By Paul Nicholson
September 25 – The weekly Twitter growth table saw a number of changes in ranking this week as Chelsea dropped to fourth behind Liverpool who took third slot. Manchester United continue to dominate weekly growth with one tweet this week being retweeted 14,000 times- that is 1,500 more retweets than Manchester City – in fifth place in the table – gained in new followers.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 25 – Away from UEFA territory where he could have been accused of opportunism, Michel Platini has given his first thoughts on running for FIFA president.
By Samindra Kunti
September 25 – Deep into the second half of Saudi Arabia’s World Cup qualifier away to Malaysia in September, the Ultras Malaya, a group of hot-headed home supporters, threw flares and fireworks on to the pitch of the Shah Alam Stadium in Selangor, a province on Malaysia’s east coast. Smoke rapidly began to fill the ground and left referee Liu Kwak Man from Hong Kong with little choice but to abandon the game.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 25 – FIFA has agreed to give Swiss investigators access to the email accounts of the organisation’s suspended general secretary Jerome Valcke.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 25 – As FIFA moved into the second of its two-day executive committee meeting, embattled outgoing president Sepp Blatter, desperate to leave a positive legacy when he steps down in February, has urged his members to approve the reform process that would kick in after his 18-year tenure ends.
By Mark Baber
September 24 – With the format of the Football Kenya Federation elections having been set, Sammy Sholei (pictured), who just last month had has six-year suspension from football annulled, has announced his candidature for the post of President.
September 24 – Social media sites are still buzzing with the sheer incredulity of it all. Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski was already regarded as one of Europe’s most dangerous strikers but even he could not have anticipated what would happen when he stepped off the bench at half-time against Wolfsburg on Tuesday.
September 24 – Following a successful collaboration last year, the Qatar-based International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) has announced it will once again work with the Indian Super League (ISL) to safeguard the integrity of the league for the 2015 season.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 24 – Just as its executive committee began its latest session in what must be a distinctly uneasy atmosphere, FIFA have been asked by Swiss prosecutors to provide access to email accounts of suspended general secretary Jerome Valcke.
By Samindra Kunti
September 24 – Brazilian club Corinthians have entered into a new partnership with social media network Twitter. At the same time Corinthians are set to break the one million fan attendance mark this season.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 23 – Yet another of those arrested in Switzerland back in May as part of the FBI probe into widespread fraud is a step closer to facing justice in the US.
By Paul Nicholson
September 24 – The war on match-fixing and match-fixers requires a greater and more joined-up global co-operation and co-ordination, was the core message coming out of the UNESCO-ICSS MINEPS V meeting that concluded in Qatar last week.
By Samindra Kunti
September 24 – Brazil and FC Barcelona star Neymar has signed new personal sponsorship deals with Gillette in Latin America and Replay.
By Paul Nicholson
September 24 – Sylvia Schenk, the former German athlete and lawyer who leads the Sport working group of the Sport and Rights Alliance has said that Qataris have a “right to catapult themselves into modernity and I find it a very exciting development”, Referring to the programme of labour reform that Qatar has begun, she said that the “World Cup can be an accelerator for change beyond the infrastructure”.
By Tom Parsons
September 24 – Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has agreed a deal to become a regular analyst on China’s Sina Sports network where he will link up with current pundits Carlo Ancelotti and Michael Owen.