Zlat is back: Ibrahimovic returns to spearhead Swedish attack
March 17 – Sweden have recalled their talismanic Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the national team five years after he announced his retirement.
Author: Paul Nicholson
PFA recruits globetrotter Molango to take over from Taylor
March 17 – Maheta Molango, a former Swiss player who spent time in England’s lower leagues, is to become the first black chief executive of a leading English football body when he succeeds Gordon Taylor as chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association.
Motsepe backs Veron to hit the ground running at CAF and tells TV it is time to pay Africans
By Samindra Kunti
March 16 – New CAF president Patrice Motsepe has said he needs new secretary-general Veron Mosengo-Omba in his team “to hit the ground running”, even if the South African offered little detail on how he will tackle some of CAF’s pressing, existential problems.
FIFPro economic report finds lack of protections for players in an unstable market
March 16 – A FIFPro study of working conditions in the domestic game in 79 countries shows “less than one-third have a well-functioning system” with stable employment conditions.
Copa America to be played as 10 team comp after virus kills off non-Conmebol guests
March 16 – Co-hosts Argentina will kick off the 2020 Copa America in Buenos Aires on June 13, with South American Football Confederation Conmebol releasing the competition’s new calendar after both invitees Australia and Qatar withdrew because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dinamo Zagreb coach Mamic quits after Croatian court confirms jail term for fraud
March 16 – The coach of Dinamo Zagreb, who play Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League on Thursday, has resigned after having a prison sentence for fraud and tax evasion confirmed by Croatia’s supreme court.
Russian doping: FIFA opens cases against three players for alleged 2013 offences
March 16 – FIFA has opened disciplinary cases against three Russian footballers for suspected doping violations that happened in 2013.
FIFA links with UNODC for match-fixing educational programme
March 16 – FIFA is intensifying its fight against match-fixing by linking up with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) over its Global Integrity Programme.
Africa’s new regime of Motsepe-CAF-FIFA immediately tested with Sudan ethics complaint
By Paul Nicholson
March 16 – Just four days after Patrice Motsepe took the leadership of CAF and two days after FIFA’s Veron Mosengo-Omba was shifted from Zurich to CAF as its General Secretary, their first ethical challenge concerning an African member association has arisen.
AFC expands broadcast footprint with TV Start in Russia and CIS
March 16 – The AFC is continuing to advance its global footprint with the addition of a new broadcaster in Europe for its national team and club competitions.
Bahraini investor takes control of Wigan
March 16 – Wigan’s administrators have announced a deal for the sale of the club that in 2013 was in the Premier League and winning the FA Cup, but is now battling for survival and to avoid the drop to England’s fourth professional tier.
Africa conquered: Infantino foot soldier Veron quits Zurich to takeover at CAF in Cairo
By Andrew Warshaw
March 15 – Having seen the man he backed become head of African football, Gianni Infantino now has the luxury of even more influence across the Continent after one of FIFA’s top officials was parachuted into the Confederation of African Football’s number two role at the weekend.
Johansen manoeuvred into position at FIFA Council
March 15 – The CAF elections last Friday saw a whole suite of FIFA’s favourite Africans jostled into position both at the confederation and as their representatives at FIFA. Among the change was the further rise of Isha Johansen, Sierra Leone’s FA president, at the expense of long term incumbent Lydia Nsekera from Burundi.
French league hopes court win against Canal+ will put TV rights re-sale back on track
March 15 – France’s Professional Football League (LFP) has won a legal battle against Canal+ with a French commercial court ruling that the LFP was within its rights to tender only the TV rights abandoned by Mediapro following the collapse of the rights deal with the Spanish-sino agency.
Qatar 2022 boycott: Norwegians wary of pull-out, Danes petition for parliamentary debate
March 15 – Calls in Norway for a boycott of next year’s World Cup in Qatar continue to be fiercely debated following an initiative launched recently by top-flight clubs Tromso and Odds Ballklubb.