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Matt Scott: Football’s new megastars are worlds away from the players of yore

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“I have hit rock bottom and I don’t see any way out of it,” Chelsea’s former European Cup Winners’ Cup winner, Alan Hudson

Alan Hudson is 62 years of age now but when he was the playmaker for a useful Chelsea team during the 1970s he was one of the Kings of the King’s Road. He was a household name, leading a lifestyle as flamboyant as the football he played over the 400-plus top-flight appearances he made as the creative force of clubs that consistently challenged for trophies.

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FIFA extends English and Slovakian player bans worldwide

FIFA House

February 25 – FIFA has extended the bans worldwide to one English and two Slovakian players following allegations of match-fixing. The sanctions are an enforcement of penalties that have already been issued by their national federations.

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Rangers borrow £1.5m but players refuse to take wage cuts

Rangers

February 25 – Scottish giant Rangers have announced to the stock exchange £1.5 million loan from shareholders to provide short term working capital to the club. The club is listed on the London AIM market.

Africa

CAF awards CHAN to Kenya and sets qualifying path for Morocco 2015

Cup of nations 2013 winners

By Paul Nicholson
February 25 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has awarded Kenya the rights to host the 2018 African Nations Championship (Chan), Rwanda will host 2016. CAF has also outlined details of the Morocco 2015 Orange Cup of Nations (CAN).

Osasu Obayiuwana

Osasu Obayiuwana: The real art of management in Nigeria is keeping the job

In the sensible regions of planet football, a manager that does the tough work of qualifying a team for a World Cup finals has earned the right to manage the team at it.

But what is obviously the logical, common-sense thing, is certainly not the established rule in Nigerian football, where they operate from a different playbook.

Over the last 20 years, as well as in the four tournaments the Super Eagles have played in (1994,

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Barca move fast to pay extra €13.5m Neymar tax bill and appease courts

Neymar

February 25 – Barcelona have paid €13.5 million to the Spanish authorities after being charged with tax fraud over the much-publicised signing of Neymar which partly led to the resignation of former Barca president Sandro Rosell.

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‘Not on the right path’ says Siefert over Platini plans for Euro qualifiers

Christian Siefert

By Andrew Warshaw
February 25 – Bundesliga boss Christian Seifert has branded Michel Platini as “somewhat arrogant” after the UEFA president criticised Germany for objecting to the expansion of the European Championship finals.

Africa

South Africa’s Nedbank Cup announces R20m prize money

Nedbank Cup

February 25 – South Africa’s premier club knockout cup, The Nedbank Cup, has announced prize money of R7 million ($647,000) for the winner of this year’s competition, an increase of R1 million ($92,000) from last year. Total prize money for the competition is R20 million ($1.85 million).

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Grassroots courses continue their roll out across the Caribbean

StVincentGrassRoots1 FeatImage-769x385

February 25 – The CONCACAF grassroots programme continues to roll out across the Caribbean Islands. St.Vincent and the Grenadines were the latest to host the programme which concluded on Saturday at the Arnos Vale Stadium in Kingstown.

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Czech’s Gambrinus Liga boosts broadcast revenue with new deal and partner

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
February 24 – STES, the marketing arm of the Czech football association FACR, has signed a new broadcasting rights deal for the country’s Gambrinus Liga with local company Pragosport. The Czech company acquired the broadcasting rights for the top tier of the Czech professional football league for the next four years. The contract will enter into force in the 2014/2015 season.

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SPL broadcast delayed as fans turn the airwaves blue

Ross County vs St Mirren

February 24 – BBC Alba in Scotland delayed its Saturday night broadcast of the Ross County vs St Mirren Scottish Premier League match because of the amount of swearing that could be heard on the broadcast by fans.

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Sao Paulo protests lead to more violence and a hardened political agenda

Brazilian police

February 24 – Public demonstrations in Sao Paulo, Brazil, again turned violent this weekend with police moving in swiftly to disperse rioters. The protest started peacefully with about 1,000 people, but the police stepped in when protestors set barricades alight and started smashing shop windows.

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There was no tax fraud in the Neymar deal, says new Barca chief

Josep Bartomeu

February 24 – Barcelona’s new president Josep Bartomeu (pictured) insists the transfer of Neymar to the Catalan giants was “completely legal” and that the club is totally innocent of tax fraud.

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Platini defends 24-team Euros format – ‘that’s democracy’

Michel Platini and Euro 2016

February 24 – UEFA president Michel Platini has countered opposition to those who claim expanding the European Championship finals to 24 teams will water down the competition and reduce the quality and spectacle.

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Exclusive: Prince Ali speaks on labour changes in Qatar, Palestine, match-fixing and elections

Prince Ali bin al Hussein

By Andrew Warshaw in Amman
February 25 – Asia’s FIFA vice-president has added his voice to those who believe the issue of workers’ rights in Qatar has become far more crucial than whether the 2022 World Cup is played in winter or summer. But, said Jordan’s Prince Ali bin al Hussein, the Gulf state had to be given a fair chance to prove it can implement the measures it promises will be put in place in order to ease the plight of migrant workers.