FSM
Feature
Vodafone could be launching 5G at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium
Vodafone is in talks to launch 5G at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium. It would make the stadium one of the UK’s first sites to have the next-generation mobile network after it launches later this year. Vodafone, which previously sponsored the club, is in talks about fitting high-speed fibre- optics in the stadium so it will be 5G ready. At the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona
where 5G took centre stage, FC Barcelona announced they had partnered with O2’s Spanish owner, Telefonica, to launch 5G at their Nou Camp stadium, becoming the first in Europe. Barcelona said the super-fast mobile internet will be used
to beam videos of matches to homes and allow fans to watch games on virtual reality headsets once the stadium has wireless 360-degree cameras. Exactly how it will be used at Old Trafford is unclear, but
5G could also be used to enhance virtual reality videos as is planned at the Nou Camp. A source said it could even be used to conduct TV interviews with players on the pitch using holograms of presenters who are really in the studio. It could also improve the speed of VAR, the controversial
video assistant referee technology, which is being introduced in football to rule on contentious decisions. 5G is said to be 100 times faster than 4G.
Safety improvements made to Sussex club’s home ground
New pitch perimeter fencing and security gates have been installed at Billingshurst FC’s home ground in Sussex to improve safety for everyone at the club on matchdays. The new facilities were unveiled recently (Wednesday 20 March 2019), prior to a game against Brighton and Hove Albion’s under-18s team.
After netting a £17,931
grant from the Premier League, via the Football Stadia
Improvement
Fund (FSIF) – the sister organisation of the Football Foundation, work began at Jubilee Fields in July 2018. The investment has allowed Billingshurst
From left to right: Billingshurst FC Chairman, Kevin Tilley, District Councillors Amanda Jupp and Nigel Jupp, Sussex County FA Welfare Officer, Sandra Redhead, Billingshurst Parish Councillors, Barry Barnes and Gary Commins.
FC, who play in the Southern Combination League Division One at Step 6, to install new perimeter boundary fencing and a spectator railing surrounding the pitch. The new fencing ensures that the club continues to maintain the requirements of Grade G of the FA National Ground Grading Criteria. Billingshurst FC was established in 1891
and currently operates three senior sides and a thriving junior section, with teams running from Under-8’s through to Under- 16’s. In 2016 Billingshurst FC were awarded
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a £70,723 grant from the Football Stadia Improvement Fund to install a new 100- seater stand, hardstanding and floodlights at Jubilee Fields.
Kevin Tilley, the
Chairman of Billingshurst FC said: “We are delighted to be able to complete our ground improvement project which enables us to continue to maintain the requirements of Grade G of the FA National Ground Grading Criteria. We are extremely grateful to the Football Stadia Improvement Fund and the Premier League as without their support we would not have been able to complete the project.” Peter McCormick OBE, Chairman of the Football Stadia Improvement Fund, said: “It’s brilliant news
that funding from the Premier League has helped Billingshurst FC to undertake this project. The safety and enjoyment of football fans is a vital part of the matchday experience and improvements made at Jubilee Fields will certainly contribute towards this. “The Football Stadia Improvement Fund
channels money from the Premier League into improving stadia for lower league clubs across the country. The work at Billingshurst FC is just one example of how this investment is improving provision for players and fans.”
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