By Jaroslaw Adamowski
January 9 – Serbia’s Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has announced that various investors have expressed interest in the much-awaited privatisation of two of the country’s top football clubs, Red Star and Partizan Belgrade.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 9 – Key Asian football chiefs have staunchly re-iterated their support for FIFA president Sepp Blatter following young pretender Prince Ali’s announcement that he was making a bid for the FIFA throne.
January 9 – The International Sports Press Association, AIPS, has issued a damning statement condemning the terrorist attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that killed 12 people including 10 journalists.
January 9 – English third-tier club Oldham Athletic have pulled out of a deal to sign a convicted rapist in a case that has split public opinion over whether he should be allowed a second chance.
By Ben Nicholson
January 9 – Debate over the eligibility of Frank Lampard to stay playing in England at Manchester City and miss the start of the MLS season for his new club New York City (NYFC) has continued over where NYCFC stands in relation to the contractual ownership of the player. The issue has raised questions on the status and commitment of Steven Gerrard who leaves Liverpool to join LA Galaxy in July.
By Samindra Kunti
January 9 – Vasco Da Gama president Eurico Miranda has criticised the TV rights structure in Brazilian football. He opposes what he calls the elitism and ‘Hispanisation’ of the domestic game with unequal shares of TV money widening the gap between clubs.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 8 – Just days after he announced that he was taking on Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency, Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein has his first opportunity on Friday to gauge how much support he might get from within his own region.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 8 – Former England captain Steven Gerrard, the latest footballing icon to further his career in the United States, as expected has chosen Los Angeles Galaxy where David Beckham made his name in the country.
By Mark Baber
January 8 – As the numbers of new Ebola patients falls off dramatically in Liberia, with just eight new infections reported in 29 December to January 4 reporting period, the Liberian Football Federation has announced the resumption of competitive matches “with immediate effect,” marking a major milestone in the impoverished country’s struggle against the deadly disease which has killed at least 3,471 people in Liberia.
January 8 – Barcelona have been quick to dispel reports that Lionel Messi is unhappy with the way the club is being run and could be on his way out of the Nou Camp.
January 8 – Despite fierce opposition from fans and the general public and a number of sponsors threatening to pull out in protest, an English lower-league club appears on the verge of offering a contract to a convicted rapist who has served a jail sentence.
By Alexander Krassimirov
January 8 – Grisha Ganchev (pictured), a member of the Bulgarian Football Union executive committee and owner of Bulgaria’s Litex Lovech is facing court charges, one of which names him as the leader of an organised crime syndicate.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
January 7 – Carlo Tavecchio, the president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), has continued to promote his plans for a reformed Italian league structure that would see both Serie A and B decrease from 20 to 18 teams.
January 7 – The tickets were quickly snapped up but the game never took place. When tiny Accrington Stanley, dubbed in England as the club that would never die after being saved from extinction, had a chance to play mighty Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup, tickets sold out in 36 hours.
January 7 – Scottish giants Rangers, striving to edge slowly back to the top flight of domestic football after being totally revamped and starting again in the lower leagues because of soaring debts, have assured the authorities and their followers that they are not heading back into the abyss despite ongoing financial troubles.