By Andrew Warshaw
February 19 – Outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter insists he has no preferred candidate to take his place but says he has spoken with four of the five contenders in the build-up to next week’s election.
By Mark Baber
February 19 – Nike has won plaudits for ending its relationship with Manny Pacquiao, but its ongoing sponsorship of Nigerian football shows its apparently principled stand against homophobia is little more than a marketing device.
February 19 – To ensure that no last-minute skullduggery takes place and the ballot remains secret, mobile phones and cameras will be banned from polling booths at next week’s FIFA presidential election.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 19 – FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein has revealed more details of the independent “oversight” body from outside football he will introduce if elected, with former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan (pictured centre) planned to head up the group whose mission will be to help FIFA out of its quagmire of scandal and corruption.
February 19 – A Russian footballer who removed his shirt to provocatively reveal a picture of Vladimir Putin at a Europa League fixture in Turkey is to be punished by his club which in turn is to be sanctioned by UEFA.
By Paul Nicholson
February 19 – Football corruption at federation level may be grabbing the headlines and attention of the media but a recent audit of one of the world’s leading match-fixing fraud monitoring systems is a brutal reminder that betting related match manipulation by organised crime syndicates is a far bigger threat to the integrity of the game.
February 19 – FIFPro have unveiled their first ever Women’s World XI. While women have award parity with the men in terms of the Ballon d’Or World Player of the Year awards, until now (and unlike the men) a World XI selected by female players worldwide had never been attempted.
By Paul Nicholson
February 18 – Meetings of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member associations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to discuss the FIFA reform proposals led to reiterated support for Shaikh Salman in his bid for the FIFA presidency, and speculation from observers as UEFA’s candidate Gianni Infantino enterprisingly turned up to lobby federations.
February 18 – FIFA’s ethics investigators have requested life bans for two senior South American officials who have already pleaded guilty as part of the FBI probe into widespread bribery and corruption.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 18 – Whilst much of the focus in Asia is on next week’s FIFA presidential election, internal regional spats within the giant and diverse confederation continue to rumble on.
By Mark Baber
February 18 – Australia national team forward Tim Cahill was released by Chinese Super League’s Shanghai Greenland Shenhua FC on Wednesday as “surplus to requirements,” with Obafemi Martins confirmed he was joining the Shanghai club whilst Paris St-Germain forward Ezequiel Lavezzi has joined Chinese Super League club Hebei China Fortune.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 18 – The reputation of Franz Beckenbauer, Germany’s most revered footballing icon, has suffered yet more damage after he was fined and cautioned by the FIFA ethics committee for failing to initially co-operate with the investigation into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 18 – England is the latest country to announce it is backing Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency next week, adding its voice to a raft of other European nations officially endorsing the UEFA general secretary.
By Paul Nicholson
February 18 – Premier League giants Liverpool and Manchester City have both announced digital media upgrades with Liverpool relaunching their social portal via Vixlet, and City Football Group (CFG) shifting three of their club brands to web development platform Wix.com who become the clubs’ Official Website Design & Hosting Partner.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 18 – The Jordanian Royal Court has stepped into an increasingly distasteful FIFA presidential spat by denouncing alleged attempts to spread false rumours about the campaign being led by Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, specifically involving his Jewish chief spin doctor.