July 2 – In his most hard-hitting interview since announcing he is quitting as FIFA president, Sepp Blatter has dismissed any suggestion that he is corrupt, insists he is clean and says his detractors “should go to jail.”
July 2 – No-one is suggesting any shenanigans or rigging by Asian syndicates but yet another football scoreline in Estonia has raised eyebrows.
By Ben Nicholson
July 2 – Whilst the Women’s World Cup in Canada is attracting record numbers of spectators, Fox Sports are capitalising on the growing market for women’s soccer in North America by securing a broadcasting deal with the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
By Paul Nicholson
July 2 – With a number of English Premier League clubs now only two weeks away from their pre-season trips to Asia, Nike have announced that they will release their most “advanced football ever”, the Ordem 3, at the Barclays Asia Trophy 2015 in Singapore. Meanwhile Liverpool have released have released a final batch of tickets for their four match friendly schedule.
By Paul Nicholson
July 2 – If Sepp Blatter is looking for something to do when he finally hands in his FIFA presidential mandate we think we may have found just the activity in England’s Newcastle upon Tyne.
By Mark Baber
July 2 – Gheorghe Chivorchian (pictured), the general secretary of the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) has suspended himself from his position after prosecutors charged him with abusing his position and forging documents when he was chairman of club side Poli Timisoara.
By Mark Baber
July 2 – Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat was re-elected President of the Pakistani Football Federation (PFF) for a further four years at a meeting of the PFF congress held in Abbotabad’s Hotel Legrand.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 1 – Clearly aware that his president Michel Platini voted for Qatar to stage the 2022 World Cup on condition it was held in winter, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino has urged Spanish football officials to stop challenging the decision to switch the tournament from its traditional summer slot to November-December.
By Paul Nicholson
July 1 – The English Premier League in their 2014/15 season review released detail of its revenue distribution to clubs alongside an impressive set of figures generally for the performance of the league whose 20 clubs sold a massive 13.7 million seats over the season.
By Paul Nicholson
July 1 – Could there be a gentle thawing of political and business relations between the West and East – at least the European West? And is the 2018 World Cup the bridge to a wider and renewed co-operation with Russia?
July 1 – Olympiakos are for the moment retaining their spot in the Champions League despite the Greek club’s owner Evangelos ‘Vangelis’ Marinakis being accused of running a racketeering and match-fixing ring.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 1 – Following increasing speculation, Sepp Blatter has decided not to attend this weekend’s Women’s World Cup Final in Canada citing “personal reasons”, a significant break with tradition that has immediately been linked to the FBI criminal investigation into football’s world governing body.
By Paul Nicholson
July 1 – CONCACAF has called in management consultancy Alvarez & Marsal to review its finances and operations. The confederation that was rocked by the arrest of its president Jeffrey Webb and vice president Eduardo Li, has moved swiftly to establish a review of its procedures already having installed a ‘Special Committee’ of its three senior north American federation presidents to stabilise the organisation.
One year ago they suffered the most painful, humiliating defeat in the history of football. Somehow things have got worse. To the extent that remarkably we have to ask ourselves: is there a way back for Brazil? Can the nation synonymous with football ever regain its special status?
It is interesting that, despite all that has been written about FIFA, one issue has not been much discussed. This is how will politicians treat any future FIFA that emerges from its bribery crisis? We know how western politicians now regard FIFA. They have nothing but contempt. David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, has made this abundantly clear in the House of Commons.