Palestine win back right to host Saudi World Cup qualifier in West Bank
October 21 – Palestinian football has won a decisive battle off the field over the contentious World Cup qualifier with Saudi Arabia and will host it on November 5.
Chung now turns to CAS claiming ‘sabotage’ after Swiss court rejects FIFA complaint
By Andrew Warshaw
October 21 – Former FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon’s hopes of taking over from Sepp Blatter are hanging by a thread after a Swiss court rejected his request to temporarily lift his six-year ban so that he can stand as a candidate at the election on February 26.
Scala turns up FIFA reform heat and asks the SFr2m question
By Andrew Warshaw
October 21 – Domenico Scala, the increasingly influential official who has the ultimate say in who can and can’t run for FIFA president, has delivered a potentially fatal blow to Michel Platini’s hopes of taking over from Sepp Blatter at the end of February in the event the Frenchman’s 90-day suspension is lifted.
Russian Central Bank looks to get minted for 2018 World Cup
October 21 – It may not end Russian economic problems when it comes to the ruble to dollar exchange rate, but the Central Bank of Russia is determined to take advantage of the 2018 World Cup in the country and issue commemorative currency.
Matt Scott: Home comforts are stifling for Englishmen’s football ambitions
“Ah! There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.” Jane Austen, Emma
Jane Austen’s fourth novel was published on Christmas Day in 1815 the Vienna peace accord had brought the Napoleonic wars to a close. With it began a century-long era of British commercial dominance through an empire whose roots had already begun to take hold with territories in Newfoundland, the Caribbean, west and South Africa, India and Australia.
FIFA’s ethics committee granted power to name those under investigation
By Andrew Warshaw
October 21- FIFA’s unprecedented corruption crisis is set to get a whole lot worse when its independent Ethics Committee lifts the veil of secrecy on a list of further officials who are under investigation but could not previously be named.
Chelsea and Spurs top attendance ranking on another bumper PL weekend
By Paul Nicholson
October 21 – Nine out of ten Premier League clubs reported over 90% capacity at their stadia for the ninth round of the Premier League. Average capacity was 95.71%, with only Newcastle United dropping below 90% at 89.7%.
CONCACAF code opens doors to return to commercial sales
By Paul Nicholson
October 21 – CONCACAF, rocked by the arrest of its president Jeffrey Webb and Costa Rican president Eduardo Li in May in Zurich over allegations of requesting and accepting bribes to secure marketing sales contracts, has released a new code of conduct for its partners.
FIFA door kept open for Platini as exco receives Carrard’s reform proposals
By Andrew Warshaw
October 20 – The February 26 FIFA presidential election date will go ahead as planned with all attention now focussed on who will put their names forward to succeed Sepp Blatter by next Monday’s midnight deadline.
Austria moot new national stadium to meet fan demand
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
October 20 – Leopold Windtner, the president of Austria’s football federation ÖFB, has unveiled plans to build a new national football stadium following high attendance figures for country’s Euro 2016 qualifiers.
Salman gauges AFC opinion before committing to run in FIFA race
By Andrew Warshaw
October 20 – Asian football supremo Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has been given considerable encouragement by “senior” figures in the game to run for the FIFA presidency.
Kuwait pulls out of Gulf Cup hosting, threatening tournament future
By Mark Baber
October 20 – Kuwait’s cabinet, hosted by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, have decided the city-state will not host the 2015 edition of the Gulf Cup, whilst describing FIFA’s decision of last week to ban the country from all international football citing government interference as “arbitrary and hasty.”
Leeds owner Cellino stripped of club duties as fans call for him to sell up
October 20 – One of England’s most iconic clubs is back in the news for all the wrong reasons with Leeds United’s Italian owner Massimo Cellino banned for the rest of this season from being an owner or director of the club, following his conviction for tax evasion back home.
Barca to battle for right to display Catalan heritage after UEFA clampdown
October 20 – Barcelona say they will use all legal means at their disposal to fight a second fine imposed by UEFA after fans displayed pro-Catalan flags during September’s Champions League game at home to Bayer Leverkusen.
Securing Sport 2015 lines up heavy hitters for Manhattan meeting
October 20 – With the current US attorney general having unleashed a storm in the world of football worldwide but particularly in the Americas, it is appropriate that a former US attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., will give a keynote address at the Securing Sport 2015 conference in New York, November 3-4, with the aim of giving perspective on the challenges facing sport from a legal and policy standpoint.