Valencia hunt for ‘Messi-bottle’ thrower
December 4 – Valencia have promised to ban for life the fan who threw a plastic bottle that struck Lionel Messi on the head – if the club can ever discover who the culprit was.
Nigerian chaos as NFF says all appeals quashed, but no-one tells chairman
By Mark Baber
December 4 – Hopes the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) Electoral Appeals’ Committee would return football in the country to at least a semblance of rational rule-based administration were dashed on Wednesday as members of the committee broke ranks with their Chairman, Barrister Okey Ajunwa, failing to publish a report but signing a press statement “deciding” to dismiss all appeals against the highly disputed elections of September 30 which brought the current leadership of the NFF to power.
Garber tells Beckham to speed up his Miami MLS franchise plans
December 4 – David Beckham has been urged by Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber to start making firm progress over establishing his Miami-based franchise.
Burnley report value-for-money loss as they regain Premier League status
By Paul Nicholson
December 4 – Success on the pitch can sometimes be a fickle financial master in football, but Burnley’s loss of £7.6 million for the year to June 2014 is looking like value-for-money. The Premier League new boys actually announced a £300,000 profit for their promotion season. But when you add in staff bonuses of £7.9 million due on elevation to England’s top flight, the profit becomes a £7.6 million loss.
AFCON draw turns focus back on to CAF’s January showpiece
December 4 – After months of turmoil and tension surrounding the venue for January’s Africa Cup of Nations, the tournament has finally got down to the real business of the draw, throwing up a juicy group of death.
Bayern is world’s biggest club, by membership
December 4 – FC Bayern Munich is the world’s biggest club if you take into account membership numbers only. Portugal’s Benfica comes second, followed by FC Barcelona, Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund.
Martin Volkmar: Manuel Neuer is an outside hope in the cult of the goalscorer
Manuel Neuer rightly belongs to the top three for the choice of world footballer of the year. But whether he has a chance against Messi and Ronaldo, is questionable.
But one thing is certain: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer in the opinion of FIFA, are the three best footballers on the planet.
Garcia proceeds with appeal against Eckert summary report
By Andrew Warshaw
December 3 – FIFA’s World Cup anti-corruption probe appears no nearer to being resolved after the organisation confirmed that ethics investigator Michael Garcia has gone ahead with his appeal against what he claims were “incomplete and erroneous” published findings of his 430-page report.
UEFA meet to decide National League format
December 3 – The exact format of UEFA’s new Nations League competition tops the agenda at this week’s executive committee meeting at their Swiss headquarters.
Greek tragedy adds new twist with FIFA and UEFA warning to clubs
By Mark Baber
December 3 – FIFA and UEFA have reportedly sent a joint letter to the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) warning that proposed government legislation, which is aimed at tackling the serious problem of corruption and match-fixing in Greek football, constitutes an unacceptable involvement of the state in football and would lead to the country being banned from international competitions.
Russia 2018: Kaliningrad will not be moved, but stadium might be
By Paul Nicholson
December 3 – Questionmarks over whether the 2018 World Cup hosting would make it to Kaliningrad have been dispelled by Russia’s sports minister Vitaly Mutko who said that matches won’t be transferred to another city from Kaliningrad.
40,000-seat Qatar Foundation Stadium plans unveiled
December 3 – With precision timing exactly four years after they won the vote to stage the 2022 World Cup, Qatar organisers have unveiled designs for their fourth planned venue, the 40,000-seat Qatar Foundation Stadium.
IOC’s Bach wants renewed pledges for FIFA to avoid Winter games in 2022
By Andrew Warshaw
December 3 – The president of the International Olympic Committee has re-iterated his call to FIFA not to allow the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to clash with the winter Games of the same year.
Aussie women join calls for World Cup 2015 to be played on grass
By Andrew Warshaw
December 3 – The Australian team participating in next year’s women’s World Cup in Canada have threatened to join the legal fight against the use of artificial turf if there is no satisfactory resolution, according to the lawyer representing the protesters.
Blatter says western firms need to look closer to home over Qatar labour abuses
December 3 – FIFA is not responsible for the conditions of migrant workers employed to build stadiums for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Sepp Blatter has re-iterated. But FIFA are monitoring the situation in Qatar closely with constant feedback over the welfare of foreign workers following an international outcry over their ill-treatment.