Inside World Football - Page 1759 of 2214 - For the Business of Football

Player restrictions lift as Cyprus begins process of football unification

Hasan Sertoglu

By Andrew Warshaw
February 21 – The prospect of Turkish Cypriot footballers playing for a national Cyprus team, ending more than half a century of isolation, has moved a step closer following the latest re-unification talks. Earlier this week, Greek and Turkish Cypriot officials attended a reception held by the French ambassador in Nicosia aimed at strengthening ties between the two communities on the disputed Mediterranean island.

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Muamba to lead debate at Jordan medical conference

Fabrice Muamba

By Andrew Warshaw
February 21 – Fabrice Muamba, the former Premier League footballer who was forced to give up playing after suffering a massive cardiac arrest during a cup match just under two years ago and whose plight made worldwide headlines, is among the speakers at special conference on football and medicine being held in the Jordanian capital of Amman on Saturday.

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World’s leading player launches world’s biggest 5-a-side competition

The Game by Ronaldo

By Paul Nicholson
February 21 – The largest 5-a-side competition the world has ever seen has been launched with 100,000 players from 180 countries already signed up to play against each other worldwide, but all competing in the same ranking.

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Budweiser breaks with tradition as it launches 2014 World Cup promotion

Budweiser world cup bottles

February 21 – FIFA sponsor Budweiser has launched its 2014 World Cup marketing campaign, Rise As One, aimed at celebrating the moments that unite and captivate fans and nations. The official beer sponsor’s global ad campaign will run on TV and outdoor in the run-up to the summer tournament and launches March 5.with a series of online teasers with a full launch being March 24.

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UEFA investigate Pellegrini ref comments after City vs Barca CL match

Manuel Pelligrini

February 21 – UEFA has opened an investigation into Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini’s comments about the referee following Tuesday’s 2-0 Champions League loss to Barcelona. Pellegrini was uncharacteristically critical of Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson, claiming he was “not impartial to both teams”.

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Ruch Chorzow secures innovative cash-for-goals sponsorship deal

Ruch Chorzow fans

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
February 20 – Ruch Chorzow has signed an innovative sponsorship deal with Germany’s Fuchs Oil. Under the first long-term deal of this kind in Poland, the new sponsor will pay the club a fee each time it scores a goal.

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Triple punishment back in the spotlight as Man City and Arsenal suffer CL losses

Szczesny sent off

By Andrew Warshaw
February 20 – Two controversial Champions League sendings-off this week have re-focussed attention on the so-called ‘triple punishment’ – penalty, sending off and subsequent suspension – that continues to so cause so must consternation throughout the game.

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Exclusive: Platini holds secret meeting with Kosovans in Albania

Kosovan message

By Andrew Warshaw
February 20 – Kosovan football authorities are celebrating another significant step forward after the head of their federation, Fadil Vokrri, held potential breakthrough talks with UEFA President Michel Platini in the Albanian capital of Tirana.

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FIFA inspectors make passage to India for U17 World Cup preparations

Cooperage Stadium

By Paul Nicholson
February 20 – A FIFA delegation today starts an 11-day inspection visit of India in preparation for the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. The tournament will be the first major FIFA competition hosted by India, a member of the Asia Football Confederation (AFC).

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FIFA fines Zambians for breaking player transfer rules

Zambia

February 20 – Zambia’s football association has been fined SFr50,000 ($56,000) by FIFA for breaching international transfer rules in the latest effort by football’s world governing body to crack down on the irregular movement of players.

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UEFA switch Kiev match to Cyprus, but Dnipro will host Spurs

Ukraine riots

February 20 – UEFA have been forced to switch Dynamo Kiev’s Europa League first-leg last-32 tie with Spain’s Valencia tonight to neutral ground in Cyprus because of the violence and political unrest in Ukraine’s capital city that has tragically caused at least 26 deaths.

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Kosovo makes United’s Januzaj an honorary ambassador at the age of 19

adnan janusaj

By David Owen
February 20 – Manchester United’s teenage prodigy, Adnan Januzaj, has been made an honorary ambassador of the republic of Kosovo. Januzaj was the first of four footballers awarded the title this week by Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga for contributions to “affirmation of the interests of the Republic of Kosovo”.

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David Owen: Kosovo’s Vokrri looks forward to end of isolation

Well over 50 international football matches will be played on Wednesday, March 5.

They include some 2015 Asian Nations Cup games, Spain versus Italy and Portugal v Cameroon. They provide one of the last opportunities for experimentation for many of the qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

And yet the most significant fixture to be played that night pits the world’s 79th -ranked team against a side that does not yet have any ranking.

Matt Scott

Matt Scott: Should Europe’s top clubs be depressed by deflation?

IWFdeflationfootballchart Sheet1

“Inflation is unjust and deflation is inexpedient. Of the two perhaps deflation is, if we rule out exaggerated inflations such as that of Germany, the worse; because it is worse, in an impoverished world, to provoke unemployment than to disappoint the rentier,” John Maynard Keynes, Essays on Persuasion

Whether or not you have heard of John Maynard Keynes, and whatever you might think of the orthodoxies (libertarians mostly consider him a false prophet of the dismal science,

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Closed stadiums and empty stands as UEFA issue racism sanctions

uefa flag

By Andrew Warshaw
February 19 – UEFA are continuing their crackdown on racism by ordering CSKA Moscow to play their next European home game behind closed doors. Apollon Limassol of Cyprus and the Serbian Under-21 team, the latter previously embroiled in racism accusations following a game against England in 2012, have also been handed partial stadium closures because of monkey chanting by supporters.