By Alexander Krassimirov
August 24 – Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia may have been relegated to the country’s amateur leagues for failing to pass the financial criteria to receive their club license, but their fans still manage to capture national headlines.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 24 – The Swiss probe into possible money-laundering linked to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid process has now uncovered more than 100 incidents of “suspicious financial activity” according to the Swiss attorney general’s office.
August 21 – Catania have been relegated to the third tier of Italian football for their involvement in a match-fixing scandal last season. The Sicilian side were also deducted 12 points for this season and fined €150,000 while club president Antonino Pulvirenti has been banned for five years and fined €300,000.
By Samindra Kunti
August 20 – Belgian topflight club Sint-Truidense V.V. have partnered with Swiss start-up kickrs.net to crowd-fund the transfers of football players. Fans of STVV can invest in 18-year old Greek striker Panagiotis Kynigopoulos.
By Samindra Kunti
August 19 – Dutch club Roda JC’s financial woes have been aggravated by shirt sponsor Solland Solar filing for bankruptcy. The club is at least €1.3 million in debt.
By Alexander Krassimirov
August 19 – FC Cherno More Varna, holder of the Bulgarian Cup and Supercup, has been handed a development grant of BGN 1 million (€500,000) from the state. The money will be used by club to improve the grass pitch at Ticha stadium and stadium lighting.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
August 18 – Empoli, one of the few Italian Serie A clubs that do not come from a provincial capital city, has unveiled €11 million redevelopment plans that include the expansion of its Stadio Carlo Castellani capacity from 16,800 up to 20,000.
By Ben Nicholson
August 17 – Lionel Messi recently donated 4.5million Argentine pesos, roughly $487,000, to UNICEF during an event called, ‘A Sun for the Kids.’
By Samindra Kunti
August 14 – Back in April, at the tiny Jalan Besar stadium in hot and humid conditions, Harimau Muda ground out their first S.League win of the season against Young Lions, 1-0. From the stands Michel Sablon was watching on with much interest. The Belgian is a seasoned observer of the beautiful game. He had watched games from the USA to Indonesia, but this was his first acquaintance with Singaporean football.
By Alexander Krassimirov
August 13 – A Turkish police report described the attack against Fenerbahce and Turkey midfielder Mehmet Topal as an “accident” and not an attempted murder.
August 13 – The English Football Association are investing an extra £60 million into the grassroots game over the next four years, bringing the total amount to £260 million.
By Samindra Kunti
August 13 – Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam have named Cheng Shin Tire (CST) as an official partner of the club.
By Alexander Krassimirov
August 12 – The owners of Bulgarian top tier side Lokomotiv Plovdiv have threatened to pull the club out of the A Grupa division after being hit with a BGN 37,500 (€18,750) fine by the Disciplinary Committee of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) for racist chants by fans during a match against Litex Lovech.
August 12 – A top-flight Turkish footballer has escaped unharmed after gunmen fired on his bulletproof car in Istanbul.
August 11 – Tyre manufacturer Continental has signed up to sponsor the Copa do Brasil, the Brazilian Cup organized by the Brazilian Football Confederation CBF.