He’s yellow and green, ubercute and the symbol of the FIFA 2010 World Cup, but a leopard called Zakumi is causing a little controversy as the World Cup in South Africa draws ever nearer.

The company sanctioned by FIFA to create official World Cup Merchandise for the 2010 blow out, Global Brands Group, have severed ties with the company that created the loveable little leopard – China’s Shanghai Fashion Plastic Products- at the request of soccer’s governing body amid allegations that Zakumi was created in sweatshop conditions.

The original contract was awarded to a member of South Africa’s ruling ANC party but it was controversially contracted out to the foreign firm in spite of a devastatingly high unemployment rate in South Africa, something that the World Cup was supposed to (at least temporarily) alleviate. But now GBG say that an audit of the Singapore firm’s practices has found that the conditions in their factory are unsuitable and the contract has been suspended to afford Shanghai Fashion “the opportunity to put in place corrective actions and measures," according to a press statement.

The suspended company is fighting back though. According to a woman who did not give her name to the press but claimed to speak for SFPP, "Considering China's actual conditions, the environment in our factory, if not the best, is very good indeed. It was only because of the high unemployment now in South Africa. Some of their politicians used our working conditions as an excuse."

Indeed unions in South Africa are still enraged that the Zakumi project did not stay at home. According to Cosatu, South Africa's largest trade union, "It is outrageous that a public representative of the ANC, which is committed to policies to create decent work, can take such a callous decision which has deprived South African workers of employment, Cosatu is adamant that the work should never have been outsourced to China in the first place.”

What happens to Zakumi now remains up in the air. He will make all his appearances as scheduled but unless an agreement can be hammered out he may look a bit shabby doing it.

One of the last times David Beckham was at Old Trafford playing for Manchester United was as a substitute in a Champions League game against Real Madrid. Things were not well between Beckham and the mighty SAF (remember the flying boot incident?) but Beckham went out with a bang, scoring twice in a 4-3 win.

Wednesday’s Champions League clash between the Red Devils and AC Milan could be the first time that the Becks has been back on the pitch at the Theatre of Dreams since 2003. Upon his arrival at Manchester airport he was mobbed by United fans, and his former colleague Paul Scholes – who started his career alongside Beckham in the 1990s – told the BBC "United fans still love him for what he did for this club and he will get a fantastic ovation, if he does play”.

Whether or not Beckham will start is an issue his current manager, Leonardo, has been skirting in recent days. "For Beckham, it is obviously something special to have the opportunity to play against Manchester United given his history at the club," he said. “When we saw the draw we knew it would be an unbelievable situation for him. But knowing David, and his attitude, I am sure he can cope."

United uber-boss Sir Alex Ferguson, visibly getting a little annoyed about all the questions he is being asked about Beckham’s return said "I am finding it difficult to pick their team, I don't know whether Beckham will start.”

United go into the game with a 3-2 aggregate lead. With a victory, AC Milan would make history, as United have never been eliminated in Europe after winning an away first leg.

But what is not in doubt is that the focus will be on Beckham on Wednesday, however long he plays and Ferguson’s one hope is that the anticipation of Becks’ return will derail a plan that some say is in place as a part of the growing anti Glazer movement – for fans to delay there entrance to the stadium until the game has been underway for ten minutes. "They won't do that, it is too important a game.” He said, “Old Trafford will be rocking and I am sure whether they are wearing the traditional red and white or the protest green and gold scarves, the fans will be united and singing with one voice to get us through."

Everton boss David Moyes’ hopes of keeping Landon Donovan at Goodison Park for just a little longer appear to have been dashed by LA Galaxy boss Bruce Arena – unless the start of the new MLS season is delayed as contract negotiations continue.

The Toffees made a request that the MLS allow Donovan to stay a little longer as he has made such a positive impact since arriving in Merseyside in January. But in a statement on the LA Galaxy website, Bruce Arena stated "We're not interested. Landon will be back here on 15 March, as we have said all along." The MLS season kicks off for the Galaxy on March 27^th.

LA Galaxy teammate David Beckham, who is on loan again to AC Milan, will not be returning until the Serie A season is over, so it was unlikely that Arena really would have considered allowing his other big star to skip the start of the season.  Donovan certainly made an impact on the Everton fans and players alike and  many of them will be sad to see him go.

What though if negotiations stall and the season is delayed? Then, says Arena, that might be a different story, “If we didn't have a league going on we would certainly entertain the idea of allowing Landon to stay there. If we have a league, Landon's going to be playing for the Galaxy.”

At the moment though, possibly much to David Moyes’ disappointment it appears that the MLS players union is willing to let the season begin without a new contract as long as talks are ongoing, which means that Sunday’s game against Hull will be Landon’s last in a blue jersey for some time.

The Deloitte Football Money League, put out by the major accounting firm Deloitte, just published their rankings of the Top 20 highest earning soccer clubs in the world for the 2008-2009 season.

The list represents total club income, in British pounds, excluding transfer fees.  All 20 clubs on the list are from the five major European leagues.  England had seven clubs on the list, Germany five, Italy four, France two, and Spain had Real Madrid and Barcelona in the top two spots.

1. Real Madrid £341.9million
2. Barcelona £311.7m
3. Manchester United £278.5m
4. Bayern Munich £246.6m
5. Arsenal £224.0m
6. Chelsea £206.4m
7. Liverpool £184.8m
8. Juventus £173.1m
9. Inter Milan £167.4m
10. AC Milan £167.4m
11. Hamburg £124.9m
12. Roma £124.7m
13. Lyon £118.9m
14. Marseille £113.5m
15. Tottenham £113.0m
16. Schalke £106.0m
17. Werder Bremen £97.7m
18. Borussia Dortmund £88.1m
19. Manchester City £87.0m
20. Newcastle £86.0m

At Sunday’s Carling Cup Final there were plenty of green and gold scarves in evidence amongst the red sea of Manchester United supporters. Green and gold were the colors of Newton Heath – the 19^th century soccer club that was renamed Manchester United in 1902. The scarves were part of the Manchester United Supporters' Trust (MUST) campaign to show displeasure at the continued ownership of the club by the Glazers – an American family whose company Red Football Joint Venture was revealed a few weeks ago to have debts of  £716.5m ($1.17bn).  Those debts are secured against the famous soccer club; a club that prior to the Glazer family ownership had zero debts and enviable income streams.

The protests against the Glazer’s ownership of the club have been quietly building for some time now, and the BBC reported on Monday that a group of financiers dubbed “The Red Knights” are now seriously stepping up their efforts to purchase the club, backed by the powerful MUST. The problem is that the Glazers have no intention of selling.

But MUST and the Red Knights have no intention of giving up. The supporters trust are working with Blue State Digital, one of the firms that helped run Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. They are appealing to fans to starve the club of cash by not renewing their season tickets this year and refusing to buy official merchandise.

The English FA state that all that Red Joint Football Venture has done so far – including issue loans worth £1.67m from the parent company to patriarch Malcolm Glazer’s children – is within the realms of legality but they must be concerned as more and more soccer clubs are falling into debt. Portsmouth – now in administration to try to save themselves – are the first Premiership club to come so close to extinction, but the state of the finances at other big clubs are a cause for concern.

The only profit Manchester United officially showed last year was £80.1 – the exact transfer fee for Cristiano Ronaldo.  Some fans are worried that if the club were to fall into too much financial trouble they would lose the current jewel in the United crown, Wayne Rooney, whom it is rumored Real Madrid are willing to pay whatever it takes if the 23 year old will agree to be reunited with the former CR7. Last year, Brazilian star Kaka agreed to a transfer from AC Milan to Real Madrid in a move that was, he admitted, purely financial as his transfer fee effectively saved the club from falling too far into debt.