By Paul Nicholson
August 21 – FIFA put more than one million Brazil 2014 match tickets on internet sale at 7am Brasilia time yesterday, with the governing body saying that more than a million tickets had been requested by more than 163,000 applicants in the first seven hours.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 21 – In a deeply symbolic match, hailed by FIFA as a major sporting breakthrough, Afghanistan beat neighbours Pakistan 3-0 on Tuesday, the first international game played in Kabul in a decade and the first between the two countries in the Afghan capital for over 30 years.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 21 – Hope Powell, one of the most recognisable faces in women’s football, has been sacked after 15 years as manager of the England national team following the country’s group stage exit at Euro 2013 last month.
‘Spend, spend, spend’, read the notice brandished by a furious-looking man behind Arsène Wenger’s dugout, as Arsenal slumped to a 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday. His was the politest exhortation of the day. Echoes of the anger that filled the Emirates Stadium, where groups of Arsenal supporters came to blows in their seats, have been read and heard on social media and radio phone-ins long after the final whistle fell silent.
It is the expression of a profound frustration,
The Premier League season is barely a week old and results for all the hoopla hardly count. But off the field we already have the makings of a fascinating duel between BT and Sky, both of whom have the rights to broadcast live matches. Now on the face of it this is the biggest mismatch ever.
Sky has the rights to most of the matches, it has built its entire broadcasting structure on the back of the Premier League and played a huge role in making the League what it is today.
With Egypt taking one uncertain but dangerous turn after another, as a result of the raging political crisis, the ‘House of African football’ is unwittingly caught up in the crossfire of a domestic conflict.
That’s an inescapable consequence of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) being headquartered in Cairo, the theatre of bloody street battles between rival supporters of the military-backed transitional government and the country’s democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, forced out of office a few weeks ago,
By Jake Gable
August 20 – Valencia have revealed that the club’s debt now stands at €275.7 million (£235.1 million) after a due diligence report by consultancy firm KPMG. Club president Amadeo Salvo explained that the Spanish club’s debt has reduced by €66 million (£56.3 million) since 2008 and described the economic management as “positive”, however there are still general concerns for the state of financial health for many La Liga clubs, especially under new FFP (Financial Fair Play) rules and regulations set out by governing body UEFA.
By Paul Nicholson
August 20 – The start of the Premier League season in England has been accompanied by a flurry of club sponsorship action from online gaming and betting companies eager to tap into the Premier League fan base.
By Mark Baber
August 20 – Any Russian politician or official caught with a foreign bank account will be forced to resign or sacked according to a new law which came into force on Monday. The law was passed by the Duma three months ago and has already led to the resignation of Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich from his position as chairman of the local parliament in Chukotka.
By Mark Baber
August 20 – Tottenham have announced a deal with Asian insurance company AIA, which sees the North London club continue to have separate short sponsors for the Premier League and Cup competitons, whilst East London’s West Ham extends its partnership with international mobile operator Lycamobile.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 20 – In a rare show of defiance against one of English football’s most successful managers, Arsenal fans have urged the club to put on hold any new deal for Arsene Wenger until and unless there is strong investment in players and results improve.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 20 – Blighted for months by a series of match-fixing and racism cases, Lazio, one of Rome’s two iconic clubs, shows no sign of improving its image following yet another punishment for discrimination by its fans.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 20 – German football authorities have begun a probe into a rare case of racism after abuse was directed at Under-21 international Danny da Costa by fans of 1860 Munich during a second division game on Sunday. The club have already issued an apology to da Costa who plays for FC Ingolstadt, with sports director Florian Hinterberger telling German television the incident was “extremely regrettable”.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 20 – British football has been rocked by two separate cases of illegal betting, one involving a Scottish international, the other the managing director of fourth-tier club, as the outlawed practise is one again brought into sharp focus.
By Mark Baber
August 19 – FIFA yesterday completed an inspection of facilities for the 2015 Women’s World Cup and has given Canada a clean bill of health, although questions over the artificial pitches to be used will not be answered until next year. Meanwhile, Secretary General Jerome Valcke begins yet another inspection visit to Brazil today, to check preparations for the 2014 World Cup.