Mexico 1 Honduras 0
July 2 – The question on the lips of pundits and fans at Levi Stadium, Santa Clara, was “would tonight be business as usual or unusual business?” as Mexico and Honduras met for the right to face the United States in the Concacaf Gold Cup Final on Sunday in Houston.
Spain 5 Portugal 0
July 3 – With an imperious display, world champions Spain waltzed past neighbours Portugal at the Wankdorff Stadion in Bern, winning 5-0 to back up their status as tournament favourites.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
January 24 – England’s campaign to host the 2018 World Cup failed so spectacularly because its bid team had such poor relations with senior members at FIFA, a senior member of its management team admitted today.
The row about the post-Olympic use of the Stratford stadium is the price of unexpected victory. And, if it is not quite like the wages of sin, it is just as painful.
In many ways, the 2012 bid book pledge to retain an athletics track at the Olympic stadium was the sporting equivalent of the Liberal Democrats’ pledge not to raise tuition fees.
They made it in good faith but then they did not expect to be in Government,
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
January 24 – Polish and Ukrainian officials have been talking enthusiastically about Euro 2012, which is due to start in 500 days time, claiming that the event will boost tourism to both countries and leave a lasting legacy that will benefit generations of citizens.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 24 – Sebastian Coe waded into the debate over the future of the Olympic Stadium today, declaring there was a “moral obligation” to back West Ham United’s plans over those of Tottenham Hotspur for using the venue after next year’s summer Games.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 23 – Russia’s first milestone on the road to the 2018 FIFA World Cup was reached today in Saint-Petersburg when the country was officially given host status.
By Mike Rowbottom
January 21 – Manchester United, managed by Sir Alex Ferguson (pictured) for 25 years, has the most stable squad in Europe, according to a new survey of the 36-member national associations of UEFA.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 21 – FIFA Executive Committee members Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii have formally appealed against suspensions in the cash-for-votes row that marred the 2018 and 2022 World Cup ballots.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 21 – Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy (pictured) has urged the club’s fans to understand the motives for moving to the Olympic Stadium after the London 2012 Games, assuring them they would have one of the finest football venues in Europe.
January 20 – Russia look set to unveil details of their Organising Committee for the 2018 World Cup in St Petersburg on Sunday (January 23).
January 20 – Companies looking to capitalise on Qatar’s infrastructure spending spree for the 2022 World Cup could learn valuable lessons from London’s preparations for the 2012 Olympic Games.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
January 19 – Former Olympic javelin champion Tessa Sanderson will not be permitted to play any part in deciding the future of the Olympic Stadium, it was announced today.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 19 – Mike Lee (pictured), the man leading Tottenham Hotspur’s public relations campaign to take over the Olympic Stadium after London 2012, insists legacy will form a crucial part of the club’s detailed proposals and rejects growing claims they are merely being driven by money.
January 19 – Vauxhall Motors has made football history by becoming the first organisation ever to sign title partnership agreements with all four football associations of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Among the tabulated figures and block graphs of the latest big football survey to emerge blinking into public view – the Third Demographic Study of Footballers in Europe, to be precise – is what amounts to little more or less than a character reference.
It lies in just one statistic garnered from a census of 13,108 footballers playing for 534 top clubs within the 36-member national associations of UEFA –
Just occasionally, in the murky, unpredictable world of football politics, an issue so outrageous and so baffling hits you so hard between the eyes, you wonder if you are actually seeing straight.
More column inches have been written about FIFA’s decision to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup than of us could have imagined before last month’s Zurich vote. What’s done is done say those who voted for the tiny Middle East state half the size of Wales.