Man City team with Google for second hackathon
January 3 – Manchester City have announced dates for a second ‘hackathon’, this time in conjunction with Google. The event will take place February 10-12 at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.
Kuwait’s exile to continue as IOC refuses to end suspension
January 3 – Kuwait’s exile from the international football wilderness, including 2018 World Cup qualifying, looks set to continue after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) refused to temporarily lift its suspension on the Gulf state that has now been in place for 14 months.
The New Saints soar to new record, beating Ajax’s winning streak
January 3 – A tiny Welsh team have won a glorious place in the global footballing record books after beating the longest winning streak in top-flight football set by Johan Cruyff’s Ajax 44 years ago.
Southgate warms to England task with view to delivering knock-out punch
January 3 – New England manager Gareth Southgate says he would love to be the man to end the country’s record as the great under-achievers despite having a squad full of Premier League millionaire footballers.
FIFA and the emperor’s new clothes. 2016, a terrible year for ‘integrity’
By Paul Nicholson
December 30 – Gianni Infantino’s triumphant pre-Christmas claim that FIFA was now close to being an integrity-credible organisation was met with thinly veiled amusement in many quarters – not least the press worldwide who dutifully re-reported the FIFA president’s latest musings. There is of course a far more credible integrity viewpoint. “It has been an awful year of integrity in sports,” says Michael Hershman.
AEK and Panathinaikos owners refuse to meet their player and coach debts
By Lefteris Charalampopoulos
December 29 – They claim to be extremely wealthy. They are owners of football clubs and controversial businessmen. Dimitris Melissanidis, owner of AEK Athens, and Giannis Alafouzos (pictured) of Panathinaikos, have money but they have failed to meet their payment obligations to their players and coaches.
FIFA pressured after UN resolution demands end to Israeli settlements in West Bank
December 30 – The United Nations resolution condemning Israeli settlements has heaped pressure on FIFA to resolve the issue of Israeli lower-league clubs based in the occupied West Bank, according to Human Rights Watch.
Ronaldo turns down €100m from China to stay at Real Madrid
December 30 – World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo turned down the chance to leave Real Madrid for a staggering 300m Euros to join the flow of expensive talent towards China according to his agent.
EFL clubs feel the Christmas love as fans flock to matches
December 30 – The English Football league (EFL) has reported record Christmas attendances with more than half a million football fans going to the Boxing Day round of fixtures boosting average attendances to higher than some of Europe’s biggest leagues.
Anderlecht profits slip as Oostende sees debt rise as it makes its title challenge
December 30 – KV Oostende have accrued a loss of €7 million in the 2015/16 book year, with the Belgian club’s debts mounting to €23.4 million. In comparison Anderlecht reported a net profit of €1.6 million.
Bradley says he needed more time as Swansea struggle to find replacement
December 30 – Bob Bradley, the former US national team coach sacked by Swansea City after only 85 days in charge, says he could have made a success of being the first American to manage an English Premier League side if he had been given more time by his fellow Americans who appointed him in the first place.
Nasri doping probe over IV drip at LA clinic
December 30 – Sevilla midfielder Samir Nasri is being investigated by Spanish Anti-Doping authorities over treatment he received at a Los Angeles clinic.
Christmas feast for Premier League as Boxing Day crowds hit season record
December 29 – The English Premier League doesn’t take a winter break, but for football fans it felt like it had taken one with a flurry of fixtures over the 10 days of December 10-18 and then a long and lonely wait to the traditional feast of Boxing Day fixtures on December 26.
Tevez joins the Chinese foreign legion for record €84m
December 29 – Argentine striker Carlos Tevez has become the latest international star to head for China after signing for Shanghai Shenhua from his boyhood club Boca Juniors.
OL get first €30m of Chinese money but ADO hit bottom of the well
By Paul Nicholson
December 29 – The increased difficulty of getting Chinese money into Europe to complete club acquisitions has been highlighted with Ligue 1 Olympique Lyonnais owner OL Groupe announcing that it had now received the first €30 million of a €100 million investment by Chinese investment fund IDG Capital Partners. At the same time Dutch club ADO The Hague said it was suing its Chinese owners for €2.3 million in unpaid investments.