Real Madrid top ManUtd on Forbes rich list
By Mark Baber
April 18 – Real Madrid has displaced Manchester United as the world’s most valuable soccer club in the new Forbes list.
Kuwaitis declare support for Salman candidacy
By Andrew Warshaw
April 18 – Kuwait has wasted no time in publicly announcing that it will back Asian Football Confederation presidential candidate Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain in next month’s election.
Bidding opens up for five FIFA competitions
April 18 – FIFA has opened the bidding process for five competitions in 2016 and 2017, including the U-17 Women’s World Cup 2016, U-20 Women’s World Cup 2016, U-17 World Cup 2017, U-20 World Cup 2017 and Beach Soccer World Cup 2017.
Lee Wellings: Tan’s red dawn
So Malaysia will be represented in the boardroom of the world’s most powerful football league next season – even if Tony Fernandes and Queens Park Rangers are relegated as expected.
Tan Sri Dato Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun – Vincent Tan to supporters of Welsh club Cardiff City – has taken the club in the capital of Wales into the English Premier League.
I was going to write ‘controversial’ owner but is he?
Emirates close to landing Real Madrid shirt deal
By Andrew Warshaw
April 18 – Emirates Airlines is on the verge of capturing its most prestigious shirt sponsorship deal to date by agreeing a partnership with Real Madrid believed to be worth up to €30m a year, according to reports in Spain.
Valencia crisis deepens as Foundation President resigns over battle for control
By Gareth Messenger
April 18 -The chaos at Valencia is continuing to cause doubt among players, the coaching staff and supporters, after the club’s Foundation President Francisco Varona resigned.
Sheikh Salman calls for new faces and change, but blanks key issues
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
April 17 – The frontrunner in the race to become the most powerful man in Asian football has ducked questions about his alleged implication in a vote-buying scandal and about widespread human rights abuses in his native Bahrain.
Rain stops play at new Brasilia stadium
By Andrew Warshaw
April 17 – The stadium being used for the start of the Confederations Cup, the World Cup warm-up tournament, will only be officially opened a month beforehand. The news is a blow to Brazilian authorities who have pledged that the country will stage a World Cup to remember, but have suffered delays and setbacks in the preparation – this being the latest.
ASEAN Super League plans unveiled
By Mark Baber
April 17 – The establishment of an ASEAN Super League took a step closer as senior figures within the Asean Football Federation (AFF) briefed the media on the project which was discussed at a separate AFF briefing on April 3.
Fluminense looks to expand in US with a club buy
By Mark Baber
April 17 – Peter Siemsen, president of Brazil’s Fluminense Football Club, said the Brazilian champions are looking to buy a team in the US.
Italian clubs want increased competition for their reserve teams
April 17 – In order to develop more young talent, Serie A clubs in Italy want their reserve teams to be allowed to play in the country’s lower leagues.
Osasu Obayiuwana: Nigerian football? It’s a mad, mad world…
As just one of two men in the 56-year history of the Africa Cup of Nations to win the trophy as a player and a manager – the late Egyptian legend Mahmoud El-Gohary being the other – you would assume Nigeria’s Stephen Keshi has earned some well-deserved job security.
But, as mind-boggling as it may sound, the man who managed the Super Eagles to the trophy in Johannesburg might be forced, by a series of bizarre circumstances,
NBC stakes its claim for the US football TV market
By Tom Parsons
April 17 – NBC sports group will air all 380 Barclays Premier League games during the 2013/14 season live on its networks. The US broadcaster will present the games across their platforms as well as streaming them live via NBC’s Sport live extra service on desktop, mobile and tablets.
Polish club crisis sees latest casualty Lodz dropped two divisions
By Krzysztof Baranowski
17 April – LKS Lodz, one of Poland’s oldest league clubs with a proud 105-year tradition, has declared itself bankrupt and unable to pay money owed to former players and coaches.
Women call for inclusion in FIFA 14 virtual world
By Mark Baber
April 16 – As EA Sports prepares to unveil its plans for the launch of FIFA 14, evidence suggests Brazilian 2nd division sides will be included in the new game, speculation has renewed over when women will be included.