By Andrew Warshaw
March 3 – Dutch FA chief Michael van Praag has become the latest FIFA presidential candidate to unveil his manifesto, parts of it perceptibly similar to that of the other European candidate vying for Sepp Blatter’s crown, Luis Figo.
By Samindra Kunti
March 3 – Corinthians and the city of Sao Paulo are at odds over a development incentive certificate (DIC) for the Arena Corinthians, worth €12.6 million.
By David Owen
March 3 – New Dutch analysis has estimated that the prevalence of doping in elite sport is “likely” to be between 14 and 39% – far above the level of adverse analytical findings turned up by anti-doping tests. But the analysis also concludes that, while the tools to obtain a far more accurate gauge of true doping levels exist, published studies on the subject are “scarce”.
By Denis de Haas, Sport1
March 3 – As the Bundesliga currently stands both VfB Stuttgart and SC Freiburg need to stay focused on the relegation battle. But now the clubs are haunted by their past.
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.” Nelson Mandela
In Europe at least, falling is an ever-present risk in the game of football. Relegation makes it so. Every year in four of the top-five leagues in the UEFA jurisdiction, 15% must lose their top-flight status. It is a devastating emotional blow for all who suffer it but, due to the riches available to that division in England,
March 3 – Dave Mackay, one of the iconic midfielders of British football whose name will for ever be synonymous with Tottenham Hotspur during the club’s golden era half a century ago, has died at the age of 80.
By Paul Nicholson
March 3 – Buying the wrong player at the wrong price is the biggest mistake a club can make financially. CIES statistics show that the clubs who traded best in the transfer window for the start of the season (in terms of number of best performing players) are Real Madrid and Hoffenheim, followed by Barcelona, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Southampton, Leverkusen and Napoli.
By David Owen
March 2 – The Football Association is keen for Great Britain teams once again to participate in the Olympic football tournament at next year’s Games in the football-besotted city of Rio de Janeiro. This follows the appearance of both men’s and women’s teams at London 2012, when it was felt desirable that the host nation should be represented if possible in every sport. Prior to that, no British team had played at any Olympics for more than half a century.
By Samindra Kunti
March 2 – Royal Antwerp F.C. has taken another step in the process of obtaining a license for the Belgian second division after entrepreneur Patrick Decuyper settled €600,000 of debts.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 2 – The timing could not have been more apt. Just as the custodians of world football decided to delay the advent of video technology to help referees for at least a year, so those in favour of speeding things up pointed to another example of the need for progress with a case of mistaken identity in England’s Premier League.
March 2 – The crisis at cash-strapped Parma has intensified after the Serie A club had a second match called off at the weekend, this time after the players threatened to go on strike over unpaid wages.
March 2 – FIFA has agreed to fund the restoration of the grave of William McCrum, the man responsible for first proposing the penalty kick to football’s lawmakers which was adopted back in 1890.
By Paul Nicholson
March 2 – Queens Park Rangers (QPR) have announced reduced losses of £9.8 million for the year ending May 2014 – the season QPR won promotion back to the English Premier League. The previous year QPR had announced the largest loss ever recorded by an English club – £65.4 million to May 2013 – in the season the club were relegated from the top flight.
By Mark Baber
March 2 – President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick threatened to take legal action against the press on Friday, as his controversial administration continues to be plagued by questions over transparency, NFF finances, a contract for national team coach Stephen Keshi and administrative competence.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 2 – A new FIFA-UEFA spat has emerged, this time over how to resolve the thorny issue of triple punishment – penalty, sending off and suspension – for players who deliberately prevent a goalscoring opportunity.