By Andrew Warshaw
May 12 – World Cup qualifiers with a high risk of racist incidents are to be targeted by FIFA as it steps up the fight against discrimination. A new monitoring system of specialists will be put in place both during the 2018 qualifying competition, which covers some 900 games globally, and the finals themselves in Russia.
By Mark Baber
May 12 – Widely believed to be the world’s richest black person and the richest African, Aliko Dangote, has opened up media speculation by publicly expressing interest in purchasing Arsenal football club.
By Paul Nicholson
May 12 – QPR have reacted fast to potential Financial Fair Play penalties of as much as £58 million following their impending relegation from the Premier League to the Championship.
By Alexander Krassimirov
May 12 – The owner of Bulgaria’s Litex Lovech, Grisha Ganchev (pictured), is back in court charged with tax crimes alongside 10 others who together, says the public prosecutor, form part of a criminal organisation.
May 12 – Belgian football is coming to terms with the tragic death of a second footballer as a result of a cardiac arrest. Two weeks after 24-year-old Lokeren central defender Gregory Mertens died in hospital after collapsing as he played in a reserve game, lower-league fullback Tim Nicot, 23, of fourth-tier Wilrijk-Beerschot, suffered a similar fate on Friday.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 12 – No public statement has so far been issued by any of the three candidates taking on Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency amid considerable intrigue as to what strategy agreement, if any, was reached between Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Michael van Praag and Luis Figo at a private meeting they are believed to have held close to the headquarters of UEFA on Monday.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 12 – The power struggle over who runs Spanish football is heading for the courtroom on Wednesday with an expected ruling over whether the proposed strike in protest at the new TV rights law is legal.
By Alexander Krassimirov
May 12 – Half of the clubs in the Bulgarian top professional division do not use social networks. The research, by Insideworldfootball.com, also found that two of the 12 teams in the league do not even have an official website.
May 12 – The average age that young players are introduced into first team squads in Europe’s ‘Big 5’ leagues is lowest in France (23.66) but highest in Italy (25.5), according to latest research by the CIES Football Observatory.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 11 – China and India may be arguably the world’s two biggest untapped footballing markets but unless they solve the problem of match-fixing and betting fraud they will never catch up.
By Mark Baber
May 11 – As the 10 year anniversary of the Glazer takeover of Manchester United approaches, a story has emerged that the Florida-based owners have ruled out selling Old Trafford’s naming rights. Meanwhile another mischievous story suggests United players have had to be ordered to drive their sponsor-provided Chevrolets.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
May 11 – Adidas has extended its deal with Poland’s Ekstraklasa, under which it will remain the official ball supplier of the country’s top tier until the end of the 2016/2017 season.
Any journalist with experience of covering the Africa Cup of Nations knows it is not a particularly easy assignment at the best of times, as the lack of adequate telecommunications, transport and hotel infrastructure in several host nations often makes the three-week tournament a test of resilience and fortitude.
May 11 – Although the league season across Europe isn’t quite over, the managerial rumour mill is already in full swing – with Pep Guardiola’s switch to Manchester City top of the list.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 11 – Sepp Blatter will try one last time to forge a compromise to prevent Palestine’s call for Israel to be suspended from FIFA from being put to the vote at the FIFA Congress on May 29.