By David Owen
March 27 – Directors’ remuneration at Aston Villa, the proud old Midlands club now stuck in mid-table in the English second tier, almost tripled in 2015-16, its relegation season.
March 27 – With the risk of a second consecutive major tournament qualification failure increasing, the Netherlands have sacked coach Danny Blind after the country crashed to a 2-0 World Cup qualifying defeat against Bulgaria.
March 27 – Nigeria’s friendly with Burkina Faso in London tonight has been called off after several Burkina Faso players failed to gain visas in time.
March 27 – A fragile peace appears to have broken out within Sierra Leone football following an extraordinary congress in the capital Freetown.
March 27 – Barcelona will name their new stadium in the Ciutat Esportiva training complex after Dutch legend Johan Cruyff. The planned stadium is part of the redevelopment of the club’s famed La Masia.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 24 – Alexey Sorokin, the public face both of Russia’s successful 2018 World Cup bid and the tournament’s organisation, says he is keen to take the place of the barred Vitaly Mutko on FIFA’s ruling Council to ensure his country retains a powerful voice at FIFA’s top table
March 24 – Spain’s top division will carry on changing kick off times to suit the Asian market in a bid to increase its market share and boost brand awareness, says La Liga president Javier Tebas (pictured).
March 24 – FIFA’s Governance Committee has finally cleared all the declared Asian Football Confederation (AFC) candidates for the election to the FIFA Council, to take place at the confederation’s congress May 8 in Bahrain, four days before the FIFA Congress takes place in Bahrain on May 11.
By Samindra Kunti
March 24 – The Italian agency MP & Silva is tendering the TV rights of the Belgian Pro League for the next three seasons. Fast developing broadcaster Eleven Sports is keen on acquiring the rights, a deal which would shake up the market for the league’s rights.
March 24 – The head of the English Football Association has condemned the “inappropriate, disrespectful and disappointing” behaviour of England fans at Wednesday night’s friendly in Germany yet refused to issue a direct apology.
March 24 – Palestinian football chief Jibril Rajoub (pictured) says he doubts an agreement can be reached next month over Israel’s conduct in the occupied West Bank, a potential blow for FIFA in its ongoing mediation efforts.
March 24 – It was classed as a “home” game but it was played 4,500 miles away in Malaysia before just 350 spectators.
March 24 – German football legend Franz Beckenbauer has been questioned by Swiss prosecutors over suspected corruption linked to the 2006 World Cup.
By Paul Nicholson
March 24 – It will be a symbolic statement of intent as much as a business deal of expedience once Olympique Marseille drops its kit sponsorship deal with Adidas, likely in favour of arch-rival Puma.
March 24 – The World Football Forum 2017 held their official launch in Changsha, China yesterday. Their timing could not have been better as later in the day at the Changsha stadium, the Chinese national team stunned Asia with a 1-0 win over South Korea in World Cup qualifying – the first time the Chinese have beaten the South Koreans in more than 40 years.