Fulham debt free as Al Fayed converts loans into equity
By Mark Baber
January 31 – Fulham chairman, Mohamed Al Fayed, has converted his £212m in loans to the club into equity, leaving Fulham effectively debt-free.
[b]Mihir Bose:[/b] Britain’s government wants change but will it enforce it, and is it asking the right questions
It would be foolish in the extreme to believe that just because the Commons Select Committee on Culture Media and Sport has given the football authorities a bollocking, things will change in the national game. This may be the second verbal lashing the MPs have administered football in two years but just because the MPs wave a big stick it does not mean they will follow up by using it to whack the football authorities if,
Rummenigge questions logic of playing in the snow
By Mark Baber
30 January – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (pictured), chairman of the European Club Association and Bayern Munchen, says a rescheduling of the season away from winter football could be on the cards.
Egyptians still planning to kick off Premier League this weekend
January 30 – The Egyptian Premier League, which hasn’t seen a ball kicked in competitive action since February 2012, may still start this weekend (February 2) despite on-going street violence and instability within the country. Games will be played behind closed doors.
Shanghai Shenhua claim Drogba is still their player
January 30 – Shanghai Shenhua have issued a statement on their website claiming that Didier Drogba is still under contract at the Chinese club, two days after the announcement he had signed for Turkish club Galatasaray.
Grondona to step down as head of AFA in 2015 but continue at FIFA
January 30 – Julio Grondona, president of the Argentinean Football Federation (AFA) has said he will step down from the AFA presidency in 2015, at the end of his current term.
Platini dismisses Qatar vote allegation as fabrication
January 30 – UEFA President and FIFA Executive Committee member Michel Platini has moved quickly to defend his decision to vote for Qatar as 2022 World Cup host and refute any implication of outside influence on his vote.
AC Milan swoop for €22m Balotelli as transfer deadline nears
By Mark Baber
January 30 – The long-running soap opera that has become Mario Balotelli in England looks to be drawing to a close with AC Milan’s announcement that he has agreed a four-and-a-half year contract.
Indonesia gets focus of Premier League’s big guns
By Mark Baber
January 30 – Arsenal will visit Indonesia as part of their pre-season tour for 2013 playing the Indonesian national side in Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on July 14.
BeNe women’s league creates new model for cross-border competition
By Mark Baber
January 29 – The new joint Belgium-Dutch BeNe league could become a cross border model for the establishment of more competitive and better marketed women’s football leagues in the future.
FA faces government intervention in absence of radical shake-up
By Mark Baber
January 29 – The 150 year old English Football Association has been blasted in a follow-up report by a government Select Committee into the governance of the game in England, with the recommendation that if no progress is made within the next 12 months then Government will be left with no choice but to step in with legislation as soon as practically possible.
Red Devils are worth an eye-watering $3 billion
January 29 – Already trumpeted as the most valuable sports club in the world by US business magazine Forbes, Manchester United has now become the first sports team in the world with a $3 billion valuation.
SPL clubs back plans for new Scottish league format
January 29 – Scottish football took a big step closer to reconstruction of its professional leagues when the Scottish Premier League (SPL) clubs yesterday backed the reconstruction proposals at a General Meeting, agreeing unanimously to move to the next stage of the process.
Didier Drogba swaps China for Turkey after wages dispute
By Mark Baber
January 28 – Didier Drogba is already back in Europe after leaving Champions League winners Chelsea for Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua in the summer for a reported £190,000 weekly salary.
Fans protest as Beitar Jerusalem buys two Muslim players
By Mark Baber
January 28 – Beitar Jerusalem owner Arcadi Gaydamak has insisted that his team will sign two Chechen muslim players from Terek Grozny, despite protests by fans.