January 11 – Sticker albums, the staple collectable and ‘education’ tool for growing football fans, are back in fashion. Panini have announced it will almost double revenue on the back of the Russia 2018 World Cup to about €1 billion.
India 0 UAE 2
By Samindra Kunti
January 10 – Hosts the United Arab Emirates secured a vital 2-0 win against India in clinical style to get their Asian Cup campaign back on track, but they were left to sweat until the last minute of the game by a resourceful and hard-working India.
January 10 – Alberto Zaccheroni said that the UAE were now growing in the right direction after their 2-0 win against India, but admitted that the Indians will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.
January 10 – Marcello Lippi has defended his tenure at the helm of the Chinese national team, citing the emergence of young players as a long-term benefit. On Friday three points against the Philippines will ensure China’s progress to the knockout stages of the 2019 Asian Cup.
January 10 – South Africa have reacted with anger and bewilderment over the rejection of their bid to stage this summer’s African Nations Cup, dismissing suggestions of sour grapes and saying due process was not applied.
January 10 – It was initially hoped to be ready last September but the waiting goes on after a series of delays. Tottenham Hotspur say their state-of-the-art new stadium may not be ready until at least March, possibly only being able to stage the final five home league games of the season.
January 10 – Chelsea will report Bayern Munich to FIFA if they find evidence of an illegal approach for their rising star Callum Hudson-Odoi according to British media reports.
By Paul Nicholson in Abu Dhabi
January 10 – The 17th and biggest ever Asian Cup currently being hosted in the UAE completed its first round of group games yesterday. Expanded from 16 to 24 teams, this is a competition that is opening a remarkable new world of football frontiers. It has spotlighted countries too often on the periphery of global football and is generating stories, new legend and football history every day.
Thailand 1 Bahrain 0
By Paul Nicholson in Abu Dhabi
January 10 – Thailand, who sacked their Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac after losing their first game, turned their Asian Cup campaign around with 1-0 win over Bahrain at at the Al Maktoum Stadium.
January 10 – Namibia is the latest country to be subject of a normalisation committee imposed by FIFA to run its affairs as a result of a bitter internal squabble.
January 10 – Italian police have launched an inquiry after Roma supporters allegedly distributed anti-Semitic leaflets on Wednesday to coincide with the 119th anniversary of bitter city rivals Lazio.
January 10 – Under pressure UAE coach Alberto Zaccheroni (pictured) has described the game with India as a “make-or-break” Asian Cup encounter for the hosts. In the opposition dugout he faces a buoyant Indian coach in Stephen Constantine who has vowed that his team will play for all three points.
By Abdelaziz Abuhamar
January 9 – Uzbekistan’s goalkeeper Ignatiy Nesterov made history at the AFC Asian Cup, posting a new playing record in the Asian football showpiece.
January 9 – Japan’s coach Hajime Moriyasu part blamed the heat for his team’s underwhelming 3-2 win against Turkmenistan and acknowledged that Japan will need to improve as the tournament progresses.
Things rarely go according to plan in African football, as one French publication emphasised this week. The decision to strip Cameroon of staging this coming summer’s African Nations Cup may have been a deeply hurtful blow to the original hosts but hardly took anyone by surprise given the nature of African football’s leadership which has, quite frankly, become a laughing stock.