Korea: South asks North to guarantee team safety at Women’s Asian Cup qualifier
March 21 – South Korea is taking steps to ensure the safety of its players as its national women’s team prepares to play North Korea.
Bayern’s dominance is bad for Bundesliga, says Siefert
March 21 – The German Bundesliga is often portrayed as a model example of fair play when it comes to club ownership rules and affordable ticket prices. But according to the league’s own CEO, Christian Seifert, Bayern Munich’s domination threatens the Bundesliga’s reputation and their rivals must show more ambition in order to close the gap.
No youth required. Premier League tops Euro old age ranking table with West Brom in lead
March 21 –Premier League teams head the rankings of having the oldest players on average of all Europe’s leagues. Ten club from England’s top tier rank in the top 100 teams having on average fielded the oldest line ups in the domestic league matches played during the last six months.
Liverpool bust the 7m twitter barrier; Leicester rebirth catapults them up weekly ranking
March 21- Liverpool became the fourth Premier League club to break through the 7 million Twitter follower barrier this week. They put on 27,100 new followers for the week.
CAF’s ‘new broom’ leadership already under integrity scrutiny
By Andrew Warshaw
March 20 – African football’s new leadership faces immediate and important questions about transparency and double standards after electing an official who was banned from running for FIFA president on to its own ruling body.
Man Utd to head for US for five game summer pre-season
March 20 – Manchester United will tour the US for two weeks as part of their pre-season preparation in July, playing five games on the east and west coasts, most likely as part of the International Champions Cup (ICC) tournament.
Egyptians smell blood and the CAF rights, saying Hayatou case will not be dropped
By Paul Nicholson
March 20 – The Egyptian prosecution of former Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Issa Hayatou over the award of CAF’s media and commercial rights to Lagardère Sports will continue, promised a legal spokesperson for Presentation Sports. This is despite Hayatou having lost the presidency of CAF to Madagascar’s Ahmad Ahmad last Thursday.
Rajoub demands action or sanctions over Palestine/Israel dispute
March 20 – The head of Palestine Football Association (PFA) Jibril Rajoub has re-iterated that he will not agree to any further compromises if FIFA continues to drag its feet over the festering dispute regarding Israeli conduct in Middle East football.
Arsenal’s Wenger stays focused on losing streak, but says he has decided his next play
March 20 – He’s been the figurehead at Arsenal for a generation but Arsene Wenger has given the biggest hint yet that he will call it a day in the summer following mounting pressure over his position.
Mali ban hits India’s U17 warm-up plans, but Hero bring solace with sponsor deal
By Samindra Kunti
March 20 – India’s preparations for the U-17 World Cup have been hit following the postponement of two friendlies with Mali. Meanwhile car manufacturer Hero has become a local sponsor for the tournament.
Mali will not be bullied by FIFA, says minister, as ban hits clubs in CAF comps
March 20 – Mali has hit back at becoming the latest African country to be suspended by FIFA over government inference saying it will not be pushed around and will continue to operate as it sees fit.
Mutko dismisses Russian players named in doping scandal as an issue dealt with
March 20 – Russia’s World Cup chief organiser Vitaly Mutko, recently barred from holding on to his place at FIFA’s top table, has brushed aside allegations that Russian footballers were among those guilty caught up in the country’s widespread doping scandal.
City Football Group targets new club acquisitions
March 20 – City Football Group (CFG) are “focused on” expanding the number of clubs they have under ownership from the their current four of Manchester City. New York City FC, Melbourne City and Yokohama F Marinos, according to chief commercial officer Tom Glick (pictured).
Nexen and Man City tread new path with first Premier League shirt sleeve sponsorship
March 17 – Manchester City have become the first Premier League club to sign a sleeve sponsorship for next season when the league relaxes its branding exposure rules.
Have old ways brought a new dawn? Ahmad and CAF wake up to new roles
By Andrew Warshaw
March 17 – When Madagascar’s Ahmad Ahmad paid tribute to his predecessor Issa Hayatou and spoke of a new dawn for African football after clinching the most seismic of election victories, it brought to mind another one-sided presidential ballot.