By Andrew Warshaw
January 8 – Football’s crackdown on match-fixing has now spread to Hong Kong where authorities also plan to introduce tougher measures to check the financial background of club directors ahead of the new domestic Premier League in September.
January 7 – Premier League club Liverpool have taken another step to expand their links with India, with the signing of a regional sponsorship with smart mobile device brand XOLO. This follows an agreement at the end of last year which sees Liverpool open its first academy in partnership with local team DSK Shivajians FC in Pune.
January 3 – Violence between fans of Australia’s Melbourne Victory and Western Sydney Wanderers has triggered the Football Federation Australia (FFA) into action, with both clubs being charged with bringing the game into disrepute.
By Paul Nicholson
January 3 – Europe’s giant clubs aren’t heading for the alpine ski slopes for their winter break but to the warmer climate of the Middle East for preparation for the second half of their seasons. French champions and league leaders Paris St Germain are already in Doha, Qatar, and last night played a friendly against Spain’s Real Madrid (Madrid won 1-0) in front of a 45,000 capacity crowd at Aspire’s Khalfa Stadium. Bayern leave for Qatar at the weekend.
By Paul Nicholson
January 3 – The UAE Pro League Committee has renewed its sponsorship with the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. ADIB will be its exclusive and official bank of the league and UAW Pro League’s other competitions.
December 23 – Malaysian authorities have imposed lifetime bans on five players and three officials for match-fixing in their domestic league.
By Paul Nicholson
December 11 – Chinese brewer Tsingtao has become the first Chinese brand to sign a deal with the Asian Football Confederation. In a three-year tie-up, starting 2014, the Tsingtao brewery will sponsor the AFC’s club competitions.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 9 – A German second division club has terminated its advertising contract with Saudi Arabia’s state-owned airline following reports that it refuses to fly Israeli citizens.
By David Owen
December 6 – Qatar has extended its imprint into one of the backwaters of world football, with the announcement that Ooredoo, the renamed Qatar Telecom, is becoming the official partner of the Myanmar Football Federation (MFF).
By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
December 3 – China’s status as the world’s most potent growth market has led to a new accord between the Premier League and the game’s authorities in the vast Asian country – brokered by a delegation led by British Prime Minister David Cameron.
November 27 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Executive Committee has approved the format for the AFC Champions League for the next three seasons, with the continuation of the Final being played on a home and away basis.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 27 – In an address to the Asian Football Confederation at its awards ceremony dinner in Malaysia, FIFA President Sepp Blatter rounded on the international media, “and especially European media”, for constantly undermining 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar.
November 27- Norway’s government has stepped up its involvement in helping football ease the plight of Syrian refugees who have fled to Jordan. Foreign Minister Børge Brende this week inaugurated the Norway Football Field for Girls at the Za’atari Syrian refugee camp in Northern Jordan and checked on progress of the second Norway Football Field in Za’atari that is set to be complete next month.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 27 – The Asian Football Confederation has put its full force behind Palestine’s efforts to achieve free movement of players, officials and equipment.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 21 – The Asian Football Confederation, part of whose territory is home to the illegal betting rings organising the global match-fixing epidemic, has taken on fraud detection experts Sportradar in the fight against the criminal gangs responsible.