By Paul Nicholson
October 15 – Oulala.com, the daily fantasy football platform, has unveiled a new version of its site which is available to consumers in the UK for the very first time. The monetised site allows users to buy into games and play daily and in ‘real time’.
The slick first public appearance of Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool seems to have caught English media and football fans by surprise, and has already made him a favourite with many.
October 14 – UEFA have opened disciplinary proceedings against Moldova over crowd disturbances, including racism, during a European Championship qualifier against Russia.
October 14 – Next summer’s Euro 2016 finals will be conspicuous by the absence of the orange army after the Netherlands, World Cup semi-finalists only 15 months ago, failed to even make the playoffs.
By Mark Baber
October 14 – Italy’s financial police raided Italian League and club offices as part of an investigation into alleged irregularities in the assignment of TV broadcasting rights involving rights agency Infront, Sky Italia and Mediaset, Italian media reported on Tuesday. Bari and Genoa also allegedly received irregular help in meeting the financial criteria for Serie B and Serie A.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 14 – FIFA’s ethics committee has thrown out yet another corrupt official with South Africa’s Lindile Kika banned for six years as part of the match-fixing investigation involving friendly games ahead of the 2010 World Cup that sent shockwaves through the country.
October 14 – England’s achievement in securing a 100% record with 10 straight wins during Euro 2016 qualifying has been marred by being charged by UEFA over crowd disturbances at their final fixture in Luthuania on Monday.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 14 – Suspended former powerbroker Worawi Makudi looks set to defy FIFA’s ethics committee by contesting Thailand’s forthcoming FA presidential election in what would be a flagrant violation of the rules.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 14 – With potentially everything to lose if the FIFA presidential election is delayed, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan has seized the initiative by calling for the vote to take place as scheduled on February 26.
October 9 – Digital pitchside advertising specialists Supponor and ADI have combined their expertise to launch the world’s first broadcast quality LED virtual advertising solution.
October 14 – Former Liverpool forward Djibril Cisse is at the centre of a blackmail investigation in France having been taken into custody and then released.
By David Owen in Monte Carlo
October 14 – France is aiming to capitalise on next year’s European football championship, Euro 2016, to boost the number of grassroots football club members in the country by around 15%.
By Samindra Kunti
October 14 – Last night Belgium’s ascendency to the top of world football culminated in an unprecedented number one spot on the FIFA ranking with a 3-1 win over Israel in Brussels. The result also ensured Belgium will be seeded at the EURO2016’s final draw in the French capital in December. In November the Red Devils will face Italy in Kuwait in a friendly.
By Paul Nicholson
October 14 – Fan attendances at top division matches in Germany, France and Spain have increased for the opening games of this season compared to last. But in Italy and France matchday attendances have dropped, according to data from Benchmark Sports, the data and analysis arm of KPMG’s Sports practice. Overall the ‘big five’ leagues have a combined attendance increase of 1.3%.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 13 – No candidates from outside football will be eligible under current regulations to become the next FIFA president despite growing calls, including from International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, for an external contender to be put in place to herald a fresh start after the worst corruption crisis in sporting history.