February 16 – The US will host the 2016 Olympic qualifying competition for the CONCACAF region this October 1-13. Eight teams will battle for two automatic qualification spots and a play-off against Colombia for a further entry to the Rio 2016 games.
By Alexander Krassimirov
February 13 – The UEFA Appeals Body has changed the punishment handed out to Bulgaria following the behaviour of fans during the European qualifier against Croatia in October 2014. Four blocks of the National Stadium Vasil Levski will now be closed for the country’s next home game against Italy on March 28.
By Mark Baber
February 12 – New Parma president Giampietro Manenti, chief executive of the Mapi Group which bought Parma for 1 Euro earlier this week, is confident the club can meet its obligations and pay off all its debts by the end of this month. Damiano Tommasi, president of the Italian footballer’s union the AIC, on the other hand, thinks it is unlikely the debt can be paid and is concerned for the welfare of the players.
February 13 – Russia’ First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, in response to the falling value of the ruble and the increased cost on imported materials, has ordered a review of the supply chain for the infrastructure construction for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
February 13 – The top tier of Portugal’s football league has been renamed the Liga NOS for the next 3.5 years under a new sponsorship signed between the Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP) and local media company NOS.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 13 – Rangers goalkeeper Steve Simonsen has been banned for two games, with one of them suspended, after being found guilty of betting on no fewer than 55 matches. The suspension is the latest blow for the beleaguered Scottish giants.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 13 – When Manchester United drafted in Louis van Gaal as manager after their embarrassing seventh-place Premier League finish last May, there was one over-riding priority: to get back into the Champions League.
February 13 – Liverpool have added to their sponsorship roster with the announcement of NIVEA MEN as the Club’s Official Men’s Grooming Partner, the club’s first sponsor in this category.
By David Owen
February 12 – FIFA has completed deals selling media rights for the 2026 World Cup in the key United States and Canadian markets. The deals give exclusive broadcast rights to FIFA competitions between 2023 and 2026 in the US to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox and NBCUniversal’s Telemundo, and in Canada to CTV/TSN.
By Paul Nicholson
12 February – Arsenal top the Premier League table of official club Twitter followers with Chelsea close behind. But when it comes to clubs who are working hardest on the their social media, Manchester City top the league in terms of most tweets made, while Manchester United – who trumpet more than 640 million fans worldwide – come rock bottom of the ranking in 20th place, just below Stoke City.
By David Owen
February 12 – FIFA and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Organising Committee are at odds over whether the Amazonian city of Manaus would make a suitable venue for next year’s Olympic football tournament.
By Paul Nicholson
February 12 – As many as 1% of sports events could be the subject of betting-related match-fixing, according to leading sports betting monitoring services firm Sportradar. That most likely includes football, the figure could be higher.
By Jamie Styles
February 12 – Scotland could see an unlikely winner of January’s Goal of the Month competition, with a young Celtic fan with Down’s Syndrome among the nominees.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 12 – Moroccan football authorities have come out fighting by refusing to accept the sanctions imposed on them by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for pulling out of hosting the recent Africa Cup of Nations.
February 12 – Paris St Germain and Sao Paulo will head into the Al Kass International Cup semi-finals to face Arsenal and AC Milan this Friday. Real Madrid crashed out losing by a goal to the Brazilians while the stylish defending champions Aspire International from Qatar were knocked out in a return to form by the French.