Chelsea join Premiership elite headed to Asia
February 8 – Chelsea are headed to Asia pre-season on their ‘Here to Play, Here to Stay’ tour, which will see the west London-based club play matches in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.
Pieth slams UEFA proposals as threatening FIFA’s reform process
February 7 – Swiss law professor and FIFA’s anti-corruption adviser Mark Pieth has warned that UEFA’s position on FIFA’s reform proposals will “basically try to cut half” of the modernising agenda.
Burundi: Football offers hope to street children
February 7 – FIFA has partnered with Terre des Hommes (TdH) and its local partner Giriyuja to establish a centre for street kids in Burundi’s capital Bujumbara.
DFB prepares coming-out guidance for clubs
By Mark Baber
February 7 – A working group under the direction of sports sociologist Gunter A. Pilz is developing guidelines for the German Football Association (DFB) to help German football clubs prepare for the potential outing of a gay player.
FIFA launches Footieleaks website for whistleblowers
February 7 – FIFA has launched a website where whistleblowers can report allegations of corruption, match-fixing and breaches of the FIFA Code of Conduct and the FIFA Code of Ethics.
Field of four running for women’s Exco position
By Mark Baber
February 7 – There are now four candidates nominated to represent women’s football on the FIFA executive committee for a four year term, the first time the women’s game has had a permanent seat at the governing body’s top table.
India opens its doors to brave new football world
February 7 – If confirmation were needed that India’s football is intent on raising its profile, then the New Delhi conference ‘Goal 2013 India Football’, 14-15 February , will likely provide it.
Richard van Poortvliet: Russians like the idea of an old-style Soviet league
By Richard van Poortvliet
Russian’s can be nostalgic. Every so often I will get into a conversation with a taxi driver in Moscow who will reminisce about the benefits of living in the Brezhnev era, which stability ruled over consumer choice. Over the last couple of months that is not the only thing Russian’s have been missing about the USSR as the possibility of resurrecting the Soviet Top Football League or ‘Vyshaya Liga’
Mihir Bose: Why match fixing cannot be fixed
The story of match fixing in football is very like the story of Lance Armstrong. The world knew, with the singular exception of UCI, cycling’s world body, that Armstrong was a cheat. The problem was finding enough evidence to prove that he had doped his way to victory. And once the Americans had seen the light it was always a matter of time.
Of course even now the UCI refuses to accept responsibility for the fact that Armstrong cheated right under their noses.
AC Milan plunged into fresh racism row
By Mark Baber
February 6 – A storm of protest has been unleashed by vice-President of AC Milan, Paolo Berlusconi, the brother of ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi, after he described the club’s new acquisition, Mario Ballotelli, as “”il negretto della famiglia” (the n***** of the family).
‘Old’ Russia is still keen for the return of a CIS league
By Richard van Poortvliet
February 6 – The idea resurrecting the Soviet Top Football League or ‘Vyshaya Liga’ is growing in popularity.
Brazil friendly kicks off new global marketing deal
February 5 – Tonight’s friendly between Brazil and England, part of the FA’s 150 year celebration, is the first match under a new deal between Pitch International and the Brazilian football federation (CBF) under which the London-based sports rights agency has all commercial and marketing rights for Brazil’s friendly games for the next 10 years.
Canadian Soccer explores new pro league options
By Mark Baber
February 5 – The Canadian Soccer Association has released a report that looks set to pave the way for the establishment of a second tier of professional football in Canada.
Hungary and Bulgaria lose appeals against racism penalties
By Mark Baber
February 6 – The FIFA Appeal Committee has rejected the appeals lodged by the Hungarian Football Federation and the Bulgarian Football Union against the sanctions imposed last November for racist behaviour by their fans.
Comply or die is the message as the Financial Fair Play rules start to impact Europe’s clubs
By Mark Baber
February 5 – The challenge of keeping club costs under control and within sustainable limits has been at the heart of the European Club Licensing Benchmarking Report which is now providing a measuring stick for what UEFA terms fair financial play and how the governing body will implement the rules and, most likely, enforce them.