By Duncan Mackay
April 20 – Sepp Blatter has written to all 208 members of FIFA to try to win their support for a fourth time as President, claiming that the sport is healthy financially and better developed under him than at any time in its history and that he offers “proven leadership”.
By David Gold
April 20 – Former South American champions Once Caldas became the second Colombian team in a week to face a 30-day suspension over unpaid player wages.
By David Gold
April 20 – Craig Whyte’s proposed takeover of Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers could be delayed again, as current club chairman Alastair Johnson wants talks to continue until the end of the season.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 19 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has hired yet another top-ranked sports journalist to be a part of his re-election campaign team.
By David Gold
April 19 – Adidas has renewed its partnership with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich until 2020, in a deal which sees the company continue to supply team kits to the German outfit.
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By David Gold
April 19 – Alisher Usmanov continues to buy shares in Arsenal despite American businessman Stan Kroenke becoming the London side’s majority shareholder and launching a formal takeover bid.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 19 – Mohamed Bin Hammam can count on the support of at least 10 members of his Asian Confederation when he bids for the presidency of FIFA on June 1.
By David Gold
April 19 – The draw for tickets to the Euro 2012 Championships, co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland, begins today following a record number of applications.
By David Gold
April 19 – MATCH Hospitality, the FIFA Hospitality Programme rights holder, has launched a global Invitation to Tender (ITT) process for companies interested in becoming official and exclusive agents of hospitality for the 2013 Confederations Cup and 2014 World Cup in their respective countries.
By David Gold
April 18 – Up to 10 of the 13 Brazilian airports currently being upgraded for the 2014 World Cup, are unlikely to be ready on time or able to cope with the volume of air traffic during the tournament, a report by the country’s Institute for Applied Economic Research shows.
By David Gold
April 18 – Japan’s plans to take part in the Copa America are facing another threat after German clubs including Borussia Dortmund announced that they were unwilling to release their players for the tournament, taking place in Argentina this July.
By David Gold
April 18 – Thailand Football Association President and FIFA Executive Committee member Worawi Makudi (pictured) believes that Southeast Asia could host the World Cup in 2030.
By David Gold
April 18 – Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has announced that approximately $5 billion (£3 billion) would be required for the construction of new stadiums and upgrades to the country’s infrastructure for the World Cup in 2018.
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Soap operas dressed up as morality tales do not come any better than the American Stan Kroenke’s take-over of Arsenal. The official word from Arsenal made the latest arrival of a foreign owner sound like the welcome a 19th century father might have given a man seeking the hand of his daughter.
This is what Peter Hill-Wood, the long serving chairman of the club, said: “The board of directors and I consider it a key responsbility to protect the ethos and spirit of the club.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 18 – A Swiss television network is to launch an official complaint to FIFA after two of its journalists were detained in Qatar for 13 days for filming a report on the 2022 World Cup hosts.