FIFA plans huge emergency fund to support ailing industry
[caption id="attachment_801915" align="alignnone" width="650"] FIFA[/caption] Faced with mounting concerns and daily updates about the crisis wrought by the coronavirus pandemic on the global soccer industry, FIFA is drawing up plans for an emergency relief fund worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The fund, should global soccer leaders sign off on it, would amount to the biggest response from any major sports governing body to the financial effects of the pandemic. As in other parts of the global economy, movement restrictions to reduce the spread of the disease have halted the cash flow in a business in which long-term financial planning is typically treated as a luxury, with gate receipts and broadcast and sponsorship income largely committed to player salaries and transfer market trading. That has led several federations, clubs and leagues to declare themselves to be in a state of financial distress. This week, MSK Zilina, a seven-time Slovak champion, declared bankruptcy, and Uruguay’s federation laid off 400 staff members because all soccer activities had been suspended. Even the biggest teams have not been immune to the first shutdown of its kind since World War II. Barcelona and Juventus announced pay reductions for their multimillionaire playing roster, and others have followed suit. “FIFA is in a strong financial situation, and it’s our duty to do the utmost to help them in their hour of need,” FIFA said in a statement Tuesday after publication of this article online. “Therefore, we confirm FIFA is working on possibilities to provide assistance to the football community around the world after making a comprehensive assessment of the financial impact this pandemic will have on football.” The scale of the crisis was brought into focus in a letter sent to the members of the European Club Association, an umbrella body for more than 200 top division clubs in Europe, by the organization’s chairman, Andrea Agnelli. “We are all football executives responsible for the well-being and sustainability of the clubs we manage, which are faced with a real existential threat,” said Agnelli, who is also president of Juventus, the record 35-time Italian champion. “As football is now at a standstill, so are our revenue flows on which we are dependent to pay our players, staff and other operating costs. No one is immune, and timing is of the essence. Meeting our concerns will be the biggest challenge our game and industry has ever faced.” Now officials at FIFA want to take advantage of one of the biggest cash reserves among global sporting bodies and use it to shield some of the worst-hit parts of the industry, a move that would be similar to how governments around the world have acted to buttress parts of their economies in the face of the pandemic, according to the people, who declined to speak publicly because the plan has yet to be formally agreed upon. According to its latest annual report published last year, FIFA had cash reserves of $2.74 billion. The organization is considering putting some of those reserves to use in the effort to prop up the ailing soccer economy and is also willing to borrow against its future television and sponsorship income to raise money for what is being described internally as a “football relief fund.” The fund would require the approval of the FIFA Council, a 36-member group made up of soccer officials from the sport’s six regional confederations, before the plans can move forward. The fund would be managed differently than FIFA’s current development structure in which the organization’s administration is responsible for delivering $6 million across a four-year cycle to each of its 211 member associations whatever their size or needs. Officials at FIFA, based in Zurich, are making an assessment of the short- and medium-term effects of coronavirus on global soccer to work out how it can help the member associations, and who it will likely ask to act as a clearinghouse for requests for assistance in their countries. The fund could provide bridging loans and even emergency grants. There are concerns over whether the money will be directed to the most in need and not be misused, but the urgency of the situation has made that concern a secondary issue, according to one of the people. The relief fund, according to the plan, would be managed independently from FIFA’s leadership to avoid the risk of being contaminated by political issues that have long roiled the soccer world. Relations between FIFA and some regional soccer leaders have soured as its president, Gianni Infantino, has moved to grow its influence beyond national team soccer and development and into club soccer. The crisis, though, has soothed some of those tensions for now, with stakeholder groups coming together to hash out ideas for coping with the effects of the soccer shutdown. Last week, representatives of global leagues, clubs, regional federations and player unions joined FIFA to discuss setting up guidelines to deal with the most pressing issues. Credit: Indianexpress.com
source: https://ghanasoccernet.com/
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Coronavirus pandemic: Spain sees 5,000 new Covid-19 cases in a day
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Coronavirus pandemic: Spain sees 5,000 new Covid-19 cases in a day
Spain has recorded almost 5,000 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours as it climbed into third place in the global ranking of infections behind China and Italy.
Health authorities said Saturday that virus infections have reached 24,926, up from 19,980 the day before. Total deaths were 1,326, up from 1,002 on Friday. Over 1,600 patients are in intensive care units that authorities admit are at their limits. Madrid is the hardest hit region with almost 9,000 infections.
Spain is approaching one week of tight restrictions on free moment and the closure of most shops as hospitals and nursing homes buckle under the burden of the virus outbreak. But authorities admit that they expect infections to continue to rise before the measures can hopefully reverse the trend.
The coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 275,000 people and killed more than 11,400 globally. The Covid-19 illness causes mild or moderate symptoms in most people, but severe symptoms are more likely in the elderly or those with existing health problems. More than 88,200 people have recovered so far, mostly in China.
RUSSIA
In Moscow, a deputy mayor of the Russian capital said workers are laboring around-the-clock to build a center that can treat hundreds of coronavirus victims, and that completion is expected within a month.
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Placards in the style of Soviet propaganda posters have been placed at the site, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside Moscow’s center, exhorting builders to work at maximum speed; one shows Mayor Sergei Sobyanin pointing at the viewer and the slogan “Builders – Minutes count!”
Deputy Mayor Andrei Bochkarev said Saturday that the new facility will be able to accommodate up to 500 patients. Russia so far has recorded 253 cases of coronavirus infection.
GERMANY
In Germany’s southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg is opening its hospitals to patients from the neighboring region of eastern France that’s struggling with a surge of infections with the new coronavirus.
A spokesman for the state’s health ministry confirmed a report Saturday by the daily Schwaebische Zeitung that governor Winfried Kretschmann has offered assistance to France amid a growing shortage of ICU beds there.
Markus Jox said authorities have asked all hospital in Baden-Wuerttemberg with free capacity to take in French patients requiring ventilators.
Jox said that while the state’s own capacity is limited and there are already some bottlenecks, “we will naturally try to help our French neighbors.”
UNITED KINGDOM
Meanwhile, Britain lags behind Italy, Spain and France in the spread of the new coronavirus, but already the country’s overstretched health system is creaking.
The UK’s state-funded National Health Service has about 4,000 critical-care beds and some 5,000 ventilators, and officials say that’s far fewer than will be needed as the number of cases spikes in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, a London hospital temporarily declared a “critical incident,” meaning it could take no more critically ill patients.
Unpublished NHS figures seen by The Guardian say the number of confirmed of suspected Covid-19 patients in intensive care in south London rose from seven on March 6 to 93 on March 17.
Engineering firms and automakers are stepping in to manufacture ventilators, and the government says it is shipping large supplies of protective equipment to hospitals. But some medics say they do not have confidence that they will receive the equipment they need to treat patients and keep themselves safe.
BANGKOK
The governor of Bangkok has ordered the city’s popular shopping malls to shut down except for their supermarkets and pharmacies to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The malls’ restaurant outlets are also allowed to operate, but only for takeout and delivery orders. Convenience stores, as well as food stalls and traditional standalone markets selling fresh food, can keep operating.
Other venues in the Thai capital now ordered closed from Sunday until April 22 include swimming pools, golf courses, tattoo parlors and cockfighting rings. Public and private schools and colleges, movie theaters, gyms and bars were already ordered closed.
The latest restrictions come as Thailand announced 89 new confirmed coronavirus cases, bringing its total to 411.
THE NETHERLANDS
The Dutch military is stepping in to help transfer coronavirus patients from the hardest-hit region in the Netherlands to hospitals elsewhere in the country.
Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld tweeted that military logistics specialists will be deployed Saturday to help with transfers between hospital intensive care units.
The decision to deploy the military came after hospitals in the hard-hit Brabant region of the southern Netherlands said they are struggling to cope with all the cases.
The head of infection prevention at the Amphia Hospital in the city of Breda Jan Kluytmans told national broadcaster NOS that “hospitals in Brabant can’t handle on their own the stream of patients we expect in the short term.”
The Netherlands has confirmed around 3,000 coronavirus cases, including 106 deaths.
GREECE
China has sent 18 tons of medical supplies to Greece, including hundreds of thousands of surgical and protection masks.
An Air China flight landed in Athens on Saturday morning bringing in the supplies. They include 8 tons of equipment donated by the Chinese government, among them the 550,000 masks, and 10 tons donated by Chinese businesses and organizations.
China’s ambassador to Greece, Zhang Qiyue, said her country will do anything it can “to help our friends in Greece.” She also commended Greece for the “timely and strong” measures it has taken to limit the spread of the new virus.
Greece has confirmed at least 495 coronavirus cases, including 10 deaths.
PRAGUE
South Korean automaker Hyundai’s car plant in the Czech Republic and Kia’s factory in neighboring Slovakia have closed their production lines, bringing a key part of both countries’ economies to a standstill.
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech in Nosovice won’t reopen until at least April 6 as a preventive measure against the coronavirus outbreak.
Kia is joining its affiliate Hyundai in closing the plant near the Slovak city of Zilina.
In the Czech Republic, Skoda Auto, which belongs to Germany’s Volkswagen Group, and Toyota Peugeot Citroën Automobile, a joint project of Japan’s Toyota and France’s PSA, already suspended production earlier in the week.
The remaining three big car factories in Slovakia have been doing the same, including plants belong to Volkswagen, PSA and Jaguar Land Rover.
JOHANNESBURG
The number of coronavirus cases in Africa has topped 1,000, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Angola reported its first cases, and Burkina Faso’s foreign minister announced he is infected. At least 40 of Africa’s 54 countries now have confirmed cases.
The Ivory Coast said it would close its borders starting Sunday, while Ethiopia’s electoral authorities were discussing the possible impact on a national election later this year.
East Timor
The tiny Southeast Asian country of East Timor has reported its first confirmed case of the new coronavirus.
The interim health minister said Saturday that a foreign national who had returned from abroad tested positive and has been put in quarantine.
East Timor, which gained independence from Indonesia in 2002, has a population of 1.3 million.
ISTANBUL
Turkey’s president has released an audio message urging all citizens, especially the elderly and the chronically ill, to not leave their homes, take care of personal hygiene and maximize social distance to combat the coronavirus.
A senior Turkish official says President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s public announcement was forwarded to all phone companies and will reach citizens through automated calls. It is part of an effort to raise awareness among the elderly who may not have access to online information. The message was also shared on social media.
At least 670 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Turkey and nine people have died.
South Korea
South Korea’s prime minister has “strongly recommended” that the country’s religious facilities, gyms and clubs close for the next 15 days to help stem the spread of the coronavirus.
Chung Se-kyun said in a nationally televised speech Saturday that the government plans to use administrative orders to shut down the facilities that remain open but fail to enforce proper distance between people.
He said the government could also file damage claims against churches and businesses that become linked to infections after failing to employ preventive measures.
South Korea’s epidemic has slowed, but there are growing concerns about a steady rise in infections in the Seoul metropolitan area, home to about half of South Korea’s 51 million people.
IndiaToday.in has plenty of useful resources that can help you better understand the coronavirus pandemic and protect yourself. Read our comprehensive guide (with information on how the virus spreads, precautions and symptoms), watch an expert debunk myths, learn about the first human trial of a vaccine, get live updates and access our dedicated coronavirus outbreak page. Stay safe. Take care.
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How Can You Figure Out If You Need to have To Employ the service of An Architect?
architekti zilina
Even so, if you are pondering of a new house for you and people closest to you, your programs could not be as grand as some of individuals you have seen photographed or highlighted on tv. Possibly you believe that your funds don't protect hiring one particular. How can you be certain regardless of whether you need to use an architect and if not building use of one particular will value you money in the prolonged operate?
Creating use of a pre-canned design
Off the shelf types are produced by property designers & architects as a variety of 'one size suits all' tactic to house style and design.
In addition points: You should be equipped to find off the shelf programs to in shape just about any dimension, fashion or spending budget. Furnished you can locate a single that you are content with then it can help save you a important amount of income.
Unfavorable elements: The just one sizing suits all method of these off the shelf variety designs means that they will not be catered specifically to your individual demands and there may be aspects to the design and style that are not to your style. You also want to consider that the ideas probably haven't been drawn up using into account the details of your community region and any necessities it may well entail. Tons of persons who get these ideas typically acquire the services of an architect for the reason of modifying them to suit.
Mass improvement house builders
These days, most large scale housing developments are created by these kind of construction corporations. If they never own the land them selves (which they commonly do), then they will have been contracted to develop it by the land homeowners. The types for the households will arrive from strategies drawn up specifically with that improvement in head. When doing work in collaboration with these builders, you will find that you will need to pick out from the strategies that are offered by the builder. Following going through different plans in detail, you need to have to play a notable portion in the customization of it. The variety of characteristics that you may be able to affect are issues like the window fittings and interior components but the the greater part of capabilities will be outside the house of your manage.
Upside: Developers like this naturally make a whole lot of houses and as this sort of ought to be specialist professionals in terms of receiving property constructed. As the strategies are designed regionally, they are heading to be preferably suited for the terrain and climate.
Damaging points: Bear in thoughts that the builders will be developing many, similar residences as part of the job and yours will be just one of those. In purchase to develop so numerous properties, in such a short room of time items are often done to maintain expenditures and progress instances down.
What does a skilled household designer do?
Yet another charge-preserving choice that is readily available for you is to take the providers of a licensed qualified building designer, extensively been regarded as house designer, actively playing a significant purpose in your home planning. These designers are not experienced and qualified to the same amount of skills as architects but they are however very experienced. These designers typically cost a decrease payment than architects do but will usually be professionally licensed so you can be sure of obtaining an pro help you with your patterns.
Additionally factors: As the name implies, the abilities of home designers is just that, developing residences. There is every single opportunity that a home designer has more knowledge of planning private residences than a randomly selected architect. Hire a great home designer and you can get a fantastic, bespoke made home for your family at a significantly lower price than you would making use of an architect.
Detrimental aspects: Though not mass-producing their styles, they will frequently adhere to attempted and tested methods and approaches, instead than utilizing seriously innovative and unconventional techniques and tactics. As property designers does not acquire any type of teaching with regard to building strange or difficult models, they may well not satisfy your needs all the time. If you are interested in a totally exceptional design, selecting an architect is the way to go.
Speaking about architects, they are accredited pros, having skills in all types of parts. Every architect has to undertake a minimum amount volume of teaching in order to grow to be a competent qualified. Like other professions (lawful, medical) the training expected lasts close to seven yrs. Their teaching is composed of a lot of examinations that have to be handed as effectively as functional get the job done experience. The abilities of an architect extend significantly further than only coming up with models and drawings for properties and they are equipped to resolve intricate difficulties that might come up as aspect of a job.
What is the purpose of an architect?
This might not be as obvious as it first seems. The purpose of an architect will typically differ from a single design task to the subsequent. Apart from the clear facet of coming up with the drawings or styles for a task, architects will generally suggest on aspects of the construct this sort of as what development supplies to use, preparing consent and general supervision of the task. Preferably, it is the responsibility of your architect to examine the developing web-site and notice the sun course and trees placement. When you acquire these providers, get completely ready to pay extra cash, generally in the array of eight to ten p.c.
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