Hibs unveil Eden Mill as club sets up its return to Scotland’s elite
June 16 – Newly promoted Scottish Premier League side Hibernian have unveiled Eden Mill as a new back-of-shirt sponsor in a one-year deal.
Questionmarks over Kenya’s hosting of CHAN 2018 as stadium deadlines near
By Mark Baber
June 16 – Despite optimistic noises from sections of the Kenyan press and Football Federation of Kenya officials and with a African football confederation (CAF) inspection team currently in the country to examine preparations, Kenya’s hosting of CHAN 2018 is in peril due to delays in preparing adequate host stadiums.
Parc OL upgrades stadium lighting to boost event flexibility
June 16 – Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium has upgraded to next-generation LED lighting using the Philips ArenaVision LED pitch lighting system. It is the first French stradium to implement the solution which is being hailed as a breakthough for stadium entertainment and provides a greater flexibility for mix-used stadium events.
Save the Dream and iCoachKids partner to boost educational training base
June 16 – Save the Dream and iCoachKids are partnering with the Qatari-based Save the Dream helping produce coaching educational materials on topics such as intercultural dialogue, gender, child protection and integrity for iCoachKids projects.
FIFA urges refs to abandon Confed Cup games if racism runs out of control
By Paul Nicholson
June 15 – FIFA has re-inforced a three-stage process that will ultimately give referees at the Confederations Cup in Russia the power to abandon games if discriminatory behaviour by fans gets out of control. This follows a procedure first encouraged by UEFA in 2009 and re-iterated in 2013 following incidents in Italy and the comments of then FIFA president Sepp Blatter that fines were not sufficient to combat the issues.
France unveil venues for 2019 Women’s World Cup, Lyon to host opening match and final
By Samindra Kunti
June 15 – The French Football Federation (FFF) has announced the nine cities that will host the matches of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after due consultation with FIFA. Lyon will host both the opening match and the final.
China’s FA ushers in transfer tax, doubling cost of imported foreign players
By Paul Nicholson
June 15 – Chinese clubs looking to buy overseas players face a new 100% tax rule on all new acquisitions. Super League clubs were officially informed of the new regulation yesterday, the Chinese transfer window opens on Monday (June 19).
FIFA questions report on human rights abuses at World Cup construction sites
June 15 – FIFA has defended another attack on its record of protecting construction workers building the 2018 World Cup stadia in Russia, saying that a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report is mis-representative of the situation.
FIFA to continue trials of VAR in Russia as quest for ‘honesty’ continues
June 15 – The Video Assistant Referee system (VAR) will be in use at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia as the trail of the system continues.
Rabbatts stands down from FA board calling for ‘tangible action’ on ethnic inclusivity
By Mark Baber
June 15 – Heather Rabbatts, the FA’s first female non-executive Director and Board member, announced that she is stepping down after over five years at The Football Association.
Click, dip, tap or swipe; Visa teams with Alfa-Bank for Confed Cup stadia payment solution
June 15 – Visa is rolling out 1,600 point-of-sale terminals and more than 120 mobile concessionaires throughout stadium concourses at the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia that kicks off this week.
EFL launches iFollow live digital streaming service with over 1,500 games
June 15 – The English Football League (EFL) is expanding its broadcast platform for its three professional from next season with the launch of the iFollow service for overseas markets. Matches already being broadcast outside the UK and Irelands will not be available on iFollow. More than 1,500 games will be streamed digitally.
Spanish prosecutors hunt for Ronaldo who denies €15m tax evasion
By Mark Baber
June 14 – Long-standing concerns over Ronaldo’s tax affairs have come to a head as a complaint by Madrid’s public prosecutor on Tuesday accused the player of “voluntarily” and “consciously” violating his tax duties whilst the player’s representatives strenuously denied any systematic tax evasion.
Palestinians take FIFA to CAS for breaking its statutes, procedures and failing democracy
By Paul Nicholson
June 14 – The Palestine Football Association (PFA) is taking FIFA to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) claiming FIFA broke its own statutory rules and denied the PFA its rights over the decision taken by the FIFA Congress not to go to a vote on whether six Israeli teams playing league matches on occupied territory in Palestine should be allowed to continue.
Iran head for Russia as AFC World Cup qualifiers heat up for final rounds
June 14 – Iran became the second team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup as they defeated Uzbekistan 2-0 in Tehran with goals from Sardar Azmoun and Mehdi Taremi.