July 2 – Having looked like a team that were struggling to find any cohesion or common purpose after four straight losses, including a miserable performance in March at the Concacaf Nations League final, suddenly the USA look as though, if not the real deal, they are certainly worth a reappraisal.
July 2 – Elite football in the form of major tournament returns to Switzerland for the first time since 2008, with Euro 2025 and the quest for continental glory set to take over the Alpine nation this July with more than 600,000 tickets sold and increased prize money on offer for the 16 finalists.
April 26 – The best goalkeeper in Europe’s Big-5 leagues this year is Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer and the worst is, not surprisingly, American Brad Guzan who has had a miserable season at a miserable Aston Villa.
By Mark Baber
April 25 – The Nigerian soap opera continues as rival groups claim to represent the official Nigerian Football Federation – with the appointment of a dead referee as match official symptomatic of the chaos in the country’s football administration.
April 25 – Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly in discussion about moving some of their home games next season to Wembley as capacity at White Hart Lane may be reduced by more than initially expected and at an earlier stage under the rebuild plans.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 25 – Sepp Blatter may no longer be the centre of world attention and be banned from the sport he controlled for 18 years. But he has certainly not gone to ground and insists he is still in big demand.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 25 – Harold Mayne-Nicholls (pictured), who led the FIFA inspection team that evaluated the credentials of all 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding candidates, has had his ban from all football-related activities reduced on appeal from seven to three years – another blow to the supposed independent judgement of FIFA’s ethics chiefs.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 25 – The climax to Liverpool’s first season under their charismatic German manager Jurgen Klopp, highlighted by reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League this week, has been marred by their highly rated £18 million central defender Mamadou Sakho being unavailable at the worst possible time after failing a drugs test.
By Paul Nicholson
April 24 – Swiss based sports data group Sportradar has widened the base of its business with the acquisition of German rights agency sportsman media holding. The German business stretches from media rights representation and sports marketing, to production services, digital platforms, digital services, as well as providing services for betting platforms, and takes Sportradar into new areas.
April 25 – Costa Rica has stepped up to more hosting duties in the CONCACAF region picking up the 2017 Under-20 Championship which acts as the qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, to be played in South Korea in 2017.
April 25 – The lawmakers of world football, the International FA Board, have invited leagues and associations interested in running experiments with video replays to a first workshop on the ground-breaking innovation in Amsterdam next month.
By Samindra Kunti
April 25 – Anderlecht’s Belgian title campaign turned into chaos in the playoffs at the weekend as players argued on the pitch and a farcical 4-2 defeat at KV Oostende led to fans rioting.
By Samindra Kunti
April 25 – One of the longest running shirt sponsorships in European football comes to an end this summer when for the first time in 33 years Philips won’t be the brand on PSV Eindhoven’s shirt. Philips’ sponsorship will be replaced by Energiedirect in a three-year deal worth €18 million.
April 25 – Liberia’s George Weah, regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time and the first African to win FIFA’s player of the year award, is to make a second bid to become president of his troubled nation – 11 years after losing a bitter campaign.
By Samindra Kunti
April 22 – With less than 50 days to go until kick-off at EURO 2016, UEFA has announced that there will be a final round of ticket sales for this summer’s European Championship in France.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 22 – Gianni Infantino wasted no time, on his first trip to Qatar since becoming FIFA president, in stressing the need for the 2022 World Cup hosts to maintain efforts to improve workers’ welfare.
By Mark Baber
April 22 – FC Barcelona have unveiled the designs for their revamped home – the Nou Camp Nou – at a ceremony attended by Barca board members, the first-team squad and media representatives. Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu said the new stadium will become “an icon for the city,” though most would argue it already is in global opinion.