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.
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
Like a high proportion of my fellow Brits, when that moment comes, I shall be standing silently with my head bowed in a gesture of solemn remembrance.
So why does it make me so angry when November rolls around each year and, like snowdrops in January, Premier League football shirts sprout scarlet poppies?
By David Gold
November 9 – The first country to be eliminated from the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Myanmar, is now back in contention to qualify after FIFA annulled their tournament expulsion.
By David Gold
November 9 – Following calculations that 60 million Chinese fans tuned in live to see Real Madrid’s 7-1 win over Osasuna on Sunday (November 6), China’s media want the Clasico between the league leaders, Real, and the current champions, Barcelona, to be played at midday.
By David Gold
November 9 – An African businessman is seeking 506 million South African rand (£40 million/$63 million) from the Department of Education in Gauteng to compensate the losses made by his now liquidated hospitality company, set up to provide a range of services for the 2010 World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 9 – FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke has warned Brazil once again that they are lagging behind schedule and that there is “not a day to lose” in organising the World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 9 – The relationship between FIFA and the English football authorities has reached a new low after world football’s governing body again rejected a request for the England team to wear poppies on their shirts during Saturday’s friendly with Spain – 24 hours before Remembrance Sunday.
By David Gold
November 9 – The Juventus general manager at the time of the 2006 Calciopoli scandal, Luciano Moggi, has been sentenced to five years and four months in prison after being found guilty of sporting fraud and conspiracy by a court in Naples.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 9 – Qatari authorities have hit back quickly at suggestions by one of their leading 2022 World Cup architects that air conditioning the stadiums is not the way forward.
By Declan Warrington
November 14 – Switzerland have launched a new home kit in their match against the Netherlands.
By Mike Rowbottom at City Hall in London
November 8 – Baroness Margaret Ford, chair of the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), today publicly accused Tottenham Hotspur of putting all her board “under surveillance” during the recently discontinued negotiations to decide the future owner of the London Olympics Stadium.
By Andrew Warshaw at the Dolder Grand in Zurich
November 8 – The architect designing one of Qatar’s main 2022 World Cup stadiums says air conditioning all the venues is the wrong approach.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 8 -Caribbean football has suffered another setback with the news that Lisle Austin of Barbados has lost his appeal against a one-year suspension.
By David Gold at the Dolder Grand in Zurich
November 8 – Populous Senior Principal, John Barrow, has claimed that Chelsea should stay at Stamford Bridge rather than move away from what he called “their birthplace.”
By David Gold at the Dolder Grand in Zurich
November 8 – Barcelona President Sandro Rosell has claimed that the European champions are not run like a business and that they “do not want profits”.
By Andrew Warshaw at the Dolder Grand in Zurich
November 8 – The organiser of next year’s European Championship finals in Poland and Ukraine admits that “the luck of the draw” could play a significant part in determining whether the event ends up being a success – off the field as much as on it.