Barca chief Rosell defends new child ticket charges
By Gareth Messenger
October 17 – Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has backed his decision to start charging under-sevens for entrance to games at the Camp Nou.
World Football
UAE U17 World Cup kicks off…and there are no issues
By Andrew Warshaw
17 October – Amidst all the hullaballoo over the 2022 Qatar World Cup, a younger version of football’s biggest global jamboree was set to begin in the Gulf today (Thursday), almost unnoticed outside the region itself. The under-17 World Cup is being staged in six venues by one of Qatar’s neighbours, the United Arab Emirates, with little controversy and hardly any hot air – metaphorically speaking.
Sexwale to open landmark CONCACAF summit
October 16 – The landmark CONCACAF summit in the Cayman Islands next week (October 21-22) will kick off with an address by South African freedom fighter and football supporter Tokyo Sexwale (pictured) at a dinner hosted by president Jeffrey Webb.
Bernabeu to get a facelift as Real Madrid put naming rights on sale
By Mark Baber
October 16 – Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has revealed that a decision will be made on which project gets the go ahead for the planned refurbishment of the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu by the end of October, with the club now looking to find a sponsor to add their name to the stadium.
New owners at Inter as Moratti brings in Indonesian money
By Andrew Warshaw
October 16 – Inter Milan, winners of 18 Italian league titles, have become the latest iconic European club to be taken over by foreign investors. A trio of Indonesian businessmen led by media tycoon Erick Thohir have bought a 70% stake in the Serie A giants.
Zambia protest to FIFA after Congolese club refuses to release players
By Andrew Warshaw
Ocotber 16 – Zambian football has been plunged into a bizarre footballing dispute after three international players refused to travel with the national squad ahead of a 2-0 friendly defeat by Brazil in neutral China.
Murdoch in five-year deal to take Bundesliga to the world
By Mark Baber
October 16 – The DFL (German League Association) and Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox have agreed a new broadcast deal which will take the Bundesliga to more than 80 TV markets including Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, all of North and Latin America and much of Asia from the start of the 2015/16 season.
Crowdfunding comes to Kettering’s rescue
By David Owen
October 16 – A 141-year-old English football club may have been saved from closure thanks in part to the generosity of fans from as far afield as Iceland and Vietnam.
Chaos in Addis Ababa as Nigerians sack officials and team attacked
By Mark Baber
October 15 – Shortly before the first leg of their World Cup play-off against Ethiopia the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) banned former secretary general, Taiwo Ogunjobi, and the immediate past chairman of the Nigeria Premier League (NPL), Victor Rumson Baribote, for 10 and 15 years respectively from any football related activity.
Balotelli supported by the Italian FA in face of ‘excessive’ media pressure
By Mark Baber
October 15 – After a clash with paparazzi in Naples, Mario Balotelli has been defended by the Italian FA after journalists used the incident to spark a storm of criticism against the Milan striker.
Bulgarian club hits rock bottom but players agree to play on unpaid
By Alexander Krassimirov
October 15- The players of Bulgarian first division club Neftohimic Burgas have agreed to play without wages in an attempt to save the club from bankruptcy.
French protest playoff seedings after dropping down the rankings
By Andrew Warshaw
October 15 – As the World Cup qualifying programme reaches a nail-biting climax, a row has broken out over the seeding system being used for next week’s playoff draw.
FIFA extends El Salvador match-fixing bans worldwide
By Andrew Warshaw
October 15 – In the most damaging case of match-fixing ever to strike at the heart of central American football, FIFA has extended worldwide the lifetime bans imposed last month by the El Salvador federation on 14 of its current and past senior internationals.
Rosell trumpets record revenue and reduced debt at Barca
By Gareth Messenger
October 14 – Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has praised his own financial management of the club after an annual general meeting predicted record revenues.
CONCACAF launches first referees symposium in Mexico
October 14 – CONCACAF held its first International Referee Symposium over the weekend in Mexico, aimed at improving the standard of professional football referring across the region. The symposium marks another step forward for the confederation, following on from its first series of coaches courses, in its drive to improve standards through education and support throughout its federations.