January 18 – Brazilian FA boss Marco Del Nero, who escaped being put on trial for his alleged role in the FIFAGate scandal since his country has no extradition treaty with the United States, is to contest his FIFA ban on Friday – via video link from Rio de Janeiro .
By Andrew Warshaw
January 18 – Just a few days before the video assistant referee system is expected to be given a provisional thumbs-up by football’s lawmakers, debate is raging yet again about when and how it should be used – this time in England where VARs have only just started to be trialled in certain cup games.
January 18 – Any buyer thinking they were going to get a knock-down price from Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley for the club should think again. While Ashley may be king of the sports leisure discount market with his Sports Direct chain, he is not necessarily looking for a quick turnover of the club at a giveaway price.
January 18 – The social media profiles of Europe’s top clubs are spawning a whole new growth area and fan base for Europe’s biggest clubs, but none are getting close to the dominance of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United who between them now connected with a staggering 391 million people on Twitter and Facebook.
By Samindra Kunti
January 18 – Ronaldinho has at last called time on his professional playing career. The 37-year-old has not played at club level since leaving Brazilian side Fluminense in July 2015 and on Wednesday his agent and brother Roberto Assis announced Ronaldinho he has officially retired.
January 18 – Portuguese authorities are investigating the circumstances that led to a top-flight league match being abandoned at half-time and spectators evacuated on to the pitch after cracks appeared in a stand.
January 18 – An Atletico Madrid supporter is in a “serious condition” after being stabbed three times before the club’s Copa del Rey defeat to Sevilla on Wednesday.
By Paul Nicholson
January 17 – European football has never had it so good, it’s official, and the latest UEFA Club Licensing Benchmarking Report backs this up with an impressive gathering of statistics and analysis that reports another financial year (2016) of 10% growth for the European game.
January 17 – Swaziland is in shock and all football in the country has been suspended after Premier League of Swaziland chairman Victor Gamedze (pictured) was gunned down at a petrol station in a targeted assassination on Sunday evening.
January 17 – After concluding a new sponsorship deal with the DFL (German FA) subsidiary Bundesliga International to the end of season 2020/21, sports betting company Tipico have immediately launched a testosterone-charged advertising campaign under the slogan “Nur wer mitspielt, ist mittendrin!” (Only Those Who Play Are Part Of The Game).
January 17 – The AFC from its earthquake relief fund has made a $300,000 donation to the Japan Football Association (JFA). The money will be used to build new facilities for the Kumamoto Renaissance Football Club.
January 17 – Chelsea’s fear that they might not be able to progress with the £1 billion redevelopment of Stamford Bridge after a local resident objected to the development and refused to cut a deal with the club, have now been overcome.
January 17 – Premier League Arsenal, via its newly launched ‘Innovation Lab’ initiative, has linked with six new technology companies to work with the club’s senior management team to identify business opportunities and develop new fan experiences.
January 17 – An investigation into claims by the mayor of Liverpool in the UK that there may have been fraud surrounding England midfielder Ross Barkley’s recent switch from Everton to Chelsea has failed to produce any evidence to that effect.
By Paul Nicholson
January 16 – Almost half of Europe’s champion clubs rely on UEFA competitions for 25% or more of their revenue, but it comes at a cost. For Real Madrid that was a 32% increase in staff costs to €406 million, the highest wage bill in world football and accounting for 61% of the club’s revenues.