By Mark Baber
October 14 – The Namibia Premier League (NPL) has agreed a new, more lucrative sponsorship deal with its long-time partner, telecoms operator MTC. The new deal will generate almost $2 million per season for the next three seasons giving a major boost to top flight football in the country.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 14 – Iraq’s bid to overturn a FIFA ban on playing home internationals has won the conditional support of their confederation as the dispute over the country being stripped of hosting the Gulf Cup escalates.
By Mark Baber
October 14 – Bayern Munich wunderkind Mario Götze has put his foot in it again, as he was snapped wearing Nike products, this time whilst on duty with the adidas-sponsored German national team.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 14 – Egypt have been instructed by FIFA to provide security guarantees following Ghana’s request to move next month’s all-important and potentially volatile World Cup playoff in Cairo to neutral territory because of safety concerns.
By Mark Baber
October 14 – Four years prior to the expiry of their current deal, AC Milan and adidas have agreed to extend their partnership for ten years. The new contract means the club and brand, who first joined forces in 1998, will celebrate 25 years together.
By Panos Bletsos
October 12 – The future for Greek side PAOK looks increasingly bright as its Greek-Russian entrepreneur, Ivan Savvidis, has made clear once again that he has come to stay in his land of origin, expanding his business interests in the region.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
October 10 – Asia’s FIFA vice-president Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein has questioned the decision to strip Iraq of host status for the next Gulf Cup, intensifying Asian football’s latest controversy especially over the issue of what does and doesn’t constitute political interference in sport. The competition, due to be held late next year or early in 2015, features the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),
By Alexander Krassimirov
October 11 – The day after the battle scenes and chaos at Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia club, emotions are still running hight. The former sports director Nasko Sirakov (pictured) attacked the club’s owner Todor Batkov in an interview on national television in Bulgaria. Just a few hours later, Batkov responded by saying he now accepts Sirakov’s resignation, handed in on Tuesday.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 11 – Italy, rocked by an ongoing match-fixing scandal, no longer has the same standing in European football as it used to, according to Juventus president Andrea Agnelli. And unless there are improvements on and off the field, it will stay that way.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 10 – UEFA’s financial fair play rules risk being counter-productive by hitting smaller clubs harder rather than creating a level playing field, according to the American chairman of Chelsea, Champions League winners the season before last.
By Matt Scott
11 October – Real Madrid, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain are among “15 to 20” leading clubs actively plotting the introduction of a closed European super league. Those are the explosive claims of Galatasaray’s chairman, Ünal Aysal. He said that a wholesale restructure of the Champions League is a “reality” that’s five years away.
By Mark Baber
October 10 – Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi has become embroiled in a new row as he criticised the pitch at the refurbished National Stadium in Abuja, Nigeria, as bad for football, before rowing back on his comments yesterday.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 10 – Just when it is striving to enter a new era of unity and cohesion, Asian football has been rocked by a spat between Iraq and Saudi Arabia over the next Gulf Cup of Nations due to be held late next year or early in 2015. The competition, featuring the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), plus usually Iraq and Yemen, is little known outside the region but hotly contested whenever it takes place.
By Alexander Krassimirov
October 10 – Supporters of Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia have won their fight to get rid of new coach Ivaylo Petev, who has resigned just 24 hours after his appointment.
By Tom Parsons
October 10 – One of England’s finest footballers has joined twitter, racking up 275,000 followers in the first 24 hours he was part of the social community. Fans and friends joined in welcoming the former England star to twitter, with @GazzaOfficial promising to show us “the real Gazza” on the social network.