By Andrew Warshaw
February 13 – FIFA has backed the case of former Morocco defender Abdeslam Ouaddou, the latest foreign footballer to claim he did not receive his salary whilst playing in Qatar and was not allowed to leave the country under its notorious kefala employment system.
By Paul Nicholson
February 13 – Manchester United announced another quarter of record financial revenue with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward confident that the club would still be able to sustain financial momentum even if it failed to qualify for the Champions League 2014/15 competition. He also indicated the club would be spending substantially in the summer looking to a long-term future as the first team is re-built.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 13 – Tottenham Hotspur are the latest top-flight English club to launch a major push into the Asian market by announcing a five-year multi-million pound shirt sponsorship deal with Hong Kong-based insurance giants AIA. The deal drives the club deeper into the Asian markets having recently launched a Chinese language add-on to its website as well as securing new TV deals in the region.
By Paul Nicholson
February 13 – Birmingham International Holdings Limited (BIHH), the parent company of Birmingham City Football Club, is to sell 12% of its shares to Chinese advertising firm Beijing Triumph International Media Advertising Co for HK$45 million (£3.5 million).
Do you want to find racism from football fans? Do you want to find racism from football fans in Italy specifically? It won’t take you long.
So no need to invent stories on the subject. Claims that Mario Balotelli was reduced to tears after being racially abused in Naples appear dangerous and counter-productive. Misguided and premature. This subject is too important to treat with such a lack of care.
One of the first things I was taught in journalism by the legendary Reg Hayter was ‘fact is sacred,
February 13 – Olympiacos FC has made a €500,000 donation to the aid fund to support the residents of Greek island Kefalonia to recover from the devastating earthquake which hit the island two weeks ago causing substantial damage and leaving hundreds homeless.
February 13 – India and the Netherlands government officials have signed a memorandum of understanding for co-operation on sports and sports infrastructure. The first fruit of the partnership is a Amsterdam ArenaA announcing Tenon Property Services Limited and Ecofirst Services Limited, a Tata company, as their local Indian partners.
By Jamie Styles
February 13 – Tom Cleverley has shut down his Twitter account after his own fans abused him on the social media site. The news comes only a day after the midfielder spoke out about the online abuse coming his way and suggested that he has been made a scapegoat for Manchester United’s lacklustre season.
By Paul Nicholson
February 12 – Italian league leader Juventus created a social media first last weekend when the winner of a competition run via its Facebook site had his design turned into a crowd ‘choreography’ as the teams for the Juventus vs Inter match walked out on to the pitch.
By Alexander Krassimirov
February 12 – Bulgaria’s PFC Litex Lovech has signed a new sponsorship contract with Mtel, the largest telecommunications company in the country. No figure has been announced for the deal but the fee will rise depending on the success of the club.
February 12 – German insurer Allianz, after which Bayern Munich’s stadium is named, have taken an 8.33% stake in the European champions for €110 million, becoming the third strategic partner of the club along with Adidas and Audi.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 12 – Steps by Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers to put in place improved conditions for migrant workers have been welcomed by FIFA but criticised by trade union officials despite being drawn up in conjunction with the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
February 12 – Manchester City’s chief executive has pledged the big-spending club will break even this season and has rejected the suggestion that they will breach UEFA’s financial fair play rules.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 12 – The European Club Association, comprising more than 200 clubs across the Continent, will hold its annual general assembly next month without any replacement for former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell, one of the organisation’s most influential figures.
