By Mark Baber
December 21- Barcelona’s victory over River Plate in the Club World Cup final on Sunday meant they equalled Al Ahly’s record of 20 international titles – at least according to FC Barcelona. However Al Ahly have disputed this claim, arguing 3 of Barcelona’s wins were in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and therefore don’t count.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 21 – Defiant to the last, Sepp Blatter accused the very ethics committee he helped set up of portraying him as a liar and kicking him out of football without good reason.
In a passionate last-ditch stand after being banned for eight years along with Michel Platini – effectively bringing the curtain on his 40-year career at Fifa and almost 18 years in charge – Blatter was determined not to go quietly,
By Samindra Kunti
December 21 – FIFA is suspending further transfers from a World Cup legacy fund to Brazil pending further talks with the Brazilian federation, the CBF. Brazil has only received $8.7 million from the fund 17 months after the most profitable World Cup in history.
By Samindra Kunti
December 21 – Santos have signed a sponsorship agreement with Royal Air Maroc as the club seeks financial stability next season.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 21 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his would-be successor Michel Platini became the two most high-profile casualties of the organisation’s seismic corruption scandal today as their respective careers suffered a shattering blow when both were sensationally banned for eight years.
By Paul Nicholson
December 21 – FIFA has released more record breaking TV numbers for both for its men’s and women’s world cups – a poignant reminder of the popularity of the world’s favorite event as US justice authorities reiterate their crusade against football corruption on their own continent and their thinly veiled objective of bringing down world governing body FIFA.
As if FIFA didn’t have enough problems at present, the recently-published television audience report for last year’s World Cup in Brazil gives rise to the question, ‘Has the governing body’s flagship tournament plateaued out as a global TV phenomenon?’
December 20 – Players in the top Asian professional leagues are far more likely to have made their debuts at clubs where they came through the youth system, and will be playing along more players from their own country than is the case at clubs in Europe’s Big-5 leagues.
By Ben Nicholson
December 20 – With the 2015 MLS season now over, the time for reflection on the league and its teams are upon us. Moreover, so is the time for commercial reflection. To aid the process, soccer marketing agency, Gilt Edge Soccer, has released its summary report, ‘Soccer in America 2015’.
December 18 – South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) have signed up match-fixing monitoring specialists Sportradar to police the Suzuki Cup which kicks off December 23 in India.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 18 – After the most staggering capitulation in the history of the Premier League, never has the phrase ‘The Special One’ sounded so hollow.
By Mark Baber
December 18 – Tottenham Hotspur have had their plans for a new £400 million stadium approved by Haringey Council paving the way, subject to the Mayor Boris Johnson’s permission, for work to begin on a modern 61,000 seater stadium in spring 2016.
December 18 – The next FIFA president should not be in power for longer than two terms, according to Jordan’s candidate, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, who lost last time to Sepp Blatter.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 18 – FIFA’s interim leadership has called on the organisation’s 209 member nations to approve the recently proposed package of reforms as a result of the corruption crisis “that has shaken global football governance to its core”.
December 18 – The Chinese Football Association (CFA) completes its three day annual conference today in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province. Although the prospect of the country bidding to host the World Cup was not on the agenda for open sessions, it is believed it was discussed in closed meetings.