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Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: Soccer-loving Joe Mansueto comes through for Chicago and its Fire
We're longtime fans of The 78, the 62 long-fallow acres of former railroad-owned land bordered by Roosevelt Road to the north, Clark Street to the east, 16th Street to the south, and the South Branch of the Chicago River to the west. It was our preferred site for the Chicago casino, given that it offered excellent existing public transportation, potential river frontage for a convenient suite of waterfront bars and restaurants that could have added to Chicago's riverwalk and would have displaced no one. Once the Lori Lightfoot administration made a different choice for gamblers over this swath of property owned by Related Midwest, we opined last year that the same plot of land would then be an excellent choice for a new stadium for the Chicago White Sox, which could have enjoyed much the same benefits. In both of our editorials, we emphasized another attribute of The 78 that often gets overlooked: its unique geographic ability to activate the potentially symbiotic relationship between Chicago's Loop and both Bronzeville and Chinatown. Its development will remove what for too long has been dead land and thus a psychological barrier that has been a detriment to expanding the economic promise of the South Loop further into a part of the city that we see crucial to Chicago's future. Especially if it is accompanied by housing that could attract young, Black, college-educated professionals who have left the city and who we badly need to return. Can a $650 million soccer stadium for the Chicago Fire, a privately funded plan long known to us as a work in progress but officially announced Tuesday, do all that? It may seem unlikely, but we think it can. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and the city's essential billionaire investor, Morningstar founder Joe Mansueto, is no fool. He has a sense of humor too. We had quite the chuckle over our coffee Tuesday at what he told The Wall Street Journal as he explained why he had chosen just to write a very big check, as distinct from going cap in hand, Chicago Bears-style, to City Hall or Springfield. 'It would definitely slow down the process to have to engage with political leadership to secure financing,' he told the paper. Ya think, Joe? Always easier to pay your own way, especially in Chicago. But huge public benefit can, and we think will, result. Take a look at what has been happening in Nashville thanks to Geodis Park, a 30,000-seat soccer stadium that opened in 2022, is the home of Major League Soccer club Nashville SC and will later this month host three matches as part of the newly expanded 2025 FIFA World Club Cup, putting relatively small Nashville in the company of New York, Miami, Atlanta and Los Angeles, among others (not Chicago). Geodis Park cost around $350 million, an amount almost fully funded by the team and its billionaire owner, John Ingram. As soon as the stadium opened, development around Geodis Park exploded fast. 'Townhomes have replaced older, single residencies and a growing younger demographic has emerged,' The Tennesseean reported on the one-year anniversary of the stadium. Within a matter of months, the paper said, a local development and investment firm had bought 20 duplex rental homes next to the stadium, even as real-estate values near the stadium rose and developers started to build new housing aimed at younger people. Bars and restaurants moved in too. And they're packed whenever there is a game. Fresh infrastructure also arose for ride-shares and scooters and it was hardly lost on Nashville's city leaders that much of this new tax revenue was accruing from families who live outside city limits. Granted, there were naysayers who wanted the neighborhood to stay the same but then that brings us back to the advantages of The 78; it's a big piece of empty land. That's why it was marketed as Chicago's 78th neighborhood, a riff on the 77 official community areas identified by the University of Chicago in the 1920s. All of this, of course, could still fall apart. And as with any big development project in Chicago, there likely will be those who use race and politics to snag a piece of the pie but, as he well knows, Mansueto has insulated himself and his beloved soccer club against most of that. So, as soccer fans, we congratulate Mansueto on getting to The 78 and making a firm plan before all the other players who've tried but sent the ball either wide of over the crossbar. This isn't the first time Manseuto, said by Forbes to be worth close to $7 billion, has used his formidable resources for the good of the city (remember the glory days of Manseuto's Time Out Chicago, which boosted our arts and entertainment scene?) and, of course, the University of Chicago already has myriad reasons to be thankful for one of its graduate's copious amounts of philanthropy. Soccer needs a dedicated stadium where fans can fill the place: Once this gets cooking and FIFA continues its long-overdue efforts to grow the U.S. game, we wonder if 20,000 seats will be enough. We'd have thought The 78 would have room for another 5,000 or 10,000. But that's up to Manseuto and the Chicago Fire, of course. Just as Evanston should be thankful to the Ryan family for the new football stadium at Northwestern University, almost all built with private funds, so Chicago should appreciate Mansueto for this investment in Chicago sport. Frankly, we don't have that many generous and entrepreneurial billionaires left in Illinois, given how we have chased a few of them away. But here's a $650 million reminder of how important they are to a city. They can score goals and give us all something new to cheer. Thanks, Joe.
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
When does the transfer window open? When can Celtic, Rangers and rivals begin to make 25/26 transfers
Here's when Scottish Premiership clubs can start to make transfers, and when the summer transfer window closes. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... With the Scottish Premiership season now over, fans across the country are firmly focussed on the upcoming transfer window as they ponder how their starting XI's may look come the beginning of the 2025/25 season. Rangers takeover from the Andrew Cavanagh-led consortium already has Ibrox regulars dizzy with anticipation as they await news of incoming transfers, while Celtic fans are hopeful of some big name additions as they look to continue their domination of the Scottish Premiership. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hibs, Dundee United and Aberdeen supporters will also be keen to see who their clubs target after qualifying for Europe, while newly promoted sides Falkirk and Livingston will hoping they do enough in the transfer market as they look to establish themselves back in the top flight. But when does the transfer window officially open in the Scottish Premiership - and how long do clubs have to sign players before the transfer deadline arrives? Here is everything you need to know about the 2025/26 Scottish Premiership summer transfer window: Connor Barron is unveiled as a Rangers player last summer. | SNS Group When does the Scottish Premiership transfer window open 2025/26? In a rather unusual fashion, the transfer window is will be split into two separate parts due to the FIFA World Club Cup. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Alongside the English Premier League and several others major league, the Scottish Premiership transfer window opens early this year. It officially opened today (June 1) due to an 'exceptional registration period', this is done to allow participating clubs to sign players to take part in the FIFA Club World Cup. This window closes on Tuesday 10 June. The Scottish Premiership transfer window will then reopen on Monday 16 June. When does the transfer window close UK, when is transfer deadline day The transfer window is scheduled to close on on Monday, 1 September at 7pm BST for Scottish Premiership, England Premier League, and EFL clubs. The phrase 'deal sheet' is being used more frequently on deadline day due to the number of last minute deals often made in the run up to the window closing. A deal sheet effectively means if a deal is agreed between two clubs late in the day, additional time may be given by the Scottish FA to complete and submit relevant documentation and paperwork. This can be sent to authorities to indicate the transfer agreement has been reached. This gives clubs an additional two hours to complete all remaining paperwork that would conclude the deal. Other examples include: Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad League agreements: Clubs are able to agree transfer with teams from other leagues that have closed transfer windows, and then complete the deals once their own window opens Free agents: The most obvious exception is that of free agents. If a player is without a club and available as a free agent, clubs in Scotland are able to sign and register the player without an exception.
DW
5 days ago
- Sport
- DW
PSG and Qatar finally reach Champions League summit – DW – 06/01/2025
When Qatar bought Paris Saint-Germain in 2011, it looked like they would quickly spend their way to the top. They've shed stars for a likeable young side, but it's hard to see this as a win for football. This was a night of firsts. A first Champions League for Paris Saint-Germain. The first time a final has been won by five goals. And a first European trophy for Qatar. "Everyone doubted us," said Qatari club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi after the match. " A lot of people didn't have faith in our project. Today we've proved it. Honestly, I can't believe it, we won 5-0. It's a dream, As PSG coach Luis Enrique and his players bounced joyfully on the Munich pitch before lifting up Al-Khelaifi after a stylish 5-0 dismantling of Inter on Saturday night, Qatar Airways advertising provided both backdrop and a further reminder of the engine of their success. After 14 years of near misses, implosions and the departures of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and the rest of the big names, Qatari Sports Investments, which is operated by the Qatari government, had finally got the statement win it craved. Given that Inter warmed up with Qatar Airways emblazoned on their training kit too, perhaps they couldn't really lose. That Qatar Airways branding is a familiar sight in Munich, with Bayern Munich — who usually play their home matches at this stadium — wearing the logo on their sleeves until the deal ended in 2023, following intense pressure from fans about the country's human rights record. Qatar and Bayern Munich parted, but why? Michael Ott led fan pressure at the time and told DW that football higher-ups will not be forced to cut their ties with countries with questionable human rights records. "It was a deception. You feel a bit betrayed, but I think we expected it," he said of the fact that Bayern signed a new deal, with another country with a questionable record, Rwanda, shortly after they ended their public relationship with Qatar. "All signs were showing the deal wasn't continued because of Qatar and not because of the Bayern officials. There wasn't really a shift in the mindset of the Bayern officials." Bayern Munich fans protested heavily against Qatari sponsorship. This reads: 15,000 dead for 5760 minutes of football. Shame on you. (Photo: November 5, 2022) Image: Jan Huebner/IMAGO Now the win with PSG has even more eyes on Al-Khelaifi, whose claim to be the most important man in football grows ever stronger. As well as being president of PSG, the 51-year-old former tennis player is chairman of the European Clubs Association — which represents the interests of 700 European clubs — is on the executive committee of UEFA — which organizes European football including the Champions League — and on the organizing committee for the upcoming FIFA World Club Cup. He is also a minister without portfolio in the Qatari government and chairman of state-owned broadcaster BeIn Sports, which has bought the rights to the Champions League. Bayern's fans, and German fans in general, tend to object to state ownership of clubs that were once community assets and made the point when PSG visited Munich last November. They raised a huge banner of Al-Khelaifi with a red line through it. The same image was stuck to escalators, walls and benches across the city on Saturday. Paris welcomes Al-Khelaifi Paris, however, seems largely to have welcomed Qatar and Al-Khelaifi. Ott, who now lives in France, said the attitude of PSG fans is "a stark contrast to Germany." "Of course, they have been speaking about human rights problems before the [2022 Qatar] World Cup, but way less than in Germany, and when I speak to the French, most of them care way less than the Germans about this topic," he said. "It has taken longer than we imagined but we have won the Champions League," PSG fan Sebastian told DW shortly after the match. "The players were so good tonight but of course we needed the money from the owners to get here. They have been great for us. This is just about football." As the big screen camera panned to Al-Khelaifi just before the trophy was presented, the crowd greeted him with warm applause. The Qatari reciprocated then took his place in the lineup of dignitaries, hugging each player as they collected their medals. Doue and co. promise bright future About an hour earlier as, Doue, 19, finished yet another sumptuous team move to score PSG's third goal on 63 minutes, it was easy to see just why so many fans don't concern themselves with the ownership question. Two goals from a French teenager in the most dominant Champions League final performances in memory is exactly the kind of story that draws people to the game. Desire Doue scored twice and announced himself to the world Image: Peter Cziborra/REUTERS But Doue isn't quite the homegrown talent narrative of old, he was signed from Rennes for €50 million ($57 million) last year. No other French club has ever spent that much on a player while PSG and Qatar have surpassed it 10 times. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Georgian winger who scored the fourth cost even more, though substitute Senny Mayulu, who added a fifth, has come through the PSG youth system. That mix of smart big money purchases and finally beginning to tap their rich local market of talent will worry more traditional European powerhouses. For the masses of Parisian fans making their way into the Munich night, there seemed to be no worries at all. Edited by Sean Sinico
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Slot Backs Player Health Over Summer Tournament
Arne Slot has made it clear that Liverpool's non-involvement in the upcoming FIFA World Club Cup is far from a cause for concern. As the Premier League champions prepare for a well-earned summer break, their manager struck a composed and confident tone, signalling that rest may serve his players better than another international assignment. Slot, fresh from securing Liverpool's first league title in four years, offered a candid take on the demanding football calendar that awaits his counterparts this summer. Manchester City and Chelsea will fly the English flag at the revamped World Club Cup in the United States from 14 June to 13 July—Liverpool, by contrast, will enjoy a quieter summer. 'In this moment, eight out of ten people who work in this business – maybe even ten out of ten – will feel is it really necessary to have another tournament for these players that already had such a long season,' said Slot. 'I don't think it's healthy for players to only have maybe one week off, then go into the tournament, then have one week off and start the whole Premier League season again. That can never be good for the health of a player.' Slot's remarks echo a growing unease within the managerial ranks. Pep Guardiola has previously voiced frustration about football's ever-expanding schedule, and Slot is firmly in agreement with the City boss. 'I think that is probably what most of us feel,' he added. It's a sentiment gaining traction as elite players face increasingly condensed campaigns, often at the expense of recovery and long-term performance. While fans may relish more high-stakes football, coaches and players are increasingly sounding the alarm on the unsustainable nature of current scheduling. Slot's first week as Premier League champion has been a blend of celebration and simplicity. Having sealed the title with a commanding win over Tottenham last weekend, the Dutchman is taking it all in stride. 'Normal things like shopping for groceries still have to be done,' Slot said with a smile. 'But I go to the shop with a smile on my face!' The celebratory mood will continue this Sunday, with Chelsea set to honour Liverpool with a guard of honour at Stamford Bridge. But Slot's attention is already shifting toward the future. Slot was quick to dismiss the idea that Liverpool will repeat last summer's transfer quietude. 'If I felt we couldn't improve as a team, we would have a problem because I know for sure Manchester City and Arsenal will improve,' he explained. 'That improvement will also come by bringing in new players because that's what they did for so many years. 'We may have set the example (by not buying anyone last summer) but I don't think that is going to happen!' With Liverpool now back at English football's summit, all eyes will be on how they strengthen their squad ahead of a season that includes title defence and Champions League ambitions—but not the World Club Cup.
