By Andrew Warshaw
April 11 – Rio de Janeiro will definitely stage the qualifying draw for the 2014 World Cup on July 30, FIFA announced today, ending speculation that Sao Paolo or Brasilia may get the nod.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 11 – Arsenal, one of the great institutions of English football, are poised to become the latest Premier League club to fall into foreign hands after American businessman Stan Kroenke took a controlling stake in the North London club.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 11 – Jack Warner, FIFA’s longest serving vice-president, was embroiled in yet more corruption allegations today when it was claimed he asked officials of England’s World Cup 2018 bid team to consider funding an education centre in his native Trinidad and Tobago.
By Duncan Mackay
April 10 – Welsh stars Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey (pictured) will not be banned from international football if they play for Britain at London 2012, they have been assured, as the Home Nations begin to soften their stance on letting their players take part in the Olympic football tournament.
By David Gold
April 9 – UEFA has announced that it has received in excess of 12 million ticket applications for the 2012 European Championships, to be held in Ukraine and Poland.
By Andrew Warshaw at SportAccord in London
April 8 – Keith Harris, the guru of football takeovers, has warned the gap between rich and poor clubs will become even wider as a result of the current economic crisis.
By Mike Rowbottom at SportAccord in London
April 7 – Peter Kenyon, the former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive, believes the kind of bad publicity generated by Wayne Rooney’s latest public swearing outburst will inevitably cause major sponsors to reassess their options with regard to investing in individual sporting performers.
By Tom Degun at SportAccord in London
April 6 – Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson has stated that he wants to see non-English footballers, such as Gareth Bale (pictured) and Aaron Ramsey of Wales, permitted to represent Great Britain at the London 2012 Games so as to not be denied the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in a home Olympics.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 5 – Andy Anson, the public face ofEngland’s failed 2018 World Cup campaign, declined to comment today on reports that he is close to being appointed a non-executive director of the British Olympic Association (BOA).
By Andrew Warshaw in London
April 6 – English football can never embrace a winter break unless FIFA and UEFA do something about fixture congestion, the Premier League claimed today.
By David Gold
April 4 – West Ham have pledged to take seriously and investigate claims that the families of forwards Victor Obinna and Frederic Piquionne were racially abused during the 4-2 defeat to Manchester United last weekend.
By Andrew Warshaw at Sport Accord in London
April 4 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter rolled into London today but refused to give any details of his campaign to be re-elected for a fourth term of office at the head of football’s world governing body.
By David Gold
April 4 – Egypt’s Football Association President Samir Zaher has said that the country would have to reconsider the resumption of domestic football in mid April after a Champions League game in Cairo had to be abandoned after supporters invaded the pitch.
By David Gold
April 4 – William Gallas has threatened legal action if he does not receive his World Cup bonus from the French Football Federation, according to the Tottenham Hotspur player’s lawyer.
By David Gold
April 4 – Neymar has refused to apologise to Scottish supporters for claiming that he was the victim of racist abuse at the game between Scotland and Brazil on March 27, insisting that he was not pointing the finger at any particular group of fans.