By Samindra Kunti
January 10 – Zimbabwe and Uganda have both faced financial problems that at one point looked to threaten their participation of the African Cup of Nations, but the two countries are now set to play at the tournament in Gabon.
By Paul Nicholson
January 10 – Tomorrow the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) opens their annual conference in Los Angeles, the largest soccer convention in the world and the largest coaching convention of any sport worldwide. More than 20,000 participants are expected to attend, an increasing number of them international visitors.
January 10 – FIFA’s ‘Best’ awards might have had a very uncomfortable European-only feel about them in their male nominees category – incredibly not one nominee came from club football played outside the continent – but the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) did see sees one notable success.
January 10 – Just a few days after being granted Division II status in the US, the United Soccer League (USL) announced how its 30 teams will divide into Eastern and Western conferences for the 2017 expanded 32-game schedule.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
January 9 – As widely anticipated, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo was duly crowned FIFA’s World Best player at a no-expense-spared gala in Zurich on Monday but the glittering awards ceremony – rival to the Ballon d’Or from which FIFA recently disassociated itself – was marred by a fierce attack on Barcelona for snubbing the world governing body’s inaugural showpiece event.
By Paul Nicholson
January 9 – The perilous but tenacious state of the North American Soccer League (NASL) and the upstart and growing status of the United Soccer League (USL) have both been recognised by US Soccer (USSF) which has granted one-year provisional Division II status to both leagues for the 2017 season.
By Lefteris Charalampopoulos
January 9 – On 28 December 2016 Giannis Alafouzos, president of Panathinaikos and owner of SKAI TV Station was found guilty by a Greek court, of instigating the journalist Kyriakos Thomaidis to violate Greek legislation regarding the protection of sensitive personal data.
By Samindra Kunti
January 9 – Next weekend the African Cup of Nations will begin in Gabon, but the tournament’s build-up has been marred by the ever strident complaints from European clubs over African players representing their country at Africa’s flagship tournament.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
January 9 – As FIFA moves closer towards a landmark decision to expand the World Cup finals from 2026, saying the idea has the support of a vast majority of its national federations, the head of one South American association has revealed FIFA president Gianni Infantino is backing an equally ground-breaking and somewhat controversial move to merge the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL qualifiers.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 9 – A Swiss court has rejected a claim by three trade unions from Bangladesh and the Netherlands that FIFA failed to exert its influence to ensure fair treatment for migrant workers after handing Qatar the 2022 World Cup.
January 9 – With FIFA set to announce the winners of the voting at its new ‘BEST’ annual awards event, the CIES Football Observatory has developed a more technical methodology and ranking of the best players in Europe’s big-5 leagues by position. And Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list.
January 9 – A default notice seeking nearly $34,000 in arrears has been issued against the Cayman Islands home owned by former FIFA Vice President and CONCACAF boss Jeffrey Webb, according to the Cayman Compass newspaper.
January 9 – Premier League Tottenham Hotspur who have made Australia a key part of their pre-season tour plans over the past two years, has announced a grassroots ‘Soccer Schools’ programme for 2017 across the country.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 6 – In an unprecedented move that could prove a watershed moment and potentially change the face of football’s global transfer landscape, Chinese authorities have rebuked the country’s leading clubs for “burning money” in the relentless race to enlist top foreign stars to the detriment of local talent.
By Paul Nicholson
January 6 – Everton reported a £121.5 million turnover, £75 million in new revenues going forward and a big ambition for the future at their annual general meeting this week.