By Andrew Warshaw
September 4 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter says FIFA can do nothing to stop spiralling transfer fees following the world record €100 million sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid. Meanwhile FIFA TMS (Transfer Matching System), which monitors the movement of players, is reporting $3.4 billion of player sales globally this year (to September 3), a 29% uplift on 2012.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 4 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has hailed initial talks aimed at easing travel restrictions for Palestinian footballers and breaking that country’s deep divisions with Israel as “historic” and hopes to find a permanent solution by the end of the year.
By Paul Nicholson
September 3 – Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has reacted swiftly to accusations from Brazil that he has benefitted illegally from friendly matches involving the Brazilian national team. He has also confirmed that he “consulted” his friend Ricardo Teixeira on his move to Andorra, where Rosell has an agency.
By Mark Baber
September 3 – Moses Magogo has been elected unopposed as the new President of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) for the next four years, taking over from Lawrence Mulindwa who declined to seek re-election after serving for eight years.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 3 – Kosovan football authorities have written to FIFA president Sepp Blatter condemning Russia’s refusal to grant a visa to a Swiss-based Kosovan player for a recent Europa League fixture.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 3 – Despite UEFA’s financial fair play regulations, English Premier League clubs spent a record £630 million in the summer transfer window that slammed shut on Monday, according to Deloitte’s Sports Business Group. The new tally easily beat the previous record of £500 million set back in 2008, with clubs able to take advantage of the Premier League’s massive television deal without which spending would have been far lower.
By Mark Baber
September 3 – There have been calls for UEFA to intervene as the ticket office of FCK København has been cancelling ticket purchases for its forthcoming Champions League games against Juventus, Real Madrid and Galatasaray made by people with ‘foreign-sounding’ names. The clubs it is acting on “security grounds”.
September 3 – A Swedish footballer who was watching his brother play was forced to have a police escort from the ground following death threats from rival fans.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 3 – Munich has been given the nod over Berlin to bid for part of the 2020 Euro finals which are to be played across 13 venues under UEFA president Michel Platini’s unprecedented pan-Continental blueprint.
By Mark Baber
September 2 – The Oman Football Association (OFA) is to launch its first professional league, the Omantel Professional League (OPL), the with new league starting with the new season on September 13.
By Paul Nicholson
September 2 – Ricardo Teixeira, the former FIFA executive committee member and head of the Brazilian football federation (CBF) for 23 years, has applied and, according to reports, been granted residency in Andorra. The landlocked micro-state in the Pyrennees, bordered by Spain and France, does not have an extradition treaty with Brazil, effectively putting Teixeira out of the reach of any potential Brazilian court summons.
By Mark Baber
September 2 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has warned urgently against the Swiss 1:12 initiative which he says would create a real problem for football in the country and the hinder the possibility of attracting talent from abroad, in an interview with the newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 2 – The worst kept secret in football was officially rubbed-stamped on Sunday as Tottenham Hotspur’s Gareth Bale joined nine-time European champions Real Madrid on a six-year deal for a staggering world record transfer fee of €100 million (£85m).
By Andrew Warshaw
September 2 – Danny Jordaan, the public face of the 2010 World Cup who has waited patiently to fulfil his ambitions amid a myriad political manoeuvring, is one step closer to snaring the most powerful football position in his native South Africa after his one-time ally turned bitter rival, Irvin Khoza, withdrew his candidacy for the presidential election on September 28.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 2 – The landmark first meeting of the newly created FIFA Task Force set up to try and break the bitter divisions between Israel and Palestine over travel restrictions imposed in the West Bank and Gaza will be held tomorrow (September 3) at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.