Bastia ban fan for monkey chants after Balotelli protests
January 25 – French club Bastia have banned a supporter who made monkey chants at Nice’s Italian striker Mario Balotelli during last Friday’s Ligue 1 match.
World Football
Real Madrid and Barca lead all-time Champions League standings, Bayern and Man Utd follow
January 25 – Who are the all-time champions of Europe? Not surprisingly it is the two Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona who lead the ranking, with Real edging ahead but only by five points over the 25 years of Champions League competition.
San Diego group sets sights on MLS franchise unveiling site plan for $200m stadium
January 26 – San Diego, which is pitching for a franchise in the expanding MLS, could be getting a 20-30,000 capacity new stadium costing $200 million as part of $1 billion redevelopment of the Qualcomm Stadium property.
Ivory Coast crash out as AFCON still looks to ignite a Gabonese passion for football
By Samindra Kunti
January 25 – Ivory Coast’s title defence came to an end at the 2017 African Cup of Nations in Gabon after a 1-0 defeat to Morocco in the final round of Group C games. In a tournament that has thrown up some unpredictable results, the interest and attendance of fans has been low except for Gabon games, but they have also now exited the tournament.
CAS rules against Serbian appeal, leaving Kosovo clear to continue play
January 25 – Serbia’s appeal against Kosovo becoming a member of UEFA has been rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, finally paving the way for the breakaway state to persue its footballing ambitions without interference from Big Brother.
Out in the cold. Southend sack groundsman over frozen pitch
January 25 – A lower-league English club has taken the rare step of sacking its head groundsman of 27 years – not because of anything to do with team but after a match was postponed because of a frozen pitch.
CFU issues warning saying CONCACAF breakaway talk is premature
By Paul Nicholson
January 24 – Talks of a Caribbean breakaway from regional confederation CONCACAF are premature, and there has been no recommendation tabled for a split, said the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in response to Insideworldfootball’s story on discussion allegedly held at a CFU executive committee meeting at the weekend.
Expanded Copa Libertadores kicks off without Mexican clubs and a long route to the final
By Samindra Kunti
January 24 – The revamped Copa Libertadores kicked off yesterday with qualifying across South America, but question marks remain over the tournament’s expanded new format.
CONCACAF rejigs Champions League and opens up with new regional tournament
January 24 – CONCACAF has added a new international club competition and revamped its Champions League format to bring it into a single calendar season for clubs, rather than spanning two seasons currently.
Hackers break into CAF website in protest against Gabon hosting AFCON
January 24 – The Confederation of African Football has taken action to protect its website after it was hacked by a Russian group protesting at the African Cup of Nations being staged in Gabon where President Ali Bongo Ondimba retained power in disputed and violent elections last year.
Caribbean opens talks on CONCACAF breakaway
By Paul Nicholson
January 23 – FIFA could be facing the request for the formation of a seventh confederation after an executive committee meeting of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in Miami at the weekend agreed to explore the prospects for a breakaway of the 31 Caribbean nations from the 41-member CONCACAF confederation.
CONCACAF keeps control of Caribbean Club Championship as dates announced
January 23 – The dates and venues for the 2017 Caribbean Club Championship have been set for February – March 2017. Five groups of four teams will compete for the final tournament scheduled to be played May 13-21.
Gabon agonisingly exit AFCON as poor pitches draw injuries and criticism
By Samindra Kunti
January 23 – Despite being unbeaten, Gabon became only the fourth hosts in history to exit the Africa Cup of Nations at the group stage – and the first for 23 years – as concerns continue to mount over the state of pitches at Africa’s flagship event.
Chapecoense start emotional return to play with Palmeiras friendly
January 23 – In emotional scenes, some 20,000 fans, including families of the victims, turned out last Saturday as Brazil’s Chapecoense played their first match since most of their players were killed in that tragic air crash in Colombia in late November.
Senegal set AFCON pace as Algeria and Ivory Coast stumble
By Samindra Kent
January 20 – Senegal are the first team to progress to the quarter-finals of the 2017 African Cup of Nations after a commanding 2-0 win against Zimbabwe. The fortunes of favorites Algeria took a dent following a surprise defeat against rivals Tunisia.