Man City extend the game with EA Sports as FIFA 17 launches
September 29 – Manchester City have extended their five-year partnership with EA Sports. The video game developer will remain as the Club’s Official Gaming Partner.
What message? Did Infantino and FIFA really hear or care about the AFC warning?
By Paul Nicholson
September 28 – The sensational abandonment of the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) extraordinary congress yesterday has drawn something of an ambivalent response from FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the man the action was intended to send a clear message to.
Football loves a ‘bung’. Is the sky-rocketing transfer market fixed for the few?
By Paul Nicholson
September 28 – The CIES Football Observatory has dug deeper into its transfer spend data of big-5 league clubs to examine where the money is being spent and how far down the football chain it is reaching. The answer is that probably not as far as clubs and leagues would like to pretend.
Is FIFA’s personnel purge backfiring? Kattner to sue FIFA for unfair dismissal
By Andrew Warshaw
September 28 – Markus Kattner (pictured), FIFA’s former secretary general who was sacked in highly controversial circumstances by the new administration of Gianni Infantino, has reportedly begun legal action to challenge the “unjustified” move.
LMA ‘concerned’ over manager pay-off claims and vows to do the right thing
September 28 – English football’s League Managers Association (LMA) has been quick to react to sensational newspaper claims that a raft of its members have been guilty of taking bungs.
Premier League busts 2 million fan mark as Swansea top weekly attendance table
September 27 – More than 2 million spectators have crammed in the Premier League grounds after the first six rounds of the season with Swansea, Stoke, Manchester United and Arsenal all reporting more than 99% of their stadium capacities were filled last weekend.
Allardyce quits as English professional game shatters national reputation
By Andrew Warshaw
September 28 – The good news is that he left with a 100% record. The bad news is that it comprised one solitary game in a reign that lasted just 67 days, the shortest in history.
Slum Soccer wins first Diversity Award in a FIFA Fellini-moment in Manchester
By Paul Nicholson
September 27 – “This is the first award FIFA has given to India,” said Abhijeet Barse, CEO of Slum Soccer in accepting the inaugural FIFA Diversity Award at the Soccerex Convention in Manchester from FIFA’s general secretary Fatma Samoura.
Confidence in FIFA plummets again as AFC refuses to be a political pawn
By Paul Nicholson
September 17 – It was the most extraordinary of extraordinary Congress gatherings. After just 27 minutes the Asian Football Confederation ended their meeting whose main agenda item was to elect the region’s three additional members to the newly established FIFA Council.
Van Basten drifts from outside to inside as comments on Infantino are forgotten
By Andrew Warshaw
September 27 – When FIFA announced last week that Marco van Basten had been appointed as chief technical officer to help raise coaching standards, there were understandably few dissenting voices.
Prince Ali slams FIFA decision to kill-off anti-racism Task Force as ‘shameful’
By Andrew Warshaw
September 27 – Former FIFA vice president Prince Ali bin al-Hussein has issued a furious attack on the organisation that not so long ago he hoped to lead, describing the decision to disband its anti-racism Task Force as “shameful”.
England in crisis as Allardyce stung by undercover reporters
September 27 – England’s new manager Sam Allardyce has been caught up in a newspaper sting which threatens his position just weeks into the job and which could potentially plunge the reputation of the national team, desperate to get back on an even keel following the debacle Euro 2016, back into crisis.
Brussels-based IFBI launches post-grad course for next generation execs
By Samindra Kunti
September 27 – The International Football Business Institute (IFBI), and the Free University of Brussels, the VUB, have launched the first full-time postgraduate football course with the aim of preparing new future executives for the football industry.
Samoura recovers to manage a goalless draw on her Manchester debut
By Andrew Warshaw
September 26 – You had to feel somewhat sorry for FIFA’s new Secretary General Fatma Samoura when the former United Nations administrator made her first official overseas public address in her new role today.
Innocent until proven guilty? FIFA bans Qatari from AFC elections at last minute
By Paul Nicholson
September 26 – FIFA has stepped into the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) elections for the FIFA Council and banned Qatari FA vice president Saoud Al-Mohannadi (pictured) from standing. The last minute intervention will again raise questions about the FIFA politics in play as FIFA’s new mandarins and president Gianni Infantino surround themselves with people who can be aligned to their interests.