Ivory coast : Financial and house reward for the new African champions

         President Alassane Ouattara (left) says the team's victory has united the country

Ivory Coast's football team has been rewarded with millions of dollars in prizes by the country's government for winning the Africa Cup of Nations.

Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara is giving each member of the 23-man squad a house worth $52,000 (£34,000) and the same amount in cash, the government says. The team beat Ghana's Black Stars 9-8 on penalties in the tournament's final in Equatorial Guinea. There were also six-figure rewards for the Ivorian Football Federation and the team's technical staff - in total the government has shelled out more than $3m (£2m) in celebration of the victory.
It wasn't a total loss for Ghana's team, despite their penalty defeat. Each player is being given $25,000 (£16,000) by the team's sponsor, the state-owned Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), a figure that the country's sports minister thinks is a little low. Mahama Ayariga says the bottle-throwing endured by players during their semi-final victory over Equatorial Guinea in Malabo means they deserve their reward. "For those who think that GNPC rewarding the boys with $25,000 is too generous, I wish they were in the stadium" in Malabo, he's quoted as saying in Nigeria's Daily Post. "Then they will know whether $25,000 is worth that kind of experience. I don't even think it is enough."
Source : BBC

Premier League's £5.14bn TV rights deal biggest in the world

Well to start with, the Premier League now has a higher annual income from domestic TV rights than the Gross Domestic Product [GDP] of 30 countries. Not only is the Premier League big in Belize, it's bigger than Belize.

A total of 25,680 libraries could be kept open for a year, or you could buy Gareth Bale 60 times. Alternatively, £5.136bn is six-and-a-half times the amount the Glazers paid to buy Manchester United in 2005.

So it's big. Very big. In practical terms, it means that English football has stolen a march on every other league and every other club in world football. No-one else can compete with this.

It is estimated that from the 2016-17 season, the club finishing bottom in the Premier League will earn £99m in prize money, and the champions £156m. Last season Bayern Munich made £26.69m, Paris Saint Germain £32.62m, Juventus £69.69m and Real Madrid £103.79m.

So while Cardiff, QPR or Leicester may not be able to compete with the likes of Bayern Munich on the pitch, they can dominate them financially off it.

That has a knock-on effect. There has always been talk of a 'premium' on English players, but now there will be a premium on players moving to England. If a club has a choice of selling a player to Everton or Espanyol then you can be sure the price quoted to officials at Goodison Park will be far higher than to those in Spain.

Equally, the players and their advisers will be well rewarded. Last year it was revealed the average Premier League player earns £31,000-a-week. With TV rights going up by 70.2% the footballers themselves will know their worth.

Subsequently the top players in the world will suddenly find the Premier League even more attractive.

And it is at the lower end of the table where that will be felt most. A regular in Chelsea or Manchester City's first-team is unlikely to be having financial issues, but we could soon see the days where an agent demands £80,000 for Stoke's prospective new right-back.

It also makes English clubs even more attractive to investors. The days of custodian ownership have been on the way out for some time, but this proves you can make money out of football clubs. It is hard to believe that any clubs will remain under the ownership of a benevolent fan who will do what is right for the club, or a group of genuine supporters, like the consortium in charge at Crystal Palace, for example.

Rather than owning a football club helping billionaires blow a fortune, it will be an easy way to make one.

Ultimately, the new deal proves that even in times of recession the football bubble shows no sign of bursting.
wow this is amazing!

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