By gaining planning permission this week for their new ground at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will make it a three-way capital heavyweight contest with Tottenham and West Ham to get elusive naming rights.

Spurs, who will finish their White Hart Lane building work at least two years ahead of Chelsea, have demanding chairman Daniel Levy looking for a long-term deal worth more than double Arsenal's £150million Emirates Stadium contract in 2012 that included a shirt sponsorship.

Ideally, Levy wants a 20-year agreement worth £20m annually, knowing how difficult it would be to re-name a UK stadium for a second time, and there is talk of possible Chinese investment.

The development of White Hart Lane continues apace and Spurs are looking for sponsors

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy (left) wants a 20-year, £20million-a-year deal

The difficulty of securing naming rights is shown by Indian technology company Mahindra Group, who failed to agree the £4.5million-a-year asking price for West Ham's London Stadium despite being in advanced talks.

The hooligan trouble that marred the early games there will not have helped the search for another sponsor.

Chelsea, whose building development is privately financed so far by owner Roman Abramovich, are concentrating on the search for building contractors ahead of the hunt for naming backers.

Chelsea's improved Stamford Bridge is another London stadium with naming rights to sell

West Ham are pursuing a stadium sponsor as well, meaning a three-way capital battle

Aleksander Ceferin, president of UEFA, does not claim to be a TV rights expert.

But in speaking to the British press in Zurich this week, he knows enough to understand the importance of UK terrestrial involvement in the next Champions League contract — with the tender being launched next week — following the paltry viewing figures on subscription channel BT Sport.

Gary Neville, who likes to lecture sports journalists on how to do their job, will not be giving his full focus on the day to preparing for his co-commentary role on Sky Sports' coverage of Manchester United v Liverpool on Sunday.

Instead Neville will be the main attraction at a sold-out question-and-answer session at his co-owned Hotel Football next to Old Trafford for 200 people paying £145 (juniors half price) each for the hospitality package.

Meanwhile, the Kersal Moor Residents' Association, set up in response to a new stadium for Salford City, are to field a candidate at the upcoming council election in response to their alleged lack of consultation before permission was approved.

The club are co-owned by Neville and his Class of 92 Manchester United team-mates. And the association also claim there has been no subsequent contact with residents as promised by Neville at the council meeting on December 15.

A Class of 92 spokeswoman said Neville was due to meet Salford locals on Monday.

Gary Neville will be attending a question-and-answer session before Manchester United's clash with Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday

A good early test of the mettle of ITV's The Opening Show racing preview programme will be how successfully presenter Oli Bell can take wily Jockey Club chief executive Simon Bazalgette to task for his organisation's scandalous blueprint to turn historic Kempton Park into a housing estate.

Kroenke missing again

Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke, who watches his NBA basketball franchise side Denver Nuggets a lot more regularly than his Premier League outfit, was a conspicuous absentee from the Nuggets' appearance at the O2 this week.

It is understood Kroenke could not see them make their London debut because of NFL meetings in the US over the San Diego Chargers joining his LA Rams in Los Angeles.

Denver Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke was unable to watch his team play at the O2 Arena

The Association of Football Agents have been admirably transparent in an email to members from chairman Mike Miller.

The email revealed that after 207 intermediaries — as they are now called — signed up for the general meeting this week, only around half of them actually turned up for the summit in Elstree.

It meant pre-ordered food and drink went 'down the drain'. Ten per cent is the usual agents' rate.

Shameless Manchester City banned questions at manager Pep Guardiola's Press conference about this week's FA charge over breaching their anti-doping regulations.

They claimed it was a club rather than a Pep matter.

Yet a Guardiola-coached Barcelona were fined by UEFA in 2010 for failing to notify anti-doping officials of a change in training schedule.