By Paul Nicholson
February 23 – The first concrete signs of dealmaking between candidates in the FIFA presidential election race became evident yesterday following a meeting between South African candidate Tokyo Sexwale and UEFA’s top gun Gianni Infantino, with Sexwale saying he is “open to negotiations and alliances”.
February 23 – Sunday’s big London derby FA Cup clash between Spurs and Crystal Palace – two of the teams that have shown they have the capability to upset the traditional old order in the Premier League – was a battle between two clubs that are investing deeply in players and stadium infrastructure to achieve their improved status. But as well as sharing an ambition to change the accepted English club hierarchy, they also have another commonality in that they either had or have a sponsor relationship with online casino Mansion.
By Mark Baber
February 22 – English Football Pools owner Sportech plc is in talks with its former chief operating officer Ian Hogg over a proposal to set up a new London stock market isted company to buy the institution for £100 million.
By Samindra Kunti
February 22 – FIFA is satisfied with India’s planning and preparation for next year’s U17 World Cup, but indicated that the hosts still need major renovation in the six selected venues to be compliant with international standards.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 22 – The spending plans of FIFA presidential candidate Gianni Infantino, which have already been questioned by his main rival Shaikh Salman, have come under further scrutiny, this time from election outsider Jerome Champagne.
Jérôme Champagne has come out swinging in these final days of the FIFA Presidency campaign, claiming that spending pledges tabled by UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino are “very dangerous”.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 22 – The sensitivity surrounding Friday’s FIFA presidential election has been racked up a notch after FIFA rejected a demand from one of the candidates to use transparent voting booths to ensure delegates do not photograph their ballot papers.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 22 – As he awaits the imminent outcome of his appeal against his eight-year ban and the election of his successor, Sepp Blatter insists the December 2010 vote to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was clean, but has repeated that political influences played a role in the infamous ballot that went some way to prompting the biggest scandal in FIFA history.
By Paul Nicholson
February 22 – While Jordan’s Prince Ali enters the final week of his second quest to conquer the top table of world football and become FIFA president, one of his billionaire subjects has shown a much more humble ambition by buying a 92% stake in fourth tier English club Bristol Rovers.
February 22 – While Europe’s football elite will be strutting their way round France in five-star accommodation and with plenty of cash to flash, another group of footballers will be taking far more significant and humble personal journey to Glasgow. The Scottish city will host the 2016 Homeless World Cup from July 10-16, the 14th edition of the event and the second time it has been hosted in Scotland.
By Matt Scott
February 21 – FIFA’s presidential election will feature two swing voters who in an increasingly bitter struggle for support among candidates could play a decisive role in its outcome.
February 19 – Manchester United overtook Arsenal today to become the English Premier League club with the most Twitter followers. Having overtaken them, they soared to a lead of more than 500 followers within hours.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 19 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has scrapped its regional summit scheduled for the eve of next week’s FIFA presidential election in Zurich, fuelling the ever intriguing rumour mill and conspiracy theories over whether some kind of last-minute unexpected move is in the offing.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 19 – Outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter insists he has no preferred candidate to take his place but says he has spoken with four of the five contenders in the build-up to next week’s election.
By Mark Baber
February 19 – Nike has won plaudits for ending its relationship with Manny Pacquiao, but its ongoing sponsorship of Nigerian football shows its apparently principled stand against homophobia is little more than a marketing device.