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.
By Martin Volkmar
July 6 – Ex-German President Christian Wulff, speaking to SPORT1 in Germany, has rebutted the allegations of FIFA president Sepp Blatter that he had significantly influenced the controversial 2022 World Cup award to Qatar.
By Paul Nicholson
July 6 – FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb (pictured), currently being held in a Zurich jail awaiting an extradition hearing to the US on charges of corruption, has been hit by another arrest warrant, this time issued by the Cayman Island authorities relating to a healthcare fraud case on his home island.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
July 6 – Czech betting operator Synot Tip has signed a sponsorship deal with Sparta Prague. The company will become the club’s main sponsor until at least 2017.
July 6 – Two senior officials with Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia’s leading club, have been arrested on suspicion of embezzlement and tax evasion.
By Mark Baber
July 6 – The current NFF leadership finally terminated Stephen Keshi’s (pictured) contract as national team coach, following their probe into how his name came up in a list of prospects to coach the Ivory Coast.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 6 – Sepp Blatter has long maintained that politics played a part in the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. But now he has named names in terms of the supposed guilty governments: France and Germany.
By David Owen
July 6 – Nissan, the Japanese carmaker, has signed up as official sponsor of the Swiss Football League, in a deal that will give the brand visibility at all live TV games this season.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 3 – Buried in the various decisions taken by UEFA’s executive committee this week were two potentially significant appointments that went largely unreported.
By Samindra Kunti
July 3 – The Brazilian Football Confederation CBF is negotiating a deal to stage a Brazil vs Argentina friendly in the autumn in San Francisco with Full Play, one of the companies indicted by US authorities for bribing former CBF president José Maria Marin in relation to the 2016 Copa America.
By Samindra Kunti
July 3 – Chelsea and super agent Pini Zahavi have saved Belgian top flight club Royal Mouscron-Péruwelz from its financial perils by investing a reported €8.5 million in the club to buy 90% of the shares.
By Mark Baber
July 3 – Guangzhou Evergrande, China’s most successful club of recent years, has filed with the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ) to list on the so-called ‘New Third Board’ – a trading platform for shares in small- and medium-sized companies – according to a Thursday filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
July 3 – Who is the best Women’s player in the world? The most high profile women’s world cup ever is creating national and international stars, and – after a long wait – significant numbers of recognisable names in the women’s game. FIFA has announced its shortlists for the adidas Golden Ball, adidas Golden Glove and Hyundai Young Player awards.
July 3 – The season has started and anyone who says it is too early, the Europa League is a distraction, or that it people just aren’t interested at this time of the year, should talk to the 35,000 in the capacity crowd at West Ham’s Upton Park last night on a balmy summer evening that saw the Hammers play Andorran minnows Lusitanos.
July 3 – UEFA have taken a second swipe at the Spanish league – this time over third-party ownership (TPO).
By Andrew Warshaw
July 3 – The Women’s World Cup may have become an established part of the FIFA calendar since it was launched in 1991 and truly came of age when the Americans won on home soil eight years later.