By Paul Nicholson
April 6 – UEFA and its marketing agency TEAM have laid bare the anatomy of the Ecuadorian TV deal that has dragged FIFA president Gianni Infantino into the Panama Papers scandal as the signatory on the contract for Champions League TV rights in 2006.
The Panama Papers will very likely change the world of offshore finance forever. That football, its rights holders and its marketing agents have been using the same corporate and financial tools to avoid tax (sometimes legally) is no surprise. But what should be a surprise is that FIFA’s shiny new president has been so quickly dragged into the scandal.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 6 – Both using the word “dismayed”, suggesting they had liaised before responding, FIFA president Gianni Infantino and his former employers at UEFA have both reacted furiously to any claim of wrongdoing after being drawn into the Panama Papers offshore tax haven affair.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 6 – New FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who came into office just six weeks ago vowing to clean up the discredited organisation, has himself been drawn into the corruption scandal that has brought down a raft of high-profile powerbrokers.
By Mark Baber
April 6 – With the Zimbabwean national teams performing well and the Warriors three points clear at the top of their 2017 African Cup of Nations qualifying group, a row which threatens future sponsorship of the national team has broken out after an article in local media revealed the national coach’s ‘Salary Hell’.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 6 – Greece has been given a 10-day ultimatum by FIFA to stop government interference in its footballing affairs but the threat of a worldwide ban from international competition still hangs over the country.
April 6 – After sinking to the depths of despair as a result of years of financial mismanagement, Glasgow Rangers, one of the iconic names in British football, have regained their top-flight Scottish league status amid scenes of unbridled celebration.
April 6 – Inter Milan could soon have a new Chinese member of their ownership group according to reports in Italy. Suning Commerce Group, which recently bought Chinese Super League side Jiangsu, is looking at European expansion with a 20% stake in the Serie A club.
By Paul Nicholson
April 5 – FIFA have said that 13 member associations from five confederations have expressed an interest in hosting the 2020 Futsal World Cup. The eighth edition of the championship takes place in Colombia, September 10 to October 1 this year.
April 5 – Banned UEFA President Michel Platini’s Panamanian bank account was declared to the authorities in Switzerland, where he lives, his lawyer insisted in an interview published by French newspaper Le Figaro.
April 5 – Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda, which last month announced it had become the first Chinese company to sign up as a top-tier World Cup partner, has further cemented its European football sponsorship with a title sponsorship deal for Atlético Madrid’s training ground.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 4 – As widely anticipated, Italy’s Antonio Conte is the man chosen as Jose Mourinho’s permanent successor to revive the fortunes of Chelsea. Conte, currently head coach of Italy, will move to London after this summer’s Euros on a three-year contract following the departure of Mourinho in December, prompted by Chelsea’s worst start to a top-flight campaign for more than 30 years.
April 5 – The beleaguered South American Football Confederation, CONMEBOL, could be forced out of its Paraguay headquarters due to a $10 million lawsuit relating to the land where it is situated, according to its president.
By Samindra Kunti
April 5 – The All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel has announced that India will start a women’s football league later this year.
April 4 – When it comes to buying in first team talent, Chelsea tops the table for foreign signings with 75% of its players coming from outside of England. The next highest club in the Big 5 leagues is Ligue 1’s Monaco with 73% followed by Manchester City with 69.2% and Italy’s Lazio with 67.9%.