December 15 – The Swedish football association has waded into the debate over transparency within FIFA by suggesting world football’s governing body adopt the Nordic way of behaving when it comes to openness.
By Ricardo Setyon
December 15 – The recent illness of Pele that kept the Brazilian nation anxiously watching their news bulletins, was also the opportunity for the football legend to announce his latest image rights deal.
December 15 – CONCACAF has announced the shortlists of contenders for its second annual awards recognising the achievements of the region’s men and women players, coaches and referees over the past year.
By Mark Baber
December 12 – The new Namibia Football Association (NFA) leadership including the new President Frans Mbidi (pictured left) elected last week have been congratulated by FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF) – although the manner in which the vote was held and a walk-out by the main rival candidate and his supporters may spell trouble ahead.
December 12 – UEFA has appointed Dutch legend Clarence Seedorf as the UEFA Global Ambassador for Diversity and Change. Michel Platini introduced Seedorf at a ceremony in Amsterdam at the Olympic Stadium.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
December 12 – The coaches of two of Poland’s leading football sides have called on the Polish Football Federation (PZPN) to reform the Ekstraklasa, the country’s top tier, by expanding it by a further two teams to 18 squads, similarly to the German Bundesliga.
December 12 – Canadian Sonia Denoncourt has been appointed CONCACAF’s Director of Refereeing. Denoncourt’s role will be to head all aspects of referreing and the development of referees across the region, including directing the Heads of Refereeing in the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) and the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).
December 12 – Two Paris St Germain fans are recovering after being stabbed following Wednesday night’s Champions League match against Barcelona at the Nou Camp, heaping even more pressure on Spanish to crack down on violence.
December 12 – Twenty-four days after Hereford United, famous for causing one of the great upsets in English football history, were thrown out of the game following a long and painful battle for survival, the club has been handed a reprieve.
December 12 – Last week UEFA announced it was banning clubs in the annexed Crimea region of Ukraine playing in any Russian-organised football competitions. This week the Russians have announced a 4.5 billion ruble ($83 million) aid package to rebuild Crimean sports infrastructure.
By Alexander Krassimirov
December 12 – The President of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) Borislav Mihaylov (pictured) has said he has received threatening text messages, possibly from criminal groups linked to match-fixing gangs.
By Samindra Kunti
December 12 – The KNVB, the Dutch FA, has approved a structural reform of its domestic club football. From the 2016/17 season onwards professional and amateur football in the Netherlands will be integrated through a mandatory system of promotion and relegation.
By Mark Baber
December 11 – As the final game of Los Angeles Galaxy legend Landon Donovan highlighted the trans-border interests of soccer fans in Mexico and the US, the football ties between the two countries look like deepening with Liga MX officials saying that they are evaluating the possibility of incorporating Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs into the biannual knock-out Copa MX.
December 12 – Memories of the cold-bloodied murder 20 years ago of Colombian World Cup star Andres Escobar have come flooding back following the latest harrowing tale of intimidation, this time involving Faustino Asprilla, who won 57 caps for the country.
December 11 – Far away from the riches of the Champions League, 42 years after achieving one of the great iconic upsets in English football history, Hereford United have been suspended “from all football activity” by the Football Association.