Man Utd tread a new global path with Apollo deal
September 8 – Manchester United have upgraded regional partner Apollo Tyres into their ‘Global Tyre Partner’ in a new three-year deal.
FA chief fears Brexit pushes England to fringes of UEFA politics
September 8 – The English Football Association fears that Britain’s exit from the European Union may hinder efforts to stage major tournaments in future and wants to find out whether Brexit had damaged relations within FIFA and UEFA.
In the land of the free, expression isn’t always. Just ask Megan Rapinoe
By Paul Nicholson
September 8 – The Washington Spirit took the unusual step of playing the US national anthem before the players had entered the playing arena last night at the National Women’s Soccer League play-off match against the Seattle Reign.
Stoke City hire Rippleffect for digital revamp
September 8 – Premier League Stoke City has signed sports digital agency Rippleffect to rework its digital platform including the club’s main website (stokecityfc.com) and online retail store (scfcdirect.com).
Guate’s goal happy Ruiz breaks World Cup scoring record
September 7 – Guatemala’s Carlos Ruiz has become the highest scorer in World Cup qualifying history after bagging five goals in his final international appearance against St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Solo’s US ban was after a ‘bunch’ of incidents, says coach
September 8 – US women’s national team head coach Jill Ellis has spoken for the first time about the full reasons behind the decision to ban Hope Solo, the best-known goalkeeper in women’s football, for six months and terminate her contract.
Duo duel for UEFA top position as battle shapes up into a big vs little slug-fest
By Andrew Warshaw
September 7 – With the UEFA presidential election a week away amid signs that the two remaining candidates are feeling the heat, Michael van Praag has received a boost after the English Football Association, now under new leadership, has decided to throw its heavyweight support behind the Dutch football chief.
Greek league on hold as clubs refuse to play Olympiacos; Marinakis faces remand calls
By Matt Scott
August 7 – Only a week before UEFA’s most senior officials decamp to Athens for their presidential elections, the owner of Greece’s most successful club reportedly faces a battle to avoid custody over match fixing allegations.
Villar quits UEFA presidential race leaving Ceferin and van Praag in final run-off
By Andrew Warshaw
September 7 – And then there were two. Angel Maria Villar, whose UEFA presidential candidacy always seemed destined to fail, has pulled out of the election next week to save face, leaving Michael van Praag and Alexander Ceferin to battle it out to fill the vacancy left by Michel Platini.
Danes unite to protest ‘unacceptable’ new Champions League qualification rules
By Paul Nicholson
August 7- Yesterday the European Club Association (ECA) triumphantly claimed the new UEFA Champions League qualification format a big success for the future of (big) club football in Europe, today the first voices of dissent declare the decision to automatically qualify the top four clubs from the top four European leagues a “detrimental” decision for European football.
Big is beautiful, but what does life look like outside Europe’s top 5?
September 5 – With focus generally on Europe’s Big 5 leagues in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, Football Benchmark have turned their analytical attention to life outside of these leagues and the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’.
Twitter ranking: Bournemouth jump up table, Arsenal close in on 8m mark
August 7 – With the international break it might be reasonable to assume a drop-off in Twitter activity, and in terms of tweets across the Premier League that was the case with the total number dropping to 2,412 against 6,214 the previous week. But the number of new Twitter followers across the league was up.
FIFA ethics turn Al-Mohannadi case into formal proceedings
By Andrew Warshaw
September 7 – FIFA’s ethics watchdog has opened formal proceedings against one of the Qatari FA’s highest ranking officials, vice-president Saoud Al-Mohannadi, but much intrigue surrounds what he has specifically done wrong.
Kick it Out reports rise in football ‘hate’ incidents in UK
September 7 – British-based anti-racism body Kick it Out has warned of the increase of hate incidents surrounding football, saying it received 402 reports of discrimination last season, up from 393 in 2014-15. Of those, 135 were in the professional game.
Čeferin dismisses Nordic claims as ‘insulting’ as UEFA politicking heats up
By Paul Nicholson
September 6 – Aleksander Čeferin has dismissed as “insulting” reports that he has made a series of promises to the Nordic federations in support for their votes in the election for the successor to Michel Platini to the UEFA presidency on September 14 in Athens, Greece.