By Mark Baber
August 29 – Epson has agreed a three-year sponsorship worth S$1 million with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS). The partnership was launched at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday and sees the printer and projector manufacturer supporting the match-day experience of fans, the development of strategy for coaches and youth development.
By Mark Baber
August 28 – The All India Football Federation (AIFF) Club Licensing Committee First Instance Body (FIB) meeting in Dwarka decided yeserday to give a one-time exemption for the National Club License to all 12 clubs for the upcoming 2013-14 football season, enabling the league to go-ahead as planned.
August 27 – Australia has become a full member the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), which represents south-east Asia, the latest move in the country’s efforts to secure complete integration into Asian football.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 21 – In a deeply symbolic match, hailed by FIFA as a major sporting breakthrough, Afghanistan beat neighbours Pakistan 3-0 on Tuesday, the first international game played in Kabul in a decade and the first between the two countries in the Afghan capital for over 30 years.
By Mark Baber
August 19 – Indian club football has been thrown into chaos with all its I-League clubs failing to pass the club licensing test – leaving the league without a single eligible club. At the same time the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and their sponsors IMG-Reliance are continuing their drive to emulate the success of Indian cricket by restructuring football including setting up a new tournament and new franchise clubs.
August 19 – FIFA are hailing this week’s international friendly between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the start of the second edition of the Afghan Premier League (APL) two days later as major milestones in the recent history of Afghan football. Tuesday’s landmark friendly in Kabul is the first such fixture in Afghanistan since 2003, when the host nation played Turkmenistan, and is expected to be a full house.
By Mark Baber
August 16 – In the face of a public relations disaster and widespread calls for sanctions from FIFA and UEFA, Israel has relented to pressure to allow youth teams to participate in the 4th West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U-16 Championship, it was announced by Jordanian and Palestinian officials today.
By Mark Baber
August 16 – The Palestinian Football Federation has demanded FIFA expel Israel from FIFA after Israel’s refusal to grant entry permits for players and officials intending to participate in the first ever international football championship to be held in Palestine.
By Paul Nicholson
August 16 – Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has added his voice to the Qatar 2022 debate saying that he is confident that Qatar will host a “magnificent” World Cup, though a statement issued via the AFC media office stops short of entering the Winter vs Summer discussion, saying he is confident that FIFA will make the best decision for all.
By Paul Nicholson
August 13 – News Corp has expanded its digital rights deals into Asia having secured the rights to show online digital clips for English Premier League matches in Japan, Vietnam and Indonesia. The rights deals mark the extension of a new strategy for the traditional print publisher which has been suffering revenue attrition at its core newspaper, especially in the UK where the group, and its majority shareholder Rupert Murdoch,
By Mark Baber
August 9 – The Australian football federation’s (FFA) move to introduce a new model for State elite-level football for Australian semi-pro clubs, one tier below the A-League, is running into difficulty in Victoria, where an alliance of clubs is seeking to make changes to the proposed licensing structure.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 9 – Asian Football Confederation President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has called for an end to sports events being targeted for political ends following the deadly bomb blast at a local football match near Karachi that killed at least eight people, several of them children, and wounded more than 24.
By Mark Baber
August 8 – A bomb blast at around 2:20am on Wednesday morning, following a football match in the Lyari district of Karachi, killed at least 11 fans, injuring many more, mostly children.
By Mark Baber
August 7 – Football Federation Australia (FFA) has appointed World Sport Group (WSG) to represent the worldwide (excluding Australia and Oceania) broadcast rights for the Australian senior men’s national team matches and the Hyundai A-League, for a further four years, until the end of the 2016/2017 season.
By Mark Baber
August 6 – With the All India Football Federation (AIFF) progressing its plans to set up the India Premier League (IPL)-style football league, the project has received a shot in the arm with Bollywood mega-star Shahrukh Khan (pictured) saying he has put off plans to buy an I-League club in favour of waiting to buy one of the new franchises.