The Archive

With huge numbers of fans travelling to France without any hope of getting a ticket, the process is clearly favouring the rich and famous. Without a system change, the streets of Paris could be full of angry fans from all nations. A recipe for disaster?

You'll remember the advert broadcast before the England v Chile friendly in March. After running down a list of the qualities to be found in the England squad, the narration ended in a sneering challenge: “Come on Chile, the boys are waiting.” It could just as easily have been an invitation to a fight as a football match. As a symbol of arrogance headed for a fall (you’ll recall the result too), it was a neat example of how the build-up to this World Cup has gone.

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Obsessing over your team will only lead to trouble

Nothing gladdens the heart of a news editor more than a series of stories in a short space of time which can be neatly and instantly conflated into a Trend. On the weekend of March 28th-29th, football provided such an opportunity with the death of Fulham fan Matthew Fox outside Gillingham’s Priestfield stadium, the attempted assault on referee Gary Willard at Oakwell and a rather less threatening one-man pitch invasion at Goodison Park. An actual attack on a referee at a rugby league match and the felling of a linesman at Fratton Park earlier in the season were also roped to confirm the alarming new (or rather, old) development.

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The Football Task Force pleas for change, reports Matthew Brown

It is easy to be cynical about the Football Task Force. Whatever it comes up with, we know this government of cosy partnerships is hardly going to shake the corporate hand one minute then beat it on the knuckles the next, just because it does nasty things to football fans and their clubs.

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Jon Wainright takes a look at the flashy Chester City chairman, who may soon have to abandon his Aston Martin.

Distinguishing features Generally described as a Manchester based property dealer, but that could mean anything. Mark, a portly, balding, bespectacled chap in his late thirties, drives an Aston Martin and likes to be seen at away games with glamourous female company. Whether these poor women prefer swanky restaurants to Belle Vue and the McCain Stadium, Scarborough on a cold Tuesday night is open to debate.

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An influx of investment is changing football in South America, explain Peter Hudson and Veronica Goyzueta, but it's not necessarily benefitting the clubs on the receiving end

While the conversion of football into big business has raised the hackles of many British supporters, there are few such misgivings in Latin America. The footballing public is largely indifferent, or else open to any change that might improve the stricken finances of their clubs.

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