By Paul Nicholson in Rio
June 16 – Everything happens late in Brazil, but it is happening. The Confederations Cup kicked off in Brasilia with the hosts knocking over Japan with ease. A result which, if not actually igniting frenetic fever for the event, has certainly woken the country from its pre-tournament slumber.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 14 – In the same week that Scottish football announced ground-breaking plans to preserve its future, crisis-torn SPL club Heart of Midlothian have been plunged into yet more turmoil with the threat of going out of business.
By Mark Baber
June 14 – At the recent E3 gaming conference in Los Angeles, fans had a chance to use Electronic Art’s new FIFA 14 on current-gen platforms while EA provided a peek of what the latest version of the successful gaming franchise will look like on the Xbox One.
By Mark Baber
June 14 – Budweiser, the official beer sponsor of the upcoming Confederations Cup in Brazil as well as next year’s World Cup, are presenting a man of the match award for every game at both tournaments with a specially designed trophy.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 14 – A row over bonus payments that threatened to halt Nigeria’s participation in the Confederations Cup has been diffused at the 11th hour – with the squad en route to Brazil albeit 24 hours later than scheduled.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 14 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter is down playing fears that a number of stadiums will not be ready to stage the Confederations Cup, the traditional World Cup warm-up tournament that gets under way in Brasilia on Saturday when hosts Brazil take on Japan.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 14 – Organisers of a pre-season friendly between Arsenal and Vietnam’s national team are facing a battle to ensure the match goes ahead after the owners of the Hanoi stadium involved hiked up their fees.
By Mark Baber
June 13 – The CIES Football Observatory has published the 2013 edition of its Annual Review analysing an eclectic mix of statistics, based on data from OPTAPro on the ‘Big 5’ leagues of Europe – the Premier League, Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga and Serie A.
By Gareth Messenger
June 13 – The headquarters of the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) yesterday hosted the first visit of D. Miguel Cardenal Carro (pictured) since he became the secretary of state for sport.
June 13 – CVMóvel, a subsidiary of Portugal Telecom in Cape Verde and the Cape Verde Football Federation have renewed their sponsorship partnership for a further three years, whilst launching the CVMóvel Blue Sharks, aimed at training a new generation of Cape Verde players.
By Mark Baber
June 13 – The United States Soccer Federation and Chevrolet announced a three-year sponsorship deal on Monday which makes Chevrolet the Official Partner of U.S. Soccer for the next three years.
By Gareth Messenger
June 13 – Barcelona forward and World Player of the Year Lionel Messi is under investigation by Spanish tax authorities for allegedly defrauding the state of more than €4m. The Argentina international and his father Jorge have reportedly filed fraudulent tax returns for 2007, 2008 and 2009, according to a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office, for tax crimes in Catalonia.
By Mark Baber
June 12 – Argentinean fans have been banned from attending away games for the next two matches following the death of Lanus football fan Daniel Jerez at the Clausura match between Estudiantes de La Plata and Lanus at the Ciudad de La Plata Stadium, near Buenos Aires, on Monday night
By Mark Baber
June 12 – The Quebec Soccer Federation has been suspended by the Canadian Soccer Association after failing to reverse its decision to ban the use of turbans/patkas/keski on the football pitch.
By Paul Nicholson
June 12 – The first African Football Film Festival (AFFF) opens tomorrow in Lagos, Nigeria. Starting small, the first edition of the festival will be over three days and will screen five films. The organisers, non-government organisation (NGO) PLAY!YA have set up a cinema in Gowon Estate in Lagos, one of the more neglected districts in the Nigerian capital Lagos.