Chelsea hit 3-year delay on stadium rebuild, Abramovich hunts down £500m infusion
By Paul Nicholson
November 11 – Chelsea’s development of Stamford Bridge into a new-build 60,000 capacity stadium has been pushed back by at least three years.
Leaks unveil UAE plan to use financial warfare to undermine Qatar 2022 hosting
By Paul Nicholson
November 10 – The stand-off in the blockade of Qatar by its Gulf neighbours has inevitably dragged the hosting of the 2022 World Cup into the geo-political mix with news that the United Arab Emirates has a plan to attack Qatar’s currency and devalue its economy. Alongside the financial warfare sits a PR offensive designed to destroy confidence in the Qatari economy and change the hosting status of 2022.
FIFA advisory board urges it to step up monitoring of construction conditions
By Andrew Warshaw
November 10 – FIFA has been urged by its own advisory board on human rights to step up monitoring risks to those working on construction sites at World Cup venues in Russia and Qatar.
Man City clear rights issues for docuseries with Amazon Prime Video
By Paul Nicholson
November 10 – Amazon and Manchester City have now officially announced a ‘multi-part’ documentary series that will go behind the scenes at the club and will air exclusively on Prime Video next year across 200 territories worldwide.
Adidas unveils Telstar 18, the official 2018 World Cup match ball
By Mark Baber
November 10 – Adidas has revealed the official match ball for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, paying homage to the first-ever Adidas World Cup ball.
Handy game-changing decisions for Swiss that VAR would have caught
November 10 – Amidst growing debate over whether the formal introduction of video technology would prove counter-productive after of a string of poor judgements, Northern Ireland are ironically crying foul having seen their World Cup hopes take a dive because of two crucial decisions that almost certainly would have been overturned by the system.
ITUC’s Burrow hails Qatar’s ending of kafala as start of a ‘new era’
November 10 – One of the fiercest critics of Qatar’s record on workers rights has welcomed steps made by the Qataris to end the ‘kafala’ employment system in the country and says other Gulf leaders should copy Qatar’s lead.
St Petersburg official admits to $850k stadium scam
November 10 – A former deputy governor of St Petersburg has admitted to his involvement in an embezzlement scheme related to the construction of the city’s World Cup stadium.
Hong Kong fans keep up anti-China defiance with boos and banners
November 10 – Several hundred Hong Kong fans once again defied a Chinese law against disrespecting the national anthem when they booed the anthem at a match on Thursday.
iFOREX renew PSV sponsorship for second year
November 10 – Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven have extended their partnership with iFOREX as an Official Sponsor of the club for the 2017/18 season.
FIFA’s cartel culture ‘is foreign to the rule of law’, says Maduro
By Andrew Warshaw
November 9 – The Portuguese official ousted by FIFA as its chief governance and electoral watchdog has blasted the organisation’s approach to political neutrality under Gianni Infantino as “shocking” and says there is no chance of reform from within because of its closed-shop mentality.
News analysis: Greek courts starts to unravel football allegations
By Lefteris Charalambopoulos
November 9 – An irreversible decision issued by the Council of Appeals Court Judges in Athens, Greece, charging 28 individuals of match-fixing, drops four charges against Evangelos Marinakis and puts an end to speculation and some wild allegations against the shipping magnate and owner of Olympiakos. It also raises questions about the depth of the malaise and infighting that plagues Greek football.
England’s young guns looking for a place to fire
When England won the recent under-17 World Cup to add to their under-20 triumph in June, one of my journalist colleagues (I wish I could take the credit) came up with a novel and intriguing idea.
Samoura stands FIFA solidly behind Johansen despite Sierra Leone corruption indictments
November 9 – The bitter in-fighting over who runs Sierra Leone football has taken a remarkable twist with FIFA intervening to overturn a decision by the country’s national FA to remove Isha Johansen (pictured left) from her role as president – right in the middle of a court case in which she is charged with corruption.
Indian crisis: Patel appeals ban, FIFA scream interference, but transgression list looks long
By Samindra Kunti
November 9 – The All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its sidelined president Praful Patel (pictured) have challenged the Delhi High Court’s ruling that deemed Patel’s presidential elections invalid and taken the case to the Supreme Court with an appeal.