Inside World Football - Page 1802 of 2235 - For the Business of Football

Andrew Warshaw: The Sack Race is on but are there really any winners?

It’s a familiar jibe at almost every game whenever a manager is under pressure to save his job. “Sacked in the morning, you’re getting sacked in the morning,” goes the refrain, belted out with gusto by fans of the opposing team as they taunt the manager in question.

The chant has become part of the fabric of the game in English football and it is around this time of year – in other words close to the mid-season transfer window –

Archive

Gattuso rubbishes accusations as Italian football rushes to his defence

Gennaro Gattuso

By Andrew Warshaw
December 20 – Italian World Cup winner Gennaro Gattuso has fiercely denied allegations of match-fixing saying he is “angry and offended” at any suggestion that might be involved in any operation.

Africa

Police round-up Ethiopian terrorist ring that targeted World Cup qualifiers

suicide bombers

December 20 – Ethiopian police have swooped to arrest five more people suspected of plotting suicide bombings during the country’s World Cup qualifier against Nigeria in October that could have killed scores of fans.

Lee Wellings

Lee Wellings: Been watching the Club World Cup in Morocco?

No I thought not.

It’s taken seriously in South America, where it feels like a Champions League final to them, a chance for the Copa Libertadores winners to topple the best from Europe.

And it occasionally makes its mark elsewhere. I still remember waking to the news that Zico’s Flamengo had humiliated Liverpool 3-0 in the annual Intercontinental game in Tokyo in 1981. I thought my team were indestructible before that.

Archive

Ekstraklasa teams up with Transparency to educate players on gambling risks

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
December 19 – Poland’s Ekstraklasa, the operator of the top tier of Polish professional football league, is aiming to educate young footballers on the risks related to gambling. The initiative, carried out by the Ekstraklasa Foundation, is launched in cooperation with Transparency International which also collaborates with six other European football leagues on similar programmes.

2014 News

Manaus stadium build set to re-start

arena amazonia manaus

December 19 – Construction is set to resume at the World Cup stadium in Manaus where a young worker recently fell to his death, prompting a walkout amid heightening safety fears six months ahead of the big kickoff.

Archive

UEFA 2016 qualification format adds opportunity to small nations

uefa flag

By Andrew Warshaw
December 18 – Many of Europe’s less heralded countries will be given a greater chance than ever to qualify for the European Championship finals following a revolutionary new format unveiled by UEFA for 2016. Teams will be placed into nine groups of five and six teams, with both group winners and runners up qualifying automatically as well as the best third-placed side.

Archive

Casablanca rock the Kasbahs and football’s old order at Club World Cup

Raja Casablanca players

By Andrew Warshaw
December 18 – Moroccan football is celebrating its greatest ever club triumph after little-known domestic champions Raja Casablanca upset Ronaldinho’s mighty Atletico Mineiro to reach Saturday’s final of the Club World Cup.

Archive

David Owen: ‘Don’t play it again, Sepp’: Casablanca’s coup should not distract from the Club World Cup’s shortcomings

Congratulations to Raja Casablanca, whose 3-1 win over Ronaldinho’s Atletico Mineiro in Marrakech on Wednesday has earned them a match-up with Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in the final of the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup.

The Moroccan side will be following a trail blazed by the magnificently-named Tout Puissant Mazembe Englebert, from the Congolese mining capital of Lubumbashi, who in 2010 became the first African team to contest a Club World Cup final,

Archive

Olympiakos appeal UEFA sanction, claiming punishment does not fit crime

olympiakos fans

December 19 – Greek club Olympiakos Piraeus have appealed against the partial closure of their ground for their glamour Champions League last-16 tie with Manchester United, denying claims by UEFA that a section of their fans acted in a racist way in last week’s final group game.

Archive

Leonardo slams Platini for failing to see role of third-party ownership

Leonardo

By Paul Nicholson
December 19 – Brazilian, coach and former World Cup winner Leonardo has accused UEFA president Michel Platini of not knowing what he is talking about when it comes to the importance of third-party player ownership in South America, and that the 14 month ban he received in France at PSG for allegedly pushing a referee on the touchline “had a political logic to it”.

Massimo Cecchini

Massimo Cecchini: Tears and recriminations over who is really going to pay in Italy

Le prime lacrime stanno già spuntando da occhi generalmente asciutti e abituati a sguardi ruvidi. Non siamo ancora arrivati a quella sorta di tassa sul lusso partorita dalla Francia del presidente Hollande, ma l’emendamento alla Legge di Stabilità presentato da Stefania Covello e Antonio Castricone, deputati del Partito Democratico, ha messo già in fibrillazione il calcio italiano.

La norma – a cui la Commissione Bilancio ha già dato il via libera col parere positivo del governo –

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FIFA spends $200 million on development projects in 2013

FIFA signage

December 18 – In a review of its development activities in 2013, FIFA has reported that it has invested $200 million in football development over the past year.

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UEFA stadia sanctions hit Olympiakos and Zenit for next round of CL

uefa flag

December 18 – Champions League knockout stage qualifiers Olympiakos and Zenit St Petersburg have both paid the penalty for racist behaviour by their respective fans.

Archive

FIFPro challenges transfer system with demand to shake off players’ ‘shackles’

FIFPro-WFA-600

By Andrew Warshaw
December 18 – Football’s international players’ union, FIFPro, is demanding a complete overhaul of the transfer system in a move that could ultimately have the same impact on the game as the landmark Bosman ruling of 18 years ago. The union is to launch a legal challenge against the current system which, it claims, shackles players and still prevents proper freedom of movement.