April 22 – New FIFA president Gianni Infantino joked that his only remaining question over the Russia 2018 World Cup on his recent visit was on his “bet with Minister Mutko if I will speak better Russian or he better English in 2018.” Mutko may not have mastered the English-language but the Russians are increasingly showing they have a grip of World Cup communication.
April 22 – With scores of their players repeatedly unpaid, Romanian football authorities have eased contract restrictions that will now allow them to move on and not be retained by clubs against their will.
April 22 – Liverpool’s Anfield stadium will host the final of the Four Nations Rugby League tournament November 20, while the London (and by the West Ham’s Olympic Stadium) will host the final group game of the tournament between England and Australia.
By David Owen
April 21 – Just at the moment, everything Tottenham Hotspur touches is turning to gold. The North London club – the only team still realistically capable of derailing Leicester City’s Premier League fairy tale – is enjoying a dream season, with a Champions League slot for 2016-17 all but secured.
By Paul Nicholson
April 21 – Gordon Derrick, the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) president who was banned from running for the presidency of CONCACAF after FIFA’s Independent Audit and Compliance chief Domenico Scala ruled he had failed the integrity test, did in fact clear all the CONCACAF integrity hurdles before the file was passed to FIFA.
By James Dostoyevksy
April 21 – Double jeopardy, denial of the most basic due process and defamation of character seems to be the latest modus operandi of a FIFA compliance outfit that makes statements about the person’s life and livelihood with an acute and present danger of destroying not only his career in football but his ability to make a living.
By Tom Parsons
April 21 – Stoke City have entered into a six-year sponsorship agreement with bet365 which will see the Britannia Stadium become the bet365 stadium, and announced plans to extend the ground.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 21 – Swiss authorities have enacted potentially ground-breaking new rules, dubbed by Swiss media ‘Lex FIFA’ (the FIFA Law), as part of an initiative to crack down on corruption in sport.
April 21 – Not many clubs sack their coach with the domestic league title about to be won. But in Scotland, where Celtic are by far the biggest fish in a relatively small pool of winners, expectations go much further than perennial success in the top flight.
By Mark Baber
April 21 – Speaking at a press conference to announce cooperation between the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) and France’s FC Metz academy over youth training, AIFF President Praful Patel (pictured) argued the blanket ban on sporting activities in Maharashta was unfair on football and revealed that the Indian Premier League (IPL) and I-League are to be merged in the near future.
April 21 – FIFA should have acted quicker in raising the issue of Qatar’s treatment of migrant labourers working on 2022 World Cup sites, according to its head of corporate social responsibility.
April 21 – As Manchester United closed to within a point of Arsenal in the race for Champions League qualification, the club announced an extension of its Swissquote global sponsorship.
By Samindra Kunti
April 20 – France has said it will extend its state of emergency for a further two-months to ensure the security of players, fans and media at the EURO 2016 tournament this summer.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 20 – New FIFA president Gianni Infantino says video replays could be introduced in time for the 2018 World Cup.
By Mark Baber
April 20 – The investors who took the plunge to save Swansea City in 2002 are poised for a multi-million return on their investments following a valuation of the club putting it at £100 million. On April 9 a Swansea City club statement said that US investors Steve Kaplan, Jason Levein and their investment group are finalising an agreement to take a controlling interest in Welsh club.