Greek squad puts common good before personal gain
July 2 – Greece’s 2014 World Cup team have written to their Prime Minister asking for their tournament bonus money to go towards securing their national team a training facility.
News
Media officer pushes his way to a red card and one-match ban
July 1 – Media officers, however strong their allegiance to their country, are not supposed to get involved in any heated incidents.
FB postings and tweets bust all social media records to date
July 1 – The 2014 World Cup continues to break records as it makes Facebook and Twitter history. The event has generated more activity on Facebook than any other event ever. There have been over 1 billion World Cup interactions, with more than 220 million people posting, liking or commenting their contributions to the tournament.
CIES crunches its data to launch new player value calculator
By Ben Nicholson
July 1 – The CIES Football Observatory has developed what it believes is a “groundbreaking player transfer value calculator” for those based in the big-5 league clubs. They say that their algorithm improves economic transparency – enabling clubs, players and fans alike to compare how much is paid for a player to how much ought to have been.
Barcelona plugs into new global partnership with Koç Holding’s Arcelik
By Mark Baber
July 1 – FC Barcelona has secured a four-year sponsorship with global home appliance group Arcelik, who will become the club’s worldwide sponsorship partner for the next four years. The deal will see the new logo of the group’s Beko brand featured on the sleeve of the new team jersey and training kit.
Evonik feels the chemistry and buys into Dortmund
Mark Baber
July 1 – Evonik and Borussia Dortmund (BVB) have made a joint-announcement that their partnership will be broadened and extended to 2025, with chemicals manufacturer making a cash injection of €26.7 million for a 9.06% stake in the club and extending its sponsorship agreement from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2025.
Now Suarez apologises as appeal hangs in the balance
By Andrew Warshaw
July 1 – After a week of denials on his part and verbal attacks on both FIFA and the media by his compatriots, Luis Suarez has finally said that he did bite Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup, that he wasn’t the victim and that it will never happen again.
Cameroon federation opens investigation into match-fixing
By Andrew Warshaw
July 1 – Cameroon officials are to investigate claims that up to seven of their players could have been involved in match-fixing at the World Cup. In the first case of possible manipulation at the tournament, something FIFA feared but recently said there was no indication of actually occurring, the Cameroon FA (FECAFOOT) said it had instructed its ethics committee to look into allegations of possible wrongdoing in their three games in Brazil,
World Cup TV makes unlikely ‘friends’ of enemies in Egypt
By Mark Baber
June 30 – The popularity of the World Cup is making for some unexpected relationships in Egypt, especially after a mooted deal to show the games on Egyptian TV fell through.
FIFA health initiative rolls out across Brazil
June 30 – FIFA’s ’11 for Health’ initiative has been using the tournament to spread its messages throughout Brazil. A closing ceremony was held at the Arena Amazonia in Manaus to mark the climax of a thirteen-week long schedule of events that involved children from the surrounding area, engaging them with the lure of football to learn about health.
Luis Suarez: What they’re saying about the world’s most controversial player
June 28 – Villain or victim? Serial offender or just misunderstood? Fit for purpose or needing treatment? Luis Suarez is splitting opinion depending on where you come from. Here is some of the comment.
Uruguay to appeal length of Suarez ban, Tabarez blames … everyone
By Andrew Warshaw in Rio de Janeiro
June 28 – Uruguay’s football federation has confirmed to FIFA that it intends to appeal against the record World Cup suspension imposed on Luis Suarez for biting. FIFA announced that Suarez’s team have seven days to prepare the necessary paper work before an appeals panel sits to deliver a final verdict.
Suarez returns to hero’s welcome but sponsors get increasingly cold feet
By Andrew Warshaw in Brazil
June 28 – Waving national flags and carrying banners accusing FIFA of a conspiracy, hundreds of Uruguay fans gave Luis Suarez a hero’s welcome when he returned to the country following his record World Cup ban for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini as the severity of the punishment split world opinion.
Bayern consolidates its lead, but Napoli and Porto excel on list of World Cup survivors
By David Owen
June 28 – Elite club football may be increasingly the province of the monied few, but the very biggest names from the club game are not having things all their own way at the 2014 World Cup.
Der Kaiser bows to Garcia’s questions and can now go to the Brazil 2014 ball
By Andrew Warshaw
June 28 – FIFA has lifted Franz Beckenbauer’s ban from all football-related activity for failing to assist the investigation of alleged corruption into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup votes, according to his manager.