Inside World Football - Page 1490 of 2022 - For the Business of Football

Matt Scott: Blessed are the weak as enfeebled United now look to inherit the earth

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“Hail, thou that art highly favoured… blessed art thou.” Archangel Gabriel to Mary; Luke 1:28

It has been a purgatorial 12 months or so for Manchester United. So if you are a supporter of theirs it must be tempting to look to a man named Angel Di María as some sort of celestial deliverer for your club. Sure, one Angel does not make a host but it should not be too hard for a £59.7 million player of his quality to make an impact.

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Platini wants more UEFA spots at World Cup, not less

World Cup draw

By Andrew Warshaw in Monaco
August 29 – UEFA president Michel Platini says he will not allow Africa or Asia to take a World Cup place away from Europe as long as he is in charge of European football.

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Russians plan a revolution with player quotas and national game restructure

RFU sign

By Paul Nicholson
August 28 – Russia is poised to embark on a programme of football reform in a bid to improve the standard and competitiveness of its national team and club sides in advance of the 2018 World Cup. The proposals include quotas on overseas players – called legionnaires in the draft bill – as well as regulation of how clubs spend their cash.

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Lawyer calls on FIFA to amend transfer rules to allow free movement of players

FIFA House

By Mark Baber
August 28 – Players who cancel their contracts and move to a new club are frequently being caught up paperwork that prevents them actually playing for their new club while they wait for an International Transfer Certificate (ITC) to be issued. Delays can be long as national association refuse to deliver the ITC on the instructions of the former club, creating difficulties in registering the player with his new club and thus impeding his right to play.

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Euro 2020 will end white elephants, as Wembley emerges as finals favourites

Wembley Stadium

By Andrew Warshaw in Monaco
August 29 – Michel Platini says his revolutionary pan-European 2020 Euro finals will wipe out white elephants as it emerged that Wembley stadium is now odds-on favourite to hold the latter stages of the finals.

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US law suit calls for a ‘knock out’ rule covering headers in youth football

heading the ball

August 29 – An unusual lawsuit has been filed against FIFA from a group of parents and players in the United States concerned about how football’s world governing body handles concussion treatment.

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European elite set for Champions League group stages

Draw

August 29 – The draw for the group stages of the Champions League, conducted in Monaco today, threw up its usual mixture of mouth-watering ties and unknown quantities.

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UEFA calls Russian and Ukranian FA into HQ for mediation talks

Russia and Ukraine flags

By Andrew Warshaw in Monaco
August 28 – UEFA has invited the heads of the Russian and Ukrainian federations to its Swiss headquarters next month in an attempt to resolve the ongoing crisis over Crimean clubs and secure some kind of breakthrough.

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Poland’s Stomil Olsztyn invests €12m in new stadium build

Stomil Olsztyn fans

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
August 28 – Poland’s Stomil Olsztyn has outlined plans to build a new 12,000 capacity stadium in a bid to lure new supporters, as it pushes its way up the country’s league structure.

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Platini to run for UEFA re-election, not FIFA presidency

Michel Platini 7

By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent, in Monaco
August 28 – The most open secret in football politics was confirmed today when UEFA president Michel Platini ended months of speculation by officially announcing he would not be standing against Sepp Blatter for the top job in world football.

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Australia bans live streaming for FFA Cup

Westfield FFA Cup

By Mark Baber
August 28 – The inaugural edition of Australia’s FFA Cup has run into controversy as Football Federation Australia insist that no live streaming of games is allowed, even though only two games in the Round of 16 will be broadcast live on Fox Sports.

Lee Wellings

Lee Wellings: Something for everyone is the ‘pleasing’ new Euro motto

Voila…

So Michel Platini will be staying at UEFA.

And it might be just as well there’s nothing to divert his attention from an important revamp, in which his General Secretary Gianni Infantino has been instrumental.

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Ludogorets promise cash for stadium upgrade after dramatic CL qualification

Domuschiev

By Alexander Krassimirov
August 28 – The owner of Ludogorets Razgrad, Kiril Domuschiev, has said he will do everything in his power to get permission to hold Ludogorets’ Champions League home games at the National Stadium Vasil Levski in Sofia. The Bulgarians dramatically qualified for the group stages after a penalty shoot out last night with Steaua Bucharest.

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NWSL agrees to mid-season break for 2015 Women’s World Cup

August 28 – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has announced its new schedule format for the 2015 season. The fixtures will begin in April and finish in September, adding in a two-week break for the group stages of the Women’s World Cup.

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Vegas puts its cash on the table for MLS bid and earmarks stadium site

Welcome to Vegas

By Ben Nicholson
August 28 – Las Vegas’ MLS expansion bid has taken a step forward by having the city and developers sign a term sheet outlining the project. $200 million has been assigned to develop a 24,000-seater stadium, $100 million for expansion fees, and a further $100 million for interest on the bonds issued by the city.