August 22 – An unusual case of discrimination has emerged in Belgium where a top-division player has demanded a public apology and damages following remarks from a television commentator.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 22 – With the transfer window slamming shut on September 2, the international players’ union FIFPro is urging its members to look elsewhere rather than sign for teams in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus because of those countries’ poor record in honouring contracts.
By Mark Baber
August 21 – Nigeria’s League Management Company (LMC) has secured a $34 million television rights deal for the Nigeria Professional Football League from satellite broadcaster Supersport.
August 21 – Manchester City will boost their media content off-the-pitch with a deal with California-based camera manufacturer GoPro which will see cameras mounted on players and coaches.
By Mark Baber
August 21 – Beşiktaş has signed a $145 million deal with Vodafone, the club revealed in a statement on the Turkish Stock Exchange. The deal, including shirt sponsorship and sponsorship of the new Beşiktaş stadium which will be named the ‘Vodafone Arena’, is a timely one for the Istanbul club who have debt of about €100 million.
By Paul Nicholson
August 21 – FIFA put more than one million Brazil 2014 match tickets on internet sale at 7am Brasilia time yesterday, with the governing body saying that more than a million tickets had been requested by more than 163,000 applicants in the first seven hours.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 21 – In a deeply symbolic match, hailed by FIFA as a major sporting breakthrough, Afghanistan beat neighbours Pakistan 3-0 on Tuesday, the first international game played in Kabul in a decade and the first between the two countries in the Afghan capital for over 30 years.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 21 – Hope Powell, one of the most recognisable faces in women’s football, has been sacked after 15 years as manager of the England national team following the country’s group stage exit at Euro 2013 last month.
‘Spend, spend, spend’, read the notice brandished by a furious-looking man behind Arsène Wenger’s dugout, as Arsenal slumped to a 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday. His was the politest exhortation of the day. Echoes of the anger that filled the Emirates Stadium, where groups of Arsenal supporters came to blows in their seats, have been read and heard on social media and radio phone-ins long after the final whistle fell silent.
It is the expression of a profound frustration,
The Premier League season is barely a week old and results for all the hoopla hardly count. But off the field we already have the makings of a fascinating duel between BT and Sky, both of whom have the rights to broadcast live matches. Now on the face of it this is the biggest mismatch ever.
Sky has the rights to most of the matches, it has built its entire broadcasting structure on the back of the Premier League and played a huge role in making the League what it is today.
With Egypt taking one uncertain but dangerous turn after another, as a result of the raging political crisis, the ‘House of African football’ is unwittingly caught up in the crossfire of a domestic conflict.
That’s an inescapable consequence of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) being headquartered in Cairo, the theatre of bloody street battles between rival supporters of the military-backed transitional government and the country’s democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, forced out of office a few weeks ago,
By Jake Gable
August 20 – Valencia have revealed that the club’s debt now stands at €275.7 million (£235.1 million) after a due diligence report by consultancy firm KPMG. Club president Amadeo Salvo explained that the Spanish club’s debt has reduced by €66 million (£56.3 million) since 2008 and described the economic management as “positive”, however there are still general concerns for the state of financial health for many La Liga clubs, especially under new FFP (Financial Fair Play) rules and regulations set out by governing body UEFA.
By Paul Nicholson
August 20 – The start of the Premier League season in England has been accompanied by a flurry of club sponsorship action from online gaming and betting companies eager to tap into the Premier League fan base.
By Mark Baber
August 20 – Any Russian politician or official caught with a foreign bank account will be forced to resign or sacked according to a new law which came into force on Monday. The law was passed by the Duma three months ago and has already led to the resignation of Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich from his position as chairman of the local parliament in Chukotka.
