Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin "has sold out its last home game of the season against Borussia Dortmund on May 10 in record time." Hertha GM Michael Preetz tweeted, "Wahnsinn! Das letzte Heimspiel am 10. Mai gegen den BVB war 118 Minuten nach Verkaufsstart ausverkauft! Danke für eure Unterstützung!" ... ("Unbelievable! The last home game against the BVB on May 10 was sold out 118 minutes after tickets went on sale! Thank you for your support!") (SID, 1/27). ... The Czech and Slovak football federations "are considering setting up a common cup competition for clubs from the two nations that once formed Czechoslovakia." Slovak federation Chair Jan Kovacik said that "four clubs from each country would play in the competition." He said that "the federations are planning a meeting in February to discuss whether the idea would work" (AP, 1/23). ... The Asian Football Confederation "plans to expand the Asian Cup from 16 to 24 teams" as part of a raft of changes designed to increase the number of int'l matches for member nations (ZEE NEWS, 1/26). ... Serie A side Genoa's derby with Sampdoria next Sunday "is being boycotted by supporters' groups on both sides because of the early kick-off time." The match at Stadio Luigi Ferraris is kicking off at 12:30 local time on Sunday "so that it can be shown live" on TV (BBC, 1/24). ... Liverpool supporters group Spirit of Shankly has written to Arsenal urging it not to charge away fans almost £100 ($166) "to attend next month’s FA Cup tie between the clubs." Sunday’s fifth-round draw "immediately sparked fears" that many of the 9,000 Liverpool fans who travel to London for the mid-February fixture will face ticket prices of £93 ($154), "thought to be one of the most expensive ever prices for an away ticket in English football" (London TELEGRAPH, 1/27).
