USA 2-1 Haiti
June 22 – Motivation was never going to be an issue in this Concacaf Gold Cup Group D encounter between Haiti and the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT).
April 8 – Roma have been ordered to close part of their stadium at their next home game after fans displayed banners mocking the mother of a Napoli fan who died following clashes between rival supporters last year.
When a huge volume of capital enters an industry, the impact can be overwhelming, the industry can be changed from top to bottom. At least this is what football fans in China would expect to happen, as capital is changing the outlook of football, particularly under the big change in circumstances for the game as it becomes a hot area in Chinese society.
April 8 – Manchester United have extended their partnership with insurance giant Aon into the Pakistan market with an insurance affinity programme, the first in the region.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 7 – FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein insists the race for the top job in world football will be a far closer affair than most observers believe as he issued a hard-hitting manifesto in which he all but accused Sepp Blatter of running the organisation far too autonomously.
By Mark Baber
April 7 – After weeks of delay, the Indonesia Super League (ISL) finally kicked off this weekend, but faces an uncertain future as the Professional Sports Agency of Indonesia (BOPI) warned that the PT Liga Indonesia could have its licence to operate the ISL revoked if it continues to ignore official recommendations.
By David Owen
April 7 – SNCF, the French national railway company, has signed up as a sponsor of the Euro 2016 football tournament to be played in the country next year. The group has become the competition’s official national transport partner and its fourth official national sponsor.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
April 7 – Romanian billionaire Ioan Niculae (pictured), who owns top flight club Astra Giurgiu, has been sentenced to two years and six months in jail for his participation in the illegal financing of the presidential campaign of Mircea Geoana who ran for Romania’s top office in 2009. Niculae cannot appeal the decision.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 7 – After enduring a collective assault on his presidency by the three men bidding to unseat him, Sepp Blatter was doubtless feeling far more comfortable today as the election campaign switched from UEFA to the Confederation of African Football Congress (CAF).
April 7 – Turkey’s top division and domestic cup matches have been suspended for one week following a chilling and unprovoked gun attack on the Fenerbahce team bus at the weekend which left the driver seriously injured but the players unharmed.
April 7 – Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur have added a fixture in Malaysia as part of the their end of season two-match tour which will also see them play in Australia.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 7 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter is set to meet Palestinian football leader Jirbril Rajoub today to try and stave off a bid to suspend Israel from football’s world governing body.
August 6 – It has been a mixed Easter holiday for Scottish giants Rangers. The Championship side are battling a long period of boardroom instability and shareholder infighting, while at the same time being embroiled in a dogfight for a return to the Scottish Premier League – and what would be their third promotion in three seasons.
By David Owen
April 5 – UEFA, the European football body, generated revenue of €1.73 billion in its latest financial year to the end of June. The figure was marginally up on the prior year’s total of €1.7 billion.
It was interesting to read the recent report to the effect that European Club Association (ECA) head Karl-Heinz Rummenigge believes that football’s perennial club-versus-country tug of war is now receding.
“Sin el futbol, mi vida no vale nada (Without football, my life is worthless).” Cristiano Ronaldo
It turns out that you do not have to be a two-time FIFA Ballon D’Or winner to take the view that football is the be-all and end-all of life. There are millions upon millions of people with a fanatical devotion to football and/or its clubs and billions more who take at least a passing interest in the game we love.