FIFA wait for AIFF detail on Patel and Indian crisis
November 2 – FIFA says it is waiting for information over a Delhi High Court ruling which has booted out the Indian football federation’s (AIFF) Praful Patel as the body’s president.
Guangzhou Evergrande sign co-branded credit card deal with Barca partner SPD Bank
November 2 – Guangzhou Evergrande, the Chinese Super League’s leading club with seven straight league titles, is to launch a co-branded credit card in China with the Shanghai Pudong Development (SPD) Bank.
Sexwale says Israel/Palestine task force did its job, but did FIFA do theirs?
By Andrew Warshaw
November 1 – Tokyo Sexwale, the under-fire South African official who headed FIFA’s doomed Israel-Palestine mediation effort, insists he did exactly what was asked of him and has questioned why his eagerly awaited report was thrown out by FIFA’s all-powerful Council headed by Gianni Infantino.
Takkas becomes second FIFA-gate defendant to be handed jail time in US
By Paul Nicholson
November 1 – Costas Takkas (pictured) became the second defendant in the FIFA corruption case to be sentenced in the US, receiving a 15-month jail sentence and being ordered to pay a share of $3 million in restitution to the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).
Jordaan denies rape claims and says that law court must decide truth
November 1 – South African Football Association President Danny Jordaan has broken his silence over rape allegations against him, denying the accusations are true.
New Indian crisis as Patel is removed from FA presidency by High Court
By Samindra Kunti in New Delhi
November 1 – Just as Indian football was celebrating the successful hosting of the U17 World Cup, controversy has struck with the Delhi High Court issuing an order to “set aside” the election of AIFF president Praful Patel over election irregularities and nominating SY Quraishi as interim administrator to ensure new elections within five months.
Hong Kong’s Chinese anthem abusers warned by AFC to march in tune
November 1 – Hong Kong has been issued a warning by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after their fans booed the Chinese national anthem during a recent AFC Asian Cup qualifying win over Malaysia.
UK football dodges a bullet as government stays away from regulating gambling ads
November 1 – Fears that a government review of the on-line betting and gaming industry could result in dramatic falls advertising and sponsorship revenues for football have been averted with the government leaving this part of the gambling sector alone in a review published yesterday.
Player development: Club trained players hit a new low across Europe
By Mark Baber
November 1 – Across the top Europe leagues, club trained players have hit a new low, with only 18.5% of players trained by the club they are currently with, expatriate players are at a new high of 39.7% and the percentage of new signings in each squad has hit a new high of 44.8%.
Barking mad: Malaysian fans land FA with fine over ‘dogs’ chant
November 1 – Malaysia has been fined US$30,000 by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after the national team’s fans described both Singapore and Brunei fans as “dogs” during matches at the South-East Asian (SEA) Games.
Somalian FA to build its first permanent HQ
November 1 – War-ravaged Somalia is celebrating the prospect of having its own federation premises after having operated in rented offices for over half a century.
Exclusive: FIFA ignored 100% of Sexwale report in killing off Israel-Palestine talks
By Andrew Warshaw
October 31 – The full extent to which FIFA washed its hands of football’s Israeli-Palestinian impasse by throwing out a detailed report from its chief mediator for the region can today be exposed.
Net closes on Sierra Leone boss Johansen, charged with 10 counts of corruption
October 31 – Isha Johansen, Africa’s only female football federation president, pleaded not guilty when she appeared in court Monday charged with 10 counts of corruption and abuse of office.
Crystal Palace fans keep faith as club top Round 10 stadium capacity ranking
October 31 – Round 10 of Premier League fixtures saw just 9,766 seats unfilled out of 361,131 tickets available. Crystal Palace topped the capacity chart for the third time this season, just beating Manchester United for the top slot.
Apocalypse now. Report has nothing but bad news for football finance and its governance
October 31 – Professional football clubs are under a growing threat from organised crime. Only 25% of clubs in top leagues worldwide produce publically-available financial reports. And only 40% of national associations are financially viable without the help of FIFA, an organisation whose top officials are being chased down by the US Justice Department under their RICO laws that are used to investigate mafia-style crime rings.