By Paul Nicholson
June 26 – The Women’s World Cup quarter finals kick off tonight in Canada with European heavyweights Germany and France facing each other in the first match in Montreal before China facing the US in Ottawa. The winners will meet each other on June 30 in the semi-final in Montreal.
June 26 – The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) and the Organization of American States (OAS) have teamed up to launch a joint Centre of Excellence for Major Sporting Events and Sustainable Development.
By Alexander Krassimirov
June 26 – The on-off ownership of Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia has been resolved with Todor Batkov announcing that he is stepping down after 17 years at the helm. At an emotional press conference the lawyer said that he will transfer his shares to the Chairman of the Board of the club, Ivo Tonev, and two other businessmen, Alexander Angelov and Nikolai Ivanov.
By Samindra Kunti
June 26 – The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the alliance of free-to-air European broadcasters, has struck an agreement with UEFA for the exclusive broadcast rights for EURO2016 across 26 European territories.
By Mark Baber
June 25 – In the wake of tiny island territory Guam (population 165,124) defeating India (population 1.252 billion) in a World Cup qualifier on June 16, attention has turned to the issue of people of Indian origin (PIOs) who may offer salvation for the country’s national team. However, the Indian government opposes their inclusion in the national team, setting up a potentially dangerous confrontation with FIFA.
By Paul Nicholson
June 25 – 153-year old Notts County, the world’s oldest professional club, has landed the biggest sponsorship deal in the club’s history with betting and gaming giant Ladbrokes.
By Alexander Krassimirov
June 25 – Humiliated by their forced relegation to Bulgaria’s amateur leagues, the country’s tax collectors have heaped further misery on the team by announcing an auction of the club’s brand assets – it’s name, logo and trademarks.
By Mark Baber
June 25 – Delta Air Lines has agreed a new three-year deal with Chelsea as the club’s official airline sponsor, putting the final nails in the coffin of the long rumoured Turkish Airlines tie-up.
June 25 – FIFA has launched a scholarship programme for female coaches in a bid to boost the number of A licenced coaches.
June 25 – With the Women’s World Cup in Canada the focus of world football attention, FIFA has launched the first edition of the Female Leadership Development Programme with the first module scheduled to kick off in Vancouver July 4, just before the Women’s World Cup final.
June 25 – UEFA has selected six proposals for its Research Grant Programme for the 2015/16 programme. 52 applications were received from 25 different UEFA member associations supported projects.
By Paul Nicholson
June 24 – The Greeks have made an attempt to plaster over the match-fixing crisis that has rocked the game in the country and forced a stand-off between government politicians and football’s governing officials. The Hellenic Football Federation (HFF) has signed up with betting monitoring specialists Sportradar for a series of 120 match-fixing prevention workshops over three years.
By Mark Baber
June 24 – The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has had a busy week, criticising national teams for their lack of success, holding manager Steven Keshi to account for allegedly making a job application to another team and attempting to haul record-breaker Vincent Enyeama up on charges he brought Nigeria into disrepute.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
June 24 – Polish construction company Murapol has unveiled plans to take over top tier club Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biala. The builder, which currently serves as the Ekstraklasa side’s main sponsor and owns a 35% stake in Podbeskidzie, is aiming to increase its shareholding to become the majority owner.
By Mark Baber
June 24 – Ahead of Friday’s quarter final against the USA, China’s women’s team, known as the ‘Steel Roses’, have been awarded a record bonus for their accomplishments in the tournament to date, in line with China’s president, Xi Jinping’s plan to revitalise football in the “sleeping giant” of world football.