November 12 – The Gulf Cup, West Asia’s biennial eight-nation tournament, kicks off Thursday with the usual mixture of excitement and controversy and many seeing it very much as a dress rehearsal for the Asian Cup in January.
By Mark Baber
November 12 – Movistar, which has been the main sponsor of the Spanish national team since the Euro 2012 championship in Poland and Ukraine, has extended its sponsorship to cover the period up to and including the Euro 2016 Championship in France.
November 12 – The Asian Football Confederations (AFC) has announced its nominees for the 2014 AFC Player of the Year. The AFC Annual Awards will be held in Manila, Philippines, on November 30 in conjunction with the AFC’s 60th anniversary celebrations.
November 12 – Amid persistent crowd disturbances and allegations of corruption that do little to enhance the country’s staging of the 2018 World Cup, the Russian Football Premier League is the latest partner to be signed up by the Qatar-based International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) to protect the country’s top division from emerging threats to safety, security and integrity.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 11 – As widely anticipated, Morocco has been expelled from the forthcoming African Cup of Nations after refusing to host the competition on schedule due to fears over the spread of Ebola. Morocco had repeatedly asked the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to delay or postpone the three-week competition that is due to kick off in January fearing that fans and players might spread the virus even though the three west African nations devastated by Ebola are unlikely to qualify.
November 11 – FIFA have moved quickly to dispel a report that claimed Sepp Blatter believes Qatar will be stripped of hosting the 2022 World Cup.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
November 11 – Ajax Amsterdam has inked a sponsorship deal with local cable and media firm Ziggo. Starting in January 2015, Ziggo will replace insurance and pension firm Aegon as the club’s main sponsor under a deal worth at least €8 million per year, the side said in a statement.
By Mark Baber
November 11 – The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) Appeals Committee meeting being held today and tomorrow (Tuesday and Wednesday) marks a new crossroads in the power struggle at the summit of Nigerian football. The faction currently exercising executive power will be looking to see the disputed September 30 elections, which brought them to power, given a clean bill of health, whilst the Chris Giwa faction (who did not participate in the elections) and the losing candidates will be hoping the committee shows independence from the current leadership and orders a rerun of the elections on neutral territory.
By Andrew Warshaw
Nov 11 – Oceania has been hit with a new footballing scandal after Fifa banned the former head the New Caledonia football federation Edmond Bowen for three years for dishonesty when filling out an integrity questionnaire.
Bowen has been barred because “did not fill out the mandatory declaration of integrity truthfully” when bidding to become a member of Fifa’s disciplinary committee and had therefore breached “general rules of conduct”.
November 11 – O’Higgins, who won Chile’s Apertura league championship last year, face sanctions after fans made racist chants and gestures during a first division match.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 11 – As the Confederation of African Football (CAF) holds last-ditch talks today aimed at resolving the African Cup of Nations hosting crisis, Ghana is the latest country to say it won’t step in to replace Morocco.
By Paul Nicholson
November 11 – There has been a subtle shift in the balance of expatriate players in the big-5 leagues in Europe with a marked increase in the numbers of Europeans moving to leagues outside their home country, with the balance moving away from the exporting South American markets. The overall percentage of ‘foreign’ players in the big-5 leagues continues to rise, hitting a record 45.9%, according to figures from the CIES Football Observatory.
By Mark Baber
November 10 – The 2014 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women’s Championship kicks off on Tuesday in Islamabad featuring eight women’s national teams including hosts Pakistan, arch-rivals India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
By Ben Nicholson
November 10 – A report has been published in the US detailing a cost-benefit analysis of Washington-based MLS club D.C. United’s proposed soccer specific stadium development. The 406-page report suggests that the benefits will outweigh the costs.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 10 – The future of January’s African Cup of Nations has been plunged into further jeopardy after Morocco failed to meet Saturday’s deadline to confirm it will host the event.