By David Owen
January 26 – Germany’s Bundesliga enjoyed a landmark year for business in 2015-16, with post-tax profits among the 18 top-tier clubs soaring to a record €206.2 million. All but two of the clubs in the competition were profitable. The outcome was described as “far and away the best result” in the league’s history.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 26 – Is Angel Maria Villar’s influence as one of FIFA’s most senior figures gradually being stripped away, some might say not before time?
By Samindra Kunti
January 26 – Six clubs will participate in the inaugural Indian Women’s League, the IWL. Kolkata and Bengaluru have no representation, but the tournament may help to improve the standard of women’s football in India.
January 26 – Bundesliga club Darmstadt have released one of its players over his links with an Islamic charity. Tunisian midfielder Anis Ben-Hatira has left by mutual consent following criticism of his ties with Ansaar International.
January 25 – French club Bastia have banned a supporter who made monkey chants at Nice’s Italian striker Mario Balotelli during last Friday’s Ligue 1 match.
January 25 – Who are the all-time champions of Europe? Not surprisingly it is the two Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona who lead the ranking, with Real edging ahead but only by five points over the 25 years of Champions League competition.
January 26 – Australia’s Hyundai A-League is getting a new look that ties the Football Federation Australia (FFA) competition into a common branded identity with the Westfield W-League and Foxtel Y-League. The rebranding will be launched for the start of the 2017/18 season.
January 26 – Media rights to broadcast England’s national team matches from 2018 until 2022 have been split between subscription and free-to-air channels. No figure has been released for the deal which was done under the new rights selling regime that consolidates all national federation rights into a single UEFA-backed sales agency.
January 26 – San Diego, which is pitching for a franchise in the expanding MLS, could be getting a 20-30,000 capacity new stadium costing $200 million as part of $1 billion redevelopment of the Qualcomm Stadium property.
January 26 – A video in which fans can be heard singing anti-Semitic insults before last week’s Premier League clash between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur is being investigated by police.
By Samindra Kunti
January 25 – Ivory Coast’s title defence came to an end at the 2017 African Cup of Nations in Gabon after a 1-0 defeat to Morocco in the final round of Group C games. In a tournament that has thrown up some unpredictable results, the interest and attendance of fans has been low except for Gabon games, but they have also now exited the tournament.
Within an hour of our story being published about the discussion of a CFU breakaway from CONCACAF there was talk on Twitter of how many places the Caribbean could have for the World Cup – anything from 1.5 to 3.5, and why not?
January 25 – A report into the economic impact of the UEFA EURO 2016 championships in France found that despite terror fears and high security levels, fans turning up to watch the tournament injected more than €1.2 billion into the French economy.
January 25 – The Premier League has signed chocolate maker Cadbury to a three-year partnership beginning with the 2017/18 season. No amount was announced for the deal but estimates put it in excess of £7 million per season.
January 25 – Barcelona are the most efficient club in Europe’s Big 5 leagues when it comes to valuing their playing squads. Spurs are the second most efficient. In contrast Man Utd are 95th and PSG are rock bottom in 98th spot.