After 20 years, PSV swaps Nike for Umbro in new 5-year deal
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
February 19 – PSV Eindhoven has decided to swap Nike for Umbro as its kit supplier starting in the 2015/2016 Eredivisie season.
Police hunt is on for Chelsea’s racist fans after Paris disgrace shocks world
February 19 – Paris and London police are co-operating in an effort to identify the Chelsea fans who appeared to stop a black man from boarding a train ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League fixture against Paris St Germain.
Liverpool targets Asian fans with 5 new local online club shops
February 19 – English Premier League club Liverpool has added five territory specific online club retail stores in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The club already operates a very successful online store in China which will be the model for the new sites.
Blatter condemns Sacchi’s comments as Italian racism rears its ugly white head
February 19 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been quick to react to former Italian national coach Arrigo Sacchi’s complaint that there were too many black players in Italian youth football.
AFC reports Asian Cup 2015 was clean of match-fixers
February 19 – The AFC Asian Cup 2015 that ended at the end of January with a home win for Australia has been hailed as a success in the battle against betting related match-fixing, with the AFC announcing that there was no evidence of match manipulation uncovered at the tournament.
Legia Warsaw enlist fans in Poland’s first military-themed affinity programme
February 19 – Football fans are often described as tribal. Polish club Legia Warsaw have taken it a step further with the club, and Poland’s, first affinity programme with fans given a military rank depending on the number of affinity points they accumulate.
Levski Sofia owner puts shares up for sale to raise cash for club
By Alexander Krassimirov
February 18 – With one Bulgarian club owner facing a possible prison sentence for fraud, another, Levski Sofia Todor Batkov (pictured) has said he has had enough and has announced he is ready to sell his shares in the club.
Birmingham City call in receivers as management crisis deepens
February 18 – The parent company that owns second-tier English side Birmingham City has gone into voluntary receivership because of internal strife, another stark example of the struggles that can afflict clubs below the top flight.
Barca ditch Mediapro for TV powerplay with Telefónica
By Mark Baber
February 18 – The FC Barcelona board has agreed to sell their audiovisual rights for 2015/16 to Madrid-based multinational Telefónica, ditching long-standing partner Mediapro, in a strategic move ahead of legislation in the Spanish parliament expected to impose collective bargaining for television income on Spanish clubs.
Cash trail leads to Espanyol vs Osasuna match-fixing claims
By Andrew Warshaw
February 18 – Spanish football has been rocked by yet another case of match-fixing, this time involving a crucial relegation battle last season between Espanyol and Osasuna.
Man Utd puts on pokerface and deals in fans for KamaGames launch
February 18 – The first on-line casino game resulting from Manchester United’s new partnership with KamaGames has been unveiled. Launched as a social game, United fans will be able to play poker against other supporters anywhere in the world.
Africans rejig FIFA exco reps as Raouraoua pulls out of election
February 18 – Algeria’s Mohamed Raouraoua (right) has pulled out of standing for re-election as one of Africa’s FIFA executive committee members after serving a single term.
South Korea’s Chung bids to add to family dynasty on FIFA exco
By Andrew Warshaw
February 18 – Four years after South Korea’s Chung Mong-joon, one of the most influential figures in world football administration, suffered a humiliating defeat after almost a generation as Asia’s FIFA vice-president, his family is gunning to get back to the top table.
Money men poised to feast on Euro clubs’ new economy
By Paul Nicholson
February 18 – Financial fair play, low interest rates and football’s ability to secure big money broadcast and sponsor contracts looks likely to attract debt investors back into the football business.
Chelsea’s racist fans shame club and English on Paris Metro
February 18 – Chelsea fans have brought shame on their high-flying English Premier League club after video footage appeared to show a group of them chanting racist slogans as they prevented a black man from boarding a train ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League fixture against Paris St Germain.