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The Football Association are having a beauty parade of agencies to develop an initial brand strategy for a five-nation (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland) 2030 World Cup, despite the chances of a successful bid to host the tournament being described by insiders as ‘somewhere between slim and zero’.
As Sportsmail has reported, UEFA’s likely preferred option is the joint bid from Spain and Portugal.
All of the above would no doubt be rendered meaningless if China decides to step into the fray, although they would need a change in statutes on FIFA’s rotation policy to succeed.
The FA’s five-nation 2030 World Cup proposal has been given a low chance of success
India don’t roll out the carpet for Zak Crawley
Far be it for Sports Agenda to suggest India are stretching home advantage too far during their Test series against England, but the injury to Zak Crawley may suggest differential treatment.
The opener was ruled out for two Tests after slipping outside the dressing rooms on a marble floor in Chennai and injuring his wrist.
Crawley, who could return for this week’s day-nighter, looked across to the home area and noticed a carpet had been rolled down in the hosts’ section, could that possibly be to prevent any injuries to Virat Kohli’s men.
Zak Crawley’s injury in Chennai may suggest differential treatment in favour of the Indians
Only blue cones around here!
Ahead of Everton’s long-awaited win at Anfield, a video surfaced which hinted at the lengths to which the club is willing to go to avoid any reminder of their neighbours on their own turf.
The clip, taken outside the Toffees’ Finch Farm training complex, shows workmen replacing traditional red and white traffic cones with blue ones. When asked what they are doing, one of the workers says: ‘We’re taking the red cones in because we’re at Finch Farm and we’re not allowed to have red cones.’
Echoes there of an incident in 2006 when Manchester City’s head chef came up with a blue sauce to replace ketchup for around 3,500 corporate punters ahead of a Manchester derby.
Laying down the lawn already
Sunderland’s home may become the Stadium of Floating Lights, after the club’s new owner made installing a state-of-the-art playing surface one of his priorities.
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, French heir to a billionaire fortune, is the youngest chairman in England at 23 and is keen to make his mark. The pitch has come in for heavy criticism from boss Lee Johnson and Louis-Dreyfus is ready to fork out £500,000 to sort it out.
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Sunderland’s owner, is set to install a new pitch at the Stadium of Light
He plans to install the same HT Pro hybrid turf system as at Tottenham’s impressive home. The surface will have an integrated pitch-grow lighting system, with lights suspended above the pitch from rails at either end, so it never comes into direct contact with the grass. Grow lights are used in most large stadiums, where stands and partial roof coverings restrict sunlight. However, most use wheel-on structures which can damage the playing surface.
Burnley paint over offensive advert
Burnley’s new owners have been quick to cover up a cheeky pitch-side advertisement that was gaining notoriety. The board, next to the dugout at Turf Moor, was for local firm CWR Scaffolds and featured the slogan ‘for the perfect erection’.
The board remains, but the offending slogan has been painted over.
The club’s new US-based owners are devout Mormons, but the decision is thought to have been made more because the joke was not deemed suitable for a Premier League club.
Burnley have painted over an advertising board with an unsuitable joke from a local firm
Kit blunder set straight
Readers of this column will recall ITV’s head-scratching decision to use clips of Eddie Jones’s England side wearing kit made by Canterbury rather than current RFU suppliers Umbro, who paid around £20m for the privilege last year.
New shots have now been taken and aired for the first time during the victory over Italy earlier this month.
Bassey’s cost himself a medal
Rangers defender Calvin Bassey’s decision to attend a house party last weekend has already backfired after he and four other players were rumbled.
The group are facing lengthy Scottish FA bans as well as sanctions from boss Steven Gerrard, which could put them out for the season.
For Bassey, who joined Rangers from Leicester, such a move would have further ramifications. The 21-year-old has made seven appearances in the league and was three away from passing the threshold needed for a medal at the end of what looks sure to be a title-winning campaign.
Rangers defender Calvin Bassey has landed himself in hot water after attending a house party
The 21-year-old is facing a ban as well as sanctions from Rangers manager Steven Gerrard
Players blown away by Puskas Arena’s pitch
It is safe to say a trip to Hungary mid-season was not a prospect many were looking forward to, after Budapest was chosen as a venue for a number of European matches.
Liverpool and Tottenham headed to the city last week for their Champions League and Europa League clashes, when Covid regulations prevented the matches from being held at the homes of their German and Austrian hosts.
The Puskas Arena has won rave reviews after acting as an impromptu venue this week
Liverpool and Spurs played their European games in Hungary and were said to be ‘blown away’
However, the 67,000-capacity Puskas Arena has won rave reviews, with one insider saying they were ‘blown away’ by the quality of the playing surface and adding that the trip was ‘seamless’.
Manchester City head there this week and it is likely further such matches will be staged in Hungary’s capital.
Scotland’s chilly welcome
The Scottish Rugby Union have done little to ingratiate themselves with the written press at this year’s Six Nations.
First, unlike the RFU and WRU who have done well to accommodate a good number of journalists in a Covid-safe manner at Six Nations games, the Scots only let a handful of largely home-based writers in for the Wales match. They also conducted postcode checks for travellers from south of the border, worried they would bring mutant strains of the virus with them.
The Scottish Rugby Union has not won plaudits with the written press this Six Nations
Those who attended were forced to sit outside for hours after full-time in temperatures as low as -7˚C, some having to file copy from the Murrayfield toilets and their cars to keep warm.
At Twickenham and the Principality Stadium, the set-up is far more civilised and socially-distanced reporters are allowed in the usual press areas for post-match Zoom calls.
Sensible United suffer Covid outbreak
The Covid alert at Manchester United, where several members of the coaching staff have had to self-isolate after three positive tests, comes as a surprise given how rigorous the club have been in abiding by protocols. As an example, visiting Under 23 sides to United’s Carrington training complex have been told they cannot take showers after matches, which has raised eyebrows at some clubs.
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