By Andrew Warshaw
August 4 – A gaping hole in FIFA’s day-to-day administration has finally been filled with Fabrice Jouhaud taking on the role of Chief Communications Officer “following a thorough recruitment process”.
August 4 – He’s managed several Belgian internationals at club level and now he’s in charge of the entire national team.
August 4 – Setting the pace digitally and in the way they use their media assets, Premier League club Manchester City have also boosted their physical touchpoints with the club for fans with the launch of what they are calling their ‘Ultimate Football Day Out’.
August 4 – Under the new Chinese ownership of Tony Xia, England’s once great Aston Villa are expecting to be challengers for an immediate return to the Premier League. They will be hoping that success in achieving that will also transmit to their new challenger brand betting partner EnergyBet.
August 4 – Not for the first time, Nigeria’s footballers have been locked in a payment dispute, this time as they head for the Olympics in Brazil.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 3 – UEFA presidential candidate Michael van Praag insists he is the right man to ensure unity in European football and offset what he describes as the “forces that want to drive us apart.”
By Samindra Kunti, Rio de Janeiro
August 3 – The Rio games kick off today with the women’s football tournament but Brazilian football focus and Olympic hopes will be on the men’s tournament that starts tomorrow and whether mercurial superstar Neymar can deliver them a much-coveted gold.
August 3 – When South Africa’s women footballers kick off the Rio Olympics later today, it will represent another crucial step in the long struggle for recognition back home.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 3 – An exclusive South African report has revealed that Danny Jordaan, the public face of the 2010 World Cup, has hired an elite set of lawyers to defend him in the ongoing FIFA corruption scandal.
August 3 – Tottenham Hotspur have announced William Hill as their Official Betting Partner for Europe and Australia in an initial two-year deal starting with the 2016/17 season. On Monday the bookmaker announced a similar deal with Everton.
By Paul Nicholson
August 3 – Any doubts that Facebook wasn’t preparing a major broadcast assault in the world’s biggest sport can be dispelled with the social media giant tonight making Premier League history with the streaming of a Wayne Rooney’s testimonial match.
August 3 – Hibernian manager Neil Lennon has been slapped with a five-match European touchline ban by UEFA after he was sent to the stands in the club’s recent Europa League loss to Brondby.
August 3 – Newly promoted Hull City have had an approach to speak to Wales manager Chris Coleman about their managerial vacancy rejected by the Football Association of Wales.
By Nan Sato, Shimin Law
The Communist government in China has long had an uncomfortable relationship with gambling, but the mounting interest in sports betting may make the country’s leaders rethink some of its policies.
August 2 – Argentina’s new national coach Edgardo Bauza has made it a priority to try and persuade Lionel Messi to come out of international retirement as he starts to think about next month’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers.