US soccer friendlies promoter files for bankruptcy

CHAMPIONSWORLD, the US company that operated the pre-season series of friendlies for Manchester United, Celtic, Liverpool and Chelsea last summer, has filed for bankruptcy protection from its creditors.

The move comes just days after Manchester United opted to tour the Far East next summer rather than return to the States for a third year in a row.

Despite United’s decision, a ChampionsWorld LLC spokesman yesterday insisted that a series of friendlies involving Premiership clubs this summer was already being planned.

The New Jersey-based firm has decided to avail of Chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy code, a device used by companies to recover from crippling debt rather than go out of business altogether.

It is seen as an opportunity to reorganise a business in order to try to make it profitable again.

The existing management continues to run the day-to-day operations but all significant business decisions have to be approved by a bankruptcy court, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

“We expanded too quickly, and promoting a top-quality event was very costly, with expenses unique to the soccer world,” Charlie Stillitano, ChampionsWorld’s chief executive, told yesterday’s New York Times.

“We had strong revenues of $25 million (€19.1m) last year, but it’s safe to say we lost a lot because we had too many teams in some markets that were not successful. This will allow us to restructure.”

The ChampionsWorld Series enjoyed a successful opening in 2003 as 420,000 fans in seven cities watched Manchester United, Celtic, Juventus, AC Milan, Barcelona, Boca Juniors and Club America play exhibition matches.

Bouyed by its initial success, the company brought over nine teams from Europe and while sell-out crowds were enjoyed in major cities like New York, Seattle, Toronto and Philadelphia, potentially profitable clashes, such as Liverpool versus Celtic, were played to small crowds in less soccer-friendly cities such as Hartford and Pittsburgh.

The company lost more than $2m overall, while there were criticisms during the tour from Celtic manager Martin O’Neill about the amount of travelling involved and the number of games his team was asked to play. The Scottish champions played four games in four different cities in the space of eight days and on both east and west coasts, winning just once.

Manchester United are turning their attentions to the Far East this summer, having been criticised last year for initially sending a team missing many of its top stars.

Manager Alex Ferguson even admitted the trip was a mistake after he was forced to rush senior players back into action to mollify supporters who were angry at being denied a view of some of the club’s biggest stars who had played in Euro 2004.

United have already confirmed they will play the Hong Kong national side on July 23 and are expected to pencil in a match in both China and Japan as part of their Far East tour prior to the 2005-6 season.