By Duncan Mackay
January 11 – Russia tonight announced BDO, part of the world’s fifth-large global network of independent auditors and a company which worked on Sochi’s successful campaign to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, as a supporter of their bid to host the 2018-2022 World Cup.
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January 11 – Liverpool director Tom Hicks Junior (pictured) has resigned from his position with the club and their parent company Kop Holdings in the wake of a foul-mouthed e-mail rant at a fan.
By Duncan Mackay
January 10 – Togo’s team flew home from the African Cup of Nations tonight after the deadly ambush of their team bus but the country’s Sports Minister said they hoped to return to Angola, where the tournament got off to a spectacular start as Mali came from 4-0 with 11 minutes remaining against the hosts to draw 4-4.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 10 – The debate over Liverpool’s controversial decision to postpone today’s Premier league fixture with Tottenham Hotspur has been further fuelled by the Anfield club openly advertising official tours of the stadium for the very same day.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 10 – England’s 2018 bid team had prepared a fresh presentation to be delivered to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Angola later this month but were denied the opportunity after Qatar signed an exclusive sponsorship deal, insideworldfootball has learned.
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By Duncan Mackay
January 10 – Togo’s players will not play in the Africa Cup of Nation in Angola after the country’s Government ordered them home following a deadly attack on the team bus, although players had claimed they wanted to stay and play.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 10 – Danny Jordaan (pictured), chief executive of this year’s World Cup, insists no link should be drawn between the terrorist attack on the Togo team at the African Nations Cup in Angola and the tournament in South Africa.
By Duncan Mackay
January 9 – Togo’s reserve goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale was tonight set to undergo emergency surgery on his injuries suffered in the terrorist attack on the team’s bus in Angola yesterday.
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By Duncan Mackay
January 9 – The attack on a bus of the Togo national football team in Angola will not affect this year’s World Cup in South Africa, officials there have claimed.
January 9 – Togo have today withdrawn from the African Nations Cup in Angola following the machine gun attack on their team bus yesterday, with the death toll now understood to have risen to three and team coach Hubert Velud criticising the organisers reaction to the horrific incident.
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It has been a dreadful start to the year for African football.
I was just settling down to write a column arguing that African governing body CAF’s decision to sign an exclusive sponsorship deal with Qatar 2022 demonstrated that FIFA needed to take a firmer grip on the World Cup bidding process - either that or simply auction the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to the highest bidders - when word of the attack on the Togo team came through.
January 8 – English Premier League clubs have demanded assurances from FIFA about the safety of their players in Angola, including Nigeria’s Nwankwo Kanu (pictured), following the attack today by gunmen on a bus carrying the Togo squad into Angola to finalise their preparations for the tournament.
By Duncan Mackay
January 8 – A bus carrying the Togo national team, including Manchester City’s £25 million striker Emmanuel Adebayor (pictured), has come under attack from gunfire in Angola, where they were preparing for the African Cup of Nations, which is due to open there on Sunday.
January 8 – Arsenal do not expect majority shareholder Stan Kroenke (pictured) to launch a takeover bid despite being close to the threshold for a mandatory offer, chief executive Ivan Gazidis claimed today.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 8 – Kate Ellis (pictured), Australia’s Sports Minister, insists the country’s bid to stage the World Cup in 2018 or 2022 will not be adversely affected either by kickoff schedules or by an escalating row with other sports.