Inside World Football - Page 1622 of 2021 - For the Business of Football

Matt Scott: Football’s good fortune is that fans only see fixtures, not fixes

Search Google News for “Manchester City United” after the Premier League champions’ 4-1 defeat to their local rivals and you will return 12.2 million results. Search the same channel for “Singapore match fixing arrests” and you get back 14,300 articles.

Naturally there is a tremendous amount of tribal braggadocio at stake in any derby between title chasers, and Sunday’s 4-1 win for City was certainly action packed. But in the grand scheme of things it amounts only to 1⁄38 of a single Premier League season for each club.

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Palestine-Israel stand-off eases slightly as FIFA mediates next steps

Border wall

By Andrew Warshaw
September 24 – A rapprochement between Israeli and Palestinian football officials has moved a vital step closer – but only as a result of FIFA’s involvement as mediators. Delegations from both countries met FIFA officials in Zurich on Monday and agreed to each appoint a liaison officer to facilitate the movement of players in and out of the Palestinian territories.

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Profits dip, costs rise as Gunners aim for glory, but cash is still available

arsenal

By Mark Baber
September 24 – Arsenal’s accounts for the year ending May 31 reveal a fall in profits, rise in turnover and a significant cash reserve, a chunk of which has since been spent on the signing of Mesut Ozil as the North London club seeks to reap the rewards of years of financial prudence.

Africa

CAF selects host countries and confirms venues for 2015 Cup of Nations

CAF headquarters

By Mark Baber
September 24 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed the host countries for its upcoming competitions and the Moroccan host cities for the Africa Cup of Nations 2015.

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CSKA Sofia and Celtic to sign development partnership

L.Davis

By Alexander Krassimirov
September 24 – Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia will work together with Scottish giants Celtic, according to Laurence Davis, the English chairman of the club’s Supervisory Board.

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Turks take pole position in race for hosting Euro 2020 final rounds

uefa flag

By Andrew Warshaw
September 24 – The English FA have conceded that Turkey are emerging as favourites to host the latter stages of Euro 2020. Although England and Germany are among a group of nations with aspirations to stage the semi-finals and final of the one-off pan-European tournament, UEFA president Michel Platini’s preference for Turkey looks set to give the country a leading advantage.

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IOC report reveals sharp jump in cost of ICAS

scales of justice

By David Owen
September 24 – The cost of sporting justice has started to escalate. Figures contained in the recently-published International Olympic Committee (IOC) final report covering the 2009-12 quadrennium reveal that the IOC’s allocation to the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS) surged to more than $8 million in 2012.

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Agenda now set for FIFA’s October exco gathering

FIFA committee meeting

September 24 – Next month’s eagerly awaited FIFA executive committee meeting will not only discuss the timing of the 2022 World Cup but a variety of other key issues.

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FIFPro’s van Seggelen turns heat on Brazil 2014, and player health issues

Theo van Seggelen

By Andrew Warshaw
September 24 – The head of the international players’ union FIFPro has threatened to get tough with FIFA unless it is consulted over a variety of concerns, not least the scheduling at next year’s World Cup in Brazil which, he says, could potentially endanger players’ health.

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Greek Super League looks set to revive relegation play-offs

By Panos Bletsos
September 24 – The Super League (SL) board of directors, the governing body of Greece’s top flight, is meeting today (September 24) to confirm the return of the 16-club format by the 2015-16 season. It has also been reported that another major change may be on the cards with the SL ruling on whether to bring in a relegation play-off for the ongoing campaign.

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UEFA’s Gill confident a one-season 2022 date solution will be found

David Gill2

By Andrew Warshaw
September 23 – UEFA’s recently appointed executive committee member, David Gill, says every effort will be made to find a compromise that suits all parties over an alternative date if the 2022 Qatar World Cup is moved from summer.

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Airtel picks up I-League title sponsorship at the last minute

By Mark Baber
September 23 – In an encouraging move for Indian football, telecoms giant Airtel signed up as title sponsor of the 2013-14 edition of the I-League, just hours before the 13-team league kicked off on Saturday.

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Istanbul derby abandoned after fans invade Ataturk pitch

Ataturk violence

By Andrew Warshaw
September 23 – Turkey’s hopes of being granted the Euro 2020 semifinal and finals suffered a public relations blow at the weekend when the Istanbul derby between Galatasaray and Besiktas was abandoned after supporters invaded the pitch at the Ataturk Stadium.

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UEFA witholds prize money for six Europa League clubs over unpaid debts

Jean-Luc Deheane

By Mark Baber
September 23 – UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) investigatory chamber has temporarily withheld the prize money of six clubs involved in the 2013/14 UEFA club competitions who have “important overdue payables towards other clubs and/or towards employees or social/tax authorities.”

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Ukraine face sanctions as FIFA opens racism investigation

Ukraine fans

September 23 – Ukraine could be docked points or forced to play a potentially decisive World Cup qualifier behind closed doors after FIFA launched an investigation into racism.