Qatar spending £500m a week on World Cup 2022 infrastructure
February 8 – Qatar’s World Cup organisers are splashing out a staggering $500 million every week on major infrastructure projects, the country’s finance minister has admitted.
FA’s Clarke puts forward reform proposals but disputes that it is failing in its duty
February 8 – English Football Association chairman Greg Clarke has threatened to quit if the government does not support his proposed reforms of the organisation.
Celtic cash in at the double on Champions League group stages as they aim for treble
February 8 – Scottish giants and runaway league leaders Celtic almost doubled their revenue for the first half financial period to end December 2016 to £61.2 million. This is an increase of £31.4 million on the 2015 figure, the reward for qualifying for the big money group stages of the Champions League.
Journalists’ families to sue Chapecoense over crash flight compensation
February 8 – The families of seven journalists killed in the Chapecoense air disaster are suing the club over the chartering arrangements.
Coaching crisis leaves Indian U17 team in disarray as home World Cup nears
By Samindra Kunti
February 8 – The All India Football Federation (AIFF) and their U17 coach Nicolai Adam have parted ways after players claimed abuse by the Hungarian coach. The incident has disrupted India’s preparations for the U17 World Cup on home soil this October.
Real Madrid line-up €500m internet rights sale
February 8 – In what looks likely to be the first deal of its kind for one of Europe’s big clubs, Real Madrid is poised to sell its internet image rights for 10 years to US investment Providence Equity Partners for €500 million.
Webb joins US team to oversee introduction of video referees in the MLS
February 8 – Howard Webb, one of the world’s most recognisable and respected referees who has recently been working as a television pundit, has been hired by the body overseeing officiating in MLS to manage the introduction of video assistant referees (VARs).
Russia adds $325m to 2018 World Cup budget as it puts its stamp on the tournament
By Paul Nicholson
February 7 – Russia has increased its government spending on the 2018 World Cup by 19.1 billion rubles ($325 million) according to documents published on a government website. Total spend on the World Cup is now going to hit $10.8 billion.
Out the game: Judge fines illegal site using FIFA’s EA game currency for bets
February 7 – Two British-based gaming enthusiasts who ran a betting website connected to FIFA’s globally popular EA Sports video game have pleaded guilty to breaching Britain’s gambling laws in a landmark case.
The Hoeness evolution will not be televised, but Deutsche Telecom has got the rest
By Paul Nicholson
February 7 – The rehabilitation of Uli Hoeness now looks complete. Having been re-elected as president of Bayern Munich last November, he has now reassumed the position of chairman of the Supervisory Board. In separate news the club are said to be close to launching a new TV channel with main sponsor Deutsche Telekom.
Exit of Kuwait’s Sheikh Salman could open door for return to international matches
February 7 – Kuwait could be about to take a significant step towards ending its damaging exile from international football with the news that information and youth minister Sheikh Salman Humoud Al-Sabah has resigned, two days before he was scheduled to face a no confidence vote.
Furious Real boss Perez brings European Super League talk back into play
February 7 – Real Madrid are reportedly stepping up their interest in a European Super league after being left high and dry by the late postponement of a recent league game.
January transfer window breaks records as Premier League shows €51m gain
February 7 – The January transfer window may have seemed quieter than previous years but it still broke records with the CIES Football Observatory data showing clubs in the five major European championships having invested a record €742 million on new players, beating the previous record of €523 million set in 2011.
Cypriot FA rejects Karmiotissa and AEZ denials and issues €50,000 matchfixing fines
February 7 – The Cyprus Football Association (CFA) has fined two top flight teams €50,000 each after they were implicated in suspicious betting activity.
AFC build technical team with addition of Koervermans
February 7 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has boosted its technical development team with the addition of Dutchman Wilhelmus Koevermans as AFC Deputy Technical Director.