January 29 – While attention and nervousness surround preparations and fast-approaching deadlines for the 2014 Brazil World Cup, the Russians are more quietly and methodically making their preparations for 2018.
January 29 – Third party ownership of footballers’ economic rights is a hot issue that raises questions of integrity, money being siphoned out the game, and unbalancing of the football market. The big European nations generally hate it, the South Americans, in particular, embrace it. Lawyer Pāvels Tjusevs examines the business and draws some uncomfortable conclusions for football.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
January 29 – Just over a week after announcing he was running for FIFA president, Jerome Champagne has given the strongest hint yet that he will withdraw rather than stand against Sepp Blatter – and that he would readily accept a new position under his former boss if he fails to land the top job.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 29 – The English Premier League maybe the most watched televised league globally but German football is still the best attended and continues to set an example when it comes to economic stability and collective responsibility.
By Paul Nicholson
January 29 – The President of the Polish Football Association, Zbigniew Boniek, has joined the Supervisory board of Poland’s Ekstraklasa, the country’s top league.
By Paul Nicholson
January 29 – The first diversity training sessions have been held in St Lucia as part of the CONCACAF grassroots development programme. The confederation plan is to include similar sessions in future grassroots and similar development courses.
January 29 – The local organising committee for the 2022 World Cup has been formally activated following a shake-up of the board of the directors that, until now, had been known as the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee.
“Is any of the opposition around?” “Not in any condition to be worried about.” Donald ‘Red’ Grant in conversation with James Bond, From Russia With Love
When Roman Abramovich pitched up at Stamford Bridge with his whirlwind takeover in 2003, few people outside Siberia or the oil-and-gas sector of industry and banking had ever heard of him. But in the decade since his unlikely transformation from governor of Chukotka to guv’nor at Chelsea,
January 28 – UEFA boss Michel Platini has taken another opportunity to promote his preferred system of additional assistant referees (AARs) to help with contentious calls.
January 28 – Russia and Georgia have agreed to end their footballing stand-off and play each other if paired together in next month’s draw for the Euro 2016 qualifying tournament.
By Paul Nicholson
January 28 – Darlington FC, one of England’s oldest football clubs, is staging a financial comeback, allbeit on a small scale. The club has introduced a ‘crowdfunding’ initiative to raise an initial £50,000 with further targets of £150,000 as the next steps.
By Alexander Krassimirov
January 28 – Dissatisfied with the management of Levski Sofia fans decided to create a supporters’ trust. The association will be named Blue Bulgaria, and its purpose will be to raise funds that will be invested in the club, but only under certain conditions.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 28 – Brazil’s assistant coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has added his voice to growing concerns over delays in World Cup preparations, saying it’s “a joke” that it took so long to start work on some of the infrastructure projects and blasting the authorities for “total neglect”.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 28 – Former French international striker Nicolas Anelka has pledged to stand his ground and not quit despite being charged by the English Football Association over his allegedly racist ‘quenelle’ gesture that continues to rumble on in both Britain and his homeland.
By Paul Nicholson
January 28 – Just as Arsenal were announcing a record new £150 million kit deal with Puma, Liverpool, one of their rivals for the Premier League title, were announcing airline Garuda Indonesia as their first Official Training Kit Partner.