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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“There can be only one,” Connor MacLeod, Highlander
Arsène Wenger might have you believe that competing in the Champions League matters; that an attractive style of play is important. But he is wrong. Football today is all about winning, and as a graduate in economics he should know that.
By Mark Baber
December 2 – The death of Deportivo de La Coruña fan Francisco José Romero Taboada before the match between and Atlético de Madrid on Sunday has dominated Spain’s news agenda, with the Spanish government saying the death marks a watershed and Ultra groups will be banned from stadiums.
By Mathias Frohnapfel
December 2 – In an interview with our associated company, SPORT1, Bayern Munich’s commercial chief and board member Andreas Jung spoke about shirt sales, the Dortmund rivalry, the rise of Leipzig and Uli Hoeness. Jung was speaking before the meeting of Bayern club members last week.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
December 2 – Michel d’Hooghe, one of FIFA’s longest-serving administrators who is being investigated as part of the World Cup anti-corruption probe, says he is suffering “the hardest period of my life” and being treated “like a murderer” even though he has done nothing wrong and has absolutely nothing to hide.