Werder Bremen provide Betway with platform into Bundesliga
August 17 – Online bookmaker Betway has signed a three-year deal to become the official betting partner of German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen.
Neymar’s record fee is early, but £100m deals are set to become the norm, says PwC
By Mark Baber
August 16 – After analysing transfer activity at Europe’s top 20 clubs, global accountancy network price Waterhouse Cooper (PwC) has forecast transfer fees for individual players could surpass £100 million on a regular basis by 2025, with Neymar’s record fee of £198 million coming 5-7 years before trends would have suggested.
FIFA move to protect Johansen, telling Sierra Leone sports minister to butt out
By Paul Nicholson
August 16 – FIFA has again stepped into the Sierra Leone row to protect Isha Johansen, the SLFA president that the world governing body recognises but who football stakeholders and government officials in Sierra Leone argue is holding the position in an unelected capacity after her mandate ended August 3.
Video ref failures draw growing number of critics across Europe’s test leagues
August 16 – The new season roll-out of the video assistant referee (VAR) system has been met with criticism in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium after a series of errors. But FIFA is determined to push through the referral system in time for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
CBF signs Sportradar to deliver match-fixing integrity service. Del Nero has a message
August 16 – The Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF) has brought in Sportradar to implement its Fraud Detection System across all matches in the country’s national leagues. At the same time the CBF has also launched its own in-house Integrity Department, putting in place an Integrity Officer who will work closely with Sportradar.
Still no Neymar. Buffon, Messi and Ronaldo make up final three Player of the Year nominees
August 16 – Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), and Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) are the final three nominees for the 2016/17 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Awards.
SPFL attendances show Scottish football is more than just Celtic and Rangers
August 26 – The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has announced a record attendance figure for the league after the first two rounds of fixtures with 230,204 fans attending matches across the league’s four divisions.
Libyan Premier League returns after 2 year suspension
August 16 – After two years of suspension, the Libyan Premier League kicked off yesterday (Tuesday) with four matches successfully completed, albeit without spectators officially attending.
Iranian FA denies it has banned two players for breaking Israel boycott
By Mark Baber
August 15 – Widespread reports that Iran had banned two members of the national squad for breaking the sporting boycott of Israel were refuted by the Iranian FA at the weekend in a letter to FIFA, according to the Iranian Student News Agency.
Under fire Liberian FA hangs legal director out to dry as Interpol hunts Bility
By Paul Nicholson
August 15 – In what looks like a further attempt to clean house of dissenting voices within the federation, the Liberian FA (LFA) has suspended its legal director Benedict Yarsiah “with immediate effect without pay, for time indefinite, pending an investigation.”
Buying spree? PSG eye Belgium’s Mouscron as satellite club
August 15 – Paris Saint-Germain have been eyeing Belgian top flight club Mouscron as a potential satellite club with the Parisian club keen on offering its homegrown players more playing opportunity.
Premier League clubs to vote on closing transfer window at season kick-off
By Mark Baber
August 15 – At their upcoming meeting on September 7, Premier League clubs look set vote on whether to part company with other European Leagues and have their transfer window close before the start of the 2018-19 season rather than on August 31 – three weeks into the season.
Palace, Chelsea and Toon Army make it a bumper start for Premier League attendances
August 15 – The Premier League’s three-day opening weekend with fixtures across Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday smashed the opening round attendance figures of last season. With 407,000 tickets available to fans across the 10 home fixtures – more than 6,000 tickets over last 2016/17 – just 8,030 were unsold compared to 16,116 last season.
Swansea City poised to take ownership of Liberty Stadium
August 15 – Premier League Swansea City is close to taking ownership of its Liberty Stadium from the local council on a 30-year lease.
Qatar’s HIA signs symbolic deal for Bayern Munich sleeve sponsorship
August 15 – Bayern Munich have agreed a six-year sleeve sponsorship with Qatar’s Hamad International Airport (HIA). It is Bayern’s first sleeve sponsorship under the new advertising rules that have come into the Bundesliga for this season which kicks off Friday.