Samir "Sam" Hammam (Arabic: سام همّام) (born 1948 in Beirut)[1] is a Lebanese businessman, most notable for his high profile involvement in British football clubs. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Beirut (بيروت Bayrūt) is the Capital and Largest city of Lebanon with a population of over 2 Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered
Having trained as civil engineer, Hammam made his fortune as a building contractor in the Middle East. Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. After emigrating to Britain in 1975, Hammam bought a majority stake in his local football team Wimbledon F.C., becoming Chairman of the club. Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This article refers to the original club from London which existed until 2004
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Wimbledon FC
Originally moving to the area due to being a keen tennis fan Hammam soon became involved in football by buying £40,000 worth of shares at Wimbledon in two years. Tennis is a sport played between two players ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles) [2] Hammam was in charge of the unfashionable South London club during its meteoric and record-breaking rise through the football league to the top flight and the infamous 1988 FA cup victory. The 1988 FA Cup Final took place on 14 May 1988 at Wembley Stadium.
While the club's on-the-field success during Hammam's tenure as Chairman was undeniable, the situation off the pitch however was more colourful. Typically, merely hours after the club's FA Cup final victory, Hammam announced that the entire first team was up for sale. Hammam fostered the "Crazy Gang" image at the club, encouraging bizare 'rewards' and initiation ceremonies for new players - Hammam pledged to buy leading striker Dean Holdsworth a camel should he score 20 goals in a season, while at his first day at the club record signing John Hartson had his kit set on fire by his new team mates. The Crazy Gang is a Nickname coined by the UK media to describe the Wimbledon football team of the 1980s and the 1990s Dean Holdsworth (born 8 November 1968 in Walthamstow, London) is an English former professional football player now John Hartson (born 5 April 1975 in Swansea) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a Striker. Unfortunately however these eccentricities were not the extent of Hammam's controversial chairmanship, which led to him being dubbed "Sam the Sham" by Wimbledon supporters.
Hammam had arranged for ownership of the club's Plough Lane home ground to be held by a private company, of which Hammam himself was a director. Plough After Wimbledon were forced to move out of their ground and groundshare at Selhurst Park with local rivals Crystal Palace in 1992, Hammam opened discussions with the Council to lift a covenant on the site, requiring it to be retained for sporting use. Selhurst Park is a British football Stadium located in the London suburb of South Norwood in the Borough of Croydon Crystal Palace FC is an English football club based in South Norwood, London. The London Borough of Merton ( is a London borough in south west London. Once this was removed, Hammam went on to sell the site to supermarket giants, Safeway, for a substantial profit, leaving the club without a home ground.
Hammam was subsequently unsuccessful with his initial proposals for the club to relocate to, among other places, Dublin, Cardiff and Milton Keynes and eventually sold his stake in the homeless club to two Norwegian businessmen for a substantial fortune, reported at around £30 million. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional However it was his sale of the club's home ground which gave subsequent owners, Charles Koppel and Pete Winkleman, the opportunity to buy a football club for franchising to Milton Keynes.
Cardiff City FC
Having sold his interests in Wimbledon, Hammam purchased control of Cardiff City at the end of 2000, where he quickly picked up where he left off with Wimbledon. Cardiff City Football Club (Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd is a football team based in Cardiff, Wales. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Shortly after taking over at Cardiff, Hammam controversially pledged to get the entire Welsh nation to support Cardiff by renaming the club "The Cardiff Celts" and changing the club colours to green, red and white,[3],[4]although it was decided against this.
After failing to get the new stadium plans agreed by Cardiff Council due to concerns over financial security in 2006, Hammam agreed to a £27 million takeover by a consortium led by new chairman Peter Ridsdale and including lead developer of the new stadia Paul Guy. Political makeup Elections take place every four years The last election was 1 May 2008. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Peter Ridsdale (born 11 March 1952 in Leeds) is an English businessman well known as acting as Chairman of several football However, the takeover was in doubt until 22 December 2006 with the club in threat of administration until the consortium agreed to pay Hammam's company Rudgwick an extra £500,000 and £90,000 to Hammam's brother. Events 1790 - The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Administration is a procedure under the Insolvency laws of a number of Common law jurisdictions which functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent companies Ex-Wales rugby captain Mike Hall said after the deal was completed: "That was money which would have been spent on players. Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short Mike Hall (born 13 October, 1965 in Bridgend) is a former Welsh Rugby union international now property developer and part time rugby But instead it's gone into Sam's pocket. It was the only way the deal was going to be done. I know people say he's a complex character, but at the end it was total greed and self-interest. It was amazing, but football is a murky world. "[5]
In March 2008 Cardiff City began a court case against financial backers Langston over the repayment of a loan believed to be worth around £31 million. During the hearing the barrister representing the club named Sam Hammam as the man they believe to be behind the company. [6]
Controversies
Sam has achieved a level of notoriety in English football for his unusual antics at matches, frequently walking around the pitchside during games, and his eccentric methods of publicising himself and his players.
Sam Hammam is a signed-up member of Wimbledons Crazy Gang. The Crazy Gang is a Nickname coined by the UK media to describe the Wimbledon football team of the 1980s and the 1990s
He has threatened poorly performing players with trips to the Opera. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto
In 1994 he was caught scrawling abusive graffiti in the away dressing room at Upton Park. Upton Park is an area in the London Borough of Newham. Upton Park is centred upon Green Street a High street that runs north-south between the
When signing Robbie Earle from Port Vale, he locked the midfielder in his study until he signed. Robert Fitzgerald "Robbie" Earle MBE (born 27 January, 1965 in Newcastle-under-Lyme) is a former professional footballer Port Vale Football Club are an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. A study is a room in a House which is used for paperwork Computer work or reading.
At Cardiff City he became a cult-hero with fans for taking part in their head-patting 'do the Ayatollah' chant
Quotes
"We have to remain the English bulldog SAS club. Cardiff City Football Club (Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd is a football team based in Cardiff, Wales. This article does not discuss "cult" in the original sense of "veneration" or "religious practice" for that usage see Cult (religious practice The Ayatollah is a football celebration used by fans of Welsh football club Cardiff City. We have to sustain ourselves by power and the attitude that we kick ass. Before we go down we'll leave a trail of blood from here to Timbuktu. Timbuktu ( Timbuctoo; Koyra Chiini: Tumbutu; French: Tombouctou) is a city in Tombouctou Region, in the West African " - As owner of Wimbledon, March 1999.
References
- ^ Borras, Kevin & Slater, Matt (1996-10-17), “All for one!”, Match of the Day magazine (BBC) (no. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Events 539 BC - King Cyrus The Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost 10): pp10–13
- ^ "The Guardian: Still crazy"
- ^ BBC Wales: Hammam: 'I will die for Cardiff Celts'
- ^ BBC Wales: Fans are Hammam's big worry
- ^ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Cardiff City | Hammam accused of Cardiff 'greed'
- ^ "Hammam named in Cardiff loan case" BBC Retrieved on 14 March 2008,
Image:Sam hammam. Events 1489 - The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sells her kingdom to Venice. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common jpg
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