By Paul Nicholson
January 22 – Cracks are beginning to appear over UEFA’s supposedly unified stance behind Gianni Infantino’s bid to become FIFA president as a result of his €500,000 campaign fund – understood to be hard cash budgeted for his political push that doesn’t include other costs for campaign services provided by UEFA.
January 22 – Almost half of the top 20 highest-earning football clubs in the world play in the Premier League, further evidence – if ever it was needed – of where the commercial clout lies.
By David Owen
January 22 – England’s Football Association (FA) has reported a loss and a reduction in turnover for its financial year ended July 31. The £9.3 million pre-tax loss was attributable partly to £10.4 million of restructuring/reorganisation costs, which in turn included £6.7 million of redundancy costs.
January 21 – The tax trial of world player of the year Lionel Messi and his father has been set for May 31-June 3 but clashes with the start of the centennial Copa America taking place in the United States with the strong possibility that Argentina’s Barcelona star may not make it in time for his country’s opening game.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 21 – UEFA’s refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina has given his personal backing for using goal-line technology in European competitions, starting with next summer’s Euros.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 21 – Italian football has a history of discrimination issues but it isn’t every day an incident involves a strongly-worded spat between two top-flight coaches.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 21 – Gianni Infantino has been given a boost ahead of UEFA’s two-day executive committee meeting that began today by receiving the backing of the German FA in his bid to become FIFA president.
By Mark Baber
January 20 – The final report from the UK Expert Working Group on Football Supporter Ownership and Engagement was published yesterday, setting out recommendations for what more can be done to encourage greater engagement between supporters and those that run their club, while also helping to remove barriers to supporter ownership, when such opportunities arise for credible supporters’ trusts to bid to own their club.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 20 – As UEFA’s top brass prepare to convene at their Swiss headquarters this week amidst the fallout from Michel Platini’s ban, the head of one of Europe’s smallest federations has blown open the divisions and uncertainty afflicting European football’s governing body.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 19 – FIFA presidential candidate Gianni Infantino is confident Caribbean support can push him over the line when he contests the election on February 26.
By Mark Baber
January 19 – Audit firm Deloitte Global predicts that the European football market may generate $30 billion (€27 billion) in revenues in 2016/2017, an $8 billion (€7 billion) increase relative to 2011/2012, and a compound annual growth rate of seven percent.
January 19 – Stoke City are the most ‘efficient’ team in Europe’s Big 5 leagues, according to the latest data from the CIES Football Observatory. PSG are beaten into third place in the ranking by Villareal, while Manchester United are placed fifth.
January 12 – Bolton Wanderers, one of the most iconic names in English football, have been given a stay of execution by avoiding an immediate winding-up order.
January 19 – Hull City, Panathinaikos and Sporting Lisbon have all settled their financial fair play issues with UEFA but Galatasaray have failed to comply with break-even rules and have been referred to the governing body’s adjudicatory chamber.
By Paul Nicholson
January 19 – The US investigation into money laundering by South American football officials has gained a wider perspective as news has broken that one of the senior bankers at Swiss bank Julius Baer has been in US custody since the autumn.