Syrian joy as Uzbek win pushes them back into Russia 2018 qualification mix
March 24 – It was classed as a “home” game but it was played 4,500 miles away in Malaysia before just 350 spectators.
2006 World Cup probe: Beckenbauer meets Swiss prosecutors to tell his story
March 24 – German football legend Franz Beckenbauer has been questioned by Swiss prosecutors over suspected corruption linked to the 2006 World Cup.
OM closes book on their Adidas era, focussing on a new future with Puma
By Paul Nicholson
March 24 – It will be a symbolic statement of intent as much as a business deal of expedience once Olympique Marseille drops its kit sponsorship deal with Adidas, likely in favour of arch-rival Puma.
World Football Forum unveils Changsha, China, event for May
March 24 – The World Football Forum 2017 held their official launch in Changsha, China yesterday. Their timing could not have been better as later in the day at the Changsha stadium, the Chinese national team stunned Asia with a 1-0 win over South Korea in World Cup qualifying – the first time the Chinese have beaten the South Koreans in more than 40 years.
A political football. New CAF chief Ahmad quits Madagascan Senate
By Andrew Warshaw
March 23 – The new leader of African football held a senior political role at the time he was elected last week, throwing into question whether FIFA should have allowed him to stand against Issa Hayatou.
Sexwale’s Israel/Palestine mediation gets ‘stormy’ as both sides dig in
March 23 – Palestinian and Israeli football officials were involved in “heated” talks on Wednesday as Tokyo Sexwale (pictured centre), FIFA’s main Middle East negotiator, finally presented his long awaited draft report on the dispute over Israeli clubs based in the occupied territories and other festering issues in the region.
More Traffic congestion. Telemundo win Trinidad court backing to broadcast qualifiers
By Paul Nicholson
March 23 – The spat over whether US Spanish-speaking network Telemundo would be allowed to broadcast Trinidad and Tobago’s upcoming Russia 2018 World Cup qualifying matches against Panama and Mexico has been resolved at the last minute. A Trinidad judge ruled that broadcaster owns the TV rights and that the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) has to allow Telemundo access to the stadium that had previously been denied.
Bayern Munich lands in Shanghai searching for the promise of the east
March 23 – As Bundesliga CEO Christian Seifert was talking about his international growth strategy for the Germany’s top tier league, two of his member clubs – Bayern Munich and Wolfsberg – were opening offices in China.
Barca invest in their future with launch of Innovation Hub
March 23 – FC Barcelona have officially unveiled their Barça Innovation Hub (BIH) with the aim of positioning the club as the leader in sports knowledge, innovation and technology.
From dark to light. Brazil close in on Russia 2018, but Argentina have work to do
By Samindra Kunti
March 23 – South American giants Brazil and Uruguay face different obstacles in their crunch World Cup qualifiers as they seek to qualify for the 2018 Russia World Cup.
ILO keeps up pressure on Qatar on migrant workers’ travel rights
March 23 – The International Labour Organisation, one of the United Nations’ most highly regarded agencies, has decided to continue monitoring Qatar for human rights violations until November despite the Gulf state, organisers of the 2022 World Cup, insisting progress is being made.
Maradona tantrum referred upward as he tells Infantino he’s quitting
March 23 – Diego Maradona has reportedly threatened to resign as a FIFA global ambassador unless an Argentine rival is removed from his post in the national federation.
Ceferin forms an army to battle ‘doping, matchfixing, violence and corruption’
By Andrew Warshaw
March 22 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says he will stop at nothing to combat football’s most dangerous ills and will soon have an “army” of personnel to tackle the issues involved.
Manchester clubs join Barca, Real, Juve, PSG, Roma and Spurs for US extravaganza
By Paul Nicholson
March 22 – The US is set to become the land of Europe’s giant clubs at the end of July in a pre-season football extravaganza that conceivably could feature at least three of Europe’s Big 5 league champions.
AFC blacklists Timor-Leste players as faked passports declared ‘null and void’
March 22 – Nine of the Brazilian footballers that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) found were playing under fake Timor-Leste passports have had their passports declared ‘null and void’, according to information from the Ministry of Justice of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste provided to the AFC.