Jeff Fannell » Soccer

Aug 16

JFA SIGNS UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SOCCER COACH

August 16, 2016 – Jeff Fannell & Associates is pleased to announce that it has signed University of Maryland Assistant Soccer Coach, Scott Buete as a client. JFA will represent Scott in all areas of contract negotiation, marketing, and endorsements. “We are excited for the opportunity to represent Scott,” said JFA senior associate Kap Misir. “Among the nation’s collegiate soccer coaches, we believe Scott is a rising star.” Scott is in his third year as the assistant coach for the Maryland Terrapins, which is widely regarded as one of the top Division-1 soccer programs in the country. In 2014, the Terps advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament; last year, they advanced to the Elite Eight. They enter this year ranked No. 4 in the pre-season coaches’ poll and are expected to be in the running to capture the NCAA national title. A graduate of the University, Scott played five years for the Terps (1999-2003), the last three serving as team captain. In 2002, Scott led Maryland to the ACC Tournament title. In his senior year, he was named NSCAA First Team All-American, and was selected to the All-ACC First Team and the ACC All-Tournament Team. Scott finished […]

May 08

by Jeff Fannell in Soccer, Sports, Sports Issues 0 comments tags: Mario Balotelli, Offensive fans, Racism, Social Media

The Beautiful Game’s Ugly Side

Soccer has a long and sordid history of racism and discrimination involving fans in the stands and, more recently, on social media. The abusive conduct that has taken place during games has been well-documented: fans throwing bananas on the field at dark-skinned players, often accompanied by monkey chants; fans adorned in blackface; gay and homophobic slurs. The governing bodies have tried numerous ways to deal with the problem, including deducting points from teams with offensive fans, relegating such teams to lower leagues, taking away home games and even playing in empty stadiums. So far, nothing has seemed to work. A recent report from Kick It Out, an organization dedicated to equality and inclusion in soccer, found that this season there have been over 130,000 discriminatory posts on social media aimed at soccer players. The discriminatory posts have focused on race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, anti-Semitism and more. The report found that Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has received over 8,000 discriminatory messages this season, including over 4,000 racist posts. What will it take to bring this all to an end? Would be interested to hear from those who are fans not only of soccer, but also of decency and equality.

Nov 14

by Jeff Fannell in Pioneers of the Game, Soccer, Sports 0 comments tags: Black Panther, Eusebio, Futbol, History, Pioneers of the Game, Portuguese, Soccer

Pioneers of the Game: Eusebio

Eusebio da Silva Ferreira stands as the most famous name in Portuguese football (soccer) history. Born in Mozambique, Eusebio was the first world-class striker from the African continent. Known as the “Black Panther,” Eusebio scored more than a goal per game in Portuguese league matches (an incredible 320 goals in 313 matches). As remarkable as that may be, perhaps his greatest work was revealed at football’s premier event, the World Cup. In fact, during the qualifying rounds for the 1966 World Cup, Eusebio scored seven goals. He then went on to top that tremendous achievement by scoring an unprecedented nine goals in six World Cup matches in leading Portugal to a third-place finish. To this day his performance stands as the greatest feat ever in World Cup play. In January 2014, Eusebio passed away at the age 71. Although he is no longer with us, Eusebio yet remains the most celebrated name in the history of Portuguese football.