By Sam Nicholson in Philadelphia
January 15 – The world’s largest coaches association is holding the world’s largest convention for coaches in Philadelphia, USA. The five-day National Soccer Coaches of America Association (NSCAA) opened yesterday with more than 4,000 coaches and 10,000 attendees from around the country expected to attend.
January 14 – Police in Cyprus have reportedly detained the head of the country’s referees association Michalis Argyrou (pictured) over allegations that he tried to influence the outcome of a first-division match two years ago.
By Mark Baber
January 14 – The International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) Football Observatory has published its first monthly report aimed at illuminating the reasons for and consequences of club instability at European level.
January 14 – Intrigue over Lionel Messi’s future has been fuelled by the Barcelona maestro admitting he does not know where he will be playing next year.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
January 14 – Poland’s I Liga, the second tier of the country’s professional football league, has signed a new broadcasting rights deal for the 2015/2016 season with Polsat, the country’s leading privately-owned broadcaster.
January 14 – Expert legal opinion commissioned by FIFA to review Michael Garcia’s report into the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 world Cup, with specific reference to Russia and Qatar, has cleared both countries of any wrongdoing but warns of lawsuits.
January 14 – The stone base of the original Jules Rimet World Cup trophy has been miraculously discovered in a basement storage unit at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 14 – The Asian Cup has burst into controversy after Jordan lodged a formal protest with organisers claiming a random dope test that went badly wrong resulted in one their players falling seriously ill.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 14 – In a major boost for the regulation of the international transfer market, third-party ownership of footballers will become illegal in Brazil from May 1, bringing the country into line with a global FIFA ban on the practice that comes into effect at the same time.
By Paul Nicholson
January 14 – Russian 2018 World Cup focus is increasingly turning to budgets and costs as the national economy falters under the pressure of declining energy prices and Western sanctions. But the government’s commitment to deliver seems undiminished despite the financial hardships.
January 14 – Middle Eastern countries have changed the face of football sponsorship over the past 10 years, not by the number of deals that have originated from the region but the amount of money spent.
January 14 – Asia is proving fertile ground for the Manchester clubs from the English Premier League. City have broken into China with local lottery provider DJI Holdings, while United have announced the second day of the club’s UNITED: LIVE fan party will take place in Jakarta, Indonesia January 31.
January 12 – Telecom brand VIVO, part of Telefônica Brasil, has renewed its sponsorship with the Brazilian national teams for another eight years. The partnership has existed since 2004 and incorporates both male and female teams.
By Mark Baber
January 13 – The refusal of the current Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) Executive Committee to set up an arbitration panel in order to bring a sense of legitimacy to football governance in the country, following the disputed elections of September 30, has returned Nigerian football to a full-blown crisis – this time with influential opponents of the Warri-elected NFF President Amaju Pinnick promising to take action simultaneously.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 13 – Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the forgotten potential candidate in the FIFA presidential election campaign, says he will not make up his mind whether to stand until the last moment.