Asylum seeking footballers urged not to go on the run in Rio
July 13 – Former Sierra Leone international Sheriff Suma hopes the country’s Olympic footballers will not be tempted to abscond when attending this month’s Rio Games.
John-Williams fails to convince home support in bid to be Caribbean king
By Paul Nicholson
July 12 – Trinidad and Tobago FA (TTFA) president David John-Williams, who is bidding to become Caribbean Football Union (CFU) president with the apparent backing of CONCACAF’s leadership, FIFA and UEFA, has come under fire from within his own federation for not consulting his own members and for spending TTFA funds to promote his bid.
Andrew Warshaw: The ‘Platini plot’, the ticketing scandal and the dark forces
When hundreds of television cameras zoomed in on the climax of Euro 2016, capturing Portugal’s elation and France’s despair, one man was conspicuous by his absence – just as he had been throughout the tournament.
Barca kill Messi-to-Chelsea rumours and call on fans for social media support
July 12 – Barcelona have stepped up their support for under-fire superstar Lionel Messi by saying he will not be transferred and has been discredited by the Spanish judicial authorities.
Barcelona to launch mobile video game. Messi will be playing
July 12 – Spanish giant Barcelona have announced a new mobile game that is in development with Hugo Games, an interactive entertainment developer and publisher.
PSG take French-style to West Hollywood with pop-up shop
July 12 – French champions Paris St-Germain, who are heading to the US for pre-season International Champions Cup matches this month, have announced they will open a pop-up shop in Los Angeles with Parisian boutique Colette.
CAF clamps down on bribers, dopers and punching refs
July 12 – The vice-president of the Equatorial Guinea FA, Gustavo N’dong Edu, has been banned for two years by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and fined $25,000 after being found guilty of attempting to bribe referees in the Women’s AFCON 2016 qualifier against Mali.
FA Cup bucks Brexit, bravely breaking boundaries…in Guernsey
July 12 – The FA Cup, football’s oldest domestic knockout competition, will take place on the Channel Islands for the first time after Guernsey FC were drawn at home in next month’s preliminary round of the competition.
India puts faith in league restructure and U17 World Cup to mark a turning point
By Andrew Warshaw
July 11 – Organisers of Indian football, who have had to look on enviously at the strides being made in China, hope the restructuring of the domestic league plus next year’s under-17 World Cup will prove a turning point in the development of the game nationwide.
Euros verdict: rich in feel-good stories and cash, lacking in football quality
By Andrew Warshaw and Samindra Kunti
Portugal, as one of the best third-place finishers in the group stage, may not have won Euro 2016 but for the tournament’s new 24-nation arrangement but Uefa has no intention of scrapping the expanded format – not in the short term at least.
Villar Llona makes his move: ‘The election is not about a manifesto but about the person!’
By James Dostoyevsky
July 8 – Angel Maria Villar Llona is a lot of things to a lot of people. He is President of the Spanish Football Association, RFEF. He is the Acting UEFA President. He is the Senior Vice President of UEFA. He is a Vice President of FIFA. He is the Chairman of FIFA’s Legal Committee. He is the Chairman of the FIFA Referees’ Committee. He is the Chairman of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup.
Brand Messi takes revenue hit as EA Sports drops him from FIFA 17 cover
July 11 – Being a convicted tax fraud with a custodial sentence hanging over your head is bad for business, just ask Lionel Messi and his father Jorge. The FIFA, Argentina, and Barcelona golden boy – winner of five Ballon d’Or world player of the year awards – has been dropped from the cover of the upcoming FIFA 17 video game packaging.
Spanish court dismisses Neymar case leaving third party owner to lick wounds
July 11 – Within days of the shock custodial sentence handed down to Lionel Messi and his father even though they won’t in all probability actually go to jail, a Spanish court has dismissed a fraud and corruption case against his Barcelona superstar teammate Neymar – and his father too.
Euro 2016 organisers call for future collaboration to beat hooliganism dangers
July 11 – The head of the Euro 2016 organising committee wants better collaboration at future finals to prevent the kind of hooliganism that marred the early stages of the competition in France.
Nike puts the predatory boot into adidas’ football dominance
July 11 – In the battle of the appareil brands US firm Nike is claiming major summer success over its European rival adidas at both the Copa America Centenario and the European Championships.