July 2 – Having looked like a team that were struggling to find any cohesion or common purpose after four straight losses, including a miserable performance in March at the Concacaf Nations League final, suddenly the USA look as though, if not the real deal, they are certainly worth a reappraisal.
July 2 – Elite football in the form of major tournament returns to Switzerland for the first time since 2008, with Euro 2025 and the quest for continental glory set to take over the Alpine nation this July with more than 600,000 tickets sold and increased prize money on offer for the 16 finalists.
As United States President Barack Obama swept back into power, I felt a real surge of pride because young, old, white, black, gay, straight, Hispanic and people of all dispositions had voted once again to make a man of colour the most powerful person on the planet.
It didn’t take long for me to realise that perhaps my own footnote in history might not be any of my professional deeds. Rather a sporting happenstance that saw me become Malia and Sasha Obama’s first “soccer”
By Andrew Warshaw
November 11 – Nicolás Leoz, the 84-year-old President of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), is recovering in hospital in São Paulo following heart surgery.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 9 – The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has set up a special body to deal with appeals over the bans handed out in the country’s infamous match-fixing scandal.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 9 – Senior Asian officials are privately questioning why prosecutors in Malaysia have suddenly dropped charges against a man accused of stealing documents linked to banned former powerbroker Mohamed Bin Hammam.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 9 – All six venues slated to stage next year’s Confederations Cup – the dress rehearsal for the 2014 World Cup – have now been confirmed by FIFA though some will face a race against time.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 9 – Fabrice Muamba, the Premier League footballer who suffered a massive cardiac arrest and almost died during a cup game at Tottenham Hotspur in March, made an emotional return to the club’s White Hart Lane stadium for the first time yesterday.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 8 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has welcomed efforts by the Swiss Government to crack down on match-fixing and corruption by considering the introduction of fresh laws to make all international associations based in the country subject to Swiss criminal law.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 8 – Spanish authorities have acquired almost €133 million (£107 million/$170 million) in back-taxes owed by debt-ridden clubs in this year alone, authorities have revealed.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 8 – The 2014 FIFA World Cup has come under fresh pressure because of new legislation that would seriously slash Rio de Janeiro’s revenues and therefore its ability to stage the tournament as well as the summer Olympics and Paralympics two years later.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 8 – The sister of Brazil’s Zenit St Petersburg striker Hulk has been reunited with her family after being kidnapped for 24 hours.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 8 – Former Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) first vice-president Raymond Tim Kee looks set to be appointed the federation’s new President on Sunday (November 11) after the only other candidate Colin Murray pulled out.
By Andrew Warshaw at the International Sports Event Management conference in London
November 7 – Any decision on whether to switch the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup from summer to winter must be taken within the next two years to make it logistically possible.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 7 – FIFA has dramatically ditched plans to use Bangkok’s showpiece $40 million (£25 million/€31 million) Futsal Arena during the current Futsal World Cup in Thailand, deeming the venue unsafe after missing several construction deadlines.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 7 – European football was plunged into a fresh hooligan problem yesterday when police detained scores of Dinamo Zagreb fans in the French capital ahead of the UEFA Champions League group game against Paris Saint Germain.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 7 – London is to host this season’s Women’s Champions League final with Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium selected by UEFA – two days before the final of the men’s competition at Wembley Stadium.