By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
August 27 – Will he or won’t he? After months of speculation amid an intriguing and inconclusive game of cat and mouse, UEFA boss Michel Platini is expected to reveal on Thursday whether he has decided to risk taking on Sepp Blatter next year for the top job in world football.
August 27 – Cricket-crazy India may be one of the great untapped football markets but the vast country could be at risk of losing government funding before they head to next month’s Asian Games following the recent demoralising defeat to arch-rivals Pakistan.
By Alexander Krassimirov
August 27 – Bulgarian champions Ludogorets could be forced to play its matches in the group phase of the Champions League outside Bulgaria if they beat Romania’s Steaua in the playoffs. The second match against the Romanians is tonight in Sofia, with Steaua leading by a goal.
August 27 – Another African Cup of Nations qualifier is in doubt because of the deadly Ebola virus after Ivory Coast’s football federation said it had been instructed by its government to cancel or move next month’s home game against Sierra Leone.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 27 – FIFA appears to have cleared the head of the Ghanaian Football Association of match-fixing allegations following reports in the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph and the Channel Four television station. The ruling is a huge boost for GFA president Kwesi Nyantakyi (pictured) who is reported to be considering legal action as a result of the claims that emerged during the World Cup and sparked an inquiry by the investigatory chamber of FIFA’s Ethics Committee.
By Paul Nicholson
August 27 – Spartak Moscow’s new stadium will be opened today with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev attending the opening ceremony. Putin will tour the stadium and discuss preparations for the 2018 World Cup.
By Mark Baber
August 26 – On Friday, UEFA’s Emergency Panel issued a statement saying that “any football matches played by Crimean clubs organised under the auspices of the Russian Football Union will not be recognised by UEFA.” The decision has been welcomed as a wise one by Russian football authorities.
August 26 – Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has been handed an eight-match ban for his antics during the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup against rivals Real.
August 26 – A row has broken out with Russia over the cost of the TV rights to broadcast the EURO 2016 qualifiers and finals, forcing sports minister Vitaly Mutko to step in and seek a solution.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 26 – In a move that seems likely to cause considerable consternation, the Italian football federation (FIGC) has ruled that its new president Carlo Tavecchio has no case to answer over allegedly racist comments he made during the recent election campaign.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 26 – The Algerian Football Federation (FAF) has postponed next weekend’s league fixtures following the death of Albert Ebosse, the 24-year-old Cameroon striker who was hit by a missile thrown from the crowd during a recent league game.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
August 26 – Municipal authorities in Oslo have approved a plan to build a new stadium for Valerenga. The new facility will allow the Norwegian side to move from Ullevaal, the country’s national stadium, where it currently plays its home matches.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
August 25 – FC Aktobe has unveiled plans to build a new stadium with a seating capacity of 32,000. The Kazakh club says the construction of a new sports facility will be supported by the country’s government as parts of efforts to promote football. The side’s current stadium has a capacity of some 13,500 seats.
August 25 – Marcello Lippi, Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning coach now in charge of China’s Guangzhou Evergrande, has been suspended for one game for confronting the referee during an AFC Champions League match.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 25 – World football has been shocked by the death of a 24-year-old Cameroon footballer struck by a missile thrown from the terraces at a league match in Algeria. Albert Ebosse Bodjongo (pictured), the Algerian league’s top scorer last season with 17 goals, was hit on the head by what appeared to be a piece of concrete.