By Ben Nicholson
September 29 – With new MLS teams cropping up around the US, and existing teams rejuvenating, the creation and expansion of stadiums has been in the forefront of minds and proposals all round country. Here is an update on the current happenings.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 29 – FIFA’s decision to reject Gibraltar’s application for membership has thrown the British overseas territory’s international status into confusion given that it has just started playing official games as the 54th member of UEFA.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
September 29 – Polish businessman Maciej Wandzel has acquired a 20% stake in Legia Warsaw from Dariusz Mioduski, the majority shareholder in the club, who now holds 60% of the shares.
September 26 – Leading Russian club Torpedo Moscow have been ordered to close a section of their stadium for one match following racist abuse aimed at rival Dynamo Moscow’s English defender Christopher Samba.
By David Owen
September 26 – Buoyant footwear sales, including football boots, helped Nike to a highly satisfactory 23% advance in net income for the three-month period including the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 26 – Cypriot football has taken another symbolic step towards re-unification after a Greek-Cypriot player signed for a club in the Turkish-controlled north of the divided island.
By Mark Baber
September 26 – At a meeting at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Chinese Football Association Vice Chairman and Secretary-General Zhang Jian (pictured) and FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke have signed a technical cooperation agreement aimed at improving the technical level of Chinese football coaches, referees, and managers, improving the national team at all levels of achievement, and promoting the development of youth and women’s soccer.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 26 – Four of Europe’s major clubs – Liverpool, Monaco, Inter Milan and Roma – are among a fresh list issued by UEFA as being under investigation for possible breaches of financial fair play.
September 26 – Frequently denounced by FIFA and UEFA but still dangerously prevalant, match-fixing has struck at the heart of top-ranked Spanish football with the state prosecutor to question players over allegations of possible rigging in a 2011 league game between Levante and Real Zaragoza.
By Alexander Krassimirov
September 26 – The construction of the Hristo Botev stadium in Plovdiv has restarted with the backing of the local city government. In July, construction work at the stadium was frozen after club owner Tsvetan Vasilev’s Corporate Commercial Bank was closed.
By Mark Baber
September 25 – The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has said that eight referees have been arrested in connection with fixing the number of yellow and red cards in matches. The investigation is focused on commercial bribery offences which carry a 4-6 year prison sentence.
By Mark Baber
September 25 – Aminu Maigari, the outgoing President of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), was again taken in for questioning by the Nigerian Department of State Services (DSS) on Wednesday as officials stayed away from their fire-damaged HQ in fears of being “called in for a chat,” arrested for contempt of court, or served with a Court Order relating to the upcoming elections of September 30.
September 25 – The 2014 World Cup in Brazil reported a doping-free championship, but the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has had to step in with a suspension following a positive test at the Asian games currently taking place in Incheon, South Korea.
By David Owen
September 25 – Saudi Arabia has become the latest country to chip in to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)’s embryonic fund for new anti-doping research, donating $100,000 as the first instalment of an eventual $500,000 contribution.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
September 25 – Diosgyori VTK is to launch construction of a new 15,000-seat stadium on its current site following the end of the 2014/2015 season. The Hungarian club from the city of Miskolc aims to open the new sports facility in 2016.