Qatar turning to old boss to revive World Cup 2018 qualification hopes
September 26 – Qatar have sacked yet another national team coach as it tries to find a way of building a competitive team ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
Spurs and Jaguar drive youth training progamme in China
September 26 – Premier League Tottenham Hotspur have teamed up with Jaguar Land Rover China to deliver a year-long youth football development training programme in Guangzhou.
FIFA ethics accused of political agenda as AFC elections to Council heat up
By Paul Nicholson and Andrew Warshaw
September 23 – One of Qatar’s highest-ranking officials is persuing his bid to join FIFA’s inner circle, despite having a FIFA ethics investigation recommending a two-year ban imposed on him and a verdict on his proposed sanction still to be handed down.
A question of compliance. Did FIFA’s new audit chief Vesel fail eligibility rules?
By Andrew Warshaw
September 23 – Doubts have been raised over whether FIFA’s new audit and compliance chief Tomaz Vesel is eligible for the job and whether FIFA president Gianni Infantino may have worked behind the scenes to manoeuvre the Slovenian into the role vacated in May by Domenico Scala.
Kuwait’s government-installed football supremos kick-off with Super Cup final
September 23 – Kuwait’s new government-appointed controllers of football – still very much operating outside the international environment following a ban by FIFA and an instruction to Asian Football Confederation members not to engage with them – have announced the first event of their new regime will be the 2016 Kuwait Football Super Cup.
PSG app takes fans on Parc des Princes stadium tour
September 23 – Paris Saint-Germain has launched a new app, Fansparc, which is designed to give fans an immersive experience of PSG’s stadium, the Parc des Princes.
WePiao and WeSai target rights with buy in to Chinese sports marketer Mailman
By Matt Scott
September 23 – The strength of the Chinese sports industry has been underlined with an investment valuing the largest foreign-owned sports-marketing agency at $45 million.
Football League rules out Scots and EPL ‘B’ teams from joining a fourth division
September 23 – The 72 clubs immediately below the English Premier League have ended prospect of Premier League B teams joining them and have also ruled out Scottish giants Rangers and Celtic being included as part of a widespread revamp.
Playerhunter launches as social app to connect players and clubs
September 23 – A new social network designed to help players connect with clubs, scouts, agents and coaches has launched. Playerhunter aims of simplify the process of trawling for players, checking them out and speeding the time to contract, while at the same time opening up the number of opportunities to find the clubs that would work for them.
UEFA probe Scots after U19 women pull-out of Serbian match
September 23 – UEFA have opened disciplinary proceedings against the Scottish Football Association after the country’s under-19s women’s team pulled out of a European Championship qualifier against Serbia, with nine players and eight members of the backroom staff reportedly being hit by a sickness bug in what the federation described as an “exceptional situation.”
Juve report second year of profit with Pogba cash still to come
September 22 – Italian champions Juventus have reported a second year of operating profits, and that doesn’t include the bumper bonus of the €120 million sale of Paul Pogba to Manchester United which will be included in next year’s figures.
Iran end Brazil’s Futsal hopes at World Cup, Spain march on
By Samindra Kunti
September 22 – Iran knocked out defending world champions Brazil after a penalty shoot-out in the second round of the 2016 Futsal World Cup in Colombia. The surprise elimination brought to an end the international career of Falcao, arguably the greatest futsal player of all-time.
UEFA exco to rule on controversial Platini pay-off proposal
By Andrew Warshaw
September 22 – New UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin, in the job for a matter of days, has unwittingly been dragged into a dispute over whether his predecessor Michel Platini is to receive a special financial handout despite his presidential term being cut short by his FIFA ban.
Sierra Leone boss Johansen cleared by FIFA of misuse of funds
By Andrew Warshaw
September 22 – Isha Johansen, the female head of Sierra Leone’s football association who was detained for 24 hours for alleged misappropriation of FIFA funds, has won the backing of the world governing body which says no such misuse took place.
Eto’o dropped after Antalysapor chairman takes offence over social media posting
September 22 – Turkish club Antalyaspor have dropped former Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o from their squad until further notice in a row over controversial comments made on social media which could have been interpreted as implying the club’s chairman was guilty of racism.