By Mark Baber
January 29 – The sponsorship by in Real Madrid by Abu Dhabi through the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) will result in the stadium including the words “Abu Dhabi” in its name, according to comments made to the media by IPIC officials in Madrid. The stadium will be named the Abu Dhabi Bernabéu.
January 29 – The respective coaches of Mali and Guinea have criticised the drawing of lots to decide which of them progresses in the Africa Cup of Nations.
January 29 – The Sierra Leone government is backing the country’s present football regime against the threat of a takeover by a rebel group pushing for change.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 29 – FIFA presidential candidate Michael van Praag has spelled out precisely why he is challenging Sepp Blatter and has named the federations who are backing his nomination.
By David Owen
January 29 – It has blossomed into the most densely-populated FIFA Presidential election for at least four decades. Yet for all the big names and razzmatazz it remains, to all intents and purposes, a one-horse race.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 28 – Harold Mayne-Nicholls became the first prospective FIFA presidential candidate to pull of the race to take on Sepp Blatter today – 24 before the deadline for nominations. On the same day Portuguese icon Luis Figo announced his was standing, Mayne-Nicholls told a televised news conference that he had decided against doing the same because he simply didn’t have the necessary credentials.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 28 – Portuguese icon Luis Figo today become the latest surprise candidate – and the second ex- international player – to throw his hat into the ring to become FIFA president. The former Sporting, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan forward joins ex-French international David Ginola, very much a token contender, in a bid to replace Sepp Blatter at the end of May.
By Mark Baber
January 28 – Barcelona president Jorep Maria Bartomeu has told Catalan media that the club is considering alternatives to their kit deal with the Qatar Foundation over the worsening “social and political situation” in the Gulf state.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 28 – FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein has reacted with deliberate diplomacy to this week’s announcement by Dutch football chief Michael van Praag that he, too, is vying to take over from Sepp Blatter in May.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 28 – The international players’ union FIFPro is holding a crisis session of its members in Greece today and tomorrow after negotiations to overhaul the transfer system broke down.
January 28 – African countries, keen to maintain the level of developments funding they receive, will remain steadfastly behind Sepp Blatter in the forthcoming FIFA presidential election campaign.
By Samindra Kunti
January 28 – Nasser Al-Khater, the executive director of communications and marketing at the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee repeated his confidence that Qatar will host a good World Cup in 2022, whether it is in the winter or summer. He also rebuffed all criticism aimed at the Emirate, saying it is time to move on.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
January 28 – Legia Warsaw has collected €2 million from a group of investors with the aim of financing new transfers in the current window. The Polish club aims to repay its investors with the profits which are to be generated once the footballers are transferred to other clubs, according to Dariusz Mioduski (pictured), the majority shareholder of Legia Warsaw.
January 28 – Computer game maker Nordeus has released the 2015 version of its Top Eleven football management game for tablets, iOS and android platforms. The new version has a number of upgrades from 2014 and comes with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho’s marketing endorsement.
January 28 – UEFA is building its Champions League brand value in the Middle East with the opening of a number of UEFA Champions League Experience concept stores. The first store is scheduled to open in May in the United Arab Emirates in Yas Mall on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.