May 17 – The US will host the CONCACAF Women’s Championship 2014 this Autumn. The championships also serve as the finals of the Confederation’s qualifying tournament for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 17 – Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain, Europe’s two Middle East-backed powerhouses with seemingly limitless funds in their quest to dominate the Continent, were brought down to earth with a jolt today when UEFA, after a week’s delay, finally announced their raft of sanctions on nine clubs deemed in breach of financial fair play (FFP) rules.
By David Owen
May 16 – “Yes, of course.” With these words, Joseph Blatter, FIFA’s President, sent social media networks into a frazzle today. What the boss of world football had done, under questioning on Swiss TV channel RTS, was acknowledge that FIFA’s decision to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup in the blazing heat of a Gulf summer was a mistake.
May 16- Just when he is trying to focus on preparing the host nation for the World Cup, Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has the unwanted distraction of being named as a formal suspect in a tax fraud investigation in Portugal but has not been arrested or charged.
When the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)’s Foundation Board, whose members include FIFA President Joseph Blatter, assembles in Montreal this weekend, it could helpfully reflect on the kerfuffle stirred up by this month’s announcement of the sanction meted out to Tyson Gay, the US sprinter, in the wake of his adverse analytical finding.
Gay received just a one-year suspension, and a loss of results dating back to July 2012, including an Olympic silver medal,
By Andrew Warshaw
16 May- The most comprehensive survey ever conducted into the extent of Asian-dominated betting fraud has revealed that criminal gangs are laundering a staggering $140 billion, mainly on football.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 16- The award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar has again found the spotlight after comments by FIFA President Sepp Blatter were reported – wrongly according to his office — as describing the December 2010, decision as a “mistake”.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 16- Just a month before the start of the World Cup, some of the most co-ordinated street protests of recent months have swept through Brazilian cities, once again targeting the huge cost of the tournament.
By Mark Baber
May 16 – In response to protests by fans, the Ukrainian football federation (FFU) overturned its original decision to stage yesterday evening’s Cup final between Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk behind closed doors – the final being won by Kiev 2-1.
By David Owen
May 16 – The head of the UEFA body probing whether Europe’s clubs are complying with financial fair play has died, just as the ambitious programme to restore discipline to football club finances is starting to bite. Jean-Luc Dehaene, 73, a former Belgian Prime Minister and, as such, a prominent figure in European politics, was head of the investigatory chamber of UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB).
By Mark Baber
May 16 – Four Nigerian players were imprisoned in Tanzania for overstaying their visas this week. Meanwhile Tanzanian clubs have requested they be given at least three years to reduce the numbers of foreign players to three per club.
By Mark Baber
May 16 – FC Dinamo Bucharest, Romania’s second most popular club, filed for insolvency on Wednesday. Dinamo, currently fourth in the league, won the Championship for the 18th time in 2007 and was bought by Ionuț Negoiță in 2013 on a promise to return the club to its former glory.
By Richard van Poortvliet
May 16 – The Russian Football Union have confirmed Zenit St. Petersburg will be handed a 3-0 technical loss after one of their fans punched Dynamo Moscow player, Vladimir Granat in their Russian Premier League encounter on Sunday at the Petrovsky Stadium.
By Richard van Poortvliet
May 16 – A year is a long time in football, especially for Anzhi Makhachkala. This time last year, they were on their way to finishing third in the Russian Premier League and could dream of European football and bringing in yet more reinforcements to try and win the title the following year.
By Paul Nicholson
May 16 – Wasting no time following the announcement two weeks ago that the Copa America Centenario will be played in the US in 2016, CONCACAF and South American Football Confederation Conmebol have unveiled the tournament logo and named their first broadcast partner, Univision as the US Spanish-language television rights holder.