Celtic wrap up SPL title with eight games still to play
April 3 – The statistics are pretty impressive. Unbeaten in the league domestically, a sixth consecutive title and only four points dropped.
AFC Village CSR project launches in Philippines
April 3 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has launched one of its key social responsibility initiatives, the AFC Village, in Tacloban, the Philippines, which provides new homes to families who were left homeless by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.
Quinn Emanuel end internal FIFA probe with passing of evidence to US and Swiss law
By Andrew Warshaw
March 31 – FIFA’s hugely expensive 22-month internal investigation into the bribery and corruption that brought the organisation to its knees has been officially wound up, with mountains of potentially incriminating evidence passed to Swiss law enforcement authorities.
Euro leagues plan EGM as UEFA deal fails to materialise
By Andrew Warshaw
March 31 – In a last-ditch effort to force UEFA into a change of heart over its controversial changes to the Champions League, Europe’s top leagues have scheduled an extraordinary meeting for June but have stopped short of saying what action, if any, will be taken if their calls for a greater say in the decision-making process are not met.
Report maps steps clubs are taking in the ballooning e-sports market
March 31 – Europe’s professional clubs have moved into the e-sports market with many signing professional e-sport FIFA players to represent the clubs in domestic and international gaming competitions. An analysis by KPMG’s Football Benchmark team maps the clubs that have embraced the fast-growing and trending sector.
48-team World Cup: FIFA chiefs award regional slots, Europe gets 16
By Andrew Warshaw
March 31 – After much anticipation, FIFA has announced its proposed allocation of slots for the first expanded 48-team World Cup in 2026 – except for two places which are to be decided by a new six-team inter-zonal playoff round.
USL unveils plan to launch Division III league in the US for 2019
By Paul Nicholson
March 31 – The United Soccer League (USL) is expanding again, this time with the launch of a Third Division men’s professional national league that will start play in 2019.
Petulant Platini loses the plot and takes aim at Blatter with all guns blazing
By Andrew Warshaw
March 31 – For years they were the two most powerful officials in world football, sometimes at loggerheads, sometimes insisting they were the best of allies.
Chung goes to CAS in bid to overturn FIFA’s 5-year ban
March 31 – Former FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon, who at one stage was hoping to take over from Sepp Blatter, is going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to try and get his five-year ban from all football-related activities overturned.
Andrew Warshaw: Brexiting to a raucous (and unpleasant) chorus
Whether we like it or not, Britain is leaving the EU, leading to all manner of ramifications, complications and consequences. But what effect will it have on the country’s place in European football?
Euro leagues body meets as demands for UEFA to hear its voice intensify
By Andrew Warshaw
March 30 – Europe’s top leagues meet Friday to decide how to avoid a showdown with UEFA and the Continent’s clubs after being left behind over changes to the Champions League and other reforms.
Mammadov’s bid for UEFA’s exco brings a fresh view from an emerging world
By Paul Nicholson
March 31 – Elkhan Mammadov is a different kind of ‘beast from the east’. Like many of the current crop of administrators taking leading positions at the top tables of world football, he comes without a history of old-school alliances. Relatively unknown outside his home country of Azerbaijan, he comes with a skillset that is in line with modern business practices and the new cadre of football administrators sweeping across the world game.
Real Madrid dial in Telefónica for a 2-year €15m deal
March 30 – Spanish telecom giant Telefónica is partnering with Real Madrid as both brands seek to maximise their leading positions at home and abroad.
Cash floods in at Tottenham, as club prepares for White Hart Lane departure
By David Owen
March 30 – Tottenham Hotspur, the North London club leading the pursuit of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League, have given details of another highly satisfactory financial performance.
EPFL data deal hooks up leagues with leading betting data providers
March 30 – The Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) has brokered a deal between eight of its leagues and three commercial partners – Perform Group, Sportradar and Genius Sports – to collect and supply official data to the betting industry.