By Andrew Warshaw
September 6 – Europe’s leading clubs say the new Champions League format being introduced by UEFA in two years’ time has ended the threat of a breakaway league but reject the suggestion that the essential romance and nostalgia of football will evaporate in the process.
September 6 – El Salvador have been plunged into a match-fixing scandal after revealing they turned down the offer of a bribe to lose to Canada in tonight’s World Cup qualifier in Vancouver.
September 6 – The Hero Indian Super League, that will start play in its third season at the beginning of October, has brought on Sportradar’s Integrity Services division in the battle against match-fixing.
September 6 – Bundesliga side SV Darmstadt 98 have taken the unusual and laudable step of renaming their stadium in memory of a supporter who died in March from cancer at the age of 26.
September 6 – Valon Berisha became an overnight hero as he carved his name in footballing history by equalising for Kosovo in their first ever competitive international fixture on Monday.
September 6 – German legend Franz Beckenbauer is recovering in hospital after undergoing open heart bypass surgery – arranged before the FIFA ethics investigation surrounding the 2006 World Cup was announced.
August 6 – With the transfer window closed, now comes the financial reckoning. Who snagged a bargain and who was ripped off? Much of that analysis can only be done once the players start putting in performances on the pitch, but it doesn’t prevent some benchmark valuations.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 5 – In a bizarre case of possible deliberate deception, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have suspended United Arab Emirates-based Wanderley Santos Monteiro Junior for 60 days as they investigate whether the Brazilian-born forward has been using a forged Indonesian passport.
September 6 – Jordan, who are hosting the FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup later this month, will become the first Middle East nation to host a senior Asian women’s football championship when it holds the next Women’s Asian Cup in 2018.
September 5 – Malaysia has stepped in at the last minute to host Syria’s World Cup qualification group match against the Korea Republic tonight. Syria were left homeless last week after Macau’s withdrawal citing security concerns.
September 5 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has added a second new sponsor partner in a week in the form of UAE Exchange, a global remittance, foreign exchange and payment solutions provider.
UAE Exchange has signed on for a five-year deal with the AFC who last week added Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer to its sponsorship portfolio agreeing a four-year deal for the AFC’s national competitions including the 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Final Round (that starts tonight),
September 5 – A highly respected former top-flight English referee has caused widespread alarm by suggesting he was told to cover up seeing controversial incidents between players.
September 5 – Uganda have ended almost four decades in the wilderness by qualifying for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.
September 5 – With only hours to go before their historic first ever World Cup qualifying game, Kosovo were still waiting to discover whether six of their squad could switch nationality and play for them against Finland tonight.
September 5 – UEFA’s decision to amend the Champions League format from the 2018/19 season in favour of the most powerful clubs has, not surprisingly, been widely welcomed by Europe’s leading clubs.