By Mark Baber
July 16 – President of FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Rinat Akhmetov (pictured) has declared that a possible Ukrainian-Russian joint football league should be advantageous, first and foremost, to Ukrainian football.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
June 16 – What was supposed to be a summer of optimism and celebration for Turkish football has turned into a summer to forget. As well as the highly publicised UEFA bans on Fenerbahce and Besiktas over match fixing allegations, the Turkish authorities struggled to get it right when it came to staging the under-20 World Cup, known alternatively as the World Youth Cup.
By Mark Baber
July 16 – The English Football Association has announced its backing for London’s bid to host the 2018 Gay Games. A team from the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) is currently carrying out an inspection of London’s facilities,
By Andrew Warshaw
July 16 – Two of Turkey’s three biggest clubs, Fenerbahce and Besiktas, have failed in their bids to get their forthcoming European bans overturned, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport now their only remaining avenue.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 16 – Just when Asian football is striving to improve its image and develop the game, Australian coach Holger Osieck (pictured) has attacked Asian clubs for failing to release a number of his players for the East Asian Cup, which starts on Saturday in Seoul.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 16 – Al Jazeera’s increasing influence as a major player in televised sport has been underlined by the announcement that the Qatar-based broadcaster has bought exclusive rights to screen England’s Premier League in the Middle East and North Africa for three years starting with the coming season.
July 16 – Chelsea FC partners Sauber Motorsport AG of Zurich, Switzerland, has landed a substantial commercial deal that will catapult the firm, and its partners, into a new era in Formula One.
July 15 – Nigerian women footballers at the FCT (Federal Capital Territory) Queens football club are being forced into begging and even prostitution to survive following the failure to pay their wages.
What do Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Fulham have in common? Okay, they are all members of English Premier League but that’s not the answer I’m looking for.
The answer I’m looking for is they are also now controlled by American owners or majority shareholders, Fulham being the latest to join that particular ‘club’ for a reported £200m.
Not so long ago, the notion that almost a third of top-flight English clubs would be in American hands 13 years into the new millennium would have been dismissed as fanciful given the fact that professional football,
By Andrew Warshaw
July 15 – Mohamed Al Fayed, one of the most colourful figures in English football, has ended his 16-year stint as boss of Fulham by selling the iconic west London club to Shahid Khan (pictured on left of Fayed), owner of NFL side Jacksonville Jaguars in the United States.
July 15 – France are celebrating their first ever under-20 World Cup title after beating Uruguay 4-1 on penalties following a goalless draw in the final in Istanbul. But Iraq’s fairytale tournament provided just as big a talking point.
By Mark Baber
July 15 – The Oman Football Association (OFA) has announced a strategic partnership with the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), building on the success of recent collaborations.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 15 – Having overcome a series of operational concerns during the recent Confederations Cup, Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Maracana stadium is now embroiled in another controversy – a ban on shirtless and standing fans.
July 15 – The European Professional Football Leagues association (EPFL), which represents 744 clubs in 29 countries, is reinforcing its relationship with the Council of Europe in the fight against fan violence.
The world has gone totally mad, hasn’t it? Ever since the “US citizen-without-a-passport”, Edward Snowden, went public and gradually released his material about global spying, institutionalized by US and UK spooks at the NSA and GCHQ, a storm of aggression has hit him and the US alike.
Meanwhile, in a parallel universe (and somewhat ridiculous to compare with issues of real concern), a handful of people continue digging and investigating for a very handsome fee –