USA 1 Saudi Arabia 0
June 19 – American comedian Rodney Dangerfield used to say, “I don’t get no respect.” The same could be said for the United States Men’s Soccer Team as barely 10,000 fans showed up for a supporter friendly 8.15 pm kickoff versus Concacaf Gold Cup, Group D opponents, Saudi Arabia in a 1-0 win that again raised more questions than answers.
September 15 – Premier League club Liverpool have expanded their soccer development coaching programme to the United Arab Emirates with the launch of an International Academy.
By Mark Baber
September 15 – Arsenal have appointed Cheshire-based DJI Holdings as their Official Lottery Partner in China despite the ongoing suspension of on-line lotteries by the Chinese government.
September 15 – Bolivian football, already rocked by their federation chief being arrested, has been further hit by a players’ strike.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
September 15 – Romanian government authorities have launched the construction of a new stadium for CS Universitatea Craiova. The build will cost about €50 million, and will see the Romanian side move to a new stadium with a seating capacity of 30,854.
By Mark Baber
September 15 – Suzuki Motor Corporation has been unveiled as the title sponsor of the next edition of the South Asian Football Federation Championship which will be known as the SAFF Suzuki Cup 2015.
It was the word “entities” that got tongues wagging. What was the US attorney general referring to when she opened up a fresh can of worms by warning football to expect a another surge of corruption-related arrests, this time involving entities as well as individuals? Companies? Confederations?
By Paul Nicholson
September 15 – The international break has not dampened the enthusiasm for fans attending Premier League matches with clubs reporting an average 95.24% capacity at the 10 home games in round 5.
By Paul Nicholson
September 15 – PlayStation4 (PS4) videogamers have three new app-based prediction games to play based on the UEFA Champions League. Available for free, the official PlayStation F.C. UEFA Champions League app can be downloaded from the PlayStation®Store.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
September 14 – Declaring that “no individual is above the law”, the US prosecutor whose revelations brought FIFA to its knees and led in part to Sepp Blatter’s decision to step down as president, says more criminal charges are expected to be brought and more arrests made.
By Alexander Krassimirov
September 14 – Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia has paid more than BGN 3 million (€1.5 million) in debt settlement to former and current players, and coaches. Ivo Tonev (pictured), one of the majority owners of the club made the announcement after a meeting of the Governing Council.
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
September 14 – As the world’s media descended on Zurich for the eagerly awaited latest developments in the US and Swiss investigations into alleged widespread malpractise surrounding FIFA, the organisation’s former anti-corruption advisor said Sepp Blatter himself should be questioned over the sale of television rights to disgraced former CONCACAF boss Jack Warner.
By Paul Nicholson
September 14 – The Somali Football Federation’s campaign to win back their national stadium in Mogadishu, which is currently being occupied by African Union troops, took a step nearer realisation last Friday when the country’s president announced the stadium would be vacated.
By Paul Nicholson
September 14 – While the South Americans seem convinced that the 2016 Centennial edition of the CopaAmerica will be played for the first time outside of the region in the US, in partnership with CONCACAF, the idea this is now a done deal does not seem certain.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 14 – As US and Swiss prosecutors prepared to hold an eagerly awaited press conference to update the world’s media on their separate investigations into corruption surrounding FIFA, outgoing president Sepp Blatter found himself unwittingly drawn into the whole murky saga.