Coindesk: Soccer Body UEFA Scores 'Successful' Blockchain Ticketing Trial
The Union of European Football Associations, or UEFA as it's more commonly known, has just announced the completion of a "successful" trial of a mobile ticketing app built with blockchain.
Aimed to make ticket sales for soccer matches "more simple and safe," the effort saw the organization test the app at this week's UEFA Super Cup match between Real Madrid and Atletico de Madrid in the Estonian capital, Tallinn.
The system, UEFA said on its website, is designed to provide secure ticket distribution that can prevent forgery and duplication of tickets.
The trial notably saw UEFA distribute all of the tickets for the Tallinn match that had been sold to the public via the blockchain-based app for iOS and Android.
The ticket distribution system, it said, worked in combination with mobile Bluetooth devices at the entrances of the football stadium.
The full test followed what UEFA called "fine-tuning and improvements" following previous partial trials, including one that distributed 50 percent of tickets at a match in Lyon, France.
UEFA said it plans to continue developing the system with the intention of using it at other football events going forward.
Transfers Update: All the latest transfer news and rumours, as reports suggest Paul Pogba is keen to push through a move to Barcelona.
TRANSFER HEADLINES
Pellegrini rules out Yaya Toure move
Zaha signs new Crystal Palace deal
Papers: Jose-Pogba hit new low after row
Godin: I did not 'use' Man Utd
Ospina set for Napoli medical
Roberts joins Girona on loan
Mainz agree N’Koudou loan
Lafferty to Rangers 'not inevitable'
Dyche defends Hart signing
Cheryshev joins Valencia on loan
Sessegnon unfazed over transfer talk
Utd confident over new De Gea deal
Which PL stars could still leave?
EFL clubs can seal loans to Aug 31
European deadline Aug 31
For more info, go to:
SkySports @ http://www.skysports.com/transfer-centre
ESPN @ http://www.espn.com/soccer/transfers
One Football: Association of Spanish Footballers fumes at LaLiga's US agreement
LaLiga has struck a deal that could see Spanish top-flight games hosted in America and the country's players' union has expressed its anger.
The Association of Spanish Footballers has criticised LaLiga's deal with a multinational media, sports and entertainment company that is set to see top-flight games hosted in the United States.
On Thursday LaLiga and Relevent, the group behind the International Champions Cup, announced a 15-year partnership that includes plans to bring regular-season league games to America for the first time.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas expressed his hope that the arrangement would "give a major impulse to the popularity of the beautiful game in the USA and Canada", yet Spain's players' union has reacted angrily to the proposals.
A statement from The Association of Spanish Footballers read: "In relation to the agreement that LaLiga and the company Relevent have signed, AFE shows its strongest protest.
"LaLiga dispenses with the opinion of the players and engages them in actions that only benefit them, regardless of the health and risks of the players, and much less the feeling of the social masses of the clubs they will force to compete in North American territory once a season.
"David Aganzo, president of the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE), makes his complaint public and points out that 'the footballer is not a currency that can be used in businesses that only benefit third parties'."
One Football: Monaco chief admits Real Madrid still can't get over missing Mbappé
Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev has claimed that Real Madrid chief Florentino Pérez is still harbouring a grudge over their failure to sign Kylian Mbappé.
The teenage sensation left the principality club last summer to sign for Paris Saint-Germain, firstly on a season-long loan which then turned into a €160m move during this summer’s window.
Los Blancos were believed to be one of the clubs most keen on signing the striker, seeing the France international to be the heir to Cristiano Ronaldo’s throne.
However he slipped through their fingers and opted instead to stay in Ligue 1 and join Les Parisiens.
And the Monaco man has admitted that his Madrid counterpart is still giving him grief 12 months on.
“We are friends but every time that I see Florentino Pérez, he always blames me for not selling him Kylian Mbappé,” Vasilyev told RMC Sport.
One Football: Documentary reveals what Pep Guardiola said after Old Trafford win
Manchester City’s new Amazon documentary is out everywhere on Friday but we’re slowly getting drip-fed some brilliant snippets.
We’ve already seen the spine-tingling trailer and the clip of Pep Guardiola berating his players during half-time of their FA Cup defeat to Wigan last season.
But the Manchester Evening News have, ahead of its release tomorrow, fuelled the fires by revealing what the coach said after the Citizens went to Old Trafford and won last December.
“You killed them [United] while playing football,” Guardiola is filmed telling the squad after their 2-1 win. “And even in the bad moments you were there, guys. You were outstanding.
“We travelled there to our neighbours and showed what we are. And you did it, guys, that’s why you deserve all my respect. It’s all in our hands.
“Only Manchester City can lose the Premier League right now.”
In a lovely little dig, apparently script writers then have narrator Ben Kingsley say in voiceover: “Guardiola versus Mourinho once more: Possession versus defence; attacking football versus park-the-bus.”
Ouch.
ESPN FC: Counting the cost of Nigeria's football crisis
On Tuesday, FIFA showed that it had run out of patience with Nigeria due to the continued crisis in the country's domestic football, and sent a letter warning that if the issues were not resolved by August 20, Nigeria would face instant suspension.
The news prompted Nigeria's acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, to call a meeting with both NFF president Amaju Pinnick and Sports Miniser Solomon Dalung on Wednesday.
Osinbajo did not, however, meet with Christopher Giwa, who is leading the group claiming leadership of the NFF, and who took over the NFF offices last month.
FIFA's loss of patience and the Presidency's intervention could be the final pieces required to hurtle the process over the line of peace.
In the meantime however, Nigerian football has suffered a number of setbacks since the years-long simmering dispute between its leaders boiled over properly in July.
Suspended Leagues
The Nigeria Professional Football League went on recess ahead of the World Cup in June. The competition was due to resume after the tournament in July... Until trouble broke out.
Conflicting directives, shifting of personnel, and general uncertainty meant the league could not re-start. The League Management Company took a decision to suspend the league pending the resolution of the crisis.
As a consequence, the league has been in stasis. Teams train on a daily basis without knowing when they will play a competitive game. Instead, they have been forced to play friendless against each other to keep their players in shape.
Some of the league's best players have taken the opportunity to move to other countries during the transfer window. Last season's top scorer Anthony Okpotu and Akwa United's Gabriel Okechukwu are among high profile players who have left.
And it is not just the NPFL. The second and third tier leagues, as well as the women's league, are also in stasis awaiting an end to the saga.
Technical partners La Liga also suspended the NPFL Under 15 Promises tournament, from where a bunch of the current under 17 players were discovered last year.
Internationals in jeopardy
Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. Key to that was a home loss to Congo Brazzaville in the opening game of the qualifiers.
That game fell at the height of the start of this leadership battle. With the NFF paralysed by the Giwa court order, preparations for that qualifier were haphazard at best.
The Super Eagles ended up losing that game 3-2 to Congo, their first home loss in 33 years.
Nearly four years after, the same script is set to play out. Nigeria are already down a home loss from the opening round of the qualifiers. With less than a month to go until the next round, the NFF secretariat has been paralysed by the crisis.
Another loss would heavily compromise the Super Eagles' chances of making it to Cameroon next year. And a FIFA ban, if it comes, would mean the country would be thrown out of the qualifiers altogether.
The under-17 and under-20 teams also risk being tossed out of their respective qualifiers, while the Super Falcons could end up unable to take part in the Women's Afcon in Ghana in November.
Commerce compromised
Over the last two years Amaju Pinnick's NFF has negotiated some stunning record sponsorship deals for Nigerian football.
Those deals played a large part in ensuring that Nigeria not only had their best preparation going into the World Cup, but also did not have any bonus rows before, during, or after the tournament.
Some of those sponsorships, as well as new ones, are now in danger. Premium partner Aiteo issued a press release threatening to withdraw from their combined N5 billion deal to sponsor both the national teams and the Nigeria Federation Cup if the crisis is not resolved.
Equipment partners Nike, whose two and half year deal expired at the end of the World Cup, were due to sign an improved long term deal within a couple of weeks of the end of the tournament, but that has not yet happened.
A major broadcast deal for the NPFL was also due to be formalised last month but had to be put on hold.
ESPN FC: PSG sign Schalke defender Thilo Kehrer on five-year contract
Paris Saint-Germain have completed the signing of defender Thilo Kehrer from Schalke on a five-year contract.
The 21-year-old arrives at Parc des Princes for a fee in the region of €37 million after moving into the final 12 months of his previous deal in Gelsenkirchen.
The French champions had been courting Bayern Munich's Jerome Boateng since coach Thomas Tuchel's arrival, but Schalke announced on Sunday that a deal had been reached subject to Kehrer's medical.
Kehrer, who was on Stuttgart's...
Bleacher Report: Manchester United Dismiss Jose Mourinho, Paul Pogba Rift Rumours as 'Nonsense'
Manchester United have denied reports of a rift between manager Jose Mourinho and record signing Paul Pogba, labelling the stories as "absolute nonsense."
According to Chris Wheeler of the Daily Mail, Pogba wants to leave the club after falling out with the coach, with Barcelona said to be keen to sign him this summer. It's said Mourinho is trying to keep Pogba onside and that's why he was named captain for the 2-1 win over Leicester City on Friday.
However, according to Sky Sports News, the Red Devils have completely dismissed the prospect of a fallout and have described the dynamic between the pair "good."
Per Kevin Palmer of the Irish Independent, Sky Sports' James Cooper said there's anger from United at the reports. "They are angry, they're incensed, they're telling me there was no bust up between Mourinho and Pogba," Cooper said.
As relayed by Sky Sports, Pogba spoke to reporters after the 2-1 win over Leicester and hinted all was not well between the pair. "If you're not happy, you cannot give your best," he said. "There are things that I cannot say otherwise I will get fined."
Pogba missed the majority of the team's pre-season training following his involvement in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He was outstanding in that competition as France romped to glory, and Pogba shone in the final, scoring a brilliant goal in the 4-2 win.
The signs on Friday were positive for Pogba as he returned to action in United colours, as he netted an impudent penalty and controlled proceedings in the victory.
Alex Shaw of ESPN believes the former Juventus man is ready for more responsibility at Old Trafford.
There are doubts about whether Mourinho feels the same, though, and whether Pogba will remain a United player beyond this month with summer transfer windows still open for some leagues in Europe.
Under Mourinho, the United No. 6 has not shown his best on a consistent basis. Pogba's lapses in concentration and poor choices in possession have hindered the Red Devils at times, although there have also been times when he's been used in unfamiliar positions.
As relayed by BBC Sport's Simon Stone, Mourinho seemed delighted with the player's performance against Leicester.
If Mourinho can get the Pogba that performed to such a high standard at the World Cup playing for United this season, then the Red Devils will have a huge force in central midfield. However, given how the Frenchman's form has been inconsistent for his club, fans will want to see a string of displays from the playmaker before rushing to judgement.
Mourinho will be vital to Pogba finding that continuity in his game, and if their relationship is indeed "good," then it would be no shock to see the player kick on for his club this year.