By Andrew Warshaw
September 16 – The United Nations’ top sports expert believes the controversial treatment of migrant workers in Qatar may never have been highlighted globally had the 2022 World Cup not been handed to the Gulf state but still questions whether the tournament should be staged there.
September 16 – German pay-TV sports network Sky Deutschland has announced it will add a new web channel that will focus on video content, skysport.de.
September 16 – With the Rio Paralympic Games in full swing, the Johan Cruyff Foundation has opened a Special Cruyff Court for blind and visually impaired people on the premises of Urece, an organisation that gives blind and partially sighted people the opportunity to play sports.
By Andrew Warshaw in Athens
September 15 – He said it would be his first priority as the voice of the disadvantaged. But UEFA’s new president, Alexander Ceferin, will almost certainly be unable to scrap controversial changes to the Champions League that have played into the hands of Europe’s most powerful clubs and infuriated major leagues who say they were not properly consulted.
By Andrew Warshaw in Athens
September 15 – The new head of Germany’s football federation says the burgeoning 2006 World Cup scandal that has rocked the country’s image will not stop its pursuit of Euro 2024.
By Andrew Warshaw in Athens
September 15 – Europe’s newly elected female representative on FIFA’s ruling council says she hopes to change opinions about women’s football – not least false perceptions about the sexuality of some of the players.
September 14 – This is real but the concept is a little surreal. Chinese firm UBTECH have become the first Official Robot Partner of Manchester City.
September 15 – The latest FIFA national team rankings shows some significant changes after an international fixture schedule that saw 61 qualifiers played for World Cup Russia 2018, and a further 26 matches in continental qualifying competitions.
September 15 – Gaming console manufacturer PlayStation has launched its fourth season of sponsorship of the English Schools’ FA and the PlayStation®Schools’ Cup, the biggest grassroots football competition in England.
By Andrew Warshaw in Athens
September 14 – Aleksander Ceferin, the left-field candidate who gained pivotal widespread backing in the final weeks of campaigning, was elected UEFA president in succession to Michel Platini today, sweeping into office with a thumping 42-13 ballot victory over his only rival, Dutch football chief Michael van Praag.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 14 – Not many people outside his inner circle had heard of Aleksander Ceferin until the Slovenian launched his candidacy for UEFA president. But everyone knows who he is now and the new kid on the block insists he is well capable of delivering the changes the organisation needs, not least revisiting the hugely divisive Champions League deal that favours a bunch of Europe’s top clubs.
By Andrew Warshaw in Athens
September 14 – It lasted less than 10 minutes, was dignified, personal, at times emotional and ended, tellingly, with the words, “Friends of football, farewell.” Michel Platini, out of the public spotlight for the last 11 months, made his eagerly anticipated but highly controversial goodbye appearance in front of his former lieutenants today before disappearing into the Athens sunlight, never to return as president of UEFA as a result of being banned for financial misconduct.
September 14 – Manchester United again dominated the Twitter weekly ranking gaining with Arsenal in second place and passing the 8 million total follower mark.
September 14 – LigaMX clubs Cruz Azul and Club Atlas will play a friendly in San Antonio, Texas, at the Toyota Field October organised under the MoneyGram SocioMX banner.
September 14 – Manchester United has announced that its #ILOVEUNITED fan events will be staged in 10 locations over the 2016/17 season with a focus on Asia, but with new locations in the US in Los Angeles and in Sao Paulo, Brazil.