By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
May 13 – The controversial appointment of a North Korean woman to serve at the top table of Asian football is being viewed in some quarters with considerable scepticism and a backward step in terms of bringing openness and transparency back to the troubled Continent.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 13 – Despite a recent crackdown on racism by football’s governing bodies, Sunday’s high-profile Serie A clash between AC Milan and Roma was halted because of abusive chanting by fans. Play was stopped by the referee for about two minutes at the start of the second half after chants were aimed at Milan’s black players from visiting Roma fans.
In 2004-05, the most profitable club in the Premier League was unfashionable Everton.
How did Merseyside’s second club outperform more illustrious rivals such as Arsenal and Manchester United, let alone Chelsea, which ran up a £140 million pre-tax loss on the way to lifting the Premier League title?
Four words: they sold Wayne Rooney, the teenage prodigy who had made Europe sit up and take notice at Euro 2004.
This simple fact reminds us of how long the careers of Rooney and David Moyes,
By Mark Baber
May 10 – The Ugandan Cabinet on Wednesday resolved to step into the dispute between the Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) and the Uganda Super League Ltd (USLL) and disband the two national leagues (FSL and USL) in favour of a new Uganda Premier League (UPL) which will kick off at the start of the 2013/14 season.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 10 – Telecom giants BT have vowed to “give football back to the nation” by announcing that Premier League games will be offered free to its broadband customers next season in a revolutionary move that has taken the broadcasting world by storm.
By Mark Baber
May 10 – Football Kenya Federation has made an appeal for at least 200 million shillings to support the Harambee Stars and enable them to fulfil this year’s fixtures, including world cup qualifiers.
By Alex O’Loughlin
May 10 – The five children of Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano (pictured with Ronaldo) have filed an injunction seeking to stop him marrying a Costa Rican woman 50 years his junior.
By Paul Nicholson
May 10 – FIFA’s top brass and the three CEO’s of the 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cup organising committees are among the headliners for the FT/IFA one-day conference at the Copacabana Palace Hotel, Rio de Janeiro, June 17. With five weeks to go the speaker line-up for Rio is taking a star-studded shape.
By Monica Villar
May 10 – Sevilla president José María del Nido has again spoken out against the LFP, blaming the league for creating the economic difficulties Spanish clubs now face.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 9 – As widely anticipated, David Moyes was appointment Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor today as manager of Manchester United and handed a six-year contract to take over on July 1. The highly respected Moyes, who leaves Everton after 11 years in charge, was the retiring Ferguson’s personal recommendation.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 9 – Of all the present and former greats who have paid tribute to Sir Alex Ferguson in the past 24 hours following the announcement that he is stepping down after 26 years as Manchester United manager, few have Fergie in their hearts as much as United legend Denis Law.
By Monica Villar
May 9 – Sporting Clube de Portugal President Bruno de Carvalho has struck out at players agents and representatives after newspapers published reports regarding his team’s squad.
By Mark Baber
May 9 – The game between Bayern and Borussia Dortmund on May 25 at Wembley Stadium is the game every German football fan wants to get tickets for – an all-German final of the Champions League!
By Mark Baber
May 9 – The Pakistan Football Federation have signed a long term strategic partnership with Forward Sports International who will become the ‘Uniform, Kit and Gear’ sponsors of Pakistan Football.
By Paul Nicholson
May 9 – The holy grail of how to monetise large Facebook groups has taken a step closer with the launch of a social ticketing application, SitNearMe. A Facebook app that sits within the Facebook canvas.