By Andrew Warshaw
October 6 – Wherever he travels at present, Tokyo Sexwale is asked the same question. Will he be running for Fifa president? The South African human rights icon keeps giving the same diplomatic answer, that he has not yet made up his mind. But he only has until October 26 to do so.
By Mark Baber
October 6 – Thursday’s crucial European Championship qualifier between Romania and Finland will be played in front of spectators after UEFA lifted a stadium ban on the Romanians imposed after fans were accused of racism and throwing missiles during a match against Greece in Bucharest.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 6 – In arguably the most explosive attack on FIFA and its judicial procedure, South Korean presidential candidate Chung Mong-joon has confirmed for the first time that he faces imminent suspension, possibly for 15 years, but not before laying bare what he claims are rampant double standards by FIFA’s ethics committee.
By Samindra Kunti
October 6 – Qatar’s infrastructure work for the 2022 FIFA World Cup is progressing with the Al Khalifa stadium expected to be delivered by 2017, while work on the Lusail stadium has commenced.
By Paul Nicholson
October 6 – Rafael Esquivel, one of the seven FIFA executives arrested in the dawn raids at the end of May and detained on US warrants for his extradition, has been refused release from custody on health grounds as the Swiss view him as a flight risk.
By Samindra Kunti
October 6 – The ICSS and the Aspire Academy have renewed their partnership, while the French Football Federation have made a pledge for a closer cooperation with their Qatari counterpart. The agreements were announced at the Aspire Academy Global Summit on Football Performance and Science in Berlin.
By Ben Nicholson
October 6 – The MLS has added another TV deal to its expanding roster by partnering with FOX Sports Latin America to televise matches in Mexico, South America (excepting Brazil where the MLS already partners with Globosat), Central America and the Caribbean. The deal now makes the MLS available for viewing in almost 120 countries and territories worldwide.
“We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.” John F Kennedy
Strategy for both the Eastern bloc and the NATO allies during the Cold War was simple: arm yourselves to the teeth until the threat of Mutually Assured Destruction guaranteed neither side would be stupid enough to go to war.
By Mark Baber
October 5 – Following the murders of an Italian aid worker and a Japanese tourist, which have both been claimed by the Islamic State (IS), Australia’s Football Federation (FFA) has expressed its concern over the security situation in Bangladesh, ahead of a scheduled World Cup qualifier on November 17.
By Paul Nicholson
October 5 – US Ambassador to Switzerland Suzan LeVine (pictured) has emphasised that all those arrested in the corruption scandals engulfing FIFA had US links or US citizenship, seemingly offering an explanation to the Swiss public as to why the US justice authorities have acted so invasively in Swiss territory.
By Samindra Kunti
October 5 – The 2015 ASPIRE4SPORT Congress & Exhibition got underway in the German capital Berlin today. Key stakeholders in the game and performance specialists from clubs and federations are gathering at the summit which has a schedule based on sharing information and experiences of how to create successful structures at the top level of the sport.
October 5 – The English Premier League is only eight games into the new season but the sack race is already up and running. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers (pictured) and Sunderland’s Dutch boss Dick Advocaat have both left their respective clubs after difficult starts to the new campaign, an uncomfortable reminder of just how impatient chairmen and owners can be and how quickly fortunes can change.
October 5 – Under-fire UEFA president Michel Platini has taken his innocence stance over a 2 million franc payment he received from president Sepp Blatter all the way to government level in his home country France.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 5 – South Korea’s heavyweight candidate Chung Mong-joon has staged a late u-turn and has decided to attend this week’s Leaders in Sport Business Summit in London despite rumours circulating about his FIFA presidential prospects.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 5 – Sepp Blatter’s daughter has expressed her inner fears about her father’s recent interrogation at the hands of Swiss authorities, saying she was worried they would “take him away in handcuffs.”