Soca Warriors want World Cup money

Footballers in Trinidad & Tobago will launch their own players' union in London tonight in response to a succession of political controversies in the Caribbean nation.

The entire World Cup squad announced they would retire from international football after being offered only £485 for their participation in the tournament despite their belief that a multi-million-dollar sponsorship agreement had been agreed with Adidas last year.

Though they withdrew that threat, they are now preparing a court action against the Trinidad & Tobago football federation over the payments. T&T is a world football power, on account of the federation's financier, Jack Warner, the Fifa vice-president who was also re-elected as president of its continent's Concacaf confederation last week.

That election triumph came amid turmoil in his own constituency. The T&TFF had announced eight days previously that all forms of football were to be cancelled due to funding difficulties, although the situation was rescued following government intervention.

The T&T's players want to know where the Adidas money went and are calling for transparency in the federation's accounting. "It is hard to believe it when they say only eight months after playing at the highest level of world football that the federation is bankrupt," said Brent Sancho, the Gillingham and T&T defender.

The players fear that some of their number have already been blacklisted for international selection, a factor that could affect future work-permit applications to play in the UK leagues. It is felt that only through union representation can they ensure their rights are secured. With advice from English football unionist Kev Harrison, the players have organised a fundraising launch event at the Hackney Empire this evening.

New crackdown on touts

The government's war on ticket touting will open a new front next Tuesday. John Robertson, the Labour MP for Glasgow North West, has kicked off a debate that will lead to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport considering a proposal for a list of protected events for which no tickets may be sold at more than face value. Measures preventing the resale of tickets are already enshrined in law for football and come into force from next month.

The basis for football to be defended was initially to guarantee segregation of fans, because scalpers opened a back door to mixed spectating. Consumer-protection issues came to light only when the government learnt of the extortionate mark-ups in internet ticket resales. But football fans are not alone in suffering ticket-tout rip-offs and this has led to calls for a list of "crown jewels" events for which similar laws should be introduced.

A precedent is already in place with the prescription of free-to-air broadcasting of certain sporting events. Notionally it is hoped that Six Nations rugby, Test and one-day cricket matches, the Wimbledon tennis championships, rugby league's Challenge Cup final and racing's Grand National and Derby will all benefit from restrictions on ticket resale pricing.

Real try to protect rights

Real Madrid have employed lobbyists to tackle MEPs opposed to individual bargaining for television rights. A report will be voted on by the European parliament next Wednesday and one of the clauses it contained warned that clubs selling their own TV rights (as Real do) as opposed to doing so collectively (such as in the Premiership) "threaten completely to destroy competitive balance". The lobbyists' fees were money well spent: Madrid got their way when this clause was excised from the final text. But then they can afford it. Last year their budget was €346m compared with Seville's €30m and Real Zaragoza's €35m.

Fans in Israel warm-up

A 100-strong group from the official englandfans club will travel to Israel's leading Arab team Bnei Sakhnin for a match against the club's supporters before the England international in Tel Aviv on Saturday. It is the last of several initiatives aimed at promoting links between England supporters and their Israeli hosts. The first involves the laying of a St George's cross wreath at the holocaust memorial at Yad Vashem tomorrow morning.