At the Clarendon Hotel, Dunedin 11/03/2012

Business FC

Lyall Gorman on the new FFA owned and run West Sydney franchise:

"Many fans have asked why we have taken our time in announcing the official club name, logo, colours and home venue ...[t]he major reason for that is that as with any new business, especially as one as important as this one is to everyone, the early key decisions of a business are critical for its successful future and time simply must be taken to get them right."

Read more here:- Business FC

Rescuing The World's Most Vulnerable

"The event was organised by SAFCA in association with Tear Fund, The NZ Soccer Shop, Liberty Christian Church and Auckland City FC.   All proceeds from the day were donated to Tear Fund's Choose Life, Rescue Mothers and Children Programme.

Along with former All White Harry Ngata the launch was attended by Auckland City strikers Manel Exposito and Emiliano Tade along with Auckland City's general manager Terry Kennelly who brought along the Oceania Champions League trophy for the day also.

...

"We really value the impact that Auckland City FC has had on our events to date and it is a privilege to be involved with the club.   Hopefully in the next couple of years we can see some of our top players wear the navy and white of the club's youth team and then hopefully the first team also." [SAFCA founder and Head of Football Matt Jorgensen]"

Read more here:- ACFC players help with SAFCA launch

TEAR Fund Choose LIFE - Rescue mothers and children:- Choose LIFE projects rescuing the world's most vulnerable

Callous disregard

"To take this vital piece of identity away from a team smacks of a callous disregard towards the fans.

...

A football club becomes one’s identity, being a fan is investing a small piece of yourself in that club. To have that identity stripped and marketed to make it seem more attractive in a different country is to whore the club."

"Tan should, perhaps, be reminded that whilst he has bought the limited company that owns Cardiff City, he hasn’t bought Cardiff City FC itself. The “Football Club” as an entity can be difficult to define, remaining just out of reach of those that would seek to package it up to sell it. It rests within all of the supporters, a collection of shared memories and experiences that cannot be bought or sold. It should be of considerable concern to those running the club that a new owner is behaving as if these considerations do not matter, he should be politely reminder that other avenues for his investment money do exist."

Read more here:- Red Mist Descends For The Bluebirds and here Turning From Blue To Red: Cardiff City's Backfiring Rebranding Exercise

Auckland City Football Club: Put your faith in Posa's giants

The All Whites marching on to Spain in 1982 was the greatest footballing moment of my life ...that was until a team of shop assistants, truck drivers, interior decorators, school teachers, window cleaners etc took to the field at the Club World Cup in 2009.

Allez the truck drivers!  Come on the interior decorators!  Forza window cleaners!  Viva shop assistants!  Haway the school teachers! 

Auckland City Football Club - The People's Club

"Remember, real football comes from the heart. The heart will always defeat money."

In 2005 Red Bull took control of SV Austria Salzburg and renamed the club Red Bull Salzburg.  Red Bull also changed the club's colours from its traditional violet (Violette) to red and white.  Then Red Bull infamously said that this was a new club with no history and no records.

In response the supporters set up their own club using the original name SV Austria Salzburg, original crest and original colours.

"People have their choices, we offer heart and passion.  Red Bull offers an event, how can that compete in football?  Look around and all you see are people who love football.  We all love football and that is why we could never give up.  We care only about this club, not Red Bull.  This is football right here.  We'll tell our kids and grandkids that there was once a team formed in 1933 for the people of Salzburg.  That team is still here for the people of Salzburg, playing in violet and white.  We don't have plastic fans.  We are the true Salzburg club."

Read more here:- SV Austria Salzburg: Heart defeats money

"It is to do with corporate whims."

"...I think I would leave, and the comparison between Henry Norris in 1910 and Mr Very-Rich now is instructive.  What Norris did was rescue a failing club [Woolwich Arsenal].  He determined that moving to north London was fundamental to the long term survival of the club, and so he delivered on that.  But the changing of colours, as in the case of Cardiff, and the changing of the name as with SV Austria Salzburg, is nothing to do with the good of the club.  It is to do with corporate whims.  That’s the difference.

But there is more.  There is the question: what happens if Mr Very-Rich gets up and goes away?  Or worse, turns out to be a crook.  That then is the problem.  Rangers, let us not forget, were incredibly successful in Scotland, winning the league nine times in a row, among other things.  Portsmouth won the FA Cup in England.  And now both are… well, in a mess."

Read more here:- If trophies were on offer where do you draw the line?  Move ground?  New colours?  New name?

"with a view to exploiting and maximising its brand and commercial revenues..."

"I think the club will be even more popular in Malaysia if it is rebranded Kuala Lumpur FC and plays its home games there. If that's the price Blue Birds' fans must pay for premier league football, then it is surely a price worth paying." - BBC online commentator

Read more here:- Cardiff City confirm re-branding

Brothers in Arms: SV Austria Salzburg fans tell it like it is.

C.A.P Ciudad de Murcia: Rising from the ashes and reclaiming football

"Twelve hours after the final whistle had gone in El Classico, we were waking up to go to an honest football match.  Forget the 90,000 in the Camp Nou and the hundreds of millions watching from every corner of the world, we're bored of that.  It's tedious.  It's overblown.  It's football at a consumer level, with participants so self indulged they've turned it into a soap opera.

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After the match it was time for lunch, where there was a grill going in the rudimentary canteen, dishing out the baguettes.  You don't get that at the Bernabeu.  As everyone hung around in the glorious sunshine, you could feel the sense of community that just doesn't appear to exist at the highest level any more.  The club doesn't even employ any match day staff; the fans themselves work the canteen, clean the stand after the match, and sell the merchandise."

Read more here:- Siemprefootball.com - Part One: The History and Siemprefootball.com - Part Two: The Match

Turkey Twizzler FC aka Blackburn Rovers

"For Blackburn in the North, substitute Portsmouth in the South, throw in Rangers in Scotland, an administration here, an administration there.

Welcome to the world of Football the business.  Football the sport died 20 years ago.

So long as fans continue to be seen by businessmen as a never ending "milking of the cow", the game will continue to go down its ruinous route." - BBC Sport online commentator