Military police swoop on Venezuelan FA HQ
By Mark Baber
June 5 – Following the arrest of its former president Rafael Esquivel in Switzerland, military intelligence raided the headquarters of the Federación Venezolana de Fútbol (FVF).
Europol links with Sportradar to take the war to match-fixers
June 5 – The battle against betting related match fixing is seeing a rapid uptake in stakeholders looking for ways to combine resource and intelligence to control what is probably the biggest threat to the sporting integrity of the game. The latest information sharing agreement is between the European Union’s law enforcement agency Europol, have linked up with Sportradar’s betting security division.
Mihir Bose: Warning – Blatter is not finished yet and could make life difficult for his enemies
We all know how the US Justice Department has moved the tectonic plates of FIFA. Yet the next few months, until the elective Congress meets to decide a new President, could also see major changes in FIFA and if Blatter gets his way these changes will not be very palatable to the Europeans and, in particular, the British. Indeed this could prove to be the most important period in FIFA’s history, even more important than the immediate post war years when a nearly bankrupt FIFA,
Liverpool to open 2015 pre-season tour in Thailand
June 4 – Premier League Liverpool have added a fourth date to their pre-season tour which will now start in Thailand, against the True All Stars, on July 14. The team will then move on to play two fixtures in Australia, before stopping off in Malaysia on the return leg.
Kenya: Nyamweya battling corruption allegations and sponsor pull out
By Mark Baber
June 4 – The worldwide focus on football corruption, and especially the nexus between sports marketing companies and corrupt football federation officials, has created an atmosphere in which Kenya Football Federation (FKF) president Sam Nyamweya’s position looks increasingly precarious.
US release Blazer testimony as they seek to build racketeering case
By Andrew Warshaw
June 4 – Another explosive revelation in the FIFA corruption scandal has shamed world football with the admission by high-profile whistleblower Chuck Blazer, the former CONCACAF general secretary, that he facilitated or took kickbacks over the award of the 1998 and 2010 World Cups.
Warner breaks cover with promise to blow whistle on FIFA and Trinidad politics
June 4 – With the net tightening around him after being arrested and bailed for his alleged role in the ongoing FIFA corruption scandal, Jack Warner has taken to the airwaves in his native Trinidad to say he now fears for his life.
Matt Scott: US criminal investigation is a matter of life and death for FIFA
“Do you understand, sir, do you understand what it means when you have absolutely nowhere to turn?” Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
There is something fundamental about the allegations in this FIFA crisis that recalls Dostoyevsky’s anti-hero Raskolnikov. Not a naturally vicious man, it was an intellectual compulsion that drove him to commit murder. He convinced himself that his crime would be justified due to his intellectual brilliance. As a virtuoso student,
Turkish Lassa Tyres tread new path with FC Barcelona
By Mark Baber
June 4 – Barcelona has signed a wide-ranging partnership agreement with leading tyre brand Lassa, of Brisa (a joint venture of Turkey’s Sabancı Holding and Bridgestone) worth a reported €21.6 million ($24 million). As well as making Lassa the title sponsor of Barcelona’s indoor sports teams (Basketball, Handball, Futsal and Roller Hockey) which will be known by the name ‘FC Barcelona Lassa’ until 30 June 2019, the agreement sees the Turkey based company become an Official Partner of the Club and Lassa become the club’s official tyre.
Premier League clubs turn in £187m aggregate profit, the first for 15 years
By David Owen
June 4 – English Premier League clubs achieved their first aggregate pre-tax profit for 15 years in 2013-14, as lucrative new broadcasting deals combined with more effective cost control to spark a remarkable financial turnaround.
Race to replace Blatter sees pre-start jostling for position
By Andrew Warshaw
June 4 – The race to replace Sepp Blatter as FIFA president is picking up pace after South Korea’s Chung Mong-joon announced he is considering making a comeback.
South Africa confronts FBI saying the $10m was ‘no bribe’ for 2010 vote
By Andrew Warshaw
June 3 – South Africa’s government has issued a powerful denial of paying bribes to secure the 2010 World Cup, denouncing accusations that the infamous $10 million payment cited in the US indictment into widespread football corruption was linked in any way to buying votes.
David Owen: Blatter’s long goodbye
Not for the first time, he wrong-footed us all. When the invitation to a FIFA press conference thudded into our inboxes on Tuesday at 3.36pm UK time, I don’t think anyone seriously expected two hours later to be listening to Sepp Blatter, one of the great survivors of our world, setting out how he proposed to “lay down my mandate” as FIFA President.
Mixed reactions to Blatter resignation, as global battle lines start to be drawn
By Andrew Warshaw
June 3 – Sepp Blatter’s shock resignation as FIFA president has prompted mixed global reaction, with England leading western relief over his departure after 17 years but African federations ruing the loss of the man who helped the continent grow and many of its nations to stay afloat.
India enters partnership with French federation
By Mark Baber
June 3 – The new partnership was agreed in Zurich with President of the AIFF Praful Patel signing on behalf of the Indian side, with Kushal Das the AIFF’s General Secretary also present.