By Samindra Kunti in Amsterdam
October 4 – Ajax’s director of football and former Arsenal player Marc Overmars has said that the time could be right for Arsene Wenger to leave Arsenal and become the England manager. Spanish midfielder Xavi believes that Pep Guardiola can profoundly change English football culture at Manchester City.
October 4 – With the Futsal World Cup having just crowned Argentina as champions in Colombia, the speed of growth of the small-sided version of football has been recognised in the US where the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and U.S. Futsal have teamed up to create the first online Futsal Coaching Course.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 4 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s plan to expand the World Cup finals to 40 teams has drawn a mixed reaction from Europe and Asia.
By David Owen
October 3 – Arsenal, the north London club whose French manager Arsène Wenger has just completed an extraordinary 20 years in the hot seat, have reported a sharp downturn in annual profits. The Gunners posted a pre-tax profit of just £2.9 million for the year to 31 May 2016 – down from a restated £18.2 million. Group turnover in the same period rose from £347.3 million to £356.5 million.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 3 – Western criticism of China’s human rights record will not dissuade the country from pressing ahead with its bid to host the World Cup.
By Samindra Kunti
October 3 – The 2016 Aspire4Sport Congress & Exhibition opened in the Dutch capital Amsterdam today with key stakeholders in the game and performance specialists from clubs and federations around the world gathering at the summit with Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa delivering the keynote speech.
By Samindra Kunti in Amsterdam
October 3 – This year’s Italian Supercup between Juventus and AC Milan will be played in Doha, Qatar. The announcement was made at the Aspire4sport Global Summit on Football Performance & Science in Amsterdam today.
October 3 – West Ham’s move into their new stadium has so far brought with it an ugly side that doesn’t seem to be clearing up. For the third time in four home matches West Ham fans clashed with opposition supporter, this time Middlesbrough fans.
October 4 – An English Premier League club has been accused of gender discrimination – by the chairman of its own ladies’ team. Stephen Hunt has launched a scathing attack on West Ham United and has lodged a formal complaint with the Football Association following a prolonged row over funding and facilities.
October 3 – Manchester City have extended their partnership with Vietnam’s Saigon Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB). The bank will continue as Manchester City’s Official Affinity Card Partner in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
By David Owen
October 3 – Management of one of the world’s most iconic football stadia – Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã – looks set to change hands. Brazilian media reports state that the Government of Rio de Janeiro and the concessionaire of the venue, opened in 1950 and partly rebuilt ahead of the 2014 World Cup, are negotiating termination of the current management contract.
October 3 – Duncan Revie, son of former England manager Don Revie and founder of the Soccerex football business brand, has died aged 62 after a brief illness.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 30 – Issa Hayatou (pictured), the all-powerful, old-school and often controversial ruler of African football who was in temporary charge of FIFA until the election of Gianni Infantino, has won another significant victory in his bid to retain control of the region he has run for the last 28 years.
It only took three days for football’s most important news to disappear from the sports pages. It had never reached further than that to begin with. People are more interested in cats that perform ludicrous acts on the internet than giving a damn for the rampant racism that stares in our face every day. Everywhere.
“The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.” John Stuart Mill
Greed, egotism, immorality and corruption. These are the vices of which some of the highest-profile figures in English football have been accused as a result of the Daily Telegraph’s undercover exposé of the game. Quite rightly, people ask how can a nation such as ours,