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Spanish football suspended indefinitely (10th May, 2015)

The Reading / Listening - Level 6

Lovers of Spanish football are in shock over the sudden suspension of all games in the country from May 16. This means the penultimate and final, and championship-deciding round of matches in La Liga may not take place. This has happened because of a dispute between the Spanish football federation and TV companies over TV rights. The suspension could affect more than 600,000 football players and 30,000 matches. It could not come at a worse moment for La Liga as Barcelona lead rivals Real Madrid by just two points, with three games left to play. The Copa del Rey final between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao is also under threat. Officials say there could be time for all parties to resolve their spat.

The dispute is over a new law drawn up by the Spanish government that makes all teams bargain together over TV rights. Currently, the country's top two teams, Barcelona and Real Madrid, are allowed to negotiate their own deals with TV companies. This means they are allotted nearly half of all TV money on offer. The Spanish federation accused the government of a "lack of respect" over interfering in Spanish football. It also complained it had not been consulted properly on the proposed new TV rights law. In another twist, the players' union, the Association of Spanish Footballers, has threatened to strike over being excluded from the negotiations. Barcelona star Lionel Messi and others are backing this threat.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 4 or Level 5

Sources

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/32619740
http://www.eurosport.com/football/liga/2014-2015/reports-spanish-domestic-football-suspends-end-of-season-matches_sto4715138/story.shtml
http://www.90min.com/posts/2135982-spanish-football-suspended-indefinitely-from-16th-may-after-dispute-with-government

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. FOOTBALL: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about football. Change partners often and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?

shock / suspension / final / matches / dispute / players / worse / moment / officials / government / new law / negotiate / respect / interfering / consulted / properly / threat

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. RULES: What changes would make football more exciting? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Good (Why?)	Bad (Why?)
A bigger goal
Points for goals
Video referee
No offside rule
Unlimited substitutions
No goalkeepers

4. SALARIES: Students A strongly believe football player salaries are too high; Students B strongly believe they can never be too high. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

MY e-BOOK

ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers

See a sample

5. SPORT: Rank these with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• soccer

• American football

• basketball

• cycling

• Formula 1

• tennis

• athletics

• skiing

6. FINAL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "final". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	Games in Spain's La Liga will be suspended, but not in other leagues.	T / F
b.	The suspension comes with two rounds of the season remaining.	T / F
c.	Over half-a-million players are affected.	T / F
d.	A final between Barcelona and Athletic Madrid will take place.	T / F
e.	The dispute is because of a proposed law that will affect TV money.	T / F
f.	The top two teams get nearly half of all TV money.	T / F
g.	The government is complaining it was not consulted enough.	T / F
h.	Lionel Messi is refusing to support a proposed players' strike.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	suspension	a.	hit
2.	dispute	b.	blamed
3.	affect	c.	altercation
4.	moment	d.	written
5.	resolve	e.	considered
6.	drawn up	f.	time
7.	deals	g.	postponement
8.	accused	h.	supporting
9.	consulted	i.	agreements
10.	backing	j.	settle

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	Lovers of Spanish football are in	a.	a worse moment
2.	It could not come at	b.	from the negotiations
3.	three games left	c.	resolve their spat
4.	under	d.	properly
5.	time for all parties to	e.	their own deals
6.	all teams bargain together	f.	threat
7.	allowed to negotiate	g.	are backing this threat
8.	it had not been consulted	h.	to play
9.	excluded	i.	over TV rights
10.	Lionel Messi and others	j.	shock

GAP FILL

Lovers of Spanish football are in (1) ____________ over the sudden suspension of all games in the country from May 16. This means the penultimate and final, and championship-deciding (2) ____________ of matches in La Liga may not take place. This has happened because of a (3) ____________ between the Spanish football federation and TV companies over TV (4) ____________. The suspension could affect more than 600,000 football players and 30,000 matches. It could not come at a (5) ____________ moment for La Liga as Barcelona lead rivals Real Madrid by just two points, with three games (6) ____________ to play. The Copa del Rey final between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao is also (7) ____________ threat. Officials say there could be time for all parties to (8) ____________ their spat.

dispute
shock
left
under
rounds
resolve
worse
rights

The dispute is over a new law (9) ____________ up by the Spanish government that makes all teams (10) ____________ together over TV rights. Currently, the country's top two teams, Barcelona and Real Madrid, are allowed to negotiate their own (11) ____________ with TV companies. This means they are (12) ____________ nearly half of all TV money on offer. The Spanish federation accused the government of a "lack of (13) ____________ " over interfering in Spanish football. It also complained it had not been consulted (14) ____________ on the proposed new TV rights law. In another twist, the players' union, the Association of Spanish Footballers, has threatened to (15) ____________ over being excluded from the negotiations. Barcelona star Lionel Messi and others are (16) ____________ this threat.

allotted
drawn
properly
backing
deals
strike
bargain
respect

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	Lovers of Spanish football are in shock over the sudden suspension of ______ country
	a. all games on the b. all games at the c. all games for the d. all games in the
2)	championship-deciding rounds of matches in La Liga may ______
	a. not takes place b. not taking place c. not took place d. not take place
3)	This has happened because of a dispute between the Spanish ______
	a. football federations b. football federated c. football federation d. football feeder nation
4)	Barcelona lead rivals Real Madrid by just two points, with three ______
	a. games leave to play b. games not to play c. games left to play d. games loft to play
5)	Officials say there could be time for all parties to ______
	a. resolve their spat b. resolve their spit c. resolve their splat d. resolve their split
6)	The dispute is over a new law ______ Spanish government
	a. drawn on by the b. drawn op by the c. drawn app by the d. drawn up by the
7)	This means they are allotted nearly half of all TV ______
	a. money on offers b. money on offered c. money on offering d. money on offer
8)	It also complained it had not been consulted properly on the ______
	a. proposed new TV right b. proposed new TV lights c. proposed new TV nights d. proposed new TV rights
9)	the Association of Spanish Footballers, has threatened to strike over ______ the negotiations
	a. being excluded from b. being included from c. being concluded from d. being excluded form
10)	Barcelona star Lionel Messi and others are ______
	a. backing this threat b. backing this threats c. backing this threaten d. backing this treat

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Lovers of Spanish football (1) ___________________ the sudden suspension of all games in the country from May 16. This means the penultimate and final, and championship-deciding (2) ___________________ in La Liga may not take place. This has happened because (3) ___________________ the Spanish football federation and TV companies over TV rights. The suspension (4) ___________________ than 600,000 football players and 30,000 matches. It could not come (5) ___________________ for La Liga as Barcelona lead rivals Real Madrid by just two points, with three games left to play. The Copa del Rey final between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao is also under threat. Officials say there could be time (6) ___________________ resolve their spat.

The dispute is over a (7) ___________________ up by the Spanish government that makes all teams (8) ___________________ TV rights. Currently, the country's top two teams, Barcelona and Real Madrid, are allowed (9) ___________________ own deals with TV companies. This means they are allotted (10) ___________________ TV money on offer. The Spanish federation accused the government of a "lack of respect" over interfering in Spanish football. It also complained it had not been consulted (11) ___________________ proposed new TV rights law. In another twist, the players' union, the Association of Spanish Footballers, has threatened to strike over being excluded from the negotiations. Barcelona star Lionel Messi and others are (12) ___________________.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	Who is in shock over the suspension of football games in Spain?
2.	How many rounds of matches will be affected?
3.	How many players could be affected?
4.	How many more points did Barcelona have than Real Madrid?
5.	What did officials sat there could be time for?
6.	What does a new law make teams do over TV rights?
7.	How much of the TV money do Barcelona and Real Madrid usually get?
8.	What did the Spanish football federation say the government lacked?
9.	What are football players threatening to do?
10.	What did Lionel Messi say he would do?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	Who is in shock over the suspension of football games in Spain?	6.	What does a new law make teams do over TV rights?
	a) the boss of Real Madrid b) lovers of Spanish football c) Lionel Messi d) the English Premier League		a) bargain together b) watch TV c) play longer d) strike
2.	How many rounds of matches will be affected?	7.	How much of the TV money do Barcelona and Real Madrid usually get?
	a) 5 b) 4 c) 3 d) 2		a) three-quarters b) two-thirds c) nearly half d) 62%
3.	How many players could be affected?	8.	What did the Spanish football federation say the government lacked?
	a) exactly 600,000 b) just under 600,000 c) over 600,000 d) around 600,000		a) respect b) ability c) ideas d) know-how
4.	How many more points did Barcelona have than Real Madrid?	9.	What are football players threatening to do?
	a) 2 b) 3 c) 4 d) 5		a) ask for higher salaries b) play overseas c) play the games d) strike
5.	What did officials sat there could be time for?	10.	What did Lionel Messi say he would do?
	a) the final b) a resolution c) more games d) extra time		a) quit football b) go back to Argentina c) support the strike d) play in England

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Soccer

You think soccer is the most exciting sport. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their sports aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the least exciting of these (and why): tennis, cycling or basketball.

Role B – Tennis

You think tennis is the most exciting sport. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their sports aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the least exciting of these (and why): soccer, cycling or basketball.

Role C – Cycling

You think cycling is the most exciting sport. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their sports aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the least exciting of these (and why): tennis, soccer or basketball.

Role D – Basketball

You think basketball is the most exciting sport. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their sports aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the least exciting of these (and why): tennis, cycling or soccer.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'under' and 'threat'.

under

threat

Share your findings with your partners.

Make questions using the words you found.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

shock
rounds
happened
affect
moment
parties

drawn
top
deals
lack
twist
backing

FOOTBALL SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about football in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.

Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

FOOTBALL DISCUSSION

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1)	What did you think when you read the headline?
2)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'football'?
3)	Which is better, American football or soccer football?
4)	What do you think of the suspension?
5)	How good is Spanish football?
6)	Why do you think this suspension cannot wait until after the final games?
7)	Is it wrong for governments to get involved in sport?
8)	What do you think the players think of this dispute?
9)	What will happen if the final two games are not played?
10)	How could the parties resolve their spat?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

11)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12)	Who should sort out the dispute?
13)	Is it fair that Barcelona and Real Madrid get most of the money?
14)	How would football change if all teams got an equal share of TV money?
15)	How might the government have shown a lack of respect?
16)	How might the players' strike affect things?
17)	Is it right for sport professionals to strike?
18)	How do you think this dispute will end?
19)	Do soccer players get paid too much money?
20)	What questions would you like to ask Lionel Messi?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

Lovers of Spanish football are in shock over the (1) ____ suspension of all games in the country from May 16. This means the (2) ____ and final, and championship-deciding rounds of matches in La Liga may not (3) ____ place. This has happened because of a dispute between the Spanish football federation and TV companies over TV rights. The suspension could (4) ____ more than 600,000 football players and 30,000 matches. It could not come at a worse moment for La Liga as Barcelona lead rivals Real Madrid by just two points, with three games (5) ____ to play. The Copa del Rey final between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao is also under threat. Officials say there could be time for all parties to resolve their (6) ____.

The dispute is over a new law (7) ____ up by the Spanish government that makes all teams bargain together over TV rights. Currently, the country's top two teams, Barcelona and Real Madrid, are allowed to (8) ____ their own deals with TV companies. This means they are (9) ____ nearly half of all TV money on offer. The Spanish federation accused the government of a "lack of respect" (10) ____ interfering in Spanish football. It also complained it had not been consulted properly on the proposed new TV rights law. (11) ____ another twist, the players' union, the Association of Spanish Footballers, has threatened to strike over being excluded from the negotiations. Barcelona star Lionel Messi and others are (12) ____ this threat.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	sadden	(b)	sodden	(c)	suddenly	(d)	sudden
2.	(a)	ultimatum	(b)	ultimately	(c)	ultimate	(d)	penultimate
3.	(a)	give	(b)	take	(c)	have	(d)	play
4.	(a)	effect	(b)	reflect	(c)	affect	(d)	infect
5.	(a)	not	(b)	resolve	(c)	left	(d)	on
6.	(a)	spat	(b)	spit	(c)	splat	(d)	spite
7.	(a)	sketched	(b)	drawn	(c)	painted	(d)	sprayed
8.	(a)	negotiate	(b)	deal	(c)	survey	(d)	interrogate
9.	(a)	alleged	(b)	allotted	(c)	alleviated	(d)	allied
10.	(a)	in	(b)	under	(c)	over	(d)	on
11.	(a)	On	(b)	To	(c)	In	(d)	As
12.	(a)	shooting	(b)	heading	(c)	fronting	(d)	backing

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	the sudden isspunnose of all games
2.	the nmpaietuelt and final…
3.	because of a uidetps
4.	the Spanish football erntdfoiae
5.	also under tahetr
6.	erlseov their spat
Paragraph 2
7.	makes all teams irnbaga together
8.	allowed to aoeietgnt their own deals
9.	they are tdteoall nearly half
10.	scdeauc the government
11.	it had not been stdcnolue properly
12.	strike over being clexddue

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	Real Madrid by just two points, with three games left to play. The Copa del Rey final between Barcelona
( )	May 16. This means the penultimate and final, and championship-deciding rounds
( )	negotiate their own deals with TV companies. This means they are allotted nearly half of all TV money on
( )	The dispute is over a new law drawn up by the Spanish government that makes all teams bargain
( )	offer. The Spanish federation accused the government of a "lack of respect" over interfering
( )	and Athletic Bilbao is also under threat. Officials say there could be time for all parties to resolve their spat.
( )	rights law. In another twist, the players' union, the Association of Spanish Footballers, has threatened to
( )	between the Spanish football federation and TV companies over TV rights. The suspension could affect more
( 1 )	Lovers of Spanish football are in shock over the sudden suspension of all games in the country from
( )	of matches in La Liga may not take place. This has happened because of a dispute
( )	than 600,000 football players and 30,000 matches. It could not come at a worse moment for La Liga as Barcelona lead rivals
( )	together over TV rights. Currently, the country's top two teams, Barcelona and Real Madrid, are allowed to
( )	in Spanish football. It also complained it had not been consulted properly on the proposed new TV
( )	strike over being excluded from the negotiations. Barcelona star Lionel Messi and others are backing this threat.

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	over suspension games shock sudden all In the of .
2.	the between dispute A federation football Spanish .
3.	a It at come moment not worse could .
4.	Madrid by Lead just rivals two Real points .
5.	for time be could There spat their resolve to parties all .
6.	up Spanish A drawn the law by government new .
7.	negotiate deals companies to own TV Allowed their with .
8.	offer on money TV all of half nearly allotted are They .
9.	of a Accused lack the of government respect .
10.	being over Strike negotiations the from excluded .

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

Lovers of Spanish football are in shocking / shock over the sudden suspension of all games in the countries / country from May 16. This means the penultimate and final / finally, and championship-deciding rounds of matches in La Liga may not take / give place. This has happened because of a disputing / dispute between the Spanish football federation and TV companies over TV rights. The suspension could affect / effect more than 600,000 football players and 30,000 matches. It could not come at a worst / worse moment for La Liga as Barcelona lead rivals / rivalries Real Madrid by just two points, with three games left / right to play. The Copa del Rey final between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao is also under threat. Officials say there could be time for all parties to resolve their spit / spat.

The dispute is over a new law drawn / painted up by the Spanish government that makes all teams sale / bargain together over TV rights. Currently, the country's top two teams, Barcelona and Real Madrid, are allowed to negotiation / negotiate their own deals with / of TV companies. This means they are allotted nearly halve / half of all TV money on offer. The Spanish federation accused / accusation the government of a "lack of respect" over interfering on / in Spanish football. It also complained it had not been consulted properly / proper on the proposed new TV rights law. In another twist / screw, the players' union, the Association of Spanish Footballers, has threatened to strike over being excluded from the negotiations. Barcelona star Lionel Messi and others are forwarding / backing this threat.

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

L_v_rs _f Sp_n_sh f__tb_ll _r_ _n sh_ck _v_r th_ s_dd_n s_sp_ns__n _f _ll g_m_s _n th_ c__ntry fr_m M_y 16. Th_s m__ns th_ p_n_lt_m_t_ _nd f_n_l, _nd ch_mp__nsh_p-d_c_d_ng r__nds _f m_tch_s _n L_ L_g_ m_y n_t t_k_ pl_c_. Th_s h_s h_pp_n_d b_c__s_ _f _ d_sp_t_ b_tw__n th_ Sp_n_sh f__tb_ll f_d_r_t__n _nd TV c_mp_n__s _v_r TV r_ghts. Th_ s_sp_ns__n c__ld _ff_ct m_r_ th_n 600,000 f__tb_ll pl_y_rs _nd 30,000 m_tch_s. _t c__ld n_t c_m_ _t _ w_rs_ m_m_nt f_r L_ L_g_ _s B_rc_l_n_ l__d r_v_ls R__l M_dr_d by j_st tw_ p__nts, w_th thr__ g_m_s l_ft t_ pl_y. Th_ C_p_ d_l R_y f_n_l b_tw__n B_rc_l_n_ _nd _thl_t_c B_lb__ _s _ls_ _nd_r thr__t. _ff_c__ls s_y th_r_ c__ld b_ t_m_ f_r _ll p_rt__s t_ r_s_lv_ th__r sp_t.

Th_ d_sp_t_ _s _v_r _ n_w l_w dr_wn _p by th_ Sp_n_sh g_v_rnm_nt th_t m_k_s _ll t__ms b_rg__n t_g_th_r _v_r TV r_ghts. C_rr_ntly, th_ c__ntry's t_p tw_ t__ms, B_rc_l_n_ _nd R__l M_dr_d, _r_ _ll_w_d t_ n_g_t__t_ th__r _wn d__ls w_th TV c_mp_n__s. Th_s m__ns th_y _r_ _ll_tt_d n__rly h_lf _f _ll TV m_n_y _n _ff_r. Th_ Sp_n_sh f_d_r_t__n _cc_s_d th_ g_v_rnm_nt _f _ "l_ck _f r_sp_ct" _v_r _nt_rf_r_ng _n Sp_n_sh f__tb_ll. _t _ls_ c_mpl__n_d _t h_d n_t b__n c_ns_lt_d pr_p_rly _n th_ pr_p_s_d n_w TV r_ghts l_w. _n _n_th_r tw_st, th_ pl_y_rs' _n__n, th_ _ss_c__t__n _f Sp_n_sh F__tb_ll_rs, h_s thr__t_n_d t_ str_k_ _v_r b__ng _xcl_d_d fr_m th_ n_g_t__t__ns. B_rc_l_n_ st_r L__n_l M_ss_ _nd _th_rs _r_ b_ck_ng th_s thr__t.

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

lovers of spanish football are in shock over the sudden suspension of all games in the country from may 16 this means the penultimate and final and championship-deciding rounds of matches in la liga may not take place this has happened because of a dispute between the spanish football federation and tv companies over tv rights the suspension could affect more than 600000 football players and 30000 matches it could not come at a worse moment for la liga as barcelona lead rivals real madrid by just two points with three games left to play the copa del rey final between barcelona and athletic bilbao is also under threat officials say there could be time for all parties to resolve their spat

the dispute is over a new law drawn up by the spanish government that makes all teams bargain together over tv rights currently the country's top two teams barcelona and real madrid are allowed to negotiate their own deals with tv companies this means they are allotted nearly half of all tv money on offer the spanish federation accused the government of a "lack of respect" over interfering in spanish football it also complained it had not been consulted properly on the proposed new tv rights law in another twist the players' union the association of spanish footballers has threatened to strike over being excluded from the negotiations barcelona star lionel messi and others are backing this threat

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

LoversofSpanishfootballareinshockoverthesuddensuspensionofallg
amesinthecountryfromMay16.Thismeansthepenultimateandfinal,a
ndchampionship-decidingroundsofmatchesinLaLigamaynottak
eplace.ThishashappenedbecauseofadisputebetweentheSpanishfoot
ballfederationandTVcompaniesoverTVrights.Thesuspensioncouldaf
fectmorethan600,000footballplayersand30,000matches.Itcouldnot
comeataworsemomentforLaLigaasBarcelonaleadrivalsRealMadridb
yjusttwopoints,withthreegameslefttoplay.TheCopadelReyfinalbetw
eenBarcelonaandAthleticBilbaoisalsounderthreat.Officialssaytherec
ouldbetimeforallpartiestoresolvetheirspat.Thedisputeisoveranewla
wdrawnupbytheSpanishgovernmentthatmakesallteamsbargaintog
etheroverTVrights.Currently,thecountry'stoptwoteams,Barcelonaa
ndRealMadrid,areallowedtonegotiatetheirowndealswithTVcompani
es.ThismeanstheyareallottednearlyhalfofallTVmoneyonoffer.TheSp
anishfederationaccusedthegovernmentofa"lackofrespect"overwint
erferinginSpanishfootball.Italsocomplainedithadnotbeenconsulted
properlyontheproposednewTVrightslaw.Inanothertwist,theplayers'
union,theAssociationofSpanishFootballers,hasthreatenedtostrikeo
verbeingexcludedfromthenegotiations.BarcelonastarLionelMessian
dothersarebackingthisthreat.

FREE WRITING

Write about football for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

Football is the best sport in the world. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about what's happening in Spanish football. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. FOOTBALL: Make a poster about football. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. MONEY: Write a magazine article about there being too much money in sport. Include imaginary interviews with people who believe this and with people who do not.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to the boss of Spain's La Liga. Ask him/her three questions about football in Spain. Give him/her three ideas on how to solve the current problem over TV rights. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

A Few Additional Activities for Students

Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

Also...

Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

News
Warm ups
Pre-reading / Post-reading
Using headlines
Working with words
While-reading / While-listening
Moving from text to speech
Post-reading / Post-listening
Discussions
Using opinions
Plans
Language
Using lists
Using quotes
Task-based activities
Role plays
Using the central characters in the article
Using themes from the news
Homework

Buy my book

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

T

c

T

d

F

e

T

f

T

g

F

h

F

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	suspension	a.	postponement
2	dispute	b.	altercation
3.	affect	c.	hit
4.	moment	d.	time
5.	resolve	e.	settle
6.	drawn up	f.	written
7.	deals	g.	agreements
8.	accused	h.	blamed
9.	consulted	i.	considered
10.	backing	j.	supporting

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	Lovers of Spanish football
2.	Two
3.	Over 600,000
4.	Two
5.	The dispute (spat) to be resolved
6.	Bargain together
7.	Nearly half
8.	Respect
9.	Strike
10.	Back the strike

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

b

2.

d

3.

c

4.

a

5.

b

6.

a

7.

c

8.

a

9.

d

10.

c

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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Spanish football suspended indefinitely (10th May, 2015)

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