By Paul Nicholson
March 30 – Bonita Mersiades, the self-outed whistleblower from the Michael Garcia report into corruption in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process, has again hit the headlines, this time with the revelation that she was found guilty of government fraud in Australia.
By Mark Baber
March 30 – The Azadi stadium in Tehran was packed with 80,000 Afghans on Sunday evening as their under-23 team lost 6-0 to the Iranian Under-23 team, ending their hopes of progressing in the AFC Under-23 Championship and of winning a place in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
March 30 – FIFA will announce the host country for the 2026 World Cup nine years earlier in May 2017, with the United States, Mexico and Canada all considered possible contenders.
By David Owen
March 30 – Newcastle United have become the latest Premier League club to report strong financial figures for the 2013-14 season. For the year ending June 2014, the Magpies generated a record after-tax profit of £18.7 million, not far off double the £9.9million achieved in 2013, and the fourth consecutive year in the black for the club which is owned by businessman Mike Ashley.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 30 – After months of often painstaking negotiations that several times almost collapsed, more than half a century of division is on the verge of being wiped out in Cypriot football.
March 30 – Dynamo Kiev have been ordered to close part of their stadium for next month’s Europa League quarter-final as a result of racist behaviour by fans towards Everton players.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 30 – Palestine has formally submitted a resolution to the FIFA Congress in May demanding the suspension of Israel, a blow to FIFA president Sepp Blatter in his efforts over two years to forge a lasting mediation between the two sides.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 30 – Russia are demanding UEFA automatically award them victory by default following the sickening sight of goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev being struck on the back of the head by a flare during disgraceful scenes at their Euro 2016 qualifier with Montenegro which was later abandoned.
By Ricardo Setyon
March 29 – The legend of the Maracanã stadium, with its close to 200,000 people cheering on a Sunday match, is a legend that is disappearing in the mists of time. Gone are the days when Fluminense, Vasco da Gama, Flamengo and Botafogo, would show why Brazilian football and its iconic players enchanted the Brazilian fans and the world.
This could be the beginning of a new era for football in China, this could also be a new chapter in the history of football the sport. On March 16, the first Monday after the National Congress, the central government issued this document: The Overall Reform Plan For Football In China. It would be hard for us to find out a similar precedent that the national council would issue a formal policy, which covers up to 50 different issues in the football industry,
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
March 29 – Partizan Belgrade has signed a sponsorship deal with the country’s leading operator Telekom Srbija. Under the contract, which will see the Serbian company serve as the club’s main sponsor until the end of 2016, Partizan will receive a total of RSD 140.7 million (€1.2 million).
By Alexander Krassimirov
March 29 – Bulgaria’s Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) has refused to allow release of the prospectus for a second attempt in year at an initial public offering (IPO) by CSKA Sofia. Meanwhile, after a desperate plea by management for cash to save the club, fans have been donating money to ensure the club can get its license to play.
By David Owen
March 29 – A 20% jump in income from its Asia and North Africa region enabled FIFA to generate marginally more TV revenue from the 2014 World Cup than the previous edition in South Africa. This was in spite of a near 10% decline in revenue from the key European region.
The Premier League cannot get it wrong? Or can it? You would have thought that with no English clubs in either of the European competitions the Premier League will be just a little bit concerned. But not Richard-Scudamore, soon to move from long standing chief executive to executive chairman.
March 27 – Moldovan top division club Dinamo-Auto have indefinitely suspended two players over allegations of match-fixing.