FIFA backs Byrom, while Match sticks by Whelan

world cup tickets

By Andrew Warshaw
July 14 – FIFA have made their first public comment on the ongoing World Cup ticketing scandal saying they fully support their long-term partner Byrom and its wholly owned subsidiary Match Services AG against the allegations concerning Match’s British accommodation chief Ray Whelan who is at the centre of an investigation by Brazilian authorities.

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Germany’s 2014 World Cup win was 10 years in the making

german fans

By Andrew Warshaw
July 14 – If ever the expression ‘good things comes to those who wait’ is applicable to football, look no further than Germany’s thoroughly deserved World Cup triumph in the Maracana on Sunday night. A repetition of their semi-final humiliation of hosts Brazil was never likely against a resolute, spirited Argentina team who had the better chances yet didn’t record a single shot on target, Lionel Messi being one of the culprits.

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Lee Wellings: Germany make their own luck

“You make your own luck.” A saying that is sometimes true, sometimes designed to push you to do your best and sometimes…it’s nonsense.

But I’m intrigued by the role luck plays in life, in football, in World Cups.

As football has become a business, so coaching has become increasingly like a game of chess. Coaches posing as grandmasters, players often pawns, the straightforward approach of inviting a player to go out and PLAY looking increasingly over-simplistic,

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3rd Place Play Off: Brazil v Netherlands match preview stats

Brazil 2014 logo

July 11 – It wasn’t meant to be like this. The World Cup was planned to be a triumphal march through Brazil for the Seleção, ending at the Maracana for the grand finale at the grandest of football venues. Instead they meet Holland in Brasilia for the third placed play off Saturday. Wake, party or just time for Brazil to wake up?

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Whelan evades arrest as Brazilian police close in on ticket tout ring

Ray Whelan

By Andrew Warshaw
July 11 – The World Cup tickets scandal plaguing FIFA in the build-up to Sunday’s showpiece final is further intensifying with Brazilian police now treating the figure at the centre of their inquiries, Ray Whelan (pictured), who works for one of FIFA’s key associate companies, as a fugitive while his employers insist he is totally innocent of any wrongdoing.

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