By Alexander Krassimirov
October 18 – German company IFS has unveiled its plans to build a new modern stadium in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia. The stadium will have a capacity of 24,000 (22 000 plus 2000 VIP) seats and should be completed in 2016.
By Gareth Messenger
October 18 – Portuguese giants FC Porto have turned in a chunky €20.3 million profit for the 2012/2013 season. The profit came against a loss of €35.7 million in the previous campaign and despite a 39% slump in ticket revenue.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 18 – After months of sensitive negotiations, Greek and Turkish Cypriot officials are celebrating securing a landmark meeting with FIFA president Sepp Blatter aimed at possible footballing re-unification on the disputed Mediterranean island.
By Mark Baber
October 18 – The slogan for UEFA EURO 2016 was announced in the Marseille city hall, after being approved by the tournament’s steering group. The new slogan is ‘Le Rendez-Vous,’ which represents the organisers’ desire to bring together the best of football, of Europe and of France.
By Mark Baber
October 17 – After failing in a forlorn attempt to get FIFA to make a last minute change to the seeding system, this morning’s FIFA Ranking confirms that France have missed out on being seeded for the decisive World Cup qualifiers, after being ranked 21st in the world on 870 points, just a single place and a single ranking point below Ukraine, who are in 20th place on 871 points and who will be seeded.
By Gareth Messenger
October 17 – Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has backed his decision to start charging under-sevens for entrance to games at the Camp Nou.
By Mark Baber
October 16 – Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has revealed that a decision will be made on which project gets the go ahead for the planned refurbishment of the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu by the end of October, with the club now looking to find a sponsor to add their name to the stadium.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 16 – Inter Milan, winners of 18 Italian league titles, have become the latest iconic European club to be taken over by foreign investors. A trio of Indonesian businessmen led by media tycoon Erick Thohir have bought a 70% stake in the Serie A giants.
By Mark Baber
October 16 – The DFL (German League Association) and Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox have agreed a new broadcast deal which will take the Bundesliga to more than 80 TV markets including Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, all of North and Latin America and much of Asia from the start of the 2015/16 season.
By David Owen
October 16 – A 141-year-old English football club may have been saved from closure thanks in part to the generosity of fans from as far afield as Iceland and Vietnam.
By Mark Baber
October 15 – After a clash with paparazzi in Naples, Mario Balotelli has been defended by the Italian FA after journalists used the incident to spark a storm of criticism against the Milan striker.
By Alexander Krassimirov
October 15- The players of Bulgarian first division club Neftohimic Burgas have agreed to play without wages in an attempt to save the club from bankruptcy.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 15 – As the World Cup qualifying programme reaches a nail-biting climax, a row has broken out over the seeding system being used for next week’s playoff draw.
By Gareth Messenger
October 14 – Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has praised his own financial management of the club after an annual general meeting predicted record revenues.
By Mark Baber
October 14 – Bayern Munich wunderkind Mario Götze has put his foot in it again, as he was snapped wearing Nike products, this time whilst on duty with the adidas-sponsored German national team.