Super Bowl x World Cup, Gulf "Wars", Believe!, and more, under 5 mins.

Top-3 Highlights this week

(American) FOOTBALL X (Global) FOOTBALL, aka SOCCER

Check out this interesting article on The Athletic comparing the TV ratings for the Super Bowl and the Men's World Cup Final. Long story short, the Super Bowl was watched by 113 million people in the US?+ 40 million abroad, while the World Cup final was watched by 26 million people in the US + a humongous sum of 1.5 billion people around the globe. It's interesting?how The Athletic says that it's an apple-to-oranges comparisons (read why in their article) and how they conclude that "the Super Bowl isn’t going to become the most-watched sporting event on Earth, and the FIFA World Cup — nor anything else — is likely going to oust the NFL title game from its domestic throne". Honestly, as much of a die-hard soccer fan as I am and as much as I want it to dethrone all other sports here in the States someday, I have to agree with them.?

GULF (FOOTBALL) WAR

With Man City under UAE ownership and Man Utd?potentially converging to Qatari ownership (by the way, the club’s shares jumped 10% — the highest close since the Glazer family listed the club on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012, because of the "soft deadline", whatever that is, that the club imposed for bidders, which, by the way is today), now it looks like Tottenham Hotspur is the next prize in this Middle Eastern ownership race. Jahm Najafi, an Iranian-American billionaire who serves as the chair of investment company MSP Sports Capital, is reportedly preparing a $3.75bn bid for the club. The bid would propose that MSP and its partners provide funds for 70% of the purchase price, with backers from the Gulf region to supply the remaining 30%. The most recent news is actually that the BBC reported that Tottenham owner ENIC Group isn’t interested in selling and is "committed to the club’s long-term plans"... If you ask me (I know you didn't), this is the classic game of let-me-say-I'm-not-selling-so-I-can-spike-the-price-up. Let's wait and see... In the meantime, don't miss The Athletic's "Analysed: Every Premier League club’s shirt sponsorship deal".

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BELIEVE!

Apple has announced that 'TED LASSO' Season 3 will premiere March 15th. I know that there are more relevant news below, but I'm a fan, so please excuse me. Thanks.?

Other relevant US & Canada Soccer business news

MLS has appointed the IMG agency and outside broadcast and services provider NEP Group to support live match and studio productions ahead of the start of its 10-year streaming deal with Apple. It was announced that IMG and NEP will “power” event production for over 900 matches and over 2,000 hours of live coverage, as well as the production of live studio programming on MLS Season Pass, the league’s new streaming service which debuted on February 1.

In related news, DirecTV will become the national provider of MLS Season Pass, a new subscription service from Apple and Major League Soccer, to commercial establishments such as bars, lounges and restaurants.?

Sportico reports that Atlanta United is the only exception amongst MLS teams -- all of them have been preparing for the upcoming season in camps across the United State, except for Atlanta United, who chose to train in Mexico for the preseason for the third time, "aiming to gain a training edge, expand their brand south of the border and connect with its growing Latino fanbase".

MLS expansion team St. Louis City SC has decided to put its search for a new stadium naming rights sponsor on the back burner ahead of the club's debut season. In October, St. Louis City SC renamed its new home facility CityPark after the club and local healthcare company Centene Corp. terminated a planned 15-year naming rights deal for the 22,500-capacity, $458m stadium after just eight months.

Canada's women's national team decided to take part in the SheBelieves Cup tournament after the threat of legal action by Canada Soccer forced the players to drop a planned strike. The players had released a statement saying that the federation was not properly supporting the team, five months from the start of the?Women's World Cup.

Other relevant Global Football business news

UEFA bears “primary responsibility” for the scenes that marred the 2021-22 Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid at Stade de France, according to a review commissioned by European football’s governing body, with a series of recommendations issued to bolster the operations of its major events. As well as highlighting Uefa's organisational mistakes, the report criticises the French authorities for "wrongly inflated and exaggerated" claims that ticketless fans tried to gain entry into the stadium, stating that this was an attempt to "deflect from responsibility for planning and operational failures”.

FIFA selected Saudi Arabia as the host of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup, which is scheduled to take place from December 12 to 22. The decision was taken unanimously at a meeting of the FIFA Council and follows the staging of the delayed 2022 event in the United Arab Emirates last week, when Real Madrid beat Saudi outfit Al Hilal in the final. Let's not forget Al Hilal beat flamengo in the semifinal, which is not really important to the context as a whole, but just something we shouldn't forget.?

Talking about FIFA and its billion-dollar ventures, the entity recently reported it generated $7.6 billion in 2022, out of which a broadcast income of $2.96bn in 2022, fuelled by media rights deals for the World Cup in Qatar.?It also reported that it anticipates $11 billion in revenue from 2023 to 2026, with the next World Cup happening in North America.

The Premier League and EA are nearing an extension doubling the rights fees paid under the current deal. The league’s 20 clubs were briefed last week on a six-year extension worth nearly $600 million. The Premier League will receive $97 million annually — nearly $5 million per team.?Although it'll have to drop "FIFA" from its name (the title will now be called “EA Sports FC”) EA continues to own the global football landscape when it comes to gaming. In 2021, EA agreed to an extension with UEFA that came with the exclusive rights to the UEFA Champions League; last August, La Liga and EA agreed to a five-year deal worth a reported $30.5 million annually; and, also last year,?EA and MLS — partners since 1999 — extended their current deal.

Chelsea Women manager Emma Hayes has asked for soccer officials in the UK to consider a closed league. Like all professional soccer leagues in the UK, the England’s Women’s Super League currently operates a promotion and relegation system.

Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, the co-owners of Premier League club Aston Villa, have announced that their holding company V Sports has purchased a 46% stake in Portuguese Primeira Liga club Vitória de Guimar?es.

LaLiga has teamed up?with the Iberian arm of French production and distribution company Banijay to launch LaLiga Studios, a new sports-focused content production company. LaLiga Studios will produce audiovisual content for LaLiga, clubs, sponsors and broadcasters, and work with international platforms and brands to develop, produce and distribute entertainment, documentary, fiction and animation content.?

Still in Spain, FC Barcelona’s Spotify Camp Nou is set for a $1.6 billion revamp. The club is looking to raise the funds from private debt investors and courting investors in the U.S. private placement market.

The head of China’s national soccer federation has been arrested on corruption charges in the latest blow to the country’s effort to grow its standing at home and internationally. The other good news coming from China is that Chinese Super League clubs are now required by the Chinese Football Association to establish a women’s soccer team in order to participate in the upcoming season.?