Football Commentary - February 03

Confederation Cup Every Four Years?

FIFA is considering holding the Confederation Cup every four years in the year before a World Cup rather than every two in response to widespread criticism. The competition has been derided by players and managers alike, with Arsenal's Arsene Wenger calling it a 'Mickey Mouse cup' which places excessive demands on the players after a hard season.
FIFA supreme Sepp Blatter attempted to sidestep criticism by saying fixture congestion was also due to the two-tier Champions League and large domestic commitments.

Champions League To Ditch Golden Goal

UEFA announced that it would introduce a so-called 'silver goal' system to replace a game-ending 'golden goal' in the knockout stages of next season's Champions League and the 2004 European Championships in Portugal.
If a goal is scored in either the first or second period of extra time, the game will continue to the end of that period.

Keane Quits Ireland

Manchester United's Irish captain Roy Keane has announced his retirement from international football. The 31-year-old former Ireland skipper seemed set to return to the international fold following the appointment of Brian Kerr to replace Mick McCarthy as team manager. However in a last minute change of heart, Keane has decided to call it a day, citing medical advice on the condition of a nagging hip problem which was operated on last September.
Keane played 58 times for Ireland scoring nine goals.
Without Keane, Ireland recorded a 2-0 win in Scotland in Kerr's first match in charge.

Breaking news: Keane is now hinting he may yet play for the Republic.

South Korea

Veteran international striker Hwang Sun Hong has been forced to retire due to injury. Hwang, 34, was due to return to K.League Chunnam Dragons, where he started his career, after two seasons each at Kashiwa Reysol and Cerezo Osaka.
Hwang topped the J.League scoring charts in 1999 and hit South Korea's first goal against Poland in last summer's World Cup. Hwang who played in four successive World Cups will take up a coaching position with the Dragons.

Japan

Former South Korean international midfielder Ko Jong Su is on his way to J-League Kyoto Purple Sanga from the K-League's Suwon Blue Wings.

Japan's Stadia

The trophy is in Brazil. The fans have gone home. European leagues have kicked off a new season. What then of the many purpose-built stadiums in Japan? What has become of the venues that only two months ago played host to fans from around the world?

In order to avoid falling into the red, according to the Asahi Shinbun, the municipalities that had the stadiums constructed are now scrambling to find tenants and uses for the venues. Some have remodeled for all weather use; others have sponsored contests to come up with ideas for how to best use them.

The city of Kobe put up $193 million as its share in the construction of Wing Stadium. So that it would be managed efficiently, the city has had building company giants Obayashi and Kobe Steel manage the site. Still, annual maintenance fees alone are more than $5 million. City officials recognize that "soccer alone" is not going to fill the Stadium. The local soccer team, Kobe Vissel, has twenty home games in a year in the fist division of Japan's J-League. The revenue from these games however will not cover the maintenance fees; as a result, the city is trying to line up rugby and American football games. In addition, restaurants, a gym, a heated pool are all under construction and will be open to the public next spring. A flea market is even being considered.

Farther north in Sendai, Miyagi Stadium is also struggling. In September, it will play host to the aging Japanese boy-band SMAP; after that, though, it is only booked for twenty days through March 2003. Like Kobe, the city of Sendai has a first division J-League team, Vegalta. Its twenty annual dates are, like Vissel's, not enough to keep the stadium in the black.

In Kyushu, Oita's Big Eye Stadium requires $8 million to maintain; estimated revenues for the coming year are less than one-fifth of that.

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