Inside World Football - Page 1632 of 2159 - For the Business of Football

Massimo Cecchini: La ‘Diversita’ Italiana

Il calcio italiano ha un presidente federale e un commissario tecnico. Voi direte: che cosa c’è di strano? Nulla, eppure tanto. Dopo il progressivo affondamento del movimento che ruota attorno al pallone – materializzatosi nei fallimenti degli ultimi due Mondiali, nel progressivo affondamento nei ranking Fifa e Uefa e nella violenza che la fa da padrone – l’11 agosto l’assemblea federale ha eletto il nuovo presidente della Figc. Come ampiamente previsto, il “nuovo che avanza”

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Sorokin says focus is on delivery of 2018, not on politics

alexei sorokin

By Andrew Warshaw
August 18 – The head of Russia’s 2018 World Cup organising committee has broken his silence over calls in some quarters for the country to be stripped of host status as a result of the widely condemned military and political intervention in Ukraine.

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Transparency International signs on with clubs for match-fixing battle

Frederic Thiriez

August 18 – European leagues have joined forces with the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International to promote an awareness campaign on how to avoid match-fixing amid concerns that the internet has given the fraudsters more ammunition than ever.

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Infront secures four more years to their package of German sales rights

DFB Cup

August 18 – Infront Sports & Media has signed a four-year deal for the international media distribution rights to World Champions Germany for home friendly matches, as well as the rights to the DFB Cup.

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Blatter puts faith in technology and renews call for video challenges

Sepp Blatter11

By Andrew Warshaw
August 18 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has renewed his call for managers to each be allowed two tennis-style challenges against contentious officiating decisions during matches. Blatter first made his surprise suggestion during FIFA’s annual congress in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in June, raising eyebrows among delegates since he had hitherto been opposed to any video aids other than goal-line technology.

Africa

Two names, one player, leave Rwanda sanctioned over identity crisis

Congo vs Rwanda

August 18 – Rwanda have been thrown out of the Africa Cup of Nations over a bizarre case of player eligibility. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) took the decision following a protest by Congo who have been re-instated in the qualifying competition for next year’s finals in Morocco.

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One year on CSKA Sofia shows financial stability and transparency

Tomov CSKA

By Alexander Krassimirov
August 18 – CSKA Sofia’s board has given a breakdown of what has been a turbulent past financial year. The President Alexander Tomov (pictured) and CEO Alexander Todorov took charge of CSKA a year ago, when the club was facing bankruptcy.

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Russian poll finds positive attitude to 2018 but some concern on costs

Russian flag

August 18 – A survey by the Russian Foundation of Public Opinion found that the overwhelming majority of Russians believe that holding the 2018 World Cup in Russia will promote interest in sport and a healthy lifestyle.

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David Owen: 1974 – when British football was whiter than white and QPR briefly looked like the shape of the future

Rummaging through my mother’s garage, I found a mildewed relic: a copy of Shoot! “incorporating Goal”‘s summer special from 1974.

It was not a happy time for English football. The Alf Ramsey era had just fizzled to a close with a goalless draw in Portugal. With the World Cup that England had failed to qualify for about to take place in West Germany, the first article was an assessment of Ramsey’s long reign.

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English fans protest ticket prices as Premier League ready for kick off

ticket price protest

By Andrew Warshaw
August 15 – The new English Premier League season gets under way this weekend amid renewed concerns over the cost of ticket prices. Yesterday the Football Supporters’ Federation organised a march towards the London headquarters of the Premier League wielding banners declaring “Football without fans is nothing” and “Demand cuts in ticket prices”.

Africa

Nigeria crisis descends into farce as Maigari resigns and FIFA demand roadmap

Aminu Maigari

By Mark Baber
August 15 – The crisis in Nigerian football descended into farce on Thursday as it became clear the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) president Aminu Maigari (pictured), had officially resigned from his post whilst a letter from FIFA arrived demanding the NFF reinstate him and the Executive Committee which had been in place before the World Cup.

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Poland to scrap supporters’ cards in bid to boost attendances

Polish fans

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
August 15 – In a bid to boost attendance of football matches in Poland, the parliament’s Physical Culture and Sports commission has unveiled a legislative proposal to scrap supporters’ cards which are currently a prerequisite for attending Polish league matches. Under the plan, the cards will be cancelled in the 2015/2016 season.

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World Cups are bad for your health: sue FIFA and its referees

Rodriguez yellow carded vs Brazil

August 15 – FIFA has to deal with scores of complaints on an almost daily basis but few are surely more bizarre than the revelation that a Colombian lawyer is suing world football’s governing body for €1 billion over “moral damages” caused by refereeing at the World Cup.

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FIFPro calls for new Italian chief Tavecchio to apologise publicly in Rome

Carlo Tavecchio

August 15 – World players union FIFPro has questioned whether newly-elected Italian football federation (FIGC) president Carlo Tavecchio is suitable for the job following his racist comments about African players.

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Legia lose UEFA appeal but now head for CAS over ‘prison sentence’ penalty

Henning Berg

By Andrew Warshaw
August 15 – Legia Warsaw are to take their Champions League expulsion to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as their usually mild-mannered coach Henning Berg accused UEFA of imposing a jail sentence-like penalty for a minor offense and ignoring their own policy over fair play.