The European Club Association may not be a household name among football fans but Europe’s largest grouping of clubs is beginning to show its teeth.
Unlike its predecessor, the elitist G14, the ECA has no fewer than 197 members across the entire spectrum of the professional game, all speaking with one voice.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 9 – Sepp Blatter says the controversial “golden goal” rule could be brought back to stop defence-minded teams deliberately playing for penalties.
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By Andrew Warshaw
September 9 - FIFA’s technical inspection team wound up its tour of the United States today with Bid President Sunil Gulati hinting strongly that there was more work to do to clinch the tournament in either 2018 or 2022.
September 9 – Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium, which is due to stage the 2014 World Cup final, has been closed down for two years to be undergo a major $300 million (£175 million) renovation.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
September 8 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter appears to have dashed any lingering hopes that the United States has of hosting the 2018 World Cup by claiming that no-one is in doubt that the tournament will be held in Europe.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
September 8 – Football Federation Australia (FFA) chairman Frank Lowy has hit back at claims that the country’s A-League is suffering because too much attention is being paid to their bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
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September 8 – FIFA’s World Cup inspectors had breakfast today at the White House, meeting with aides to President Barack Obama.
September 8 - Leaders in Football, the world’s most exclusive football business event, taking place for the third time at Chelsea FC on October 6 and 7 has sold out its exhibition.
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By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
September 7 – Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has today blamed the British media for the racism row that is threatening to overshadow his country’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup and claimed that there was corruption in England, an allegation that draw could draw the attention of FIFA watchdogs.
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By Andrew Warshaw in Geneva
September 7 – European clubs today urged the sport’s governing bodies to start paying out insurance premiums to cover highly prized players injured on international duty.
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By Andrew Warshaw in Geneva
September 7 – European clubs, led by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, today called on FIFA to scrap worthless internationals and stop forcing clubs to release their players for meaningless fixtures.
By Tom Degun in London
September 7 – Kate Hoey (pictured right), the London Mayor’s Sports Commissioner, told the London Assembly at City Hall here today that she backs West Ham United’s proposal to move into the Olympic Stadium after the London 2012 Games but warned that they must interact with the community.
September 6 – A delegation of FIFA inspectors, led by Chilean Football Fedederation President Harold Mayne-Nicholls, has arrived in the United States to assess the Americans’ bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
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September 6 – Thomson Sport has been appointed as an Official Travel Partner of the Scottish Football Association (Scottish FA) and an Official Travel Partner of the Scotland Supporters’ Club, it was announced today.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
September 6 – Former Chelsea midfielder Alexei Smertin has denied fears his country’s World Cup bid is at the centre of a dirty tricks campaign being waged by the UK media.