Qatari money is coming to English football "for the first time," to a "tiny team playing seven divisions below the Premier League," according to Rob Harris of the AP. What Sheffield FC "lacks in glamor it makes up for in status." From Barcelona and ManU to amateur outfits worldwide, "every football team emanates from this club in northern England's steel city." When Sheffield FC started playing in 1857, "there was no other team in the world." Now, "eager to be associated with the pioneers of football," $153,000 is headed to Sheffield FC from the country hosting the Middle East's first World Cup. Sheffield FC said that it "only turned to Qatar after feeling snubbed after making direct approaches" to the FA and Premier League in the "search for cash to fund a return to the site of its original home." Sheffield FC Chair Richard Tims said, "This is not about Qatar muscling in. This is about having a catalyst that makes everyone sit up and take note ... a partnership between the new kids on the block and the world's first football club protecting the heritage of football." Qatar 2022 Secretary General Hassan Al-Thawadi "has links to Sheffield after studying law at the city's main university" in the '90s. Al Thawadi: "Over the past few years since the (Sheffield FC) chairman first contacted us we have been working together to look for suitable ways in which we could lend our support. Our modest contribution is part of a first step on an important journey for the club of gaining wider support for the (stadium) project" (AP, 9/8).
