Football Media

UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) are extremely pleased to announce an increase in the solidarity percentage for the next 2009-2012 UEFA Champions League cycle, starting with the 2009/10 season.

The solidarity percentage for clubs not taking part in the UEFA Champions League, which is earmarked for youth training programmes, will increase from the current 5% to 6.5%. Based on current revenue projections, this means that in the season 2009/10 approximately 55 million Euros would be made available for re-distribution to these clubs via the national associations and professional leagues, which is approximately 23 million Euros more than the last season of the previous cycle. Including the additional allocations also made available to clubs from leagues with no participants in the UEFA Champions League, the solidarity pot
will amount up to approximately 67 million Euros.

Additionally, the solidarity amounts paid to clubs eliminated in the qualifying stages of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League will also increase. UEFA President, Michel Platini, said: “We are in agreement with the ECA and are grateful for their support as we have always insisted that a percentage of the revenues generated by the UEFA Champions League be re-distributed, via the principle of solidarity, back to those clubs that are not directly participating in the competition. Together with the ECA, we are committed to supporting top division clubs’ youth development activities, in compliance with the national youth development programmes.”

The European Club Association Chairman, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, is also satisfied with this outcome saying: “Since its founding, a little more than a year ago, ECA has been working hard on increasing the solidarity among clubs. We represent 137 clubs from all over Europe, so we are extremely pleased that not only the top ones will share the success of this wonderful competition. This decision shows that the European football family is truly united in these delicate financial times.”

Verizon Wireless Copa Alianza, El Sueno de Tu Vida, and Copita Alianza headline slate of national Alianza events for 2009

Alianza de Futbol Hispano, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to the development and support of amateur Hispanic soccer, today officially announced the 2009 calendar for its national Hispanic soccer properties, including the prestigious Verizon Wireless Copa Alianza 2009 adult tournament, the highly successful El Sueno de Tu Vida national scouting program, and the newly created Copita Alianza youth tournament.

“Alianza continues to make amazing strides year after year in its reach and scope,” said Brad Rothenberg, Co-Founder and President of Alianza. “Our longevity, growth, and continued success are true indicators of our unique ability to help our partners reach out to, and connect with, the exploding Hispanic soccer community and their families.”

The Verizon Wireless Copa Alianza is the largest and most prestigious national Hispanic amateur soccer tournament in the nation. Entering its sixth year, the tournament has continuously provided the best adult Hispanic teams and players in the country an unparalleled opportunity to showcase their talents and compete at an extremely high level. The 2009 tournament season kicks-off on April 11th in Phoenix, AZ, and continues through October in ten cities nationwide (see schedule below). At the conclusion of each local Verizon Wireless Copa Alianza tournament, the Copa Alianza city champion will compete against a professional Mexican Primera Division A team (reserve club) or a reserve MLS club in front of their hometown fans. Participating Mexican clubs in 2009 will include Chivas, Club America, and Atlas, among others.

Returning for its second year is the El Sueno de Tu Vida presented by Sears, a national scouting program, the only national showcase tour for Mexican League and MLS teams to scout soccer talent specifically in the U.S. Hispanic community. The program is part of a partnership among Alianza, Fox Sports en Espanol, and Sears.

El Sueno de Tu Vida had an extremely successful debut in 2008: 18 players from around the country received formal tryout invitations from MLS and Mexican professional teams, with four of the players eventually going on to sign professional contracts. Additionally, three players received college scholarships after being scouted during the El Sueno tryouts. One of the players discovered by El Sueno scouts, Victor Sanchez of Chicago, is now a member of the U-17 Mexican National team player pool after signing a contract with Mexican club Santos Laguna in November 2008.

In 2009, Alianza’s team of scouts will be comprised of some of Mexico’s most accomplished and influential talent evaluators, including Jose Enrique Vaca, Jose Luis Ortega, Daniel Ahmed, Memo Vazquez Jr. and Jose Manuel Abundis. As part of the scouting process in each city, 18 players will be chosen to compete on the El Sueno de Tu Vida Local All-Star Team, which will play a game against a visiting Mexican Primera Division A or MLS reserve team during the third weekend of the events. Four players from each city’s All Star team will be further selected to a national player pool of 40 finalists for the National All-Star Team, which will play against America “Primera A” in Los Angeles in a nationally televised game by Fox Sports en Espanol on October 18th.

In order to expand the scope and reach of its professional and college scouting efforts in 2009, Alianza has added a youth division to the Verizon Wireless Copa Alianza, and to the El Sueno de Tu Vida scouting program. The Copita Alianza tournament, which will be played concurrently with the adult tournament, together with the youth scouting program, will offer players 16 years of age and younger an opportunity to be scouted by both professional teams and college coaches, while providing Alianza’s professional talent evaluators access to an age group young enough to be groomed and trained to become future impact players at the professional level in Mexico or in the United States.

“One of the primary reasons Alianza continues to grow and improve is because we fine tune our product according to the feedback we get from our players, corporate partners, and professional support staff,” said Brad Rothenberg. “The soccer community, including our own professional team of scouts, and important members of the US soccer establishment, suggested that we expand the scouting program’s reach to include younger players, in order to better service the needs of professional clubs and we are delivering. With the addition of the youth component, Alianza promises even greater reach with El Sueno de Tu Vida presented by Sears, and even more life-changing success stories to report in 2009.”

Alianza de Futbol Hispano’s 2009 lineup of national sponsors includes: Verizon Wireless, Fox Sports en Espanol, and Sears.

COPA ALIANZA 2009 CALENDAR

CITY DATE CITY DATE

Phoenix, AZ April 11-26 Chicago, IL June 27 – July 12
Houston, TX April 25 – May 10 Denver, CO July 18- August 2
Dallas, TX May 9 – 24 Los Angeles, CA August 8 – August 23
Atlanta, GA May 23- June 7 San Francisco, CA August 22 – September 6
New York, NY June 6 – June 21 El Paso, TX September 19 -October 4

Alianza de Futbol Hispano

Founded in 2004, Alianza de Futbol Hispano is the leading, national organization dedicated to the support and development of amateur, Hispanic soccer in the United States. Through its sponsored local, regional and national tournaments, the organization brings together and showcases the talents of Hispanic amateur players nationwide. Alianza and its corporate partners reach out to a growing community of hundreds of thousands of Hispanic soccer players and their families. The 2008 edition of the Alianza tournament had a total attendance of more than 115,000. For more information, visit www.alianzadefutbol.com.

Source: Alianza de Futbol Hispano