Encouraging home grown players is football’s equivalent of motherhood and apple pie. You will find nobody against it. Yet no debate, at least in England, could be more absurdly framed.
January 4 – Demetrio Albertini (pictured), the vice-president of the Italian Football Associaiton (FICG), has warned that the country must modernise its stadiums if its bid to host the 2016 European Championships is to be successful.
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By Duncan Mackay
January 3 – Worawi Makudi (pictured), the President of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), has abandoned plans to try to persuade England to play a friendly in Bangkok during their build-up to this year’s World Cup.
January 4 – The Premier League are set to pay Portsmouth’s £7 million share of the latest television monies directly to other top-flight sides to settle the struggling club’s outstanding transfer debts, it confirmed today.
January 3 – A senior delegation from Qatar’s 2022 World Cup Bid Committee flew to Saudi Arabia for the testimonial match of Nawaf al-Temyat between Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal Club and Italian champions Inter Milan, who are managed by Jose Mourinho, at the King Fahd international stadium.
By Duncan Mackay
January 3 – Worawi Makudi, whose position as President of the Football Association of Thailand (TAF) has been under threat, has signalled his intention to stay in his role by setting out a series of targets for coach, former England captain Bryan Robson (pictured with Worawi), during 2010.
January 3 – Calls are growing for Raymond Kennedy (pictured) to stand down as President of the Irish Football Association (IFA) following the six-figure payout to former chief executive Howard Wells.
January 3 - FIFA has appointed General Seyi Memene (pictured), a veteran Togolese football administrator, as interim head of the Togo Football Federation (TFF).
January 3 – Jack Warner (pictured), the FIFA vice-president, has warned that unless football receives more support in Trinidad & Tobago than the country’s national teams could soon be facing a major crisis.
By Duncan Mackay
January 3 – David Beckham (pictured) has warned that England must not be arrogant and believe that they are more deserving of hosting the 2018 World Cup than any of its rivals because of its tradition and the worldwide appeal of the Premier League.
January 3 – Mohammad-Manour Azimzadeh (pictured), a senior official in the Iranian Football Federation (FFI), has been forced to resign after a New Year’s greeting email was apparently sent on his behalf to his counterparts in Israel.
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By Duncan Mackay
January 2 – Construction on a new multi-million pound 60,000-capacity stadium to replace Anfield is expected to begin in April, the Leader of Liverpool City Council has claimed.
By Duncan Mackay
January 2 – Bristol City have dropped plans to build a housing estate in the shadow of their new £92 million 44,000-capacity stadium at Ashton Vale in the hope that the scheme will get the go-ahead so that they can host matches if England’s bid to stage the 2018 World Cup is successful.
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January 2 – Thierry Henry’s notorious handball offence against Ireland has done little to diminish his popularity among French sports fans.
January 2 – A Manchester MP has claimed that taxpayers should not have to pay anything towards the city hosting World Cup matches if England’s bid to stage the tournament in 2018 is successful.