By Andrew Warshaw
June 19 – Ethiopia look resigned to having their hopes of qualifying for next year’s World Cup jeopardised after admitting fielding an ineligible player in a recent qualifier.
Dealing with the tough demands of earning one’s crust, as a professional in top flight European club football, whilst serving one’s country – regarded as a sacred duty, by compatriots, during World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers – has always been a high-wire balancing act for players.
Unlike their European counterparts, who can normally reach any part of their continent within a few hours and return to their clubs rather quickly,
By Andrew Warshaw
June 18 – Asian football, so often embroiled in negative politics, is doing its best to support thousands of Syrian refugees who have been streaming over the Jordanian border.
By Mark Baber
June 18 – The latest draft of the so-called Fans Bill, making its way through Russia’s State Duma, sees sanctions for violators of the rules of conduct, covering spectators and organisers and owners of sports facilities, significantly increased in an attempt by the 2018 World Cup hosts to ensure the tournament is hooligan-free even though it is still five years away.
By Paul Nicholson in Rio
Against a backdrop of persistent public protests over the expense of staging the 2014 World Cup, FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke has defended Brazil’s investment by saying it will be of benefit long after the event.
By Paul Nicholson in Rio
June 18 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has warned that football cannot be just about profit and that with so much money coming into the game, also comes risks and responsibility.
By Paul Nicholson in Rio
June 17 – The respective leaders of the next three World Cup organising committees had the rare experience of sharing the same panel on Monday as they described the challenges that lay ahead for Brazil, Russia and Qatar, respectively.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 18 – Turkish giants Fenerbahce and Besiktas have put their respective searches for a new head coach on hold pending the outcome of match-fixing hearings conducted by Uefa next week.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 18 – Six teenage footballers and one of their fathers have been found guilty by a Dutch court of beating an amateur linesman to death in an incident that shocked the nation and even prompted the intervention of Fifa President Sepp Blatter.
By Mark Baber
June 17 – A dispute in French-speaking Quebec over whether to allow male footballers to wear turbans appears to have been resolved after Fifa clarified the rules and the suspension of Quebec from the Canadian Soccer Association was lifted.
By Mark Baber
June 17 – Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City fear their worldwide “secret scouting database” may have been “hacked” by an employee of a unnamed Premier League rival, according to unsourced reports in British Sunday tabloid newspapers.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 17 – Five years before staging the 2018 World Cup, Russia is already coming to terms with the fact that the tournament is likely to cost a lot more than originally outlined.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 17 – FIFA officials are “monitoring the situation” in Brazil after violent protests broke out two days running to coincide with the start of the Confederations Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 17 – A dispute over player bonuses that threatened Nigeria’s participation in the Confederations Cup still appears to be festering, with claims and counter-claims from players and officials.
