By Paul Nicholson
September 3 – Football Benchmark, the sports research arm of accountancy and consultancy firm KPMG, has produced a new report looking at the relationship between total staff costs incurred by clubs from the ‘big five’ leagues playing in the Champions League (CL) and the cash received from UEFA’s CL distribution system in the 2011/12-2013/14 period.
By Ben Nicholson
September 3 – The North American Soccer League (NASL) is challenging the legality of the United States Soccer Federation’s (USSF) criteria change to Division 1 sanctioning. The new requirements allegedly serve as a “bait and switch” that gives preferential treatment to Major League Soccer (MLS) in violation of antitrust laws, which are laws that regulate the conduct and organisation of business corporations that seek to promote fair competition.
By Mark Baber
September 2 – With the Football Federation Australia (FFA) and Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) having failed to come to a new Collective Bargaining Arrangement (CBA) after the expiry of the previous agreement on June 30 and the FFA’s decision to terminate the Memorandum of Understanding between the FFA and PFA on August 14, 2015, the Socceroos have decided to show solidarity with their comrades by declining all commercial appearances on behalf of the FFA.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 2 – The summer transfer window may have slammed shut with the English market forking out a record £870 million as it again dominated the spending landscape but it was the moves which didn’t go through that raised eyebrows – with clubs and players alike indulging in an unsavoury blame game.
September 2 – The second edition of IFA’s Berlin breakout conference – Football’s Digital Transformation – that will be held September 10 is reporting that registrations are almost full and will close this Friday. The organisers have also released the schedule for the event.
By Paul Nicholson
September 2 – The Cayman Islands have been plunged into new football controversy and allegations of election rigging and financial irregularities. With Cayman Islands and former CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb currently being held in the US on corruption charges, back in Cayman the process of healing has been derailed.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 1 – A seven-bedroom mansion controlled by a company owned by the wife of disgraced former FIFA powerbroker Ricardo Teixeira has been sold for $9 million suggesting the Brazilian, under investigation back home for allegedly accepting millions of dollars in bribes, is no longer taking refuge in the United States.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
September 1 – The city authorities of Brno have unveiled plans to lease the Za Luzankami stadium to Verime Zbrojovce, a supporters’ association led by former footballer Petr Svancara, and, in the long-term, finance a project worth some CZK 1.5 billion (€55.5 million) to overhaul the stadium for Czech football club FC Zbrojovka Brno.
September 1 – An amateur match in Berlin descended into a mass brawl that left two people injured after fans and players from both teams exchanged anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim insults, according to German police.
September 1 – While David Beckham continues to attempt to finalise a deal to set up his new MLS team in Miami, the city’s other professional side Miami FC, due to join the second-tier NASL, has appointed former Italian international Alessandro Nesta, who made 78 appearances for his country, as its head coach.
September 1 – Organisers of Vietnam’s V-League have pledged to step up their crackdown on match-fixing after several games ended with questionable results.
By Samindra Kunti
September 1 – Goa’s Dempo Sports Club are set to be the third Indian club to drop out of the 2016 I-League. The All India Football Federation AIFF wants a roadmap to have a single national Indian league in the future and it looks like the Indian Super League (ISL) is winning the race.
By Alexander Krassimirov
September 1 – More than 60 Ultras, supporters of Bulgaria’s Lokomotiv Plovdiv, laid seige to the police station in Montana this weekend, trying to free one of their fellow fans. The fan had been arrested during the game in the Bulgarian elite league between Montana and Lokomotiv after Plovdiv Ultras tried to invade the pitch.
By Mark Baber
August 31 – The tenuous rapprochement between the two Koreas may see North and South Korea competing in a friendly for the first time in 10 years, according to an article in the English language Korea Joongang Daily, part of one of South Korea’s biggest newspaper groups.
By Paul Nicholson
August 31 – While the talk of reform in football up to this point has been generally been conducted via media statements and in federation meeting rooms, this week sees the first open discussion forum in Geneva that will look at the practical issues and potential solutions.