Inside World Football - Page 1928 of 2248 - For the Business of Football

Lee Wellings: Bayern have the brightest future

The darkest hour comes before the dawn. It’s difficult to think of a club whose prospects look brighter than Bayern Munich.

May 20 last year; Munich airport. Hundreds of supporters, most but not all German, packed into the club shop. Bayern shirts everywhere, in bags and on backs. Not what i was expecting after events of May 19. But hiding or sulking doesn’t seem to be in the DNA here.

Bayern somehow threw away their chances to win their home Champions league final,

Archive

Politicos gather for CAF Congress in Marrakech

Danny Jordaan

By Osasu Obayiuwana in Marrakech
March 7 – With Issa Hayatou guaranteed re-election to the presidency of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the spotlight at the CAF Congress, in Marrakech this weekend, now falls on the battle for CAF executive committee places.

Osasu Obayiuwana

Osasu Obayiuwana: Hayatou wins before a ball is even kicked

Until Tuesday, Issa Hayatou, in his 25th year as president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), was, at least in theory, at risk of being at the end of an unfavourable decision, from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, which could have stood in the way of getting another four-year term in office, that would take the Cameroonian’s tenure to a near 30-year stretch.

No longer. With CAS ruling that the case brought by Ivorian Jacques Anouma,

Mihir Bose

Mihir Bose: How race can trip us all up

The resignation of Paul Elliott from the FA and other bodies because he used the “n” word in a private text sent to another black player and a business colleague, is both sad and revealing. It is sad because Elliott had, probably still has, the capacity to go from having played the game at the highest level into becoming an excellent football administrator. It is revealing because it shows how attitudes to race, and particularly use of certain racial words,

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Farina: We must protect this beautiful sport

simone farina

By Tom Parsons
March 6 – FIFA ambassador for fair play Simone Farina has admitted he has “no regrets” in refusing to take a bribe during a Coppa Italia match in 2011 and says “we must protect this beautiful sport with all means necessary”.

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Sudan’s lost appeal hits their World Cup hopes

SUDAN FOOTBALL

By Mark Baber
March 6 – Sudan’s qualification campaign for FIFA World Cup 2014 took a body blow when it had its win over Zambia turned into a loss after the country was found to have fielded an ineligible player.

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Maracana delays cause FIFA concern over Brazil’s readiness

maracana build

By Andrew Warshaw
March 6 – Brazil’s World Cup preparations – or lack of them – have once again been called into question by FIFA, with Rio’s iconic Maracana stadium the biggest worry.

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Pompey fans given new court date for takeover decision

fratton park

By Andrew Warshaw
March 6 – The future of Portsmouth, the stricken English club locked in administration for over a year with debts of about £60m, could finally be resolved next month – to the relief of the fans’ consortium hoping to take over.

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Pakistan plans new IPL-style football league

pakistan football

By Mark Baber
March 6 – Pakistan is planning to launch a new football competition, modelled on the successful Indian Premier League for cricket, in a bid to overcome Pakistan football’s problems.

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Qatar Airways board Barça shirt in $45m per season deal

barca flag

By Andrew Warshaw
March 6 – After more than a century without a commercial sponsor, Barcelona will break new ground next season by sporting the logo of Qatar Airways on its shirts – the starkest illustration yet of the club needing to embrace commercial reality as Qatar continues its drive to make inroads into European football.

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Fox Soccer set to wind down as News Corp backs new Fox Sports 1

fox soccer channel

By Paul Nicholson
March 6 – Fox Soccer channel looks set for closure as News Corp announced it will launch a new cable sports network in August taking ESPN head on in the national sports broadcast marketplace. Fox Sports 1 be available to more than 90 million pay- TV homes.

Africa

CAS kicks out Anouma appeal leaving Hayatou to run unopposed

anouma

By Andrew Warshaw
March 5 – African football’s contentious presidential election was thrown even more sharply into focus today when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) threw out Jacques Anouma’s (pictured) last-ditch appeal against being barred from taking on the veteran incumbent Issa Hayatou.

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IFAB stands its ground as FIFA pushes through reform

alex horne

By Andrew Warshaw
March 5 – The International FA Board, football’s law-making body that has stood the test of time for over a century, looks set to repel any attempt to change its role or expand its personnel as the eternal guardians of the sport.

Africa

Egyptian players refuse to train over unpaid wages at Ittihad

ittihad

March 5 – Egypt has started its league after a year’s suspension following the Port Said disaster where 74 fans were killed, but now the financial burden of sustaining clubs and playing squads looks to be hitting as players at one club are refusing to train.

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3 out of 5 Premier League players go bankrupt

bankruptcy

By Mark Baber
March 5 – Xpro, the charity for ex-professional players, has revealed the shocking fact that three out of five Premier League players go bankrupt within five years of retirement.