By Paul Nicholson
January 7 – Delegates heading to the world’s largest coaching event – the NSCAA Convention – in Baltimore next week, will be able to experience the US Club Soccer organisation’s latest hook-up with LaLiga as they demonstrate the technical resource that has been added as part of the Players First initiative.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 7 – One month after being arrested as part of the new wave of US justice department indictments in the FIFA corruption scandal, former FIFA vice-president Alfredo Hawit has agreed to his extradition from Switzerland.
By Paul Nicholson
January 7 – The musical chairs at the top of South America’s leading football federations continued yesterday with an unusual twist. Recently the news has only been of presidents being arrested or removed from office, but this time the game changed with the return of Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) head Marco Polo Del Nero who resumed his position from Marcus Antonio Vicente.
By Ben Nicholson
January 6 – The United Soccer League (USL) has terminated the Adirondack Sport’s Club’s ownership of Rochester Rhinos FC for failing to meet league standards. Issues about external and internal operational issues over the past several months led to the decision.
By Mark Baber
January 6 – Barcelona celebrated the end of their 14-month “transfer ban” by registering 77 players across all age groups, many of whom had been signed to the club during the ban and who will now be able to play in competitive matches.
By Paul Nicholson
January 6 – The scramble for football properties and a foothold in China is gathering pace with the winning bid for a 50% stake in Chinese Super League (CSL) side Beijing Guoan expected to be announced in the next few days.
By Paul Nicholson
January 6 – Guyanese Mark Rodrigues is the first candidate to declare he will run for the presidency of the North and Central American and the Caribbean confederation in elections expected to take place May 12 in Mexico City.
January 6 – The Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (CECAFA) has agreed a five-year strategy for the region aimed at the development of women’s and youth football. There will also be an emphasis on technical development across the member countries.
By Samindra Kunti
January 5 – On a Saturday night in December jeeps and cabs briskly maneuvered and zigzagged their way through dense traffic on Hazza Bin Zayed Street, one of Abu Dhabi’s arteries. They were heading for the Al Wahda Mall, an architectural monstrosity in the UAE capital’s Al Nahyan neighborhood. Affluent expats and local Emirati sauntered into the complex to indulge in the luxuries offered by Western brands including Calvin Klein,
By Andrew Warshaw
January 5 – Once again, a hugely experienced and knowledgable coach has been unable to make it at Real Madrid where demands are possibly higher than anywhere else.
By Paul Nicholson
January 5 – Lionel Messi is worth €100 million more than Neymar and he is worth €66 million more than Luis Suarez who is the eighth most valuable player in Europe, according to a CIES Football Observatory ranking of the 100 most valuable players in the Big 5 European Leagues in England, Spain, Germany, France and Italy.
By Mark Baber
January 4 – The January transfer window opened on Saturday for clubs in England, Scotland, Germany and France with expectations of a high spending round dependent on early sales to set the merry-go-round in motion.
By Samindra Kunti
January 4 – India have won the South Asian Football Federation Cup (SAFF Cup) for the seventh time defeating Afghanistan 2-1 in the final to kick off 2016 on a high.
January 4 – The tragic unexplained death of Steve Gohouri, the former Ivory Coast World Cup defender, has caused shock throughout his country and in Europe where he played most of his club football.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 31 – Switzerland’s federal justice authorities have handed over the first batch of bank documents to their US counterparts in relation to the corruption scandal that has engulfed FIFA’s north, south and central federations.