Spurs add Malaysian date to end of season tour
April 7 – Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur have added a fixture in Malaysia as part of the their end of season two-match tour which will also see them play in Australia.
Blatter to meet Rajoub as Palestinians push for Israeli expulsion from FIFA
By Andrew Warshaw
April 7 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter is set to meet Palestinian football leader Jirbril Rajoub today to try and stave off a bid to suspend Israel from football’s world governing body.
Rangers find Easter heart despite having their stock market eggs in the wrong basket
August 6 – It has been a mixed Easter holiday for Scottish giants Rangers. The Championship side are battling a long period of boardroom instability and shareholder infighting, while at the same time being embroiled in a dogfight for a return to the Scottish Premier League – and what would be their third promotion in three seasons.
UEFA holds steady banking €1.7bn with 2016 payday looming
By David Owen
April 5 – UEFA, the European football body, generated revenue of €1.73 billion in its latest financial year to the end of June. The figure was marginally up on the prior year’s total of €1.7 billion.
David Owen: Gillespie to Rummenigge – the next stage of Club vs. Country
It was interesting to read the recent report to the effect that European Club Association (ECA) head Karl-Heinz Rummenigge believes that football’s perennial club-versus-country tug of war is now receding.
Matt Scott: Tech giants will soon make their play in football’s rights bonanza
“Sin el futbol, mi vida no vale nada (Without football, my life is worthless).” Cristiano Ronaldo
It turns out that you do not have to be a two-time FIFA Ballon D’Or winner to take the view that football is the be-all and end-all of life. There are millions upon millions of people with a fanatical devotion to football and/or its clubs and billions more who take at least a passing interest in the game we love.
Eagles soar up Premier League profits table
By David Owen
April 3 – Up and coming South London club Crystal Palace have become the latest Premier League outfit to report exceptionally strong earnings for 2013-14, the side’s first season back in England’s top-flight.
Morocco beats ban as CAS hammers CAF’s hardline sanctions
By Andrew Warshaw
April 4 – In a stunning victory for a national association over its confederation, Morocco has won its appeal against being thrown out of the next two African Nations Cup tournaments. The sanction was imposed by the Confederation of African Football after Morocco refused to host this year’s event in January because of fears over the spread of the Ebola virus.
Sofia clubs’ cash crisis continues with Levski and CSKA calling for fan support
By Alexander Krassimirov
April 2 – Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia has thanked fans for their donations which helped the club clear its debts and cover the requirements for a European license. The club have urged fans to continue with their financial help.
Tunisian apology keeps them clear of ban from 2017 Africa Cup of Nations
By Mark Baber
April 2 – An apology from the Tunisia Football Federation for accusing the Confederation of African Football (CAF) of bias has prevented the nation from being banned from the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. The apology follows the disgraceful scenes which met the team’s elimination in the quarter-final of the African Cup of Nations by Equatorial Guinea.
UK agents protest to EC over FIFA’s global clean-up of agency rules
By Andrew Warshaw
April 2 – FIFA’s radical reform of the status of agents, brought into effect on April 1, has caused an immediate backlash. The deregulation move whereby agents are now the responsibility of national associations rather than world football’s governing body is designed to weed out rogue parties and make for a more transparent process.
Brazilian stadium legacy wobbles as Dunas and Fonte Nova owners seek sale
April 2 – The word legacy seems to accompany every World Cup but post-tournament the evidence is frequently conspicuous by its absence. Reports in Brazil have revealed that the World Cup stadium in Natal is up for sale since the company that owns it is suffering from cash flow problems following a corruption scandal.
US senators fire second salvo at Russia 2018 hosting
By Andrew Warshaw
April 2 – A group of US senators is back on the attack over Russia’s staging of the 2018 World Cup and have written to FIFA urging it to consider stripping the country as hosts because of the occupation of Crimea.
Relations thaw between Blatter and European clubs
April 2 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been softening his stance over criticising European clubs for having too much power and is “ready to change” as he approaches the presidential election in May, according to the head of the European Club Association.
Twitter ranking: Man Utd on the charge with record gains over Arsenal and Chelsea
By Paul Nicholson
April 2 – In the week to March 27, Manchester United more than doubled their average weekly gain in Twitter followers over closest rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.