USA 2 Costa Rica 2 (USA win 4-3 on pens)
June 29 – You’d hate to use the word ‘sterile’ to describe a Concacaf Gold Cup quarter-final, but following the drama and passion of Guatemala versus Canada, it all felt a little flat as the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) and Costa Rica kicked off for the right to face Guatemala in St. Louis. After 90 minutes and the drama of penalty kicks,
December 11 – Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah, arguably the most powerful official in Asian sport and a recently elected member of FIFA’s top brass, has vowed to fight a six-month jail term imposed in his native Kuwait for allegedly insulting the judiciary.
December 11 – Sierra Leone, which has only just returned to organised football activity having been declared ebola-free, has had its FA board dissolved by the National Sports Council (NSC), though the Sierra Leone FA (SLFA) is refusing to acknowledge the ruling.
December 11 – Legendary Brazilian striker Ronaldo says he would not rule himself out of running for the presidency of his country’s beleaguered federation to restore is battered credibility.
By Mark Baber
December 11 – Turning a blind eye to the corruption scandals swirling around Nike, as they have to years of sweatshop and child labour by the same company, the Premier League announced on Wednesday a three-year extension to their long-term official ball partnership with the Eugene, Oregon-founded sportswear brand.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 11 – One of the most bizarre cases of alleged foul play has led to Real Madrid’s French striker Karim Benzema being suspended by his national team until an investigation into a blackmail case involving a sex tape has been resolved.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 11 – Without being able to rely on the majority support of his own confederation, FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein has been lobbying intensively in Africa, trying to swing some of its 54 votes his way ahead of the election on February 26.
By Samindra Kunti
December 11 – UEFA have unveiled Turkish Airlines as a global sponsor and official carrier of Euro 2016, the first airline sponsor the confederation has landed. No figure was announced for the deal which is for the 2016 tournament only.
By Paul Nicholson
December 11 – Manchester United have continued to outperform their Twitter rivals in the Premier League with a massive increase of over 150,000 followers in the last 4 weeks. At the top of the Twitter table they now have Arsenal very much in their sights and could overtake them by mid January at the current rate of increase.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 11 – Michel Platini’s hopes of running for FIFA president have suffered a potentially fatal blow, as has his entire footballing future, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) refused to lift his interim ethics suspension.
December 11 – Honduran international Arnold Peralta was tragically shot dead in a parking lot on Thursday by unknown assailants while on holiday in his hometown.
By David Owen
December 10 – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has added its support to the package of reform proposals approved last week by FIFA’s ruling Executive Committee, while expressing concern about the “ongoing criminal procedures” in the United States and Switzerland.
By Mark Baber
December 10 – Russian president Vladimir Putin called for an overhaul of the current system of administration of Russian football, for a speeding up of work on infrastructure projects for the 2018 World Cup and for the national squad to represent the country with dignity. He made his comments at president’s council for sports and the 2018 World Cup organising committee.
By Paul Nicholson
December 10 – Benchmark Sport’s latest report looks at the UEFA Champions league and the spread of representation of nations and clubs. The findings are that the competition has been increasingly – and perhaps worryingly – centralised around the big leagues and the big clubs.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 10 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport will announce its verdict into Michel Platini’s appeal against his provisional suspension at 10am tomorrow local time, giving the UEFA president just enough time to speed his way to chair the last session this year of his executive committee – provided he is cleared.
December 10 – The World Football Forum conference will hold its 2016 event on July 7-8 in Paris, France. The past two years the event has been held in Moscow, Russia, with strong Russian themes.