Andrew Warshaw: FIFA runners and riders jostle in the parade ring

The clock is ticking and the behind-the-scenes horsetrading is in full swing. But like a canny game of poker, nobody is revealing their hand until they are sure of their ground. With Monday night’s deadline for FIFA presidential candidates fast approaching, cards are being clasped tightly to chests in anticipation of who will emerge as challengers for Sepp Blatter’s crown.

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Dutch pass the ball to Henk Ten Cate after Euro2016 disaster

Henk Ten Cate

By Samindra Kunti
October 22 – The Dutch FA KNVB have appointed Henk Ten Cate as a special advisor to consider the future of Dutch football after a disastrous EURO2016 qualifying campaign that saw them fail to qualify for UEFA’s continental flagship event in France. They secured neither a top two finish or a play-off spot in their qualifying group.

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CONCACAF axes Datisa smoothing path for Copa America 2016 in the US

CONCACAF logo

By Paul Nicholson
October 22 – The day after CONCACAF announced their new Partner Code of Conduct to regulate and set protocols for working with outside partners, the confederation has revealed it is ending its relationship with Datisa, one of the sports marketing agencies at the centre of the bribery and money laundering scandals that have rocked football in the Americas.

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Scala turns up FIFA reform heat and asks the SFr2m question

Domenico Scala3

By Andrew Warshaw
October 21 – Domenico Scala, the increasingly influential official who has the ultimate say in who can and can’t run for FIFA president, has delivered a potentially fatal blow to Michel Platini’s hopes of taking over from Sepp Blatter at the end of February in the event the Frenchman’s 90-day suspension is lifted.

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Matt Scott: Home comforts are stifling for Englishmen’s football ambitions

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“Ah! There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.” Jane Austen, Emma

Jane Austen’s fourth novel was published on Christmas Day in 1815 the Vienna peace accord had brought the Napoleonic wars to a close. With it began a century-long era of British commercial dominance through an empire whose roots had already begun to take hold with territories in Newfoundland, the Caribbean, west and South Africa, India and Australia.

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