FC Barcelona have already beaten FC Internazionale Milano once at home this season and they need a repeat performance if they are to claim a place in next month’s UEFA Champions League final.

José Mourinho’s visitors may have performed well on their travels in recent rounds but they lost 2-0 at the Camp Nou in November and have never won a semi-final away leg in Europe’s elite club competition.

The Italian champions hold the upper hand in the tie, however, despite Pedro Rodríguez’s 19th-minute strike at San Siro. Wesley Sneijder levelled on the half-hour, and second-half goals from Maicon (48) and Diego Milito (61) left Barcelona with plenty of work to do in the second leg.

For two-time winners Inter, the goal is a first final appearance since 1972. Josep Guardiola’s Barcelona, by contrast, are looking to take the penultimate step towards becoming the first team since Inter’s neighbours AC Milan 20 years ago to win back-to-back European crowns.

In a contest rich in sub-plots, Inter coach Mourinho returns once more to the club he served as assistant coach and he is not alone, with Nerazzurri players Samuel Eto’o, Thiago Motta and Ricardo Quaresma all having enjoyed spells at the Camp Nou.

Mourinho served as an assistant to the late Sir Bobby Robson and Van Gaal at Barcelona from 1996 to 2000.

As Chelsea manager Mourinho oversaw a 5-4 aggregate defeat of Barcelona in the 2004/05 first knockout round but suffered a 3-2 overall loss at the same stage the next season. The 2006/07 campaign brought another reunion, this time in the group stage, with Chelsea finishing above Barça after a 1-0 home win and 2-2 away draw.

Guardiola played in Italy between 2001 and 2003, making 24 appearances in Serie A for Brescia Calcio and another four for AS Roma. Inter forward Diego Milito, 30, could line up against his 29-year-old brother Gabriel of Barcelona. The Argentinian siblings played together for two seasons with Real Zaragoza between 2005 and 2007.

Watch LIVE Inter vs Barcelona on UEFA.com website

ARD and ZDF appointed Official Broadcasters of UEFA EURO 2012™

UEFA announced an agreement with ARD and ZDF for the broadcasting rights of UEFA EURO 2012™ in Germany.

The two public broadcasters have been long-term partners of UEFA for national team competitions in Germany and had a very successful coverage of UEFA EURO 2008™ in terms of audience figures.

The deal will ensure extensive free-to-air coverage with 27 matches live via channels Das Erste and ZDF. Dedicated magazines and highlights programmes will complement the offering on both broadcasters. In addition, coverage of the competition will also be made available via internet, mobile and radio.

The right to licence the four overlapping matches to other Free-TV channels and all Pay-TV rights remains with UEFA.

Commenting on the agreement, David Taylor, CEO of UEFA Events S.A. said:

“UEFA is delighted to renew this agreement with ARD and ZDF, two long-standing and experienced partners in broadcasting major sports events.

“Having established a very good relationship with both broadcasters, UEFA is looking forward to providing a unique viewing experience to football fans in Germany by offering an extensive coverage of UEFA EURO 2012TM.”

Spanish-language coverage of the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup begins on Wednesday, December 9th at 12:30pm ET with the preliminary match between Al Ahli (UAE) and Auckland City FC (NZL). The contest continues through Saturday, December 19th with the Championship Final airing on Fox Sports en Espanol at 11:00am ET.

FIFA Club World Cup is the competition between the leading clubs from all six continental confederations. Since 2007, the champions of Oceania have played a qualifying play-off against the champion club of the host country. In 2008, Manchester United (ENG) won its first FIFA Club World Cup by defeating first time participants and finalists, LDU Quito, (ECU) by 1-0.

In 2009, the event will be hosted outside of Japan for the first time ever as it travels to United Arab Emirates “Abu Dhabi”.

DAY DATE AIRTIME (ET) MATCH
Wednesday 12/09/2009 12:30 PM PRELIMINARY – Al Ahli FCD (UAE) v Auckland City FC (NZL)
Friday 12/11/2009 11:00 AM QUARTER FINAL – TP Mazembe (COD) v Pohang Steelers FC (KOR)
Saturday 12/12/2009 11:00 AM QUARTER FINAL – Winner Game 1 v Atlante FC (MEX)
Tuesday 12/15/2009 11:00 AM SEMI FINAL – Winner Game 2 v Estudiantes LP (ARG)
Wednesday 12/16/2009 8:00 AM FIFTH PLACE MATCH – Loser Game 2 v Loser Game 3
Wednesday 12/16/2009 11:00 AM SEMI FINAL – Winner Game 3 v FC Barcelona (ESP)
Saturday 12/19/2009 8:00 AM THIRD PLACE MATCH – Loser Game 4 v Loser Game 5
Saturday 12/19/2009 11:00 AM FINAL – Winner Game 4 v Winner Game 5

*For a complete telecast schedule, visit www.fifa.com.

Source: Fox Sports en Espanol

FIFA announced a landmark deal with China Central Television (CCTV) covering the broadcasting of different FIFA tournaments on CCTV from now to 2014, including the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups™.

CCTV made a strong commitment to show not only matches from the FIFA World Cups™ but also from other FIFA events and tournaments such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ and the different FIFA World Cups for young players.

The agreement is the first of its kind in the history of both Chinese sport and FIFA. Extending broadcast coverage of football in the world’s most populated country also represents an important step in developing and strengthening the game worldwide.
We believe that this is the start of a long-term cooperation that will help to further strengthen football in China PR and make it even more popular.

FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke

“FIFA is delighted to have reached such a significant agreement with CCTV,” FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said after the contract was announced today in Beijing. “We believe that this is the start of a long-term cooperation that will help to further strengthen football in China PR and make it even more popular.”

“Since its broadcast of the first FIFA World Cup match in 1978, CCTV has enjoyed over thirty years of constructive cooperation with FIFA,” said CCTV’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief Li Ting. “The partnership between the two organisations will further improve the quality of CCTV’s long-term strategy in covering football.”

The agreement between FIFA and CCTV ensures that the world’s most popular sport will be broadcast free-to-air throughout China PR. This will greatly benefit promotion of the game of football in a country where it is enjoyed by hundreds of millions of fans.

FIFA has already organised a number of competitions in China PR including the Olympic Football Tournaments in 2008 and the FIFA Women’s World Cups™ in 1991 and 2007.

CCTV is China PR’s national television station, with its 38 channels attracting more than a billion viewers throughout the country. CCTV was previously the media rights holder for the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups™, as well as the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2007™ and the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009.

Agreement covering 36 European territories

UEFA announced an exclusive agreement for the broadcasting rights of UEFA EURO 2012™ with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). This deal covers a total of 36 European territories (see list attached). EBU members will be granted the broadcasting rights in 29 of these
36 territories.

In those 29 territories, a minimum of 27 of the 31 matches will be broadcast live on free-to-air channels, as well as dedicated magazines and highlights programmes. Football fans will also be able to enjoy the tournament coverage via the Internet portals and mobile platforms of these official broadcasters as well as via EBU members’ radio stations.

In a further 7 countries, UEFA and the EBU will work together to identify the best platform for the broadcasting of such rights.

Commenting on the agreement, UEFA General Secretary David Taylor said:

“UEFA is delighted to have reached such a significant agreement with the EBU and we are looking forward to working together to offer football fans across Europe an extensive coverage of the competition already during the qualifying phase of the tournament.

“The EBU members are experienced partners in the broadcasting of major international sports events and their expertise, coupled with the leading position in their respective markets, will no doubt be to the benefit of football viewers in Europe.

“To have such a wide-reaching broadcasting platform in place nearly one year prior to the start of the qualifying competition will help promote UEFA EURO 2012™ and is highly positive for the development of European football.”

EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot also expressed his satisfaction:

“I am very pleased that we have reached an agreement with UEFA for UEFA EURO 2012™. The EBU is extremely keen to fully support this unique and spectacular event.”

He went on to say:

“This deal provides UEFA with a strong and reliable broadcast commitment from EBU members and shall enable the further development of this competition and football as a whole”.

Rights attributed via agreement with EBU
29 Territories (Free to Air)
Albania
Armenia
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Estonia
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Georgia
Greece
Iceland
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Moldova
Montenegro
Republic of Ireland
Romania
Russian Federation
Serbia
Slovenia
Switzerland
Turkey

Rights to be attributed in cooperation with EBU
7 Territories
Azerbaijan
Czech Republic
Hungary
Israel
Kazakhstan
Portugal
Slovakia

Barclays Premier League – Fox Sports en Espanol will feature live Spanish-language coverage of the most watched sporting league in the world on Saturdays and Sundays from August to May.

The Barclays Premier League was formed in 1992 with clubs at the top of the English football league system and currently consists of twenty clubs. In a total of sixteen seasons, the title has been won by only four teams: Manchester United with eleven wins, Arsenal with three, Chelsea with two and Blackburn Rovers with one. Manchester United won its 3rd consecutive Premier League title in the 2008-2009 season and will be looking to repeat in 2009-2010.

Italian Serie A – Fox Sports en Espanol will feature Spanish-language live coverage of 144 Serie A matches from August to May on Saturdays and Sundays. Established in its current form in 1929, Serie A is the top division in Italian soccer and consists of 20 clubs. Each year, the bottom three clubs in the league table are relegated to Serie B. The top two clubs from Serie B are then promoted automatically to the Serie A, while the third through sixth place clubs enter a promotion playoff for a final spot in the Serie A. Juventus is the most successful team in the history of Italian football with twenty seven Serie A titles, eleven international titles and is sixth in the world with the most international titles recognized by UEFA and FIFA. In 2009, Inter Milan won their 4th consecutive championship title by defeating Parma in the last round of the season.

WHEN: British Premiere League
Saturdays and Sundays
10AM (live)
Matches: 122
Season: August – May

Italian Serie A
Saturdays and Sundays
9AM (live)
Matches: 144
Season: August – May

WHERE: Fox Sports en Espanol

Source: Fox Sports en Espanol

NTT Electronics Corporation, headquartered in Yokohama City in Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture (hereafter, NTT Electronics) is pleased to announce that its “HV9100 Series” AVC/H.264 HDTV/SDTV encoder/decoder have been selected by Sentech, a state-owned communication service company in the Republic of South Africa, as the codec equipment to be used for HD coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa(TM).

The operation of a broadcast transmission system using the HV9100 Series was started in the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009, which opened on June 14, 2009, as a precursor to the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa(TM).

In the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa(TM), the satellite communications of Sentech will be used for coverage of video from each stadium to the International Broadcast Center (IBC), which is the base for broadcasters from around the world. The NTT Electronics HV9100 Series will be installed (system integrated by Comscience) in all 10 stadiums in various regions of the Republic of South Africa where games will be held, and will be used by Sentech for contribution feeds to the IBC.

“The MPEG-2 format will be used in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but we will also make use of the AVC/H.264 format in the future. The NTT Electronics HV9100 Series meets our needs in that it is compatible with both MPEG-2 and AVC/H.264,” said Mr. Allan Bester, Executive Network Services of Sentech. “The HV9100 Series is also compatible with the 4:2:2 Profile, allowing us to distribute high-definition video of Africa’s first FIFA World Cup in 2010. In addition, the HV9100 Series has already demonstrated outstanding performance in sporting events around the globe such as the Beijing Olympics and thus, we are confident that it will also contribute to high quality video transmission of the FIFA World Cup. Viewers will be able to enjoy full HD coverage from the stadiums.”

The HV9100 Series supports both HD (1080i / 720p) and SD (480i / 576i). It additionally supports, optionally, up to 16 channels of audio input capability and an IP interface. The HV9100 Series gained a great deal of attention right after its release in January 2008, and has already been selected by many broadcasting stations with a broad use ranging from domestic station content transmissions to contributions or distributions in Japan, North America, Europe and Brazil.

Source: NTT Electronics Corporation

Live and exclusive Barclays Premier League action starts on Saturday, August 15th on Setanta Sports

Setanta Sports announced its 2009/2010 Barclays Premier League live and exclusive match schedule in the US. Along with Saturday and Sunday games, Setanta Sports will have midweek, holiday and final season matches. All of Setanta’s Barclays Premier League matches will also be shown on broadband service, Setanta-i.

Setanta’s season opens with new look Manchester City featuring summer acquisition Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz, and Emmanuel Adebayor taking on Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, August 15 at 10am ET. Sunday, August 16th will feature the start of Manchester United’s defense of their crown against Birmingham at 8:25am ET.

Other highlighted live games on Setanta include:
Tuesday, August 18 – Sunderland vs Chelsea
Wednesday, August 19 – Burnley vs Man Utd
Sunday, August 23 – West Ham vs Tottenham
Saturday, August 29 – Bolton vs Liverpool
Sunday, August 30 – Portsmouth vs Man City

An updated list of Setanta’s Barclays Premier League schedule can be viewed on: www.setanta.com/us/Our-Sports/Soccer/Barclays-Premier-League

“We are proud to continue our coverage of the Barclays Premier League amidst a time of huge growth of the sport in the United States,” commented Managing Director, Roger Hall. “We are confident that this season will be one of the most exciting with the introduction of new top teams and talents, such as American newcomer Jozy Altidore to Hull City.”

Along with the highly anticipated Barclays Premier League season, Setanta Sports will continue to air top quality UEFA Champions League games every match day, with up to 110 matches showing on Setanta during the season. In addition, Setanta will have extensive coverage of games from the FA Cup, French Ligue 1, Coca-Cola Championship, Carling Cup, Scottish Premier League, Russian Premier League and more.

www.setanta.com/us

Source: Setanta Sports

Peace Cup Features 12 Top International Club Teams Including La Liga’s Real Madrid, Italy’s Juventus FC and Mexico’s Atlante FC

GolTV, the only live bilingual channel delivering 24/7 international soccer, has acquired exclusive North American TV rights to the 2009 Peace Cup Andalucia in Spain from July 24 to Aug. 2. Only GolTV will deliver coverage of this elite tournament that will feature 12 high-profile international club teams, including Spain’s La Liga powerhouse Real Madrid, Italy’s most successful team in history, Juventus FC, and Mexico’s Atlante FC, the current CONCACAF Champions League titleholder.

“In addition to an action-packed tournament with rare interleague club competition, the 2009 Peace Cup will offer GolTV viewers an exclusive first-look as international soccer stars Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo suit up and take the field as players for La Liga’s Real Madrid,” said Enzo Francescoli, Founder & CEO of GolTV. “This tournament embraces the spirit of the sport, and brings together several of the world’s top clubs with a huge fan base to demonstrate that soccer can unite the world in the name of peace.”

Played every two years, France’s Olympique Lyonnais won the previous Peace Cup in 2007, and will return this year to defend its title against a strong and diverse lineup. Other participants in the 2009 Peace Cup are Spain’s Sevilla and Malaga, Ecuador’s LDU Quito, England’s Aston Vila, Korea’s Seognam, Portugal’s FC Porto, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad and Turkey’s Besiktas JK.

In addition to the 2009 Peace Cup Andalucia, GolTV offers premier coverage of several of the world’s top leagues, including Spain’s La Liga and Germany’s Bundesliga. The all-soccer network also has TV rights for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for the national teams of Germany, Spain and reigning champions Italy, among others. For a current GolTV programming schedule, please visit www.goltv.tv.

GolTV is where soccer lives in the US 24/7, 365 days of the year. Founded in 2003 and led by Chief Executive Officer and former international futbol superstar, Enzo Francescoli, GolTV is the only bilingual US soccer network and the first channel conceived by professional athletes. GolTV is the only all-soccer network with unsurpassed exclusive soccer broadcast rights and an unmatched programming mix that speaks the universal language of soccer. The network brings viewers action from some of the world’s most competitive leagues and elite tournaments, offering over 8,000 hours of soccer action each year and more unique soccer matches than any other network. For more information, visit www.goltv.tv.

Landmark Agreement Brings Europe’s Storied Club Soccer Tournament to Fox Sports en Espanol for Next Three Seasons

Fox Sports en Espanol announced today the acquisition of the U.S. Spanish-language media rights to the UEFA Champions League, Europe’s most prestigious annual club competition, and the yearly UEFA SuperCup match. Fox Sports en Espanol’s exclusive coverage of the Champions League will begin with the playoffs this August and will continue through the 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons, providing an unprecedented level of live and primetime coverage for the tournament in the U.S. Hispanic market.

Under the terms of its agreement with UEFA, Fox Sports en Espanol will televise 94 live and premiere UEFA Champions League and SuperCup matches each season to its 14 million cable and satellite households in the country, of which over 5 million are Hispanic households. Fox Sports en Espanol will also have the rights to broadcast ancillary UEFA Champions League programming, including preview and review shows, archived matches and magazine programs. FSE’s website, http://www.foxsportsla.msn.com/, will feature UEFA Champions League video highlights, as will the Fox Sports Movil offering for video-enabled wireless devices.

“We are thrilled to bring the UEFA Champions League to the first and biggest Spanish-language sports network in the United States,” said David Sternberg, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Fox Sports en Espanol. “This prestigious tournament will strengthen our programming lineup immeasurably and deliver outstanding year-round action on multiple platforms to Latino soccer fans around the country.”

In a statement, UEFA said:

“UEFA is delighted to announce this new media rights deal for the UEFA Champions League in the U.S. and Caribbean with Fox Sports International. The agreement guarantees that football fans throughout the region will benefit from great access to the competition over the next three seasons. UEFA welcomes the commitment demonstrated by Fox Sports International and very much looks forward to developing a successful relationship with this renowned broadcaster during 2009-12.”

Fox Sports en Espanol’s Champions League coverage will include one live and one premiere match telecast per match day — including prime-time transmissions of live offerings from sister networks Fox Soccer Channel and FSN — as well as live pregame and postgame shows from its Los Angeles studios. All live matches will kick off at 2:45 p.m. ET on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the course of the season. Fox Sports en Espanol will also televise a 30-minute Champions League highlight show each Friday.

The UEFA Champions League — first staged in 1955 — features the reigning champion and other top-of-table finishers from each of Europe’s domestic competitions, historically including elite clubs such as Chelsea, Liverpool, FC Barcelona, AC Milan and Bayern Munich. Manchester United is the current defending champion, while Real Madrid has won a record nine titles. The 2008 Champions League final was watched by an estimated 130 million people worldwide.

Fox Sports en Espanol

Reaching more than 14 million cable and satellite households in the country, of which over 5 million are U.S. Hispanic Households, Fox Sports en Espanol is the leader in Spanish-language sports media. We feature premier soccer programming with exclusive coverage of the top leagues and tournaments in Latin America and Europe; coverage of the Major League Baseball regular season, All-Star Game, American League Championship Series and World Series; championship boxing and UFC(R) and mixed-martial arts across four compelling media platforms. With more than 1,600 hours of live and exclusive programming, a robust web site brimming with streaming video, portable content from FSE Movil and the Fox Sports en Espanol Magazine, we are and will continue to be the first name in the U.S. Hispanic sports space.

Fox Sports en Espanol is distributed by Fox Cable Networks Group and operated by Fox Pan American Sports LLC, an international sports programming and production entity jointly owned by HM Capital Partners, LLC and News Corporation’s Fox Sports International. For more information, visit Fox Sports en Espanol online at foxsportsla.msn.com.