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.
March 17 – On the day Ahmad Ahmad became African football’s new leader, a raft of his supporters won places on the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee, notably South Africa’s Danny Jordaan, the public face of the 2010 World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 17 – Following Insideworldfootball’s exclusive revelation that UEFA vice-president Marios Lefkaritis was exploiting a loophole in age restrictions in an attempt to cement his power base, the veteran Cypriot has agreed to withdraw from international football politics, bringing the curtain down on his 21-year career.
By Paul Nicholson
March 17 – The International Champions Cup (ICC) has unveiled Singapore as its exclusive south-east Asian venue for the next four years. For the 2017 tournament, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan will play each other in July.
By Paul Nicholson
March 17 – It has been a busy week in the sports broadcast market with UK Culture Secretary Karen Bradley referred 21st Century Fox’s £11.7 billion bid for full control of Sky to communications regulator Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority – Sky are the Premier League’s dominant TV partner. In France, Qatari owners have pumped in another €600 million into beIN Sports to cope with losses believed to at more than 1 billion.
March 17 – The long-running saga of Everton’s proposed move to a new stadium seems to be the closest it has been yet to coming to fruition.
March 17 – The swathe of redundancies at FIFA’s once trumpeted but increasingly troubled museum in Zurich shows no sign of diminishing. After eight employees were dismissed at the beginning of the year, the management is now getting rid of another 36, according to Swiss reports.
By Samindra Kunti
March 17 – Defending world champions Germany and Brazil will meet in a prestigious friendly next year for the first time since the 7-1 result in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals.
March 17 – Just 24 hours after Africa’s regional congress voted in Ahmad Ahmad as its new leader, one of those countries who voted, Mali, has been kicked out of FIFA with immediate effect due to government interference in its national FA.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 16 – The 29-year reign of Issa Hayatou as head of African football came to a stunning and unexpected end today when he handed over his throne to previously little-known Madagascan challenger Ahmad Ahmad.
By Paul Nicholson
March 16 – With Issa Hayatou no longer president of the Confederation of African Football and the future of CAF general secretary Hicham El Amrani uncertain under the incoming presidency, there is also a question over whether the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) and Presentation Sports will continue with their complaint against CAF over the award of a 12-year marketing rights package to Lagardère Sports for $1 billion.
By Samindra Kunti
March 16 – The draw for the U20 2017 FIFA World Cup South Korea has paired arch rivals England and Argentina in the group stages. The participants in the finals today found out their group opponents as the 24 balls were drawn in a ceremony in Suwon.
March 16 – It would be the biggest Chinese acquisition of a European football club to date, but it now looks like it could end up the most expensive €200 million football folly of all time.
March 16 – Ahead of the election that ended his 28 years as Confederation of African Football president, Issa Hayatou today dismissed any possibility of changing the timing of the African Nations Cup, the Continent’s showpiece event, amid calls for it to be rescheduled to accommodate European clubs who lose their African players midway through the season.
March 16 – FIFA is reviewing both payment and pension arrangements for members of its new-look ruling Council as part of the organisation’s cost-cutting policy, according to an AP report.