“I’d love to play in the Olympics,” says Joe Cole
By David Gold
November 18 – Lille midfielder Joe Cole has said that he would “love to play in the Olympics” if selected by Team GB manager Stuart Pearce.
Sarkozy’s secret meetings to encourage Qatari investment in PSG
By David Gold
November 22 – French President Nicolas Sarkozy (pictured left) held a secret meeting with Qatar’s Crown Prince Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani (right) in which he encouraged the gulf state to invest in French football and purchase the then financially troubled Paris St Germain, it has been claimed.
David Gold: Is Beckham’s success in the US yet to come?
David Beckham’s American adventure had the fitting end it was meant to have, as LA Galaxy beat Houston Dynamo 1-0 in the MLS Cup final on Sunday – but then in showbiz, things always seem to go to plan.
So where next for Posh and Becks? So far Beckham’s career has gone from Manchester to Madrid, to Los Angeles to Milan and back (twice), and so Paris would seem a logical next step.
Indian League has made progress since AFC stepped in, says Zhang Jilong
By David Gold
November 21 – Zhang Jilong (pictured), the acting President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), has claimed that Indian football is making progress, at a meeting of an Ad Hoc Committee created to improve the state of the game in the country.
Ukraine to develop high speed travels links for Euro 2012
By David Gold
November 21 – Ukraine will focus on introducing high speed travel links between host cities of the 2012 European Championships in the months remaining before the tournament begins, the country’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Borys Kolesnikov (pictured) has said.
Exclusive: British FIFA vice-president defends Sepp Blatter’s “unfortunate” comments
By Andrew Warshaw
November 21 – Britain’s FIFA vice-president insisted today that Sepp Blatter (pictured right) is not a racist and said he was “pleased” with Blatter’s attempt to rectify the situation following the outrage that accompanied his statement that racist incidents on the field should be settled with a handshake.
“Substantially improved terms” sees SPL extend deal with Sky and ESPN
By David Gold
November 21 – The Scottish Premier League (SPL) has signed a five year extension to their current television deal with Sky Sports and ESPN to show live games, on what SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster (pictured) claims are “substantially improved terms”.
Andrew Warshaw: Why didn’t the rest of the world care as much about Blatter racism remarks as Britain?
Now that the outrage over Sepp Blatter’s unfortunate remarks about racism is receding somewhat, let’s take stock of the entire episode.
Blatter’s comments, as we all know, made headline news across the UK but the fact is they were hardly reported anywhere else; at least not with the same ferocity. Why was that?
Former Prime Minister to appeal against FIFA ban
By Andrew Warshaw
November 21 – Former Dominica Prime Minister Patrick John is appealing FIFA’s decision to ban him for two years for his role in the cash-for-votes scandal last May.
Exclusive: Australia appeal against North Korea London 2012 qualification rejected
By David Gold
November 21 – Australia’s women’s football team will not be competing in the London 2012 Olympic Games after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) decided not to appeal FIFA’s ruling that North Korea can compete in London next year despite members of their team failing drugs tests at the World Cup earlier this year, inisideworldfootball can reveal.
I recognise my sins, but never regret them, claims Blatter
By Andrew Warshaw
November 20 – Two days after apologising for his gaffe over racism on the field, FIFA President Sepp Blatter launched a another trouble-shooting offensive today aimed at restoring his battered reputation.
Former Prime Minister among latest Caribbean officials sanctioned by FIFA
By Andrew Warshaw
November 18 – The FIFA bribery scandal that sent shock waves through world football and led to the departures of two of the sport’s most influential powerbrokers reached another milestone today when six more Caribbean officials were banned.
Manchester City report record losses of £197 million
By David Gold
November 18 – Manchester City have recorded a gargantuan loss of £197 million ($311 million/€230) for 2010-2011, placing in doubt the club’s ability to comply with UEFA’s new financial fair play rules.
Sion lose state court battle against FIFA and UEFA
By David Gold
November 18 – FC Sion’s battle with FIFA and UEFA suffered a major blow today when a state court in Switzerland ruled in favour of world football’s governing body over six players they had alleged the club had signed in contravention of a transfer ban.
Clydesdale Bank pull the plug on SPL sponsorship
By David Gold
November 18 – Clydesdale Bank has elected to end its sponsorship of the Scottish Premier League (SPL) when its current deal expires at the end of the 2012-2013 season.