By Andrew Warshaw
July 8 – FIFA wants the centenary World Cup in 2030 to be jointly staged by Uruguay and Argentina, the countries who met in the final of the inaugural tournament, according to Argentine FA (AFA) president and Fifa senior vice-president Julio Grondona.
By Paul Nicholson in Pasadena
July 8 – CONCACAF’s blue riband event the Gold Cup opened here yesterday with a double-header in the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California – both upsets as Canada lost to tiny Martinique and Mexico were edged out by Panama – plus a new world record for the largest ever Mariachi serenade with over 500 performers taking to the field at half-time.
By Mark Baber
June 28 – Shares in Perform, a leader in the distribution and commercialisation of sports content across digital platforms, have fallen by over 10% after a warning that spending on acquisitions and content would slow profit growth this year.
By Mark Baber
June 28 – China’s Huawei, a global provider of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), has signed with the Spanish Football League (LFP) as its exclusive Technology Partner for Smartphones.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 28 – Turkish Cypriot football officials believe their landmark talks with the Greek side aimed at unifying football on the politically divided island should move a vital step forward by the end of August. That’s when both bodies hope to have secured enough common ground to finally request FIFA to meet them after months of tortuous negotiations over a draft agreement.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 28 – A new dawn has finally broken for Scottish football after the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League finally agreed to merge – but it took 16 hours of painstaking last-ditch talks bring about a deal.
By Paul Nicholson
June 28 – Stefano Borgonovo died yesterday in Florence, Italy, aged 49. Borgonovo had fought ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), a rare disease which kills nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain in the latter years of his life. His life will be remembered for his humility and grace in his battle against ALS, as well as for his style and potency on the football pitch.
By Tom Parsons
June 19 – Dusko Krtalica, an amateur goalkeeper from Bosnia, was shot in the head by a stray bullet during a match — only to finish the contest by brushing off the pain as a routine knock he’d taken!
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
June 19 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter may still not have confirmed publicly whether he intends to remain in the job when his current four-year mandate expires in 2015 but his number two has added to growing indications that the veteran Swiss may yet try to carry on into a fifth term.
By Mark Baber
June 19 – Sporting Chance, the charity set up by former England and Arsenal defender Tony Adams to support players with addiction problems, says the majority of its referrals are now gambling-related and that on-line bookies are actively targeting players with their aggressive marketing techniques.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 19 – Days after announcing that that its 2018 World Cup budget was likely to double to over $20bn, Russia has provided more details of how the money will actually be spent.
June 19 – The trial of French football stars Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema over claims they paid for sex with an under-age call girl has been adjourned for procedural reasons until next year.
By Paul Nicholson in Rio de Janeiro
June 19 – Justino Compeán, Mexican vice-president of Concacaf, says the biggest challenge facing his confederation still lies in the Caribbean – two years after the cash-for-votes scandal that rocked CONCACAF to the core. But, he says, the organisation is in safer hands than ever under its increasingly influential president Jeffrey Webb.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 19 – Ethiopia look resigned to having their hopes of qualifying for next year’s World Cup jeopardised after admitting fielding an ineligible player in a recent qualifier.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 18 – Asian football, so often embroiled in negative politics, is doing its best to support thousands of Syrian refugees who have been streaming over the Jordanian border.