By Mark Baber
March 7 – The Danish Football Association (DBU) announced officially on Friday that it, along with the football associations from Sweden, Norway and Finland is exploring the possibility of bidding for European Championship hosting in 2024 or 2028.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 7 – After an 18-month study, football’s lawmakers have released the findings of the most extensive and far-reaching review ever undertaken of the laws of the game in order to inject what former World Cup referee David Elleray (pictured) describes as “more commonsense” into the interpretation of the rules.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 7 – After an 18-month study, football’s lawmakers have released the findings of the most extensive and far-reaching review ever undertaken of the laws of the game in order to inject what former World Cup referee David Elleray (pictured) describes as “more commonsense” into the interpretation of the rules.
By Samindra Kunti
March 7 – The Dutch FA, the KNVB, is further fine-tuning a structural reform of its domestic club football. From the 2016/17 season onwards professional and amateur football in the Netherlands will be integrated through a mandatory system of promotion and relegation. In a latest reform the ‘Topklasse’ has been rebranded as ‘Derde Divisie’ (Third Division).
By Andrew Warshaw
March 7 – Franz Beckenbauer has sought to distance himself from the increasingly mysterious SFr10 million payment made during Germany’s 2006 World Cup bid campaign and which ended up in an account controlled by Qatar’s banned former FIFA powerbroker Mohammed bin Hammam.
By Paul Nicholson
March 7 – Signs that China’s football market is more than a passing fad have been given further credibility with Adidas’ announcement that it plans to open 3,000 new stores in the country over the next five years, with football being a key driver of that expansion.
By Ben Nicholson
March 7 – David Beckham’s Miami franchise dream is very much alive and kicking, and he says that it is not just his dream, revealing that some world class players have been “showing interest” in his upcoming MLS franchise.
By Andrew Warshaw in Cardiff
March 6 – In what new FIFA president Gianni Infantino described as an historic move, football’s lawmakers have finally given the green light for trialing video technology in live matches though much still needs to be done before the innovation becomes part of the fabric of the game.
By Andrew Warshaw in Cardiff
March 4 – As a statement of intent in terms of doing away with the excesses of the past, Gianni Infantino could hardly have made a more telling start. For his first overseas assignment as the new FIFA president, there was no private jet, no first class travel and not even a scheduled airline as Infantino, exactly a week after being elected in succession to Sepp Blatter,
By Andrew Warshaw
March 4 – UEFA could elect a new president just before the start of the European Championship finals in June if Michel Platini fails to clear his name.
By Paul Nicholson
March 4 – The investigation by law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer into the corruption allegations around the 2006 World Cup has found that there is no clear evidence of vote-buying but does not rule out the possibility.
By Samindra Kunti
March 4 – Local law enforcement authorities are investigating possible tax evasion and a conflict of interests at the Belgian FA KBVB. The torrent of allegations of financial mismanagement may make the position of KBVB president François De Keersmaecker (pictured) untenable.
By Mark Baber
March 4 – US sportswear giant Nike is reportedly prepared to offer Barcelona €85 million a year, plus bonuses bringing the total up to €100 million to extend the current sponsorship contract which expires in 2018.
By Paul Nicholson
March 4 – The five-year long New York court case following the sale of Liverpool Football Club to Fenway Sports Group revealed this week former owner George Gillett Jr is still paying £125,000 a month in debt repayments for a loan secured against the club, and that the new owners felt that due to the aging playing squad the £295 million price was in fact an overpayment for the asset.
By Paul Nicholson
March 4 – The team line-up for one of the most prestigious U17 club tournaments in the world is almost complete with the addition of Atletico Madrid and Club Brugge to the 2016 Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament that takes place March 14-21.