Megastructures documentary - Channel 5 (UK) 8pm tonight

Passing on this info received from Mike Harrison at The City Gent fanzine (Bradford City), Megastructures documentary showing on Channel 5 (UK) at 8pm tonight

"This has been mentioned in the letters page of the current issue of The City Gent, but here is a reminder that the documentary that Paul Firth took part in is being shown tonight on Five.

It is called: Megastructures - Built from disaster and shows how tragic events at sports stadiums have forced architects to incorporate a number of safety features into their designs to address fire, structural collapse and safety control.

The fire disaster at Valley Parade in May 1985 is one of the disasters featured in this documentary which hads comments from Paul Firth who narrowly escaped from the back of the main stand and who is author of the book 4 minutes to hell."

Stadia Magazine - Free Online Edition

Stadia Magazine, October 2009, free online at time of writing, click image above.

Sir Bobby Robson Memorial T-Shirt

" What is a club anyway? It's the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city." Sir Bobby Robson

Philosophy Football have just launched a new shirt in memory of the great man with profits going to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation cancer charity.




A true knight of the game. Philosophy Football's new shirt in memory of Sir Bobby shows the team strips of the clubs played for and managed, and of course England who he both played for and managed too.

As a player; Fulham 1950-56 and 1963-67 ,West Brom 1956-62, player-Manager at Vancouver Royals, 1967-8, plus 20 England caps, making his debut in 1957. As a manager; Fulham, Ipswich Town, England, PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon, FC Porto, Barcelona back to PSV before managing Newcastle.

Sir Bobby's philosophy of what football means remained the same wherever he was manager, a unique record of success across Spain, Portugal, Holland and England. That's why he meant so much to so many.

In S-XXL. £5 OFF FOR FIRST 48 HOURS, £15.99 instead of the usual £20.99. With profits helping to fund the Cancer Charity Sir Bobby established, the Bobby Robson Foundation.

Available from Philosophy Football

The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme

As thoughts turn to South Africa next summer, it's just too tempting not to role out this World Cup classic, The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme from...Colourbox, who were on the 4AD record label in the 1980s.



Aside from this gem, Colourbox also formed one half of M|A|R|R|S, a 1987 one-off collaboration with A.R. Kane which became "a one-hit wonder of rare influence" recording dance classic "Pump Up the Volume", considered to be the first UK number one to contain samples from other songs and nominated for a Grammy Award in 1989.

090909 : 5-1

Bring on South Africa.

Nearly 20 years on, this is still awesome..

Stadia Magazine: View July Edition Online

The July 2009 issue of Stadia Magazine, the leading industry authority on football and sports grounds, is available to view available online at time of writing.

View here.

Packed full of news, interviews and features, including:

Cover Story: A well planned and executed IT infrastructure is an essential facet of any modern stadium, enabling greater operational efficiency and an enhanced matchday experience

Special Report: Seating capacity at Citi Field may be lower than at the New York Mets’ previous home, Shea Stadium, but luxury suites and improved catering are designed to increase revenue

Hot Topic: Revenue generation is a common theme in Stadia’s coverage but what of the social benefits derived from sports facilities? A visionary, community stadium programme in North Belfast aims to bridge decades of social division

Regional Focus: New York is alive with new stadia projects – but the city drives a hard bargain as many frustrated developers will testify Special report:

Stadium catering is moving towards more diverse menus that reflect local loyalties, while new technology is helping to improve service efficiency

Turf Talk: FC Stabæk installs synthetic turf at its new indoor home; Dubai Cricket Stadium overcomes sandstorms and 40°C heat; TenCate unveils a new synthetic turf fibre; Polytan’s new football turf product helps IFK Norrköping to get more out of its pitch; and the Green Bay Packers chooses natural grass reinforced with synthetic fibres

Drawing Board: The snake-like form of Taiwan’s Kaohsiung Stadium, which features a roof with 8,800 solar panels, is proving a hit with environmentalists and design critics alike

Kicking Off: With more and more stadia jumping on the green bandwagon, Ian Nuttall applauds the financial benefits of a new eco initiative at Dublin’s Croke Park

Guest Column: John Genzale ponders the conundrum that is Italian football – better facilities could improve fan behaviour, but where’s the money going to come from?

Final Whistle: 10 ways to get the most out of smart technologies and CRM systems

News: Chelsea rocked by FIFA transfer ban

Chelsea Premiership Parade 2006
Originally uploaded by Victius

Chelsea will be forbidden from signing any new players until January 2011 following a ruling by FIFA.

The world football governing body has punished Chelsea after finding the English Premier League club guilty of inducing Gael Kakuta to break his contract with Lens.

Full story on FFC News

News: English Premier League is "most cosmopolitan" division

The English Premier League contains a bigger proportion of foreign players than any other elite division in European football, it has emerged.

According to figures cited by the Sun newspaper, almost 60 per cent of English Premier League players are now foreign, compared with a European average of 42.6 per cent.

Full story on FFC News

News: Newcastle United fans urged to wear shirts to work to back World Cup bid

The team behind Newcastle and Gateshead's campaign to be a host city for the 2018 FIFA World Cup is urging local football fans to get behind the bid.

In order to publicise the campaign, supporters living on Tyneside have been asked to wear their football shirts to work as a special event on Thursday September 10th, the Evening Chronicle reports.

Full story on FFC News

Photo, Wor Jackie by EP Digital Designs

News: Swindon Town fans win free tickets at County Ground beach party

1965: Swindon Town Football Club - STFC (Programme Cover)
Originally uploaded by Swindon Local Studies Collection

A group of Swindon Town supporters attended the League One side's home game against Southend United on Saturday (August 29th) wearing Hawaiian shirts and walked away with free match tickets.

Fan Rosie Brasier received two sponsor's suite hospitality tickets for the upcoming match against Colchester United as part of the Swindon Town Football Club Beach Party, the Swindon Advertiser reports.

Full story on FFC News

News: Scottish football fans raise over £5k for firefighters charity

Football fans attending the Scottish Premier League match between Heart of Midlothian and Rangers raised over £5,000 for The Fire Fighters Charity on Sunday August 23rd.

The money was donated in memory of Ewan Williamson, a 35-year-old Edinburgh firefighter who lost his life in the line of duty last month, the Scotsman newspaper reports.

Full story on FFC News

Photos by oanababy and lulugaia