Soccer

Girona ( 0 – 1 ) Almeria , Spain on The 19th of June, 2013 at ten to nine Podcast:

Eagles boss Ian Holloway has expressed his hope that the 20-year-old might be allowed to stay at Selhurst Park, but Phil Alexander admits he is powerless Crystal Palace chief executive Phil Alexander admits Wilfried Zaha’s immediate future lies in the hands of David Moyes and Manchester United. Zaha spent the second half of last season on loan at Selhurst Park after completing a £17.5 million move to Old Trafford in January, and played a key role in the Eagles’ promotion charge. Ian Holloway has already publicly voiced his hope that the 20-year-old might be allowed to remain with Palace as they bid for top-flight survival, but Alexander concedes he has little control of the situation. “It’s another option, clearly that’s up to Manchester United,” he told Sky Sports News. “He’s their player now. Will we be asking? We’ll probably ask in passing but it’s really down to them. “Would we love to see Wilfried back? Of course we would but he’s got a career at Manchester United and, after a few training sessions up there, I’m not sure they’ll be willing to let him out on loan.” Whether or not Zaha will be returning, however, Alexander believes Palace have the foundations of a Premier League squad, and insists they will add further quality this summer. “We’re really fortunate – we’re coming up with a real good squad,” he added. “Most of our squad from last year is signed up, they’re obviously used to playing with each other, they’ve got great team spirit and we will be adding to the squad. “We did have an injury to Glenn Murray at the back end of last season and he was our top goalscorer so it’s pretty clear that we need a centre-forward and probably two or three more to add to the squad. “We’ve looked at the income streams and we’ll manage the club the best we can, going forward without taking any risks.” One player Alexander is confident of keeping is Kevin Phillips – the man who scored the penalty which propelled Palace back into the Premier League – even though his contract is up this summer. “Ian’s keen to keep him, there’s discussions to be had with Kevin,” he continued. “Even at 40, I still think he could do a job in the Premier League from being part of the team. He’s a great guy to have around. “Could he come on and do a job in the last five, 10, 15 minutes of a game? I’m sure he could. “Those discussions will be had and I’ll be hopeful that he’ll sign a contract with us.”

Fifa president makes plea amid preparations for Confederations Cup matches following protests condemning his organisationFifa president Sepp Blatter has called on Brazil's protesters to stop linking their demonstrations to football, as police stepped up reinforcements ahead of expected clashes at Confederations Cup matches taking place in Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza.After protests on the fringes of earlier games, boos during official speeches in the stadiums and placards on the streets condemning Fifa, the head of the world football body said the tournament – a dry run for next year's World Cup – was being wrongly targeted."I can understand that people are not happy, but they should not use football to make their demands heard," Blatter said on Globo TV, a domestic station.His appeal looks likely to fall on deaf ears. Protesters on Wednesday blocked the road to the stadium in Fortaleza, where Brazil were due to play against Mexico. Police turned back hundreds of cars.There is also a Twitter and Facebook campaign for spectators inside the ground to turn their backs when the national anthem is played.Several of Brazil's national team players have also expressed their support for the demonstrators."I see these demonstrators and I know that they are right," the midfielder Hulk told a press conference in Fortaleza."We know that Brazil needs to improve in many areas and must let the demonstrators express themselves."Brazil is in the midst of its biggest wave of protests in 20 years. Initially sparked by police violence against small demonstrations against bus price rises, the protests have rapidly expanded in size, range and motivations.On Monday night, a quarter of a million people rallied in more than a dozen cities to express a range of grievances, including dire public services, corruption and evictions.Fifa's tournaments have become a focus for many demonstrators, who feel the 12 stadiums that the country has built or renovated at huge cost show how public money is spent on projects that benefit construction companies and TV stations rather than on hospital and schools.This argument has been eloquently expressed in English in a popular YouTube video titled "No, I'm not going to the world cup" which has drawn more than 1.5m views.The video's narrator, Carla Dauden, said: "Suddenly there is all this money available to build new stadiums and the population is led to believe the World Cup is the change they need for their lives to get better. But the truth is that most of the money from the games and the stadiums goes straight to Fifa and we don't see it so we don't get it and the money from tourists and investors goes to those who already have money."The government says the $13.3bn spending on the tournaments is also being used to improve roads, metro services, airports, communications and public security – all of which would help to boost the country's economic and social development.This point was emphasised by Blatter, who said Fifa did not impose the tournament on the hosts. "Brazil asked to host the World Cup," Blatter said. "They knew that to host a good World Cup they would naturally have to build stadiums."But we said that it was not just for the World Cup. Together with the stadiums there are other constructions: highways, hotels, airports … Items that are for the future. Not just for the World Cup."He and Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff were booed by the crowd at the opening ceremony of the Confederations Cup on Saturday.This are unlikely to be the last insults they hear. The football tournament will run until 16 July.The protests are expected to escalate with bigger rallies planned for Thursday. Despite Blatter's appeal, it is unlikely the two will remain apart.Sepp BlatterFifaBrazilAmericasJonathan Wattsguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

• Majority of BT's 38 games to be shown on Saturday lunchtimes• Sky confident experience of picking matches gives them edgeThe announcement of the Premier League fixture list will also sound the starting gun on a bitter battle over which matches are to be televised live between BSkyB and BT. The new broadcaster has gambled £738m on securing the rights to 38 live matches per season, but Sky Sports will still screen the lion's share, 116 games, under a domestic TV deal worth more than £3bn in total to Premier League clubs over the next three seasons.Unlike its predecessors which have failed in challenging in Sky, such as Setanta, or have opted not to compete head-on, such as ESPN, BT has trumpeted the fact that it has 18 "first-pick matches" among its rights. So although it will only air an average of one game a week, most of them in a Saturday lunchtime slot, it will be able to lay claim to meaningful matches involving some of the most attractive clubs.However, it will have to first negotiate the complex picking process in which Sky is confident that its two decades of experience will be brought to bear. Knowledge of which matches will be affected by police advice and other factors is crucial in second-guessing the knock-on effects of making certain choices, but BT will argue that it has plenty of expertise on board from former Setanta and Sky executives.Sky will be able to choose 20 rounds of fixtures in which it will have first pick of the matches on offer, while BT will effectively be left with the other 18 rounds – subject to various other complicating factors.Executives at both companies have been deciding for months how they will structure their approach, but it is only once the fixtures have been released that they can begin to properly plan their tactics in picking their first tranche of matches. One of the key decisions for both companies will be the extent to which they "frontload" their choices in order to start with a bang.BT, having spent heavily on marketing its new sports channels that will be offered free to subscribers to its broadband service, will be keen to make a statement of intent. During Setanta's ultimately doomed attempt to take on Sky's dominance its executives became so frustrated with the opposition's blocking tactics during negotiations over picks that it complained to the Premier League.The complex game of bluff and double-bluff is likely to take two or three weeks and result in a host of the matches announced morning being moved for the benefit of the cameras. The full list of the first tranche of televised matches is unlikely to be finalised until the first or second week of July.Gavin Patterson, the BT Retail chief who was heavily involved in the decision to bid for the Premier League rights as a driver for its broadband and "triple-play services", was named chief executive of the entire company.The new channels will launch in early August, broadcasting from new studios on the Olympic Park. As well as the Premier League, BT has secured exclusive rights to Premiership rugby and through a deal to acquire ESPN's UK business, coverage of the FA Cup and Scottish Premier League.Premier LeagueBT SportSky SportsBSkyBTelevision industryOwen Gibsonguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

The young playmaker has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid and Manchester City but the Andalusians say his exit is far from guaranteed Malaga executive vice-president Moayad Shatat says that Isco will stay at the club for another season unless a satisfactory offer comes in. Both Manchester City and Real Madrid have been heavily linked with the 21-year-old this summer but the Andalusians are determined to hold on to their star for another year, at least on loan. “We’re in negotiations with Isco. It’s true that offers have come in for him, but we’re always going to look for the best price for his exit,” he told Marca. “We don’t need to let Isco go cheaply. If it’s not enough, we’re not going to sell him. We haven’t received any transfer offers which include the option for him to continue with Malaga on loan for a season. “Isco is a very important player, everyone thinks it would be great if he stayed and if the correct offer doesn’t come in, we’re not going to sell.” Isco scored 12 goals in 47 appearances for the club over the course of 2012-13.

Olympiakos Volou ( 1 – 2 ) Panetolikos , Greece on The 19th of June, 2013 at five past eight Podcast:

Demonstrators protest outside the Premier League headquarters in London on Wednesday

Football Match just over at Rambergsvallen – Allsvenskan Home Team – Hacken   Goals & Scorers –   Keeper – Christoffer Källqvist  Midfield – Simon Gustafsson; Nasiru Mohammed; Dominic Chatto; Martin Ericsson;  Forwards – Mostapha El Kabir; Rene Muzola Makondele;  Defense – Leonard Zuta; Emil Wahlström; Fredrik Björck; Björn Anklev;  Subs – 85′: in Mika [...]

Football Match just over at Grimsta IP – Allsvenskan Home Team – Brommapojkarna   Goals & Scorers – 55′: Niklas Bärkroth;  Keeper – Ivo Vazgec  Midfield – Bojan Djordjic; Gabriel Petrovic; Serge-Junior Ngouali;  Forwards – Andreas Eriksson; Andreas Yacob Haddad; Niklas Bärkroth;  Defense – Panajotis Dimitriadis; Martin Falkeborn; Tim Björkström; Pontus Segerström;  Subs – 77′: [...]

Football Match just over at Borås Arena – Allsvenskan Home Team – Elfsborg   Goals & Scorers –   Keeper – Kevin Stuhr Ellegaard  Midfield – Stefan Ishizaki; Niklas Hult; Viktor Claesson; Marcus Rohden;  Forwards – James Keene; Lasse Nilsson;  Defense – Sebastian Holmén; Stefan Larsson; Johan Larsson; Tom Söderberg;  Subs – 80′: in Simon [...]