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,
By Paul Nicholson
August 19 – US Club Soccer, one of the largest and certainly most influential youth soccer organisations in the US with more than 500,000 members, has launched an amibitious ‘Players First’ initiative that will give its members a suite of tools to better manage their soccer experience.
Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, DFB president for many years and a member of the Executive Committee of FIFA and UEFA, passed away on Monday aged 82 years.
By Samindra Kunti
August 19 – Dutch club Roda JC’s financial woes have been aggravated by shirt sponsor Solland Solar filing for bankruptcy. The club is at least €1.3 million in debt.
By Alexander Krassimirov
August 19 – FC Cherno More Varna, holder of the Bulgarian Cup and Supercup, has been handed a development grant of BGN 1 million (€500,000) from the state. The money will be used by club to improve the grass pitch at Ticha stadium and stadium lighting.
By Paul Nicholson
August 19 – Italian giants Juventus, current Serie A champions and the country’s club leaders in the digital world, having taken another step forward with the launch of a new app for the new season that opens this weekend.
August 18 – The second weekend of the Premier League season saw an average capacity at Premier League grounds of almost 96%, just over 1% down on the opening day of the season, mainly due to lower attendances at Sunderland.
By Mark Baber
August 18 – It emerged on Monday that a radical plan presented to the FIFA executive committee on July 20 by Domenico Scala, the independent chairman of FIFA’s Audit and Compliance Committee charged by outgoing president Sepp Blatter with implementing reforms, envisaged the abolition of the executive committee and its replacement by a separate management committee and governing council.
By Mark Baber
August 18 – One of the great anomalies in world football – FIFA’s tolerance of state control of football in China – looks to be coming to an end as the Chinese state publicly loosens its grip on the sport in a new reform drive announced on Monday.
By Paul Nicholson
August 18 – On an inspection visit of the construction of football facilities at the Somali University Stadium in Mogadishu, Somali minister for youth and sport, Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan (pictured centre), praised the growth of football and the importance of the development projects in the country.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
August 18 – Empoli, one of the few Italian Serie A clubs that do not come from a provincial capital city, has unveiled €11 million redevelopment plans that include the expansion of its Stadio Carlo Castellani capacity from 16,800 up to 20,000.
By Samindra Kunti
August 18 – In December the FIFA’s Executive Committee’s approval to ban third-party ownership of player’s economic rights (TPO) sent shockwaves through Brazilian football due to the prevalence of third-party arrangements. The early effective date, January 2015, had investors and clubs taken aback, worried with the possible consequences of the new rule, but what effect has the ban had so far on the Brazilian market?
August 18 – Focus has turned to the Olympic 2016 qualifying in the CONCACAF region, which in 2012 in London took both Gold medals with Mexico taking the men’s title and the US winning the women’s with Canada taking the bronze.
By Ben Nicholson
August 18 – Newly awarded MLS franchise Minnesota United looks to have stumbled on its route to securing a stadium to begin play in the 2018 season, having missed an MLS July deadline to submit a state subsidy financial package, and with confusion over whether the team will play in Minneapolis or neighbouring St Paul.
By Paul Nicholson
August 18 – Jeffrey Webb, former CONCACAF president and the highest ranking of the FIFA officials arrested in May in Zurich, was in court in Brooklyn, NY, again last Friday where his hearing was adjourned until October 9.