By Andrew Warshaw
March 18 – China is setting out a blueprint for staging the World Cup a generation down the road by raising the standard of the national team as part of a sweeping development project.
March 18 – Bhutan, officially the world’s worst national team, have pulled off a second straight fairytale victory by defying all the odds – and this time progressed to the second round of Asian World Cup qualifying.
By Paul Nicholson
March 18 – New data from the CIES Football Observatory shows that the average cost of a squad has risen by 24.5% between 2009/10 and the current season. The CIES research looks at transfer spend in the Big-5 leagues of England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
By Mark Baber
March 17 – FIFA has postponed the Pakistan v Yemen World Cup qualifier, which had been scheduled for today, following Sunday’s twin bombings aimed at Christians in Lahore.
By Alexander Krassimirov
March 17 – Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia have begun a national roadshow to sell the ‘Levski is yours’ fundraising campaign. Jointly organised by the supporters trust Blue Bulgaria and the National supporters club of Levski, the tour will include 18 two-day events around the country as the club bids to broaden its ownership base.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 17 – A week before he is due to be re-elected unopposed as UEFA president, Michel Platini has sought to play down any suggestion that power is beginning to go to his head after two terms of office.
March 17 – The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has reported a number of players to law enforcement agencies over allegations they bet on their own team to lose.
By Paul Nicholson
March 17 – The New York Cosmos, one of the world’s most iconic football club names, has announced that they will travel to Cuba for a friendly match against the Cuban national team on June 2. The Cosmos will be the first professional sports team to play in Cuba since 1999.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
March 16 – Serie A has extended its long-running sponsorship with Telecom Italia. The Italian top tier will partner with the company, through its mobile phone brand TIM, until 2018.
By Mark Baber
March 16 – The attempt by the Kenyan Football Federation (FKF) to put an end to the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) by taking matters to the civil courts was defeated comprehensively in the Kenyan High Court this morning as the Judge ruled the FKF does not have the capacity to sue.
March 16 – Barcelona may be holding on to their lead in La Liga but off the field the club have become ever more deeply embroiled in the Neymar tax fraud case.
March 16 – Italian crisis club Parma, thumped again 4-1 at the weekend, have had two more points deducted by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) for failing to pay their players’ salaries.
By Mark Baber
March 13 – Kenyan Premier League officials have walked free from court after being cleared of the contempt of court charges brought against them by the Kenyan Football Federation and its President Sam Nyamweya. The ruling comes in spite of a remarkable letter being sent to the FKL by FIFA Deputy Secretary General Markus Kattner in which he explicitly scotched reports that FIFA had requested the withdrawal of the case.
March 13 – UEFA have re-ignited their attack on football’s lawmakers for making what they say is entirely the wrong call over how to solve the triple punishment rule.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
March 13 – Desperate players at Belarus’ FC Dinamo Brest have taken the unusual step of writing to state authorities pleading for them to pay their unpaid wages. Belarus’ top clubs are struggling to stay afloat financially and for the Dinamo Brest player, the crisis has reached breaking point.