By Mark Baber
August 29 – Following last week’s admission by Libya that is would be impossible for them to host the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017, a surprising number of countries have expressed interest in hosting the tournament, with bids due to be submitted by the end of September.
Two months ago, when UEFA president Michel Platini was still weighing up whether to run for the top job in world football, it became abundantly clear in the build-up to the FIFA Congress in Sao Paulo that Europe was massively outnumbered in its opposition to a fifth term for Sepp Blatter.
So why did Platini not declare there and then that it was too risky to take on the wily old Swiss? It’s a fair question and one Platini was asked about when he finally announced,
“Hail, thou that art highly favoured… blessed art thou.” Archangel Gabriel to Mary; Luke 1:28
It has been a purgatorial 12 months or so for Manchester United. So if you are a supporter of theirs it must be tempting to look to a man named Angel Di María as some sort of celestial deliverer for your club. Sure, one Angel does not make a host but it should not be too hard for a £59.7 million player of his quality to make an impact.
By Andrew Warshaw in Monaco
August 29 – UEFA president Michel Platini says he will not allow Africa or Asia to take a World Cup place away from Europe as long as he is in charge of European football.
By Paul Nicholson
August 28 – Russia is poised to embark on a programme of football reform in a bid to improve the standard and competitiveness of its national team and club sides in advance of the 2018 World Cup. The proposals include quotas on overseas players – called legionnaires in the draft bill – as well as regulation of how clubs spend their cash.
By Mark Baber
August 28 – Players who cancel their contracts and move to a new club are frequently being caught up paperwork that prevents them actually playing for their new club while they wait for an International Transfer Certificate (ITC) to be issued. Delays can be long as national association refuse to deliver the ITC on the instructions of the former club, creating difficulties in registering the player with his new club and thus impeding his right to play.
By Andrew Warshaw in Monaco
August 29 – Michel Platini says his revolutionary pan-European 2020 Euro finals will wipe out white elephants as it emerged that Wembley stadium is now odds-on favourite to hold the latter stages of the finals.
August 29 – An unusual lawsuit has been filed against FIFA from a group of parents and players in the United States concerned about how football’s world governing body handles concussion treatment.
August 29 – The draw for the group stages of the Champions League, conducted in Monaco today, threw up its usual mixture of mouth-watering ties and unknown quantities.
By Andrew Warshaw in Monaco
August 28 – UEFA has invited the heads of the Russian and Ukrainian federations to its Swiss headquarters next month in an attempt to resolve the ongoing crisis over Crimean clubs and secure some kind of breakthrough.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
August 28 – Poland’s Stomil Olsztyn has outlined plans to build a new 12,000 capacity stadium in a bid to lure new supporters, as it pushes its way up the country’s league structure.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent, in Monaco
August 28 – The most open secret in football politics was confirmed today when UEFA president Michel Platini ended months of speculation by officially announcing he would not be standing against Sepp Blatter for the top job in world football.
By Mark Baber
August 28 – The inaugural edition of Australia’s FFA Cup has run into controversy as Football Federation Australia insist that no live streaming of games is allowed, even though only two games in the Round of 16 will be broadcast live on Fox Sports.
Voila…
So Michel Platini will be staying at UEFA.
And it might be just as well there’s nothing to divert his attention from an important revamp, in which his General Secretary Gianni Infantino has been instrumental.
By Alexander Krassimirov
August 28 – The owner of Ludogorets Razgrad, Kiril Domuschiev, has said he will do everything in his power to get permission to hold Ludogorets’ Champions League home games at the National Stadium Vasil Levski in Sofia. The Bulgarians dramatically qualified for the group stages after a penalty shoot out last night with Steaua Bucharest.