January 14 – England’s national team in 2015 was the youngest in European football, Scotland’s was the oldest, Serbia’s was the tallest and Chile have the shortest players, according to a data study compiled from the profiles of 50 national squads.
By Mark Baber
January 13 – Plans by the Premier League to rebrand their logo by removing the lion, as soon as their lucrative sponsorship deal with Barclays Bank comes to an end, have been compared by fans on Twitter to the death the well-loved Zimbabwean lion Cecil.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 13 – In an unpredecented move, FIFA has fired Jerome Valcke for the second time, finally bringing the curtain down on the career of its general secretary who for years took on the mantle of the organisation’s most senior day-to-day administrator and astute troubleshooter.
January 13 – FIFA will open the doors to its World Football Museum to the general public on February 28, two days after the world governing body has elected a new president.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 13 – He may only be standing for FIFA president by default but Gianni Infantino nevertheless believes he is the right man to lead the organisation into a new era of transparency and credibility.
January 13 – Police in Guatemala have arrested a former head of the country’s FA who has been on the run since being caught up in the US probe into football corruption.
January 13 – Supporting Liverpool is clearly an emotional experience as the club agonisingly battles to return to former domestic glories and trophies. In a city that wears its emotions very high on its sleeve, Kopites now can add a LFC emoticon to their Skype communications following a new partnership.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 13 – In a move that could have potential repercussions in the forthcoming FIFA presidential election, Kuwait’s government has announced it is suing a number of top sports executives, among them FIFA executive committee member Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah, accusing them of causing the suspension of the Gulf state from global sporting competition.
By David Owen
January 13 – Further evidence of mounting Chinese interest in football has been published in the shape of analysis of match attendances by the sports practice of KPMG, the global audit, tax and advisory services network.
By Paul Nicholson
January 12 – The daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators have been given permission to continue operations following a decision by a panel of four judges from the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court to grant a further stay while a case against DraftKings and FanDuel is being reviewed.
By Mark Baber
January 12 – Paris Saint-Germain have sent a legal letter demanding Sri Lankan-British rapper MIA takes down the video for her new song ‘Borders’ as it features the singer wearing a PSG shirt modified to read “Fly Pirates” instead of “Fly Emirates”.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 12 – Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, fighting to clear their names, could end up being banned foreven longer than eight years.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 12 – A proposed live television debate featuring the five FIFA presidential candidates has been scrapped because only two of them were able to accept an invitation to take part.
January 12 – La Liga’s Granada has become the latest Spanish club rumoured to be the focus of Chinese investment interest. While back in China, Super League club FC Shijiazhuang Ever Bright has reportedly sold 50% to investment group Hebei Hongsong.
January 12 – Amidst all the usual glitz and glamour and the emphasis on business as usual, two men were conspicuous by their absence at the annual Ballon d’Or award ceremony on Monday night.