By Andrew Warshaw in Jordan
May 14- The demonstrations and street protests that have marred Brazil’s reputation and increased safety fears in the buildup to the World Cup will be aimed more at politicians than football if they are repeated during the tournament.
That was the claim made today at Soccerex Asian Forum by Pitagoras Dytz, a legal adviser to the Brazilian Sports Ministry.
By Mark Baber
May 14 – The Court of Appeal of Sierra Leone has upheld the conviction of Alimu Bah, former Secretary General of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA).
By David Owen
May 13 – World Cup tourist spending in Brazil in June and July may exceed $3 billion, the Brazilian Government has forecast. In the latest of a series of announcements that appear designed, in part, to convince ordinary Brazilians that staging sports mega-events is a good investment for South America’s biggest country, the Ministry of Tourism unveiled research findings suggesting that foreign tourists would spend nearly $2,500 each, excluding airfares,
By Andrew Warshaw in Jordan
May 14 – One of world football’s most influential female executives has joined the chorus of disapproval over English Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore’s already infamous sexist remarks.
By David Owen
May 14 – Major League Soccer (MLS) has secured a big financial boost, agreeing a new eight-year television and media rights partnerships with a total of three US networks.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 14 – After days of silence, UEFA finally came clean today and admitted that they are not yet ready to announce any financial fair play sanctions. In what will be widely interpreted as a partial fudge, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino made it clear that negotiations with nine clubs deemed in breach of the strict regulations were still ongoing.
May 14 – Lewis Hamilton in Spain, Dani Alves the other week, now Kevin Constant of AC Milan v. Atalanta Bergamo – only a few people who suffered racist abuse by “fans” of Formula 1 and Football. The list is of course much longer than the three names mentioned above, and it appears that some very sick pigs disguised as “fans” take particular joy in insulting those whose performance gives them fun and joy. One would have thought.
By Andrew Warshaw in Jordan
May 13 – Qatari authorities are set to make a landmark announcement on the contentious issue of workers rights within the next few days, possibly as early as Wednesday, as pressure continues to build on the 2022 World Cup hosts over the treatment of migrant employees.
By Andrew Warshaw in Jordan
May 13 – The head of Palestinian football warned today that time is running out for Israel to stop its “bullying” in the occupied territories or risk a demand for it to be thrown out of FIFA.
By Tom Parsons
May 13 – One of the greatest ever Premier League players has joined Twitter, and immediately gained nearly 250,000 followers in his first 24 hours on the social media platform. Thierry Henry, Arsenal’s all-time top scorer joined Twitter at 12:44pm on Monday and was immediately welcomed by fellow players, fans and celebrities.
May 13 – Italian authorities have taken swift action against Atalanta by fining the club €40,000 after a banana was thrown on to the pitch during Sunday’s 2-1 home win against AC Milan though many will question whether the fine is enough.
By Andrew Warshaw in Jordan.
May 13 – The head of Qatar’s 2022 world cup organising committee was forced to pull out of Asia’s first ever Soccerex forum today for unspecified reasons.
By Mark Baber
May 13 – Sony yesterday launched a social network site called “One Stadium Live” which brings together social network content from Twitter, Facebook and Google+ on a single platform. The initiative is part of Sony’s World Cup campaign. Sony is one FIFA’s six major sponsor partners.
By Mark Baber
May 13 – As of Monday morning, Pakistan’s football coach Bahraini Mohammed Shamlan was still waiting for a permit from Israel to allow him to join his team at the Al-Nakba International Football Tournament in Palestine.
By Paul Nicholson
May 13 – CONCACAF has taken another step forward in the battle against match-fixing, signing a memorandum of Understanding with International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL). The co-operation agreement will enable joint efforts in what CONCACAF calls “sports integrity initiatives”, particularly in the sharing of resources and experiences. The aim is to intensify on-going work to combat match-fixing.