Football Benchmark goes live with latest version of business data tool
October 21 – KPMG Football Benchmark has launched a new iteration of its football business data platform.
Gold Cup 2025
El Salvador self destruct in Houston as Canada Marsch on
Canada 2-0 El Salvador
June 24 – Fresh from emerging from a Concacaf-imposed timeout, Canadian head coach Jesse Marsch returned to the technical area at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, knowing any more misbehaviour would send him back to the naughty room. He needn’t have worried as their opponents El Salvador simply imploded in a red mist.
AFC elections round 2: Feb-March looks like earliest date for rematch
By Andrew Warshaw
October 20 – The election of Asian candidates to FIFA’s new-look ruling Council looks set to be rescheduled for late February or early March – in time to take up their seats before the FIFA Congress in Bahrain in May.
Right manager, wrong players? Barca spotlight Guardiola and Man City’s challenge
By Andrew Warshaw
October 20 – He may be regarded as one of the most sought-after and tactically astute modern-minded club coaches in world football but for all his achievements and aspirations, Pep Guardiola, perhaps for the first time, is having to swallow his fair share of disappointment to maintain his remarkable record of success.
Gabon show their CAF credentials at AFCON 2017 draw
By Samindra Kunti
October 20 – The hosts Gabon have been handed a favorable draw for the 2017 African Cup of Nations alongside Cameroon, Burkina Faso and the debutants Guinea-Bissau in Group A. Group B has been dubbed the group of death, comprising Algeria and Senegal, two of Africa’s strongest teams.
Allams close in on new, new Chinese owners for Hull in deal worth £130m
October 20 – The protracted sale of English Premier League club Hull City to a Chinese consortium looks to have moved closer to fruition in a potential deal worth £130 million.
Arsenal top Twitter league for second week running, as Man Utd pass 9m mark
By Paul Nicholson
October 20 – Arsenal topped Manchester United in the weekly Twitter followers table for the second week running. The Gunners’ 52,900 new followers is a marked jump for the club, in comparison to the tail off in growth Man Utd are experiencing.
Man City put on the style at Barca as Dsquared2 signs on as fashion partner
October 19 – Manchester City turned British media heads when they travelled to Barcelona for their Champions League match. Gone was the (often) scruffy suit and tie look of overgrown schoolboys on tour and in came a modern, casually smart denim look. Even assistant manager Brian Kidd managed to carry off the style change.
Djibouti breaks new ground with Super Cup final played outside the capital
October 20 – History was been made in Djibouti this week with the first official football final being played outside the capital. The 35th edition of the Djiboutian Super Cup was hosted at the sports complex in the Ali Sabeih region.
Spurs redevelopment wins affordable housing award
October 20 – Premier League Tottenham Hotspurs ground redevelopment and associated regeneration of the local area is starting to win awards. The Cannon Road development has been named Affordable Housing development of the year by Inside Housing magazine.
Champions League run pushes Man City to £19m profit
By David Owen
October 19 – A best-ever Champions League run has propelled Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City to a near doubling of annual profits. The club, which plays Barcelona tonight, spiritual home of new manager Pep Guardiola, has reported pre-tax profits of £19.6 million for the year to May 31, up from £10.2 million in 2014-15.
Traffic’s former US boss Davidson poised to change his plea to guilty
By Andrew Warshaw
October 19 – Yet another of those arrested in the US-led corruption probe into football corruption has agreed to plead guilty. Agency reports citing court papers say Aaron Davidson, who headed Traffic Sports USA, the Miami-based business of Brazilian sports marketing group Traffic, is due to enter his plea on Thursday.
Neymar to ink new €16m Barca deal, taking him through to 2021
By Samindra Kunti
October 19 – FC Barcelona and Brazil star Neymar will put pen to paper on the new five-year deal he agreed with his club in the summer this week. The deal will tie the Brazilian to Barcelona until 2021.
FIFA Ethics hands Makudi a 5-year ban over forgery conviction in Bangkok
By Andrew Warshaw
October 19 – Time and again he fought off his accusers and protested his innocence while other FIFA powerbrokers around him were plunged into shame. But the net has finally closed in on Thailand’s Worawi Makudi who has been banned by FIFA’s ethics committee for five years for election forgery.
Argentine judge refuses US extradition requests for Jinkises and Deluca
October 19 –Argentina has refused a US extradition request for three of it nationals accused of bribery and money laundering in the US Department of Justice investigation into football corruption worldwide.
Gambian refugee Manneh opens his goal account in Bundesliga
October 19 – As footballing stories go, few are more uplifting. Two years ago, Gambian refugee Ousman Manneh fled his dictator-led country, leaving behind his entire family, to seek asylum in Germany.