Ligue 1 officials are hoping that the tournament will help make inroads with U.S. sports fansGETTY IMAGES
Four French soccer teams will "participate in a preseason tournament at Audi Field this summer," which will include Ligue 1 club Olympique Marseille facing DC United in a friendly, according to Steven Goff of the WASHINGTON POST. The tournament's semifinals will be played July 18, followed by a "third-place match and championship game three days later." Ligue 1 officials "negotiated the deal and will essentially pay rent to use Audi Field," part of their strategy of "seeking to make inroads in the U.S. market." The deal is for three years, though "both sides may exercise an opt-out clause if the tournament falls short of expectations." Almost all Ligue 1 clubs outside of PSG, which is trying to become an international fashion brand, "find themselves far behind" teams from England, Germany, Spain and Italy from a "marketing and popularity standpoint." Former Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt now owns Olympique Marseille (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 5/16).
CANDID CAMERA: THE ATHLETIC's Pablo Maurer noted DC United is the only team in MLS that has a "Fancam setup permanently installed in their home stadium." This means that every home game at Audi Field "gets the Fancam treatment," where every inch of the stadium is "mapped to create a composite image 300,000 pixels wide by 150,000 pixels high." After the 45,000 megapixel image is made, fans can "go view the image online, find themselves in the crowd and tag themselves in it using their Facebook account, if they're so inclined." However, Maurer wrote it "does feel a bit Orwellian, and to many, amusement turns to concern when they dig a bit deeper," as there is "growing concern for privacy these days." Fancam CEO Tinus le Roux "went to great lengths to differentiate between what his company does -- which the company's website refers to as 'facial detection and facial comparison' from the more traditional perception of what 'facial recognition' involves: matching certain facial characteristics to a specific person." DC United's deal with Fancam "runs through the end of the year," and it is "unclear whether the club will continue to use their services." One source said that it is "highly unlikely" the team will renew its deal with Fancam (THEATHLETIC.com, 5/15).
