Sven faces Brazil problems already
ENGLAND coach Sven Goran Eriksson, who has cut down his personal appearances outside football in the build-up to next year’s World Cup, is unwittingly being used to promote a racing club run by TalkSport host Alan Brazil. An Eriksson Christmas Lunch at the Cafe Royal on December 15 is being publicised by well-known corporate hospitality operators the National Sporting Club. It offers clients the chance, for £99-ahead plus VAT, to hear the England coach talk o p e n l y a b o u t h i s team’s chances in Germany just six days after the group draw is made in Leipzig.
However, Eriksson and his business advisers were unaware that at the same champagne function, popular TalkSport breakfast presenter Brazil has been given a platform to advertise his racing club, which has 1,000 members and seven horses, in a question-and-answer panel with trainer M i c k y Q u i n n a n d racing broadcaster Luke Harvey.
Eriksson’s agent Athol Still said: ‘ Sven does very little commercial work and he’s not receiving a fee for speaking at the National Sporting Club. We knew nothing about the racing club involvement and we thought all the profits were going to charity. If there’s any commercial gain from an event being sold on Sven’s name, I expect a sizeable donation to a c h a r i t y o f S v e n’ s choice, at least.’
There is no mention on the NSC website page trumpeting their Eriksson lunch of any donations being made to charity.
Brazil, who has high hopes for his racing club’s Balik Pearls in the 3.10 at Wolverhampton today, said: ‘ As far as I’m concerned, it’s going to be a jolly occasion with a lot of racing and football talk. In return for speaking, I get the opportunity to hand out leaflets and talk about my club.’
Eriksson’s lack of interest in adding any extra monies to his already gargantuan FA salary is shown by the fact that he has distanced himself from his previous commercial agents, IMG. He has stayed on the books of Swedish friend Lars Sternmarker, who has left his post running IMG’s Stockholm office to set up his own consultancy running a golf tournament.
PAUL NEWMAN, former FA head of public
relations who lost his job in the last executive restructuring cull in 2003, has proved there is life after the poisoned chalice of working at Soho Square by being appointed the director of communications for Liverpool 2008 European City of Culture.
ENGLAND spending a night at the Lowry
Hotel in Manchester before travelling to
Switzerland yesterday was, according to the FA, due to players now preferring the Lowry as a base to London options. However, it also proved convenient for David Beckham and Co, who had organised their own private party on Wednesday night to celebrate reaching the World Cup Finals at the nearby Living Room club in Manchester, one of Beckham’s favourite haunts.