January 22 – The prospect of Swansea City buying the Liberty Stadium, which they have shared with the Ospreys rugby team since 2005, from the current owners, Swansea City Council, have increased with the club saying they would welcome discussions on a sale.
By Andrew Warshaw in Brussels
January 22 – Prospective FIFA presidential nominee Jerome Champagne has sought to play down suggestions that he is getting desperate in his bid to meet next week’s deadline for officially presenting his candidacy.
By Mark Baber
January 22 – The dispute between the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) and Football Kenya Federation (FKL) over the number of teams in Kenya’s top division and the relationship between the two bodies looks close to resolution with reports of a task force set up to take matters forward.
January 22 – Already buffeted by allegations by some participants of poor organisation, stand-in Africa Cup of Nations hosts Equatorial Guinea have now been rocked by clashes between fans and police.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 22 – After months of fractious and sometimes ferocious protest, the turf war is over with a group of elite players dropping their bid to sue FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association over the use of artificial pitches at the Women’s World Cup which kicks off on June 6.
January 22 – North Korea have withdrawn from a friendly tournament in Thailand next month following the humiliation of their early Asian Cup exit in Australia, according to Thai authorities.
By Paul Nicholson
January 22 – A comparison of stadium build costs for five of the Russian stadia for 2018, against the cost of football stadiums across Europe, has found that the Russian stadia are coming in at a comparatively equal cost and half the price of London’s Wembley Stadium on a cost per seat basis.
By Andrew Warshaw in Brussels
January 21 – Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the Chilean who ran FIFA’s technical inspection team that examined the credentials of all 2018 and 2022 World Cup candidates, says he will press for the finals to be increased from 32 to 36 teams as part of his presidential election manifesto – if he decides to run.
Exactly how much should you pay to watch your football team play? What can you afford to pay? How much should those players be paid? How much should you pay for your football-dominated television package? How much is your club actually worth?
By Mark Baber
January 21 – Claims that members of the ISIS/ISIL group in Iraq have executed 13 teenagers in Mosul for watching the Iraq v Jordan football match have spread via internet publications, the newspapers and social media.
It’s a bit like “The weakest link”. An arrogant presenter and a few clueless candidates (in this case five or so rather ‘ugly’ people; after all, politics are Hollywood for Ugly People, aren’t they?). The camera is rolling on a new presidential election, and the most likely outcome looks likely to be: “I told you so”.
January 21 – Beach Soccer fever is building across the CONCACAF region. With a record number of 16 nations heading to El Salvador for the regional championship in March and a Beach Soccer World Cup qualification place at stake, the confederation has unveiled its tournament logo and announced January 27 as the date for the draw.
“Every man lives by exchanging.” Adam Smith
Currency is the blood in the veins of economies. It is the fundamental denominator of all trade. But there are so many veins, arteries and capillaries in the world economy that the circulation of currency is seldom constant, and at times it becomes palsied.
January 21 – The Dutch football association (KNVB) is opening an investigation and calling for a criminal probe into detailed allegations published of alleged fixing of two matches in the top-tier Eredivisie.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 21 – In the first of his ideas for developing football, unlikely FIFA presidential hopeful David Ginola says he would stage the men’s and women’s World Cup at the same time, Olympic-style, if he gets elected on May 29. The women would play after the men’s competition is completed.