Sky Sports beefs up web stats with WhoScored.com data
By Tom Parsons
May 1 – Football statistics website whoscored.com has signed an exclusive deal with SkySports to share their unique ‘player characteristics’ on the SkySports website.
News
Champions League final boils down to a one-city football fiesta
May 1 – The Champions League Final in Lisbon later this month will be the first featuring two clubs from the same city after Atletico Madrid joined Real Madrid in the showpiece climax to the European club season.
Web access may be limited at Brazil 2014 matches as comms deals buffer up
May 1 – Thousands of fans could struggle to use the internet at half of the stadiums during this summer’s World Cup, a top government official has admitted, the latest headache in a sea of worry as Brazil readies for the world’s biggest sporting event.
St. Petersburg bids to continue Russia 2018 legacy in 2020
By Richard van Poortvliet
May 1 – Russia’s Minister for Sport, Vitaly Mutko, in his promotion of the bid for hosting Euro 2020 matches, said that “EURO 2020 will be a continuation of the 2018 World Cup.”
Portuguese investor sets sights Poland’s Flota Swinoujscie as a feeder club
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
April 30 – With several foreign-based investors reportedly eyeing acquisitions of a number of Polish football clubs, a new story has broken on the planned take over of Flota Swinoujscie by a Portuguese investment group.
More woe for Kazan Arena as Russians switch friendly to St Petersburg
By Richard van Poortvliet
April 30 – The Russian Football Union has moved Russia’s friendly match against Slovakia in May from Kazan to St. Petersburg, due to the poor state of the pitch in the capital of Tatarstan.
Blatter reopens quota debate for protection of national teams
By Andrew Warshaw
April 30 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has revisited the home-grown player debate by arguing that too few are given a chance to prove themselves because of the foreign invasion.
Fireball Polish fan goes viral as flare ignites security spray
April 30 – Horrific pictures of a Polish fan emerging unhurt after being doused in flames has been picked on up social media around the world and has heaped more concern on a country that has struggled to eradicate spectator violence.
Expanded Euro 2016 will open and close in Stade de France
April 30 – The Stade de France in Paris will host both the opening game and the final of Euro 2016 after UEFA confirmed the match schedule. Host nation France will get the competition under way on June 10, with the climax to the tournament – the first Euros to comprise 24 instead of 16 teams – a month later.
Inside Insight: Another Stanfordian symphony (atonal)
April 29- The Caribbean is one seriously beautiful region in this world.Plush rain forests, beautiful beaches, sunshine all year round – and dirty little tax secrets amid the pebbled and/or sandy beaches.Much of the Caribbean was her Majesty’s property for hundreds of years.
Welsh confident they can nab Euro 2020 spot
April 29- Welsh officials believe their bid to stage group matches at Euro 2020 could be given preference over some of their main rivals.
UEFA keep quiet on FFP rule breakers, but promise names in May
By Andrew Warshaw
April 29- Uefa are refusing to confirm that big-spending Manchester City and Paris St-Germain are facing sanctions for breaching financial fair play (FFP) rules.
Blatter quick to support Alves calling banana incident an ‘outrage’
By Andrew Warshaw
April 29- Fifa President Sepp Blatter has condemned the recent case of racism aimed at Barcelona’s Brazilian defender Dani Alves as an “outrage” and has re-iterated that a policy of zero tolerance will be implemented at this summer’s World Cup.
CONCACAF readies for historic announcement as Webb ponders change
By Paul Nicholson
April 29 – With CONCACAF and South American confederation CONMEBOL readying for their Miami press conference, CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb has hinted that changes to the accepted structures of the regional competitions could be considered in the future.
Exclusive: Sending World Cup doping samples to Switzerland will rack up $250,000 in extra costs
By David Owen
April 29 – FIFA will run up $250,000 in extra costs as a result of having to send samples from this summer’s World Cup across the Atlantic for analysis, the chairman of the body’s Medical Committee has acknowledged, as he set out plans for the most extensive anti-doping controls ever at international football’s flagship tournament.