By Andrew Warshaw
September 2 – Legia Warsaw are in trouble again with UEFA, this time for their fans provocatively maintaining their protest against being kicked out of the Champions League for accidentally fielding an ineligible player for a mere couple of minutes at the end of a tie they had already won handsomely.
September 2 – Finding accommodation at affordable prices at World Cups can often be more of a challenge for fans than buying tickets. Russia 2018 may have found a solution with the Snoozebox Football Village that is planned for Saransk.
By Paul Nicholson
September 2 – Russia’s Gazprom is reported to be the most likely buyer of Serbian club Crvena Zvezda FC (Red Star Belgrade). Gazprom is owner of Zenit St Petersburg (acquired in 2005) and a major sponsor of the UEFA Champions League.
By Alexander Krassimirov
September 1 – Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad will play its home games in the Champions League at the National Stadium Vasil Levski in Sofia, according to a club announcement.
By Mark Baber
September 1 – Following the farcical events of last week, FIFA have rejected the controversial ‘election’ of Chris Giwa (pictured) as the new president of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) and warned that Nigeria could be banned by Tuesday if he does not vacate the post by midnight tonight.
September 1 – Despite frenetic transfer activity in the final few hours of the summer window, the fact that many of the major deals are loans reflects UEFA’s financial fair play rules which Michel Platini says are having the desired effect.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 1 – UEFA look set to change the format for seeding clubs in the Champions League to avoid the totally unsatisfactory situation of domestic champions being ranked lower than other clubs from the same country.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 1 – The complications of a criminal case back home plus a thorny example of the pitfalls that come with third-party ownership (TPO) appear to have combined to hold up Manchester United’s £16 million purchase of Argentine World Cup star Marcos Rojo.
September 1 – Northern Ireland Premiership club Linfield have been fined €15,000 for breaching UEFA rules over standing areas. The punishment relates to the Belfast side’s home game against Swedes AIK Solna in the Europa League on July 17.
September 1 – MLS’ Sporting KC has announced a formal partnership with Brazil’s Fluminense FC. The two clubs will share philosophies, marketing strategies, business practices, and players too.
August 31 – IMG has picked up international TV sales distribution rights to a package of CONCACAF championships in 2015, including the Gold Cup and the Champions’ League. The deal will see IMG sell the rights in all territories outside of the CONCACAF region.
By Mark Baber
August 29 – Following last week’s admission by Libya that is would be impossible for them to host the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017, a surprising number of countries have expressed interest in hosting the tournament, with bids due to be submitted by the end of September.
By Andrew Warshaw in Monaco
August 29 – UEFA president Michel Platini says he will not allow Africa or Asia to take a World Cup place away from Europe as long as he is in charge of European football.
By Paul Nicholson
August 28 – Russia is poised to embark on a programme of football reform in a bid to improve the standard and competitiveness of its national team and club sides in advance of the 2018 World Cup. The proposals include quotas on overseas players – called legionnaires in the draft bill – as well as regulation of how clubs spend their cash.
By Mark Baber
August 28 – Players who cancel their contracts and move to a new club are frequently being caught up paperwork that prevents them actually playing for their new club while they wait for an International Transfer Certificate (ITC) to be issued. Delays can be long as national association refuse to deliver the ITC on the instructions of the former club, creating difficulties in registering the player with his new club and thus impeding his right to play.