By Andrew Warshaw
November 18 – It isn’t often that home fans belt out the opposition national anthem but supporters of England and France staged an unprecedented display of emotion and unity Tuesday in a prestige friendly at Wembley where the football itself took very much a back seat.
November 17 – CONCACAF director of sports integrity Dr Laila Mintas (pictured) is leaving the confederation. Mintas, one of the world’s most experienced experts in the battle against match-fixing, set up the integrity department in probably the world’s most challenged confederation when it comes to integrity.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 18 – In what could be a huge embarrassment to their most influential sports supremo and FIFA executive committee member Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, Kuwait face the prospect of being thrown out of World Cup qualifying after failing to resolve a case of government interference in the running of the sport domestically.
November 18 – Germany’s high-profile friendly with traditional rivals the Netherlands on Tuesday night was called off because of an “intention to ignite explosives” at the Hannover stadium.
By David Owen
November 18 – Shirt sponsorship of national teams could become a reality if South Africa’s Tokyo Sexwale wins the FIFA Presidency. A 14-page manifesto distributed by the former anti-apartheid political activist turned mining tycoon includes a pledge to “seriously explore the possibility of having the national jersey…bearing the logo of the main sponsor”. He goes on: “There is space there for much value worth millions of dollars which will be destined directly into FAs’
By Paul Nicholson in Manama, Bahrain
November 17 – In the second instalment of his exclusive interview with Insideworldfootball, Asian Football Confederation president and FIFA presidential candidate Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa talks about a much needed new structure for crisis-torn FIFA, his position on reform, and the steps towards stability his own Asian confederation have taken in the past two years.
By Samindra Kunti
November 17 – The I-League wants to introduce a single football league in India in two or three seasons with 14 to 16 competing franchises and clubs from both the Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 17 – Already fuming at being forced to play last week’s World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia on neutral ground, Palestinian officials are up in arms at being ignored over another fixture they have protested to FIFA about.
By Mark Baber
November 17 – FIFA may be under fire from its existing US sponsors but its properties still have attraction for marketers. Rinnai, the Japanese-headquartered tankless water heater manufacturer and distributor has signed on as an official sponsor of FIFA Club World Cup 2015, being held December 10 – 20 2015 in Japan.
November 17 – Premier League Liverpool have broken the 5 million Twitter follower barrier and are celebrating with a competition for fans to be become the club’s new number 5 for one game only.
November 17 – English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur has expanded its push into Chinese markets with a series of grassroots initiatives that are being supported by club sponsor AIA.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 17 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, his would-be successor, face being banned for several years before Christmas whether or not they successfully appeal against their current provisional suspensions.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 17 – UEFA have confirmed that next summer’s European Championship finals will take place in France as planned despite the deadly terrorists attacks in Paris on Friday.
November 17 – Belgian authorities have called off tonight’s prestige friendly with Spain in Brussels for security reasons after the hosts became the focal point of attention in the wake of the Paris terrorist atrocity.
By Paul Nicholson in Manama, Bahrain
November 16 – If you want to know the truth go to the source and ask the questions, is the message from Asian Football Confederation president Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa who is challenging for the FIFA presidency. In the first of two instalments, Salman speaks exclusively to Insideworldfootball on the accusations of human rights abuses and his candidacy for the FIFA presidency.