July 25 – In a big turnaround, the South African Football Association (SAFA) has announced it is confident that when auditors complete their work, the 2013-14 account figures will show a profit.
July 25 – An agreement to build the first Cruyff Court, a small football pitch with artificial turf, in Leoni-Via dei Mille has been signed in Como. Called ‘Cruyff Court Stefano Borgonovo’, it is planned to showcase the goals and objectives of the two foundations: the Johan Cruyff Foundation and the Stefano Borgonovo Foundation.
July 25 – The row over the alleged racist incident that caused Patrick Viera to withdraw his Manchester City under-21 side during a match against HNK Rijeka has now prompted the Croatian Football Federation to start an investigation.
July 25 – Jamaica has stepped up to host the CONCACAF U20 championship next January. Before that the Caribbean island is hosting the finals of the CFU Men’s Caribbean Cup this November 9-18.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 24 – Dutch football authorities (KNVB) say it is far too early to discuss whether the country will take part in the 2018 World Cup in the wake of the Malaysian Airlines flight that was almost certainly shot down by Russian separatists over eastern Ukraine, killing everyone on board including 193 Dutch nationals.
July 24 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has agreed to open the latest Soccerex football business conference in Manchester in September, an appearance that is bound to generate significant interest in the wake of English FA chairman Greg Dyke’s anti-Blatter comments earlier this week.
July 24 – Croatian club HNK Rijeka have hit back strongly at Manchester City’s decision to take their players off the field because of alleged racism in an under-21 fixture in Novigrad on Tuesday.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
July 24 – Polish football clubs Jagiellonia Bialystok and Lechia Gdansk have signed deals with new technical sponsors. In the 2014/2015 season, Lechia’s squad will appear in kits provided by Germany’s Saller, which will replace Adidas, and Jagiellonia will switch from US brand Under Armour to Italian brand Errea.
July 24 – Ghana could be the latest African country to face being sanctioned by FIFA after the government announced a three-member commission to look into the activities of the national team. FIFA has written to the Ghana FA over moves to investigate the Black Stars’ poor performance on the pitch – and disputes off it – at the World Cup in Brazil.
By Paul Nicholson
July 24 – FIFA executive committee member Sonia Bien-Amie has become one of only two female presidents currently heading their national federations, the other is Sierra Leone’s Isha Johansen. Bien-Aime was elected president at the Turks & Caicos Islands Football Association (TCIFA) at the association’s AGM earlier this week. She has been general secretary of the TCIFA for the past eight years.
July 23 – In an effort to bring some order to the general chaos that is prevailing in Nigerian football, a delegation of club owners from the Nigerian Premier League have met with the Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Tamuno Danagogo (pictured) with the aim of restructuring the game in Nigeria.
July 23 – Big-spending Paris Saint-German have been ordered by UEFA to close part of their stadium as punishment for their supporters’ abuse of disabled Chelsea fans during a Champions League quarterfinal match in April. UEFA said that it had ordered a one-match closure of two parts of the Parc des Princes, “for the discriminatory conduct” of some of the French club’s supporters.
July 23 – In what many are commenting is a backward step, Brazil have as expected turned to Dunga for a second spell in charge of the national team in succession to Luiz Felipe Scolari two weeks after the 7-1 hammering by Germany in the World Cup semi-finals.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
July 23 – Croatia’s HNK Rijeka has unveiled the design of its new stadium, with works on the 14,000-seat facility expected to begin by the end of 2014, with completion of the new Kantrida stadium in 2016.
By Ben Nicholson
July 23 – Since MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced the league’s intentions to add teams until it reaches 24 competitors, various states and cities have put their foot forward in hope of bringing the top US soccer league to their area.