By Paul Nicholson
November 11 – English Premier League clubs pay more than any other clubs in Europe on staff wages to retain their top league status – on average 40% higher than clubs in Italy’s Serie A and thumping five times more than clubs in Spain’s la Liga. The average wage bill of the English team one place above relegation between 2011/12 and 2013/14 seasons was €72.6 million, and it getting higher.
November 11 – Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko may be facing the hardest few days of his sports career internationally over the doping scandal that has rocked athletics and the Olympic movement, bit at home in Russia World Cup 2018 plans are progressing with an emphasis on bringing more participants and fans into the game.
By Samindra Kunti
November 11 – Brazilian league leaders Corinthians have announced a partnership with São Paulo-based sports advertising agency TZK.
November 10 – Manchester United have added to their global sponsorship roster announcing a multi-year global partnership with newly launched luxury designer footwear brand, HEROES.
By Mark Baber
November 10 – The November issue of the CIES Football Observatory monthly report suggests that youth training in Europe is in crisis based on an analysis of the presence of club-trained players in 460 teams of 31 top division leagues in UEFA member associations. The report shows that the percentage of home-grown footballers in squads has decreased for the sixth consecutive season to reach a new record low of 19.7%.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 10 – Comprehensive integrity checks into six of the seven candidates running for FIFA president have now been completed by FIFA ethics investigators – but no recommendations have been made and the verdicts won’t be announced for several more days.
“For He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.” Mary’s Song, Luke 1:48, King James Bible
The meteoric rise of Southampton has been lauded by many as one of the truly great football achievements of our times. As recently as 2011, the 32,505-seat St Mary’s Stadium was home to a club in League One, England’s third tier.
By David Owen
November 10 – FIFA faces the prospect of having to ship anti-doping samples outside the host-country for analysis for a second World Cup running in 2018, as part of the possible fallout from this week’s devastating report into alleged doping practices in Russia.
November 10 – The World Health Organisation’s declaration that Sierra Leone is now officially free of ebola will have an immediate positive effect on the country’s football programme.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 10 – The president of the Colombian Football Federation Luis Bedoya has resigned unexpectedly, prompting immediate speculation that his decision was linked to the FIFA corruption scandal. Although Bedoya said he was stepping down for “personal reasons,” government sources were quoted as saying he had flown to New York last week.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 9 – Wolfgang Niersbach, one of the leading voices in European football administration and touted by many as a future president of UEFA, succumbed to what had become almost insurmountable pressure by resigning today as head of the German FA (DFB) over the 2006 World Cup slush fund scandal.
By Mark Baber
November 9 – Football Federation Australia has announced the launch of the Football Cares initiative which aims to raise donations for UNHCR’s programmes to support displaced Syrians – both domestically and internationally.
By David Owen
November 9 – Justin Trudeau, the new Canadian Prime Minister, may not be a soccer fan, but he has reason to be thankful for the economic boost that the sport has given the country in recent times.
By Samindra Kunti
November 9 – The Dutch FA KNVB is considering possible legal steps against FIFA after Sepp Blatter’s controversial revelation that Russia was awarded the 2018 FIFA World Cup with a fixed agreement. The KNVB have contacted their Belgian counterparts for consultation.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 9 – The English Football Association has written to FIFA demanding answers to “important questions”, following Sepp Blatter’s revelation that a pre-arranged pact was made to hand the 2018 World Cup to Russia before the vote.