Shanghai SIPG’s Villas-Boas fined as ACL final rounds heat up
September 26 – Shanghai SIPG coach Andre Villas-Boas has been fined for his outburst following the recent Asian Champions League quarterfinal tie against Guangzhou Evergrande.
Nottingham Forest given boost with Healthspan partnership
September 26 – Championship club Nottingham Forest have signed a one-year partnership with vitamins and supplements manufacturer Healthspan.
CONCACAF sets up task force to help rebuild nations hit by hurricanes and earthquake
September 26 – CONCACAF has set up a Disaster Evaluation Taskforce to assess the impact of the natural disasters that have devastated the region in recent weeks.
SCG pitch-in with enhanced partnership at expanding USL
September 26 – American second tier league the USL has named SCG Fields as the Official Field Builder. SCG will be an official supplier for the United Soccer League, USL’s Division III, the Premier Development League (PDL) and the Super Y League.
Peace in our time. FIFA set to call ceasefire with poppy pushers
September 21 – Not before time, FIFA is set to back down and lift its ban on British national teams displaying the poppy symbols on shirts and armbands to honour the war dead of World War 1 and all conflicts since.
Sierra Leone FA react to Johansen corruption indictment by banning 19 of her opposition
September 25 – The chaos of Sierra Leone took another political twist at the end of last week when the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) banned 19 officials from football activity in what was a response to the previous day’s indictment of Sierra Leone FA president Isha Johansen (pictured) on six corruption charges by the country’s anti-corruption commission.
Kenya lose battle to hold on to CHAN 2018 hosting rights
By Andrew Warshaw
September 25 – After weeks of deliberation and speculation, Kenya has been stripped of the right to host the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) following last weekend’s Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive committee meeting in Accra led by CAF leader Ahmad Ahmad.
China’s Super Sports grabs Nations League as LeSports has strategy rethink
September 25 – UEFA has wasted no time securing its first media deals for its newly announced Nations League competition with China’s Super Sports Media stepping up to acquire exclusive digital media rights to the competition in China for the 2018-19 and 2020-21 editions of the competition.
Al Thawadi says 2022 can transform the world’s view of the Middle East
September 25 – Hassan Al Thawadi (pictured), the public face of the Qatar World Cup, has made his latest defence of the Gulf state’s credentials – again denouncing the “negative headlines” about its right to stage the 2022 event despite the fact that it will be the first hosts to have never previously qualified for the finals.
Argentinean women refuse to play as AFA funding barely covers expenses
By Samindra Kunti
September 25 – The Argentinean national women’s team has gone on strike, citing structural problems and a lack of basic resources to properly train and play matches. The strike is an embarrassment for the newly formed AFA management team which has only recently taken control of the federation after a FIFA normalisation committee had been parachuted in to run football in the country.
China re-focusses its youth development teams into mass and elite departments
September 25 – With Europe’s giant clubs setting up academies, coaching schools and grassroots initiative across China, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) has stepped in to bring some kind of order to the chaos.
ICSS hire Francis to drive revenue for growing integrity product portfolio
September 25 – The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) has hired Ty Francis to spearhead its commercial growth as the organisation builds its portfolio of products for the sports business and governing bodies.
FIFA’s Best: Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar compete for top player, most money and biggest tax dodge accolades
September 22 – Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Paris St-Germain’s Neymar were selected Friday as the final three nominees for the Best FIFA Men’s Player award.
Sorokin says it is important for Russia to maintain a voice at FIFA’s top table
By Andrew Warshaw
September 22 – Russia’s new FIFA Council member, Alexey Sorokin, says his country fully deserves to maintain its place at FIFA’s top table. “The fact is it was important for Russia to preserve its place in the world governing body of football. We’ve had a role since 1947. We are a prominent football nation and we think we deserve a seat on the FIFA Council and deserve to take part in the overall management,” said Sorokin in an interview with Insideworldfootball.
Liberian head coach apologises for assaulting radio journalist on-air
By Paul Nicholson
September 22 – Liberian head coach James Debbah (pictured right with Must Bility) has apologised to journalist and broadcaster Danesius Marteh on the Liberian FA’s (LFA) Facebook site after Debbah assaulted Marteh during a radio show.