Honduras vs Chile(1:30pm local) Nelspruit 16 Jun 16, 10:00am Durban, H Spain vs Switzerland(4:00pm local) Durban 17 Jun 16, 2:30pm Loftus Versfeld, A South Africa vs Uruguay(8:30pm local) Tshwane20 Jun 17, 7:30am Soccer City, B Argentina vs Korea Republic(1:30pm local) Johannesburg 19 Jun 17, 10:00am Free State, B Greece vs Nigeria(4:00pm local) Bloemfontein18 Jun 17, 2:30pm Peter Mokaba, A France vs Mexico(8:30pm local) Polokwane 21 Jun 18, 7:30am Nelson Mandela Bay, D Germany vs Serbia(1:30pm local) Port Elizabeth22 Jun 18, 10:00am Ellis Park, C Slovenia vs USA(4:00pm local) Johannesburg23 Jun 18, 2:30pm Green Point, C England vs Algeria(8:30pm local) Cape Town25 Jun 19, 7:30am Durban, E Netherlands vs Japan(1:30pm local) Durban24 Jun 19, 10:00am Royal Bafokeng, D Ghana vs Australia(4:00pm local) Rustenburg26 Jun 19, 2:30pm Loftus Versfeld, E Cameroon vs Denmark(8:30pm local) Tshwane27 Jun 20, 7:30am Free State, F Slovakia vs Paraguay(1:30pm local) Bloemfontein28 Jun 20, 10:00am Mbombela, F Italy vs New Zealand(4:00pm local) Nelspruit29 Jun 20, 2:30pm Soccer City, G Brazil vs Côte d’Ivoire(8:30pm local) Johannesburg30 Jun 21, 7:30am Green Point, G Portugal vs Korea DPR(1:30pm local) Cape Town 31 Jun 21, 10:00am Nelson Mandela Bay, H Chile vs Switzerland(4:00pm local) Port Elizabeth32 Jun 21, 2:30pm Ellis Park, H Spain vs Honduras(8:30pm local) Johannesburg33 Jun 22, 10:00am Royal Bafokeng, A Mexico vs Uruguay(4:00pm local) Rustenburg 34 Jun 22, 10:00am Free State, A France vs South Africa(4:00pm local) Bloemfontein35 Jun 22, 2:30pm Durban, B Nigeria vs Korea Republic(8:30pm local) Durban 36 Jun 22, 2:30pm Peter Mokaba, B Greece vs Argentina(8:30pm local) Polokwane37 Jun 23, 10:00am Nelson Mandela Bay, C Slovenia vs England(4:00pm local) Port Elizabeth38 Jun 23, 10:00am Loftus Versfeld, C USA vs Algeria(4:00pm local) Tshwane39 Jun 23, 2:30pm Soccer City, D Ghana vs Germany(8:30pm local) Johannesburg40 Jun 23, 2:30pm Mbombela, D Australia vs Serbia(8:30pm local) Nelspruit41 Jun 24, 10:00am Ellis Park, F Slovakia vs Italy(4:00pm local) Johannesburg42 Jun 24, 10:00am Peter Mokaba, F Paraguay vs New Zealand(4:00pm local) Polokwane 43 Jun 24, 2:30pm Royal Bafokeng, E Denmark vs Japan(8:30pm local) Rustenburg 44 Jun 24, 2:30pm Green Point, E Cameroon vs Netherlands(8:30pm local) Cape Town45 Jun 25, 10:00am Durban, G Portugal vs Brazil(4:00pm local) Durban 46 Jun 25, 10:00am Mbombela, G Korea DPR vs Côte d’Ivoire(4:00pm local) Nelspruit47 Jun 25, 2:30pm Loftus Versfeld, H Chile vs Spain(8:30pm local) Tshwane 48 Jun 25, 2:30pm Free State, H Switzerland vs Honduras(8:30pm local) Bloemfontein 49 Jun 26, 10:00am Nelson Mandela Bay, Round of 16 1A vs 2B(4:00pm local) Port Elizabeth50 Jun 26, 2:30pm Royal Bafokeng, Round of 16 1C – 2D(8:30pm local) Rustenburg51 Jun 27, 10:00am Free State, Round of 16 1D vs 2C(4:00pm local) Bloemfontein52 Jun 27, 2:30pm Ellis Park, Round of 16 1B vs 2A(8:30pm local) Johannesburg 53 Jun 28, 10:00am Durban, Round of 16 1E vs 2F(4:00pm local) Durban 54 Jun 28, 2:30pm Soccer City, Round of 16 1G vs 2H(8:30pm local) Johannesburg56 Jun 29, 2:30pm Green Point, Round of 16 1H vs 2G(8:30pm local) Cape Town 57 Jul 2, 10:00am Nelson Mandela Bay, Quarter-finals W53 vs W54(4:00pm local) Port Elizabeth58 Jul 2, 2:30pm Soccer City, Quarter-finals W49 vs W50(8:30pm local) Johannesburg59 Jul 3, 10:00am Green Point, Quarter-finals W52 vs W51(4:00pm local) Cape Town60 Jul 3, 2:30pm Ellis Park, Quarter-finals W55 vs W56(8:30pm local) Johannesburg61 Jul 6, 2:30pm Green Point, Semi-finals W58 vs W57(8:30pm local) Cape Town62 Jul 7, 2:30pm Durban, Semi-finals W59 vs W60(8:30pm local) Durban63 Jul 10, 2:30pm Nelson Mandela Bay, Third Place Match L61 vs L62(8:30pm local) Port Elizabeth64 Jul 11, 2:30pm Soccer City, Final W61 vs W62(8:30pm local) Johannesburg
Bask in the Sporty Season in Your Favourite Soccer T Shirt
‘Tis the World Cup season this year and everyone is already in a frenzy about it. Are you excited yet? Get into the soccer mood with our soccer t shirt selection. Here you can find jerseys of your favourite American soccer teams. You might even find your favourite World Cup team’s soccer t shirt. Either way, get one or more and use them fashionably for a day out with your pals, or to draw you into that sporty, cheery mood! After all, soccer jerseys hardly go out of fashion, and they make great collectors’ items.Look at our women’s collection of soccer t shirts made to attractively fit a woman’s silhouette. If you are a big fan of Adidas, which is also the World Cup 2010′s official partner, check out the Seattle Sounders FC 09/10 MLS Home Women’s Soccer Jersey in green. We simply love the colour. The Seattle Sounders team wore this jersey during their 2009 season. With an embroidered Seattle Sounders team badge and mesh ventilation panels with moisture wicking material, this jersey is fully imported and 100% polyester. If red is your colour, check out Adidas’ Women’s Condivo Soccer Jersey. This jersey has Adidas’ Clima365 engineering for total womanly comfort with its brand logo embroidered. The jersey is also available in black and shades of navy and royal blue. So versatile, any woman would look great in this with shorts, long pants and denim or mini skirts.Girls, cheer on your favourite American soccer teams with Puma’s Philadelphia Independence Women’s Replica T-Shirt. In grey with yellow brand logo and silhouette lines with capped sleeves, the jersey is 100% cotton. We also love Puma’s V-Kat Women’s Soccer Jersey in white with black Puma logo. Now this is a great colour to match any other outfit in your wardrobe.Boys, fret not, we have an impressive collection of soccer t shirts for you too! Manchester United fans, look no further. Our men’s collection includes the Nike 09/10 Home Soccer Jerseys with each of your favourite Red Devil player’s name and digits. Find Rooney, G. Neville, Berbatov, Ferdinand, Nani, Macheda, Owen, Vidic and Giggs, and their respective numbers, in red and featuring the authentic Barclays Premiership letters, numbers and arm patches. You will need to allow additional time for customization upon ordering, guys, proving this jersey is specially worth owning. Not a fan of the Devils? No sweat. Check out the Adidas FIFA jerseys. The 2010/2011 Adidas Men’s National Team Away Jersey comes in an array of your favourite country teams ‘ these are authentic licensed shirts featuring the brand’s CLIMACOOL technology. Find Mexico, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Greece, France and Brazil in various colours. Run a search on your favourite World Cup team and you may just find what you need!While you are busy searching for that ideal soccer t shirt, why don’t you throw in some soccer shorts as well to complete your laidback, soccer cheer look. Choose from an array of colours from Diadora’s Serie A Soccer Shorts to Adidas, Kelme Goalie Soccer Shorts, Nike and Umbro. These are quality brands and made from material that is suitable for sport or to just relax. Find casual soccer shorts and goalkeeper shorts in this collection for both men and women.Even if you are not a soccer fan, these soccer jerseys make sporty fashion statements ala Sporty Spice of the Spice Girls. Get yourself a cool jersey today and wear it loud and proud!
Cheap Football Nfl Ticket – Low Cost, Loads of Fun
There are some websites that offer Cheap football NFL tickets to the sports fans. These typically mean that you can save money by booking your tickets online but be sure of getting good seats. Since these games don’t take place too often, there is always a rush for the tickets and they get sold out pretty fast. Thanks to the advancement of technology, people can avail the Cheap football NFL tickets and enjoy the matches with no worries. Also, if there is a group of people or a corporate looking for ticket, they can grab the few Cheap football NFL tickets available before others get a chance to snatch them away. Not only do they get a good deal on the tickets, they also are lucky enough to relax and drive leisurely on the day of the match. There will be those few sports fans that will wait patiently even on the last day hoping to get a ticket or praying that someone might cancel or want to sell them a ticket. Such souls end up spending more for the ticket and not getting good seats.
The National Football League (NFL) was formed way back in 1922, with just about eleven teams being part of it. Since its inception, it has had new teams coming in and now it is about thirty or thirty two teams in size. This sport is said to draw the maximum crowd and stadiums are always jam packed to the maximum capacity. Nearly 65000 fans are said to watch the matches through the year and there are some who fly down from other parts of the world only to catch the match live. This shows how popular this game is in United States of America and to Americans around the world.
While purchasing Cheap football NFL tickets online, if a person wishes to watch the New York Giants or Detroit Lions play, they might have to book well in advance as these are good teams. This applies to the exhibition matches that are played as well, which happens sometime in August or September, and this is referred to as the pre-season matches. The grand tournament is the Super bowl that is a battle between the leadings teams where the winning team will be awarded the title of NFL Champion.
For a person who is interested in sports but unaware of the teams or how the game is played, they can visit any website and learn more about the game. This will enable them to enjoy the match and be a part of the crowd that is filled with cheer and excitement. There are certain websites that offer Cheap football NFL ticket and promise to be cheaper than other websites. Anything we get at a cheaper price is assumed to be of low quality of not genuine but the Cheap football NFL tickets bought here come with a guarantee that they are genuine and will be shipped to your home or office through a reputed courier.
Quality Soccer Jerseys
Soccer jerseys are not just an essential item for soccer players, but also a highly prized item for the soccer fans. Professional players have busy training and match schedules which run throughout the year, and with all this activity their soccer kits rapidly deteriorate meaning that regular replacements are necessary. Whether the jersey is made by a good quality manufacturer or not, replacements will be unavoidable as the kits cannot sustain the intense rigorous activity of professional play.
Whilst this is true for soccer players, there are also those who do not actually play soccer but still buy the jerseys. Whether they are fans or just individuals who think the jerseys look cool, these people will all want to replace and update their jerseys from time to time.
Online shops have made shopping for jerseys much easier. Once it was only possible to purchase jerseys through catalogues or by visiting shops in person. Whilst this had its own unique charms, the process of shopping for a jersey is undoubtedly more convenient than ever before, which is great for busy people.
If a replacement jersey is required then it must be of top quality, to match the standards of the original. This is particularly true if the jersey is a replica of some famous kit where quality soccer jerseys are representative of the team wearing them. Shopping online isn’t just a more convenient way to shop, but it also allows for a massive range of goods to be sold. Just like the shops on the high street you will find that online retailers also offer the full selection of sports equipment to accompany the jersey of your team, so you can get matching equipment to go with the jersey, such as shin pads, shorts, and balls.
The online stores also allow you to search by brands, teams, countries, and sizes, and all of this makes it easier to find the exact kit that you are looking for. With such a huge product selection, and the ease with which you can navigate the online stores, the experience of shopping online is simply unparalleled in terms of its efficiency and convenience.
As well as this, many online stores offer you the facility to order custom kits. Through this service you can choose the design that you want and have a jersey created to match a local team or even a school team. Amateur team jerseys are often in demand with the family and friends of a player who participates in amateur team games.
However, one problem with online shopping is that the quality of merchandise varies greatly, particularly between the different online stores. If you buy cheaper products of low quality the item will not last as long as you might like. Although you may have to pay more, higher quality products will last much longer, making it more economical in the long term. Whatever you need, you will certainly be able to find it in an online store. From international kits to club kits, and even amateur kits, top quality soccer jerseys are available online.
The English Premier Soccer League
Regarded as the most popular and richest soccer league in the world, the English Premier League was established in 1992 after breaking away from the traditional Football League. Now in its sixteenth season, the Premier League is capable of attracting the best soccer players from around the world and its top teams compete regularly in the latter stages of Europe’s premier soccer tournament, the UEFA Champions League.
Origins of the Premier League: During the 1980s, the reputation of English soccer was at an all time low. Years of misbehavior from fans and a number of related tragedies, had subsequently led to English clubs getting banned from participating in European club competitions.
For this reason the top clubs were unable to sign the best players and they could not complete financially with the major teams in the other European leagues. Consequently, spectator attendances at many of the games began to decline rapidly.
However by 1990, many of these trends began to reverse. The English national team played a great tournament in that year’s World Cup, reaching the semi-finals and this encouraged a feeling of renewed interest in the game. UEFA removed its ban on English clubs participating in the Champions League and compulsory seating was introduced in all stadiums to alleviate the problems associated with violence amongst spectators.
In the midst of this renewed optimism, the top soccer clubs such as Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United decided to break away from the existing league structure to capitalize on the influx of television money that was offered by new satellite broadcasters such as Sky TV.
In 1992 all top division clubs resigned from the football league and formed the Premier League. This was a unique structure that effectively created a limited company that was able to negotiate commercial revenue and share the benefits based upon performance.
Structure of the Premier League: The Premier League consists of twenty soccer clubs from all regions across England. They play a thirty-eight match season that begins in August each year and is concluded the following May. All teams compete home and away against the other teams twice.
At the completion of the season, the bottom three teams are demoted to the football league and replaced by the three best teams in that league the following season. The winners of the Premier League are declared the champions and are eligible to play in following season’s UEFA Champions League, along with the next top three teams.
Notable Clubs: The most successful club in the history of the Premier League is Manchester United. In the 2007/08 season they won the competition for a record tenth time. The only other teams to win the league are Arsenal, Chelsea and Blackburn.
The Future of the Premier League: By 2008 the top English clubs, through their ability to negotiate ever increasing commercial revenues have created a global sports brand that allows them to dominate European club soccer. In the last four seasons, an English team has reached the final of the Champions League.
However, the impact of this success at the top of the English soccer league is having a detrimental effect on the teams at the lower scale of the league system. Many teams are struggling to survive financially and there is much criticism and concern that the concentration of wealth and power in a small group of teams may have long term negative consequences for the future of the game.
Weber State University Information
Weber State University is situated in Weber County’s city of Ogden. In 1889, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints founded this university, who named this university as Weber Stake Academy. This university was founded in 1889. John Henry Weber’s name was given to this school he was a fur trader. In 1964, this academy became Weber State College and in 1991, it received university status. Apart from main campus there is one more campus as well as two centers of Weber State University. The Davis Campus is placed in Layton; it serves more than 3,000 students. This campus offers several degree programs of masters and bachelors. Students can enrolled and take up courses of their choice at the campus located in Roy, Utah and Morgan, Utah.
White and purple are the colors of the sports team of Weber State University. Sports team of Weber State University takes part in NCAA Division l. Stewart Stadium is the place where football team of Weber State University plays. The women and men’s basketball teams play together at Dee Events Center. Weber State University is comprised of fifteen different athletic sporting teams, which takes part in Big Sky Conference. Waldo is their mascot and the colors of the team are white and purple and black color is used as number color.
Weber State University has many other sports apart from NCAA teams that include national ranking team of ice hockey for men’s. In 2005-2006, this men’s team of ice hockey was positioned 6th on the national level in American Collegiate Hockey Association. Wildcard Spirit Squad also has been an important part of athletic department, since last two years, these teams have positioned top three in the national competitions. The basketball team of men won the tournament of Big Sky Conference in 2007. The women’s team of basketball has competed three successive years for championship games. Weber State University has student-run paper, The Signpost, as well as KWCR-FM, which is a radio station.
Weber State University provides 215 degree and certificate programs in science, humanities and arts, technology and applied science, economics and business, behavioral science and social science, health and the education professions. Postgraduate degrees are provided in business administration, education, accounting, criminal justice, and newly added postgraduate degrees in English and health administration. Weber State University is famous for giving stress on students-faculty interaction, sizes of the class is small, undergraduate research and teaching excellence.
Setanta: The Fall-out
On June 23 2009, Setanta Sport Limited went into administration. This followed a period of rumours, denials and a series of surreptitious late-night meetings between management and investors and potential investors in a bid to stave off the inevitable. Setanta, it appeared, had bitten off more of the sports pie than it could chew and was to pay the price.
The implications of the sport broadcaster’s demise are far-reaching and ongoing, and perhaps have not yet been fully realised.
The fall of Setanta has taken some people by surprise. The company began as a simple solution to Irish expat desire to watch home games and developed steadily but slowly to become a serious challenger to BSkyB, but it appears that the company may have overstretched in recent years in what has become a volatile and unrelenting market.
In the beginning: fulfilling a need
Nearly 20 years ago, the Republic of Ireland faced Holland in the 1990 World Cup. None of the UK broadcaster’s thought it an important enough game to show, so two enterprising Irish expats, Michael O’Rourke and Leonard Ryan, hired a venue and charged £10 a head to watch the game in Ealing’s Top Hat club. After 1,000 takers turned up that night, O’Rourke and Ryan realised that they were on to something and it wasn’t long before Setanta became a niche broadcaster, providing Irish ad Gaelic sport to Irish expats in other countries too.
Fast forward to 2009 and Setanta was a very different company. Expanding gradually for many years, in 2004 the company stepped up its growth plans and acquired major sporting rights for tournaments other than football, include golf, horse racing, rugby union, cricket and boxing.
Setanta was now a major rival for Sky whenever the broadcasting rights to a major event came onto the market.
The company became a global operation with a number of different TV channels, such as Setanta North America, offering various sporting events tailored to each individual market.
In 2004 they won the UK rights to broadcast the Scottish Premier League, a major breakthrough for the company. But the real step up for them came in 2006 when they picked up the two English Premier League packages. They now had the right to show 46 matches annually for three seasons, from 2007/08 to 2009/10.
This was followed by a deal with PGA Golf, which secured coverage of 40 top golf events annually in the US for six years from 2007 onwards.
However, a change in their status in the market place meant that there was also a major change in the financial sums involved. Setanta needed 1.9 million subscribers to break even, but only managed to attract 1.2 million.
In 2007 Setanta launched a sports news channel in competition with Sky’s offering. That ate up millions in capital.
Setanta’s dream began to slide towards a nightmare as management scrambled to fill the financial shortfall needed to make the payment for its various sports rights.
The company began running at an estimated loss of £100m a year, after missing subscriber targets.
Setanta struggled to make its commitment to the Scottish Premier League, a mere £3m, and when it came to paying the next instalment of the £30m owed to the English Premier League, it faltered and the administrators were called in.
Implications
The immediate implications of the fall of Setanta is that its broadcasting rights revert to the holders, and another bidding process will begin. However, this means that Setanta subscribers who have already paid for their sport will not be able to view their expected matches. Nor will some of Setanta’s customers receive a refund for their prepaid broadcasts. According to the Setanta website, subscribers who have paid by credit card have a degree of protection and may be successful in claiming back part if not all of their payments. But those who paid by direct debit will probably not see their money again.
More serious an implication, however, is the threat to other businesses, including sporting bodies and service industries.
The Scottish Premier League, for example, could be badly affected by the failure of Setanta. One SPL club chairman told the BBC that the failure of the company would be “absolutely horrific” for the future of the game in Scotland.
It could have a massive impact on the financial structure of organised football in Scotland and would probably drive players away to other countries in search of better wages. The restriction of clubs’ ability to buy quality players would also mean that jobs would be lost at all levels of the game, not just on the field.
According to one of the SPL clubs, the revenue from Setanta accounts for 33% of their income and the fallout may force three SPL clubs into administration.
Service industries will also be adversely affected, such as a call centre in Newry.
Up to 200 jobs may be lost at Teleperformance, although the company said that it was still working through the full implications of the fallout from Setanta’s closure.
The call centre has a large number of other customers and is working to minimise the impact of the loss of business.
The demise of Setanta though also brings into question the future of sports broadcasting. A number of pressures have been brought to bear on what used to be a very profitable business and Setanta’s failure may have far reaching implications for the relationship between sport and television.
The fragmentation of media has caused a drop in advertising, and with piracy on the internet, EU red tape and the possible regulatory changes in the UK means that the income from sports broadcasting is not as guaranteed as it was in the past.
The television landscape has definitely changed, particularly for ‘smaller’ sports. Sports that do not bring in large audiences will face serious challenges in selling their broadcast rights and they may need to turn to the internet and mobile technology.
Experts believe that so-called ‘gold standard’ events, such as the Olympics, still have a global appeal but for smaller events it may be best to establish their own coverage on the internet rather than spend a lot of time, energy and money chasing TV deals that may never materialise.
In the UK the majority of broadcasters rely on advertising or subscriptions, and revenues are declining for many reasons. It seems that the days when sport was broadcast solely on TV are over.
