By James Dostoyevsky
The last few weeks have been bad ones for the new FIFA President. No matter what he does, whether boarding easyjet or a private jet, someone always has a quarrel with his choice.
By Andrew Warshaw in Paris
June 9 – The show will go on as planned with every possible precaution taken to keep spectators safe and offset the threat of terrorism. That is the message from organisers of Euro 2016 who are taking a realistic, pragmatic approach to the build-up to Euro 2016 which kicks off Friday with the host nation taking on Romania amidst the biggest security operation ever mounted for a sporting event of this magnitude.
By Andrew Warshaw in Paris
June 9 – Will he attend or won’t he? The jury seems to still be out over whether Michel Platini will be showing his face at Euro 2016 in his own backyard despite his four-year ban.
June 9 – Premier League club Southampton may have lost a manager this week, but they have gained a new main club sponsor. TV and broadband provider Virgin Media will take over from consumer electronics firm Veho in a three-year deal.
June 8 – With a month to go before the start of the two-day World Football in Paris, July 7-8, organisers have confirmed that the conference theme will be the ‘New Geography of Football’.
June 9 – Momentum is gathering behind Slovenian FA president Aleksander Čeferin in his bid to become president of UEFA. The Estonian FA have announced that they would support his candidacy. Čeferin has still to admit his official nomination but that now only looks to be a formality.
June 9 – If the aggregate transfer value of squad players is a determining factor, then England are going to win Euro 2016. France will be the nearest challengers followed by Spain, Germany and Belgium.
By Paul Nicholson
June 8 – The race for the UEFA presidency looks certain to have a new candidate with Slovenian FA president Aleksander Čeferin expected to submit his nomination within the next 48 hours.
By Paul Nicholson
June 8 – The Copa America Centenario sparked into life last night at Chicago’s Soldier Field with hosts USA thrashing Costa Rica 4-0 in the first of the second round of group games.
By Samindra Kunti
June 8 – Not everything is rosy in the corruption-free garden of the US-hosted centenary edition of the Copa America. President of the Uruguayan FA Wilmar Valdez has claimed it was a mistake for the USA to host the tournament.
June 8 – One of Africa’s football legends, Nigerian Stephen Keshi, has died suddenly at the age of 54. Keshi is one of only two people to win the Africa Cup of Nations as a player and a coach.
By Samindra Kunti
June 8 – Euro 2016 is set to be the best attended European Championship ever, but the opening match between France and Romania is struggling to sell out.
June 9 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is readying for its Goa elective Congress on September 27 where it will vote for its representatives to FIFA’s new Council. Meanwhile member nations are battling out for the final places in the 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup joint-qualifiers.
June 8 – Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has quit the club after just two seasons in the job for the lure of Everton’s big money new owner. Saints will receive £5 million in compensation.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 7 – Chelsea and Jose Mourinho have reached a confidential undisclosed settlement with former team doctor Eva Carneiro at an employment tribunal in London, bringing to an end one of the less savoury episodes in English football.