EPL CEO Richard Scudamore said that English clubs "have begun to rein in ticket prices, which could help the Premier League break its all-time attendance record in the coming season," according to Simon Jennings of REUTERS. According to British media, more than half the clubs in the top flight have either frozen or cut season ticket prices for '15-16, in the wake of fans' protests, "particularly in view of a new television deal worth an eye-watering" £5.2B ($8.1B). Scudamore said, "The clubs recognize that ticket pricing is an issue, which is why I think there's only three clubs, only small increases, have been introduced this season." Scudamore said that helping develop grassroots football rather than increasing the quota of English players in the club squads will help produce "more and better homegrown players." He said, "When you talk to the managers ... they are almost unanimously agreed that it's got to be a qualitative development program that makes these players better players rather than artificially put quotas in" (REUTERS, 8/5).
STAFF REVAMP: In London, Charles Sale wrote the FA "is set for a huge cull of staff this year" as part of its reform strategy to save £30M ($46M) a year while prioritizing coaching and building facilities. As many as 300 personnel could be axed, with new CEO Martin Glenn "wanting to shrink the workforce from 900 to 600 -- a redundancy exercise that is sure to cause much anguish." The forthcoming cuts "were the talk" of FA councilors at the Community Shield. The blazers "want to be kept in the loop this time, having been left in the dark when the process began last month and three senior management executives lost their jobs." The proposed downsizing "is far greater" than the recent England & Wales Cricket Board restructuring "that left blood on the carpet at Lord’s" (DAILY MAIL, 8/4).
