By Andrew Warshaw
December 23 – FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke says it’s time to “recharge the batteries” over the Christmas period after what he has described as a “momentous” year – in part related to trying to organise next year’s World Cup in Brazil where half the stadiums will not be ready by FIFA’s end-of-year deadline.
December 23 – Vanishing spray, used for several years in South America to stop defensive walls encroaching at free kicks, is to be employed throughout next year’s World Cup by referees.
December 23 – Favourites Bayern Munich crowned a momentous year by winning the Club World Cup in Morocco and finally ending the brave challenge of Raja Casablanca who did the host nation proud by reaching the final.
December 20 – The 11th Match Against Poverty will take place on 4 March 2014 at the Stade de Suisse in Berne, announced United Nations Development Project (UNDP) ambassadors Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane yesterday.
December 20 – London’s only top level Rugby League side, London Broncos, have agreed a two-year ground share with Barnet Football Club, relegated last year to the Football Conference, England’s fifth tier of football.
It’s a familiar jibe at almost every game whenever a manager is under pressure to save his job. “Sacked in the morning, you’re getting sacked in the morning,” goes the refrain, belted out with gusto by fans of the opposing team as they taunt the manager in question.
The chant has become part of the fabric of the game in English football and it is around this time of year – in other words close to the mid-season transfer window –
By Andrew Warshaw
December 20 – Italian World Cup winner Gennaro Gattuso has fiercely denied allegations of match-fixing saying he is “angry and offended” at any suggestion that might be involved in any operation.
December 20 – Ethiopian police have swooped to arrest five more people suspected of plotting suicide bombings during the country’s World Cup qualifier against Nigeria in October that could have killed scores of fans.
No I thought not.
It’s taken seriously in South America, where it feels like a Champions League final to them, a chance for the Copa Libertadores winners to topple the best from Europe.
And it occasionally makes its mark elsewhere. I still remember waking to the news that Zico’s Flamengo had humiliated Liverpool 3-0 in the annual Intercontinental game in Tokyo in 1981. I thought my team were indestructible before that.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
December 19 – Poland’s Ekstraklasa, the operator of the top tier of Polish professional football league, is aiming to educate young footballers on the risks related to gambling. The initiative, carried out by the Ekstraklasa Foundation, is launched in cooperation with Transparency International which also collaborates with six other European football leagues on similar programmes.
December 19 – Construction is set to resume at the World Cup stadium in Manaus where a young worker recently fell to his death, prompting a walkout amid heightening safety fears six months ahead of the big kickoff.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 18 – Many of Europe’s less heralded countries will be given a greater chance than ever to qualify for the European Championship finals following a revolutionary new format unveiled by UEFA for 2016. Teams will be placed into nine groups of five and six teams, with both group winners and runners up qualifying automatically as well as the best third-placed side.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 18 – Moroccan football is celebrating its greatest ever club triumph after little-known domestic champions Raja Casablanca upset Ronaldinho’s mighty Atletico Mineiro to reach Saturday’s final of the Club World Cup.
Congratulations to Raja Casablanca, whose 3-1 win over Ronaldinho’s Atletico Mineiro in Marrakech on Wednesday has earned them a match-up with Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in the final of the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup.
The Moroccan side will be following a trail blazed by the magnificently-named Tout Puissant Mazembe Englebert, from the Congolese mining capital of Lubumbashi, who in 2010 became the first African team to contest a Club World Cup final,
December 19 – Greek club Olympiakos Piraeus have appealed against the partial closure of their ground for their glamour Champions League last-16 tie with Manchester United, denying claims by UEFA that a section of their fans acted in a racist way in last week’s final group game.