By David Owen
April 28 – The revenues of Paris Saint-Germain, the French club whose prospects have been transformed since Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) took control three years ago, exceeded those of its smallest Ligue 1 rival by a factor of 20 in the 2012-13 season.
Easter Monday brought one of those chance juxtapositions: FIFA Presidential candidate Jérôme Champagne’s third campaign letter bounced into my inbox just as those rumours of David Moyes’s impending departure from Manchester United started seriously swirling.
One of the many things that Moyes’s fate demonstrates is that transition seasons are no longer acceptable among football’s super-elite.
His ousting in this way helps to illustrate the validity of Champagne’s point that a “financial iron curtain”
By Andrew Warshaw
April 26 – Traditional powerhouse rivals Germany and England will go head to head off the pitch for the right to stage the semifinals and final of Euro 2020 after Turkish officials unexpectedly withdrew favourites Istanbul from the running in order to concentrate solely on 2024.
April 25 – The Malaysian ringleader of Australia’s notorious match-fixing scandal has been jailed for three years – with two of them suspended – and the club involved deducted eight points.
April 25 – Sepp Blatter is downplaying security concerns at the World Cup despite more street protests in Rio de Janeiro and, earlier this month, a surge in violent crime in Salvador.
By Tom Parsons
April 25 – A year ago today, David Moyes was celebrating his 50th birthday at Goodison Park with a birthday cake presented to him by his Evertonian staff. This year things might be a bit different in the Moyes household and the celebrations a bit more subdued.
April 25 – An unusual spat has broken out in Germany after leading club Schalke 04, sponsored by Russian energy giant Gazprom, was criticised for considering visiting Russia amid increasing tensions with the west over the crisis in Ukraine.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
April 25 – German investment group HFK is considering buying trouble Polish club Korona Kielce. The club is owned by the city of Kielce whose authorities are currently negotiating the potential sale.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 25 – Prospective Euro 2020 host cities were putting the finishing touches to their bid dossiers today as UEFA prepared to unveil the names of candidates in the frame to stage the pan-European tournament.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 25 – Europe’s loss-making clubs will be breathing a sigh of relief after UEFA president Michel Platini confirmed that none of them will face the ultimate sanction of competition bans for breaching financial fair play regulations.
When Liberia’s George Weah became the first African to win the FIFA World Player of the Year title, in 1995, many thought that it was going to be the first of many for the continent’s players.
With their ascendance and growing impact in European club football – which, fairly or unfairly, remains the yardstick for picking the best on the planet – it was taken as a given at the time.
But nearly 20 years have passed since the former AC Milan forward earned the game’s top individual award and it does not appear that another African will be following in Weah’s footsteps anytime soon.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 24 – The head of Japanese football has been forced into an embarrassing apology to the Qataris for suggesting his country could step in as replacement host for the 2002 World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 24 – Mark Pieth, the Swiss governance expert appointed by FIFA to propose recommendations for change following the worst corruption-tainted period in its history, says the organisation must allow an ongoing investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup ballots to take its course if it wants to retain any sense of credibility.
April 24 – Barcelona have appealed their two-transfer window ban and been granted a suspension while the appeals process works through FIFA and ultimately any further appeal to the court of arbitration for sport.
April 24 – Belgium’s already powerful World Cup squad has been boosted even more after Manchester United starlet Adnan Januzaj opted to play for them rather than a string of other countries including newly developing Kosovo.