By Mark Baber
April 17 – This week has seen the launch of the Panini Online Sticker Album for the 2014 FIFA World Cup hosted on FIFA.com in association with presenting partner Coca-Cola, and the roll-out of the official video game for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, published by EA Sports for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
April 17 – The MLS has added a 22nd franchise in Atlanta. The team will play its first season in 2017 in a 29,000 capacity stadium it will share with NFL team the Atlanta Falcons, Both franchises are owned by Arthur Blank.
April 17 – In a week when financial fair play (FFP) came under renewed scrutiny, Manchester City have emerged as the best paid squad in global sport, according to a new study.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
April 17 – The festering divisions that have characterised Asian football in recent months have exploded into open warfare between the Continent’s two most prominent officials.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
April 17 – Pogon Szczecin is planning to either modernise its stadium or build a new facility, according to Jaroslaw Mroczek, the chief executive of the Polish club.
April 17 – Brazilian football has elected a new president – but not until after the World Cup. Jose Maria Marin will be replaced in 2015 by current vice president and sole candidate for the job, Marco Polo Del Nero (pictured).
April 17 – David Beckham’s dreams of starting a new football franchise in the United States have suffered their first wobble.
April 18 – The dispute over the ownership of the Trinidad centre of excellence currently held by former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner has become a point of political contention in Trinidad government politics with Warner saying the issue is being driven on to the political agenda by Trinidad’s Attorney General.
By Alexander Krassimirov
April 17 – Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia has repaid debts in excess of 1 million leva (€500,000) in order to meet club license requirements. The debts were accumulated under the former ownership of Titan AS.
“The song of the future must transcend creed.” E.M. Forster, A Passage to India
In India, some call it Sachinism. The legacy of Sachin Tendulkar, cricket’s greatest batsman ever to emerge from the South Asian sub-continent, is so great that he has achieved the status of a demigod in what is already a pantheistic culture. The doleful impact on popular consciousness there of the day he was run out for 99,
April 16 – Russian Minister of Sport Vitaly Mutko, speaking at a meeting of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, outlined the progress of the stadium build for the FIFA World Cup 2018.
By Alexander Krassimirov
April 16 – Bulgarian football legend Krassimir Balakov is preparing a football academy project inn his name in Sofia. Balakov already has submitted documents in Sofia Municipality with a request for an appropriate site for the Academy.
By Richard van Poortvliet
April 16 – The ‘Fisht’ Stadium in Sochi has been a bit of a lonely place following the conclusion of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics. However this should change soon after the news that Sochi Zhemchuzhina are going to get another lease of life.
By Paul Nicholson
April 15 – CONCACAF’s Club Licensing Department has published its first Case Study to showcase and promote best practice in the region. The study looks at the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) which is about to start its second season.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 15 – The UEFA body probing whether Europe’s clubs are complying with financial fair play are meeting today and tomorrow – with those who continue to spend beyond their means likely to be named early next month.