July 2 – Having looked like a team that were struggling to find any cohesion or common purpose after four straight losses, including a miserable performance in March at the Concacaf Nations League final, suddenly the USA look as though, if not the real deal, they are certainly worth a reappraisal.
July 2 – Elite football in the form of major tournament returns to Switzerland for the first time since 2008, with Euro 2025 and the quest for continental glory set to take over the Alpine nation this July with more than 600,000 tickets sold and increased prize money on offer for the 16 finalists.
By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
October 24 – The Russian racism row following Wednesday night’s Champions League clash between CSKA Moscow and Manchester City was elevated a further level today when UEFA President Michel Platini requested an internal investigation into why the UEFA protocol for dealing with racial incidents was not applied. Already UEFA has opened a disciplinary investigation into the actual incident, while the Russian World Cup organisers have also issued a statement promising to eradicate racism.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 24 – After a period of relative calm with so much media focus on the tournament in Qatar four years later, organisers of the 2018 World Cup in Russia have suddenly found themselves back in the spotlight over the festering issue of racism which still shows no sign of being eradicated.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 24 – The outspoken coach of hosts United Arab Emirates refused to blame his players for their first-round exit from the under-17 World Cup following a 2-0 defeat by Slovakia.
October 24 – English grassroots will receive a £102 million boost over the next three years via a new fund that will contribute to new facilities and coaching initiatives throughout the country.
By Panos Bletsos
Ocotber 24 – Olympiakos have announced a two-year deal to promote the UNICEF logo on the front of their shirts and to help the Fund raise at least €2 million. The Greek champions and UEFA Champions League regulars have joined Barcelona in supporting the global children’s charity.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 24 – Frenchman Philippe Piat is back at the helm of the international players’ union FIFPro and has called on member associations to air their grievances to avoid the organisation becoming “an empty shell.” Piat, now 72, was named president for the second time at the FIFPro General Assembly in Slovenia in succession to Leonardo Grosso and will hold the post until 2017.
On my own program The Football Talk, which is broadcast every Friday on www.163.com, I had a long interview with Sun Jihai, China’s most successful ever footballer. In this 90 minutes chat, Sun covered issues about his bewilderment of being omitted from the national team, even though at the age of 37, he is still being voted week in week out as the top centre half in the China Super League. Sun also compared the different football cultures in China and Europe,
As a veteran of several boardroom battles and high-wire conflict with the British Labour party, as he led a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that was extremely critical of the former’s conduct in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, while it was the party of government, one would have thought an English FA chaired by a supposedly media savvy Greg Dyke would be particularly conscious about not embarrassing itself in public.
Resigning in rather dramatic (some would say unfair) circumstances,
By Paul Nicholson
October 22 – FIFA chief medical officer Jiri Dvorak has announced an extension of the Football for Health programme in the CONCACAF region with three new pilot initiatives to be undertaken in countries from the three language groups in the region – English, Spanish and French. The markets have still to be chosen.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 23- Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who retired in the summer after 27 years at the club, has revealed he was asked twice to become manager of England – but refused both times.
October 23- Two more cases of racism at Europa League games have drawn the wrath of Uefa who have punished both Cypriot club Apoel Nicosia and Croatia’s HNK Rijeka.
October 23- FIFA has imposed worldwide bans on three more El Salvador national team players in an ongoing match-fixing investigation, bringing the total to 19.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 23- The under-17 World Cup, the largest football event of its kind to be staged in the Gulf, may be progressing satisfactorily on the field but off it an inopportune dispute has broken out over the issue of over-age players — generated by the host nation.
By David Owen
October 23 – In their World Cup play-off next month, or even if they make it all the way to Brazil for their first appearance in the finals proper, the footballers of Iceland may find that they have an unexpected pocket of support around the cheese and prosciutto town of Parma in northern Italy.
By Paul Nicholson in Grand Cayman
October 23 – Canadian FA president Victor Montagliani has pledged to put on the best ever women’s World Cup in 2015 which, he says, will be a “game changer” for the sport in his country.