FOOTBALL’S TOP DOGS GET A PARLIAMENTARY GRILLING

ALL eyes will be on Westminster tomorrow when Premier League boss Richard Masters and his EFL counterpart Rick Parry are due to be grilled by a select committee on the lack of a deal for the redistribution of funds in football. It may well be in the top flight’s interests to find an agreement. Speaking at a questionand-answer session at Accrington Stanley last week Rishi Sunak said that should no deal be done the incoming independent football regulator would have the power to force a solution, which may well be more favourable to the EFL than the top flight.

‘I hope the Premier League and EFL can come to an appropriate arrangement, but if that’s not possible the regulator will step in,’ the Prime Minister warned.

WEST HAM are expected to send a team to the seven-a-side competition where their players walked off the pitch last year amid allegations of racial abuse. The club are keen to go back to The Soccer Tournament in North Carolina, which has a $1million prize fund, and are also likely to send a women’s team. The men’s side will again include a number of legends — although more academy players may take the trip after some chastening experiences against younger sides last year.

THE Premier League’s Asia Trophy is set to return this summer — with China being viewed as the likeliest destination. Founded in 2003, the tournament, aimed at growing the game in Asia, was played every two years until 2019 — prior to Covid. Officials are looking to restore it to a biennial affair, with a tournament in the US taking place in the alternate year.

THE Blues could soon be hosting the blues. Birmingham City last week announced a firm called Oak View Group as consultants for their new stadium project. The LA-based company are better known for music arenas (including the Co-op Live arena opposite the Etihad Stadium that Manchester City are 25 per cent investors in). Oak View are seen as the best in the business in that field and see a move into football stadiums as a big opportunity.

NEWCASTLE UNITED’S FA Cup win at Sunderland saw the club’s players have a celebratory picture taken in front of a 6,000-strong, scarf-waving away support. In an indication of how times have changed since the Saudis took over from Sports Direct chief Mike Ashley, the black and white scarves were a free gift from Jeddah-based shirt sponsors Sela, and handed to fans as they boarded coaches to the Stadium of Light.

LOSING one of the best players in the world on a free transfer may not be anything to shout about, but officials at Paris Saint-Germain may see the positives in the ongoing situation with contract rebel Kylian Mbappe. The French striker’s deal ends in the summer and he is expected to join Real Madrid. His exit would free up around £200m a year for the Qatar-owned club, helping them to navigate financial rules as they seek to transition from high-profile names to a younger, hungrier squad.

EXECUTIVE recruitment firm Spencer Stuart have been brought in to find a replacement for outgoing R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers. Slumbers had been in the position since 2015 and his departure is widely viewed as a surprise given there was little prior indication of any potential change. The Englishman is expected to go at the end of the year with golf still navigating a future, given the Saudi Arabian disruption.

THERE has been a setback for supporters of International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, who are hoping to change the constitution so that he can run and win a fourth four-year term in 2025. Agenda understands that Morinari Watanabe, president of the World Gymnastics federation, has been telling people he will stand against him. And this may embolden Lord Coe to also stand against Bach which would make things very interesting indeed.