Totolotek stakes sponsorship money on growth of Poland’s Gornik Zabrze
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
May 20 – Gornik Zabrze has signed a two-year sponsorship deal with betting operator Totolotek who will become the Polish club’s new main sponsor.
Author: Paul Nicholson
Brazil races towards stadium handover day, as FIFA chiefs set up camp
By Andrew Warshaw
May 20 – FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has arrived in Brazil for the final time to oversee the run-up to the start of the World Cup, saying he expects “busy days ahead” to make sure everything is ready on time. Valcke arrived 24 hours after Brazil held the last two test events at its delayed stadiums, notably at the Sao Paulo venue that will host the opening game, and will visit all 12 host cities one last time “to see that the finishing touches”
Qataris release more detail of Al Wakrah Stadium schedule
May 20 – Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers have announced the second phase of construction at Al Wakrah, the first of the proposed venues to stage the finals. Last week the Qataris announced sweeping changes to their own labour laws though there was still criticism from pressure groups that they hadn’t gone far enough.
CSKA pulls out of public listing as share sale falls flat
By Alexander Krassimirov
May 20 – Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia has failed in its bid to become a public company listed on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. The failed IPO sold only 360,000 shares – the minimum requirement for the club to become publicly traded was 1.4 million. 3 million shares had been released for sale at the nominal price of BGN 3 (€1,5).
Cup Final blunder puts goalline technology back on the German agenda
By Andrew Warshaw
May 20 – Two months after its top clubs voted against goalline technology, the subject has moved back into the spotlight in Germany following a controversial decision in last weekend’s domestic cup final between rivals Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
54 year old Bolivian president signs first for division club Sport Boys
May 20 – In what is surely one of football’s most bizarre transfers, a first division Bolivian professional side has signed up the country’s 54-year-old president Evo Morales (pictured) to play in midfield at a reported token salary of $213 per month.
Bayern Munich supply most players to World Cup provisional squad lists
By David Owen
May 19 – German giants Bayern Munich are the club providing most players to the provisional 2014 World Cup squad lists circulated by FIFA last week. The Bundesliga champions have 18 players on FIFA’s release list, two more than Manchester United, who were comfortably the most heavily-represented Premier League club, despite their difficult 2013-14 season.
Bulgarian Cup Final chaos as fans set stand alight
By Alexander Krassimirov
May 18 – There were further scenes of crowd chaos in Bulgaria this weekend which led to the suspenison of the Bulgarian Cup Final between Botev Plovdiv and Ludogorets when the Ultras of Botev started a fire in one of the stands of the Lazur stadium in Burgas, where the final was played.
Romania’s LPF to cut teams in Liga I as it bids to boost profile
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
May 18 – The Romanian football league association, LPF, has announced plans to drop the number of teams competing in Liga 1, the top tier of the league, from the current 18 clubs to 14. The streamlined league will come into effect for the 2015/2016 season.
US to host CONCACAF 2014 Women’s Championship
May 17 – The US will host the CONCACAF Women’s Championship 2014 this Autumn. The championships also serve as the finals of the Confederation’s qualifying tournament for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015.
PSG and Man City hit hardest as UEFA serves FFP sanctions
By Andrew Warshaw
May 17 – Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain, Europe’s two Middle East-backed powerhouses with seemingly limitless funds in their quest to dominate the Continent, were brought down to earth with a jolt today when UEFA, after a week’s delay, finally announced their raft of sanctions on nine clubs deemed in breach of financial fair play (FFP) rules.
The hidden message behind Blatter’s Qatar admission
By David Owen
May 16 – “Yes, of course.” With these words, Joseph Blatter, FIFA’s President, sent social media networks into a frazzle today. What the boss of world football had done, under questioning on Swiss TV channel RTS, was acknowledge that FIFA’s decision to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup in the blazing heat of a Gulf summer was a mistake.
Ukraine FA relents to open doors for fans to Kiev v Shakhtar Cup final
By Mark Baber
May 16 – In response to protests by fans, the Ukrainian football federation (FFU) overturned its original decision to stage yesterday evening’s Cup final between Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk behind closed doors – the final being won by Kiev 2-1.
UEFA hit by death of FFP history maker Jean-Luc Dehaene
By David Owen
May 16 – The head of the UEFA body probing whether Europe’s clubs are complying with financial fair play has died, just as the ambitious programme to restore discipline to football club finances is starting to bite. Jean-Luc Dehaene, 73, a former Belgian Prime Minister and, as such, a prominent figure in European politics, was head of the investigatory chamber of UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB).
Tanzania jails four penniless Nigerian players for overstaying visas
By Mark Baber
May 16 – Four Nigerian players were imprisoned in Tanzania for overstaying their visas this week. Meanwhile Tanzanian clubs have requested they be given at least three years to reduce the numbers of foreign players to three per club.