SPORTS AGENDA: West Ham in talks with broadcaster over documentary for club legend Mark Noble
West Ham are in talks with a UK broadcaster over a documentary about club legend Mark Noble.
The plan is to mark the one-club man’s playing career and his affiliation with the Hammers.
It is also understood the club are working on proposals to celebrate Noble’s 18-year career at West Ham’s final home game of the season against Manchester City, when Noble hangs up his boots.
West Ham are in talks with a broadcaster over a documentary for club legend Mark Noble
BIELSA’S WIFE DESIGNS STAFF GYM AT LEEDS
Marcelo Bielsa has paid £150,000 for a gym to be installed at Elland Road so staff can keep fit.
The warm-hearted Argentine even asked his wife, who is an architect, to design the state-of-the-art facility which is next to the reception in the East Stand and close to the club’s admin offices.
The gym features a host of weights, treadmills, bikes and rowing machines along with pictures of the nearby Yorkshire countryside.
Marcelo Bielsa (left) has paid £150,000 for a new Elland Road gym so his staff can stay fit
Leeds’ motto — Marching On Together — is emblazoned on one of the walls. Insiders say the manager has always been keen to ensure the wider staff, as well as his players and backroom team, are looked after.
They are said to be thrilled with the facility, which also includes showers and a changing area.
NOCs GET FIVE-STAR SWAGGER BACK
The Olympic world has finally got its five-star swagger back after some austere lockdown months during the pandemic.
A total of 150 of the world’s 205 national Olympic committees (NOCs) have navigated their way through PCR tests, vaccination certificates, passenger location forms (and even quarantine for some) to get to the splendid Creta Maris Beach Resort Hotel in Crete.
No doubt high on the list of topics at the Association of NOCs Congress and Gala Awards will be the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, which promises significantly less comfortable surroundings.
TOP CLUBS’ FURY AT POLICE CHIEF
Premier League clubs were left seething after coming under attack earlier this month from Britain’s lead football police officer.
Chief Constable Mark Roberts claimed just three Premier League clubs he had written to had responded to say they were willing to work directly with the police to help their players deal with online racist abuse.
Most Premier League clubs came under attack from Chief Constable Mark Roberts this month
‘We hear all the slogans, we hear all the commitment,’ Mr Roberts said. ‘But when we try to take some positive steps to support players, support the clubs, we need a bit more than words.’ His comments triggered widespread anger among top-flight sides.
Some say they did not receive the letter, while others say they already deal with their own dedicated hate crime officers, and do not see the logic in creating more bureaucracy.
‘We’ve taken a hardline stance with this and are doing everything within our powers to tackle it,’ said one executive. This was an unwarranted — and not particularly helpful — attack.’
HEWITT GETS DOWN TO BUSINESS
New FA chair Debbie Hewitt has wasted little time in setting about her new role.
The incoming executive has been canvassing opinion from a host of Premier League chairmen and chief execs about the challenges that she may face.
Insiders believe Hewitt has already identified a myriad of issues between the FA and top flight clubs and is seeking to address them.
New FA chair Debbie Hewitt (above) has wasted little time in setting about her new role
STEWARDS COME AT A PREMIUM FOR CLUBS
Lockdown coupled with the pingdemic has created stewarding nightmares for clubs — with security staff in many areas of the country now at a premium.
Pre-Covid, clubs would typically use one or two external companies to ensure they had enough staff to comply with safety certificates.
However, many stewards have used lockdown to find new roles, while the pingdemic also caused issues.
It is now not uncommon to see staff from three or four different firms at one game.
OLYMPIC ATHLETES GET JABBED
Football’s difficulty in persuading players to get vaccinated is not such an issue in the Olympic world.
Team GB athletes doing media activities ahead of the 100 Days to Go milestone for Beijing 2022 have all confirmed their double-jabbed status. Around 98 per cent of Team GB’s 375 athletes in Tokyo were vaccinated.
Both the US and Canadian Olympic committees have made the vaccine mandatory for their winter Olympians.
All of Team GB’s athletes for Beijing 2022 have now confirmed their double-vaccinated status
CLUBS TACKLE AUTOGRAPH HUNTERS
Issues with overzealous autograph hunters have led clubs to employ security staff wearing body-cams in an attempt to tackle an increasingly troublesome issue.
As this newspaper reported, professionals who sell signed memorabilia online have been following players in cars before confronting them at traffic lights or even outside their homes.
A number of top-flight clubs now send security staff to challenge such individuals outside team hotels.
ICC LEAD THE WAY
The International Cricket Council have introduced hybrid press conferences at the Twenty20 World Cup with questions coming from journalists at the venue and on Zoom. There had been concerns over how smooth the process would be, but there have been few issues so far.
ENGLAND AND INDIA GET CLOSER LOOK AT EACH OTHER
They say keep your enemies close, and that appears to be the situation with England’s Twenty20 World Cup cricketers. They are sharing facilities with India.
The sides are using the same resort on Dubai’s famous Palm Islands and insiders say the atmosphere has been very good, with families sharing the pool and teams mixing at breakfast.
England are sharing their T20 training facilities with rivals India on Dubai’s Palm Islands
MELTDOWN AT UK ATHLETICS
UK Athletics’ popularity sunk to a new low last week following the shock resignations of chief executive Joanna Coates and head of performance Sara Symington.
The Daily Mail and The Times had got wind of the double departure and calls were made to UKA asking for comment, but no response was forthcoming.
The organisation eventually put out a statement to the media in general, announcing both had quit the beleaguered body, angering those who had the initial story.
The fact that the statement had no quotes from either Coates or Symington did little to alter the view that it was rushed out, in what was perceived by some as a thoughtless, spineless move.
