Morocco commits to seven stadium build if 2026 bid is successful
February 16 – Morocco says it will build seven new stadiums if it upsets the rival bid of USA-Canada-Morocco to land the 2026 World Cup.
Author: Paul Nicholson
FA chief Clarke builds Middle Eastern links with WAFF meet and Zaatari camp visit
January 16 – Having signed a co-operation agreed with Qatari football, the charm offensive by English FA chairman Greg Clarke (pictured) across international stakeholders has moved on to Jordan where he visited the famed Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees in the north of the country.
ISL and I-League shun second season of Indian Women’s league
By Samindra Kunti
February 16 – The forthcoming Indian Women’s League will have no participants from the Indian Super League and I-League, leaving the league in its second edition without the support of India’s highest profile men’s clubs.
Money talks – Bundesliga to debate 50+1 ownership rule
February 16 – For years, the 50 plus 1 ownership rule in the Bundesliga, which effectively prevents reckless profit-driven owners from taking over clubs, has been held up as a bastion of commercial fair play.
$10m Pintos legal case forces Conmebol into talks on relocating Paraguayan HQ
February 16 – Conmebol is reportedly considering moving its headquarters out of Paraguay, where it has resided since 1986, after losing a $10 million lawsuit.
Bennell convicted of three more child abuse charges, sentencing on Monday
February 16 – Former English league coach Barry Bennell, the figure at the heart of English football’s child abuse scandal, has been found guilty of three more charges of sexual abuse against young players mainly in the 1980s and is due to be sentenced on Monday.
McLeish returns to Scotland in time for Costa Rica and Hungary friendlies
February 16 – Scotland finally have a manager to succeed Gordon Strachan – very much a sense of déjà vu. Alex McLeish has agreed to take over for the second time – 11 years after leaving the post.
VfB Stuttgart and Hanover 96 push Bundesliga crowd figures up 8%
February 16 – Germany’s Bundesliga has reported first half of 2017-18 season attendances as being the second-highest average attendance in Bundesliga history at 43,429 fans per match.
Youth is for development. Winning clubs have the wisdom of experience
February 16 – Research by the CIES Football Observatory into the age ranges within clubs in 31 top division European leagues finds that the most competitive clubs are the ones with older squads.
Bundesliga reports solid financial year, as competition with Euro league rivals hots up
By David Owen
February 15 – German professional football remains an oasis of financial solidity. The Deutsche Fussball Liga (DFL)’s 2018 Report on the economic state of the sector reveals that the clubs in the top two tiers of Western Europe’s most populous nation – Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 – for the first time generated aggregate revenues of more than €4 billion in 2016-17.
Spanish prosecutors reopen Levante vs Zaragoza matchfixing case demanding jail terms
By Andrew Warshaw
February 15 – Several years after the incident first hit the headlines, Spanish prosecutors have dramatically reopened a case against 41 individuals, including 36 players, over alleged matchfixing relating to a top-flight survival decider between Levante and Real Zaragoza.
English FA bridges Qatar divide with ‘knowledge-sharing’ agreement
By Andrew Warshaw
February 15 – Football politics moves in unpredictable ways. Not so long ago, then English FA chief Greg Dyke criticised Qatar being awarded the rights to stage the 2022 World Cup as the “worst moment” in FIFA’s history.
Chechens defend their right to host World Cup participants Egypt
February 15 – The regime of Chechnyan strongman Ramzan Kadyrov has hit back at suggestions that the region’s capital Grozny should be stripped by FIFA as a World Cup base for Egypt next summer.
Bulgaria launches league-wide educational programme to tackle matchfixing
February 15 – The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) which has long been battling criminal matchfixing gangs operating within its leagues, has unveiled a new education strategy that will see 32 workshops per season covering referees, BFU officials and all players in the country’s top two tiers.
Pepsi #LoveItLiveIt with Messi, Kroos, Marcelo and Lloyd
February 15 – Coca-Cola may have the World Cup rights but Pepsi own Lionel Messi, Marcelo, Tono Kroos and US women’s star Carli Lloyd. It is a classic global event brand vs the cult of the personality marketing war. Coke have the greatest show on earth, Pepsi have the greatest showman, and some of the next best too.