Corinthians close out 2014 finances with €29.4m headache
By Samindra Kunti
February 2 – Corinthians have closed the financial year 2014 with a €29.8 million deficit. The losses could impact on the club’s presidential elections on February 7.
South America
CBF rules to bring financial control to Brazil’s faltering clubs
By Samindra Kunti
January 23 – The Brazilian FA, the CBF, has presented new regulations for 2015 with the threefold aim to regulate and bring discipline to Brazil’s domestic football finances and create more transparency.
Santos in turmoil as players sue for unpaid wages
By Samindra Kunti
January 16 – Brazilian club Santos is facing a mutiny in its ranks after four players took the club to court over arrears for outstanding salaries and fees. The judicial trouble is hampering Santos’s preparations for the new domestic season which begins with the state leagues this month – Santos play in the Paulista.
Brazil conforms and sets date for ending TPO funding practices
By Andrew Warshaw
January 14 – In a major boost for the regulation of the international transfer market, third-party ownership of footballers will become illegal in Brazil from May 1, bringing the country into line with a global FIFA ban on the practice that comes into effect at the same time.
VIVO connects to Brazil for further 8-year sponsorship
January 12 – Telecom brand VIVO, part of Telefônica Brasil, has renewed its sponsorship with the Brazilian national teams for another eight years. The partnership has existed since 2004 and incorporates both male and female teams.
Brazil clubs row over TV rights cash as the big get rich and the small get hungry
By Samindra Kunti
January 9 – Vasco Da Gama president Eurico Miranda has criticised the TV rights structure in Brazilian football. He opposes what he calls the elitism and ‘Hispanisation’ of the domestic game with unequal shares of TV money widening the gap between clubs.
Pele signs life-long image rights deal with Santos, on his hospital bed
By Ricardo Setyon
December 15 – The recent illness of Pele that kept the Brazilian nation anxiously watching their news bulletins, was also the opportunity for the football legend to announce his latest image rights deal.
Asprilla forced to leave town after gangsters threaten family at gunpoint
December 12 – Memories of the cold-bloodied murder 20 years ago of Colombian World Cup star Andres Escobar have come flooding back following the latest harrowing tale of intimidation, this time involving Faustino Asprilla, who won 57 caps for the country.
Argentinian Franco Nieto brutally beaten to death after league match
December 5 – Argentine football has been stunned by another shocking fatal tragedy after a player was brutally attacked. Franco Nieto (pictured), captain of regional club Tiro Federal was struck on the head following a third-tier match against rivals Chacarita Juniors in the town of Aimogasta, in north-west Argentina.
Brazil’s Corinthians; a club to live and die with
By Ricardo Setyon
November 24 – They came, they saw, they conquered. And now they can die in peace. Corinthians fans now have their own special resting place – perhaps ironically for a club that has suffered the rollercoaster of life’s highs and lows.
More Chilean racism as domestic fixture is suspended
Another incident of racism has struck at the heart of Chilean domestic football, this time prompting the referee to take the players off.
O’Higgins, who won Chile’s Apertura league championship last year, already face sanctions after fans made racist chants and gestures towards San Marcos de Arica’s Venezuelan striker Emilio Renteria during a first division match.
Brazilian clubs in crisis as wages unpaid and debts rocket
By Ricardo Setyon
November 23 – Just four months after the biggest football event on earth took place in Brazil, the country has lurched into a new crisis with as many as 50% of current professional players and officials unpaid. Estimates say that the wage crisis has hit up to 90% of the professional clubs in the country.
Chilean FA calls for maximum penalty for O’Higgins racism
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.
Exclusive: Mayne-Nicholls says Nov-Dec 2022 must be a non-starter
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
November 5 – The man who led the official FIFA inspection team that evaluated the credentials of 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar says November-December must be ditched as a possible date for a winter tournament, warning it would cause untold chaos for the international calendar.
Palmeiras endure a roller-coaster ride in Centenary celebration season
By Ricardo Setyon
November 4 – Currently in their Centenary season, Palmeiras is the Brazilian club with the most deeply rooted links to Europe. But its 100th birthday is proving an unhappy one as it battles out of relegation danger, conflict with contractors over its new stadium, and poor finances that require a continual bail-out from its owner.