By Duncan Mackay
December 26 – Australian Republicans plan to use Prince William’s visit to the country next month to protest about his support for England’s campaign to host the 2018 World Cup ahead of their own bid.
December 26 – Plymouth Argyle being chosen as a potential venue for the 2018 World Cup if England’s bid is successful will act as the springboard for the club to get into the Premier League within five years, the Board claimed today.
December 26 – A stadium in Melbourne that has been at the centre of a row between Australia’s bid to host the World Cup and rival football codes is to be opened next year with a week-long festival of sport featuring matches in football, rugby league and rugby union.
December 26 – Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid has been further boosted by the support of the Arab Soccer Federation (ASF) which claimed that the country had the credentials to host sport’s biggest showpiece.
December 26 - Sheffield’s succesful World Cup city bid has been celebrated at Hillsborough today with a performance by Eliot Kennedy (pictured).
By Duncan Mackay
December 25 - A Saudi Arabian Prince is about to buy 50 per cent of five-time European Cup winners Liverpool after co-owner George Gillett (pictured) signalled his intention to sell, it has been claimed.
By Duncan Mackay
December 24 – Major League Soccer (MLS) players have been told to prepare to fr a lockout in February, it has been claimed by Kasey Keller (pictured), the former Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper, who now plays for Seattle Sounders.
December 24 – The National Football Museum is set to remain open in Preston for at least four more months after being given a late stay of execution.
December 24 – Verona have received the go-ahead for a €40 million (£36 million) facelift of their Stadio Marc Antonio Bentegodi, which is scheduled to be part of Italy’s bid to host Euro 2016, it has been announced.
By Duncan Mackay
December 24 – Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola (pictured) has been approached to be an ambassador for Qatar’s campaign to host the 2022 World Cup after giving the bid a ringing endorsement during a visit to the Middle East country, where he begun to wind down his playing career.
By Duncan Mackay
December 24 – The Australian Government has set-up a special taskforce to try to resolve the bitter row between the rival football codes that is threatening to undermine the country’s bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.
December 23 – Portland Timbers have unveiled their $31 million (£19 million) plans to transform PGE Park into a top-class venue for when they join Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2011.
December 23 – Sport Northern Ireland has launched an official review into how the Irish Football Association (IFA) acted in the Howard Wells (pictured) affair.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 23 – Tottenham Hotspur are convinced they can persuade FIFA to choose their new ground over the Olympic stadium if England wins the right to stage the 2018 World Cup.
By Duncan Mackay
December 23 – Turkey would bring a passion and spirit to Euro 2016 missing from the 2008 tournament, Sports Minister Faruk Nafiz Özak (pictured) claimed as the country officially launched its €1.75 billion (£1.5 billion) campaign today.