St Petersburg stadium debuts as a work in progress
By Samindra Kunti
April 24 – Saint Petersburg’s 69-000 all-seater Krestovsky Stadium has opened two months before the Confederations Cup, but concerns remain over the venue’s readiness.
FIFA poised to offer Israel 6-month deal to kill off its six West Bank teams
By Andrew Warshaw
April 24 – The FIFA committee charged with resolving the increasingly intractable Israeli-Palestinian issue looks set to postpone a final ruling once again by giving Israel six months to discontinue playing matches in the occupied West Bank – or face possible sanctions.
Facebook launches Camera Effects AR platform with Man Utd demo
By Paul Nicholson
April 24 – When Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg launched its augmented reality Camera Effects developer platform last week at its annual developer conference last week in California, Manchester United teamed up as the demonstration guinea-pig to demonstrate the applications.
Blatter says he is not a ‘suspect’ and Platini could be cleared for return
By Andrew Warshaw
April 24 – Sepp Blatter’s colourful and controversial career may be over as a result of his six-year ethics ban but despite speculation to the contrary, the 81-year-old insists he will not end up facing prosecution at the hands of either US or Swiss justice authorities.
Makudi wins Thai ‘forgery’ appeal and says FIFA must now lift his ban
By Andrew Warshaw
April 24 – After the net had seemingly closed in on him once and for all, former FIFA Executive Committee member Worawi Makudi could be about to stage a shock comeback.
FIFPro warns players away from Romania as pay situation worsens
April 24 – The international players’ union FIFpro has warned its members against signing for Romanian clubs because of the risk they will not get paid.
KPN upgrades Eredvisie deal to main sponsorship with focus on TV connections
April 24 – The Dutch Eredvisie has signed telecommunications operator KPN in a four-year deal as the league’s main sponsor from the start of next season.
FIFA draw the line under Costa Rica’s Li with life ban for taking bribes
April 24 – Eduardo Li, the disgraced former president of the Costa Rican Football Association, has been banned for life by FIFA’s ethics committee in the latest sanction to strike at the heart of the organisation’s old guard.
Kante picks up PFA Player of the Year award as he drives Chelsea towards double
April 24 – Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante was named the PFA Player of the Year at an awards dinner in London on Sunday. He held off competition from fellow Chelsea player Eden Hazard and Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Piracy in the Caribbean
The battle for political control of the Caribbean is entering a crucial phase, and it has nothing to do with football and everything to do with controlling the votes, the agenda and the money. At the centre of the power play is the CONCACAF-driven attempts to remove Caribbean Football Union (CFU) president Gordon Derrick from office and split the CFU membership.
Caribbean boss Derrick disappointed at CFU exco resignations
By Paul Nicholson
April 21 – Caribbean Football Union (CFU) president Gordon Derrick has expressed disappointment at the resignation of two of his executive committee members who demanded he should resign after he lost an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over his exclusion from the CONCACAF presidential elections last year.
Crossing the Green Line: Israeli mount political offensive as Palestinians call foul
By Andrew Warshaw
April 21 – Israel is stepping up its diplomatic efforts to foil another Palestinian motion within FIFA for severe sanctions to be applied on its Middle East neighbour.
Sakho doping case opens rift between UEFA and WADA
By Andrew Warshaw
April 21 – UEFA and the World anti-doping Agency have come to blows over French international Mamadou Sakho’s wrongly applied drugs ban last year.
Excitement Index puts Barca as top team but Real vs Bayern as top match
April 21 – Nissan has released its latest Excitement Index findings that show reveal Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich was the most exciting Champions League match this season, but that overall Barcelona top the Excitement Index Team League.
Conforama signs €10m title sponsorship with France’s Ligue 1
April 21 – European furniture retail chain Conforama has signed a three-year title sponsorship with France’s Ligue 1. The deal, reportedly worth €10 million a season, will start with the 2017-18 championship and run though to the end of 2019-20.