Homeless World Cup set for Glasgow kick-off, and signs up Olso for 2017
July 6 – The Homeless World Cup kicks off this Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland, with 52 teams and 500 players competing in mens and womens competitions. It concludes July 16.
World Football
Real Madrid to appeal €18.4m EC fine saying they are the financially injured party
July 6 – Real Madrid say they will appeal an European Commission ruling that they must reimburse €18.4 million to city authorities because they benefitted from unfair subsidies.
CONCACAF puts U15s title back into schedule with girls heading for Florida showdown
July 6 – CONCACAF has put its U15 national team championship back into the calendar and will hold the Girls edition August 9-21 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney in Orlando, Florida. Twenty three nations are entered.
Bundesliga and Premier League set Euro benchmarks for fans and stadia
July 6 – The Bundesliga and Premier League will continue to dominate the business of football with their big and modern stadia; France, thanks to new stadia for Euro 2016 are getting better but need to do more, Spain and Italy are off the pace.
EC fines Real and Barca for anti-competitive state aid. Who’s next?
By Andrew Warshaw
July 5 – In a ruling that will send alarm bells ringing across the Continent, seven Spanish clubs including Barcelona and Real Madrid have been ordered to repay millions of euros of unlawful subsidies after being found guilty of breaking EU state aid rules.
US Soccer launches girls 25-club academy system as pathway to pro game and US team
By Paul Nicholson
July 5 – The US Soccer Federation has officially announced a new 25-club Girls’ Development Academy that will start matches in the Autumn of 2017. The academy structure is “an initiative designed to accelerate the development of world-class female players” in the World Champion nation.
European police sign pact to share intelligence on football’s most violent
By Andrew Warshaw
July 4 – Fourteen countries have signed a potentially ground-breaking convention between the 47-member Council of Europe and UEFA designed to prevent any repetition of hooliganism at future European Championship finals.
AFC and UEFA meet to boost development partnership
July 4 – Arguably the two most powerful confederations in world football, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and UEFA, have taken steps to improve their collaboration across a range of areas.
Caribbean crossroads. Are football’s political elite creating a ‘new Warner’ for their own use?
By Paul Nicholson
July 1 – Controversial Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president, David John-Williams, has officially declared his candidacy for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) presidency, amid claims that he has misused TTFA funds to finance his campaign and that he has been given significant political backing from CONCACAF and FIFA in return for his support of their new presidents Victor Montagliani (pictured) and Gianni Infantino.
Romania charges Dr with manslaughter for death of Cameroonian Ekeng
July 1 – The Romanian public prosecutor has charged an emergency doctor with the manslaughter of former Cameroon midfielder Patrick Ekeng who collapsed during a league match for Dinamo Bucharest in May and died of heart failure.
The worst job in football, suggests FA boss. Who wants to be England manager?
June 30 – As English football searches for a new manager after the humiliation of Euro 2016, the chairman of the country’s national federation, Greg Dyke (pictured), has questioned whether anyone at the top of the sport would actually want the job.
Argentina cries for Messi to return, is the truth he never left them…
By Andrew Warshaw
June 29 – Lionel Messi has been urged to reconsider his surprise decision to quit international football by Diego Maradona, Argentina’s president Mauricio Macri and, it seems, virtually the whole of his country.
Euro expansion to 24 teams is a hit and has sparked dreams, says Theodoridis
June 29 – Iceland’s fairytale progress to the quarterfinals of the European Championship proves it was a good idea to expand the tournament to 24 teams and has provided just the boost required, according to UEFA’s interim secretary general Theodore Theodoridis.
Scotiabank Champions League builds momentum with group dates set
June 29 – CONCACAF has set the dates for the group stages of the Scotiabank Champions League, its blue riband event for clubs.
Spain’s reign ends where it started; with the Azzurri
June 28 – England were not the only team to incur the wrath of their national press after exiting Euro 2016. Spanish media blasted their own side and called on coach Vicente del Bosque to resign after the defending champions were knocked out by Italy.