By Mark Baber
January 30 – The long-running soap opera that has become Mario Balotelli in England looks to be drawing to a close with AC Milan’s announcement that he has agreed a four-and-a-half year contract.
By Mark Baber
January 30 – Arsenal will visit Indonesia as part of their pre-season tour for 2013 playing the Indonesian national side in Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on July 14.
By Mark Baber
January 29 – The new joint Belgium-Dutch BeNe league could become a cross border model for the establishment of more competitive and better marketed women’s football leagues in the future.
By Mark Baber
January 29 – The 150 year old English Football Association has been blasted in a follow-up report by a government Select Committee into the governance of the game in England, with the recommendation that if no progress is made within the next 12 months then Government will be left with no choice but to step in with legislation as soon as practically possible.
January 29 – Already trumpeted as the most valuable sports club in the world by US business magazine Forbes, Manchester United has now become the first sports team in the world with a $3 billion valuation.
January 29 – Scottish football took a big step closer to reconstruction of its professional leagues when the Scottish Premier League (SPL) clubs yesterday backed the reconstruction proposals at a General Meeting, agreeing unanimously to move to the next stage of the process.
By Mark Baber
January 28 – Didier Drogba is already back in Europe after leaving Champions League winners Chelsea for Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua in the summer for a reported £190,000 weekly salary.
By Mark Baber
January 28 – Beitar Jerusalem owner Arcadi Gaydamak has insisted that his team will sign two Chechen muslim players from Terek Grozny, despite protests by fans.
January 28 – The death toll in the Egyptian rioting following the sentencing to death of 21 people on Saturday, has now risen two more than 40 with a further 250 people injured, including two players.
By Mark Baber
January 28 – FIFA has become the first gaming brand to top £1 billion in UK retail sales according to the latest figures from GFK Chart-Track.
By Mark Baber
January 28 – In the wake of the nightclub fire in southern Brazil, FIFA have announced that they will no longer be holding a celebration, due on Monday in Brasilia, to mark 500 days until the start of the 2014 World Cup.
January 27 – The 10 venues for the Euros 2016 in France have been confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee.
For a decade or two now, the leading national cup competitions in Western Europe have been losing their grip on the public imagination.
You might think this would leave the second-string competitions – the league cups – in a seriously bad place.
But for one at least, 2012-13 has brought something of a revival – to the great good fortune of its new sponsor.
By David Owen
27 January – Capital One thought about sponsoring the FA Cup before its four-year deal with the Football League covering the competition that has now become known as the Capital One Cup.
By Mark Baber
January 27 – FIFA have confirmed that they will be investigating allegations regarding the World Cup 2018 and 2022 bidding processes, won by Russia and Qatar.