CSKA Moscow owner lines up a stake in Slavia Prague
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
November 18 – CSKA Moscow owner Yevgeni Giner (pictured) is reportedly in talks with Ales Rebicek, owner of Slavia Prague, to buy the Czech football club.
Qatar and Amnesty open an on-going dialogue on worker welfare
By Andrew Warshaw in Doha
November 18 – Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers have agreed to maintain an ongoing dialogue with Amnesty International in the wake of the most explosive report to date into workers’ rights violations in the country.
Qataris frustrated but stick to mission promises of delivery and progress
By Andrew Warshaw in Doha
November 18 – Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers admit they are becoming “deeply frustrated” by constant negative headlines over whether the country deserves to stage the tournament but will not let all the adverse publicity sidetrack them.
Moroccan chaos as FIFA outlaws elections and orders re-vote
By Paul Nicholson
November 18 – The Club World Cup scheduled for Marrakech and Agadir 11-21 December will not be disrupted by an FIFA Emergency Committee ruling that the governing body will not recognise the elections that were held by the Moroccan Football Association (FRMF) on 10 November 2013.
Andrew Warshaw: Qatar’s Belounis case is raising questions and damaging reputation
The plight of journeyman footballer Zahir Belounis and his desperate appeal to be paid what he’s owed and leave Qatar could hardly have come at a more inopportune time for the 2022 World Cup organisers.
Just as the Qataris were proudly unveiling details of the design and construction for the first of their state-of-the-art stadia for the finals in nine years’ time, so all the pomp and backslapping co-incided with yet more adverse publicity about a case which human rights organisations are using as an example of the restrictive kafala employment system that prevents foreign workers leaving the country until being “released”
Garcia steps in to speed up South African match fixing probe
By Andrew Warshaw
November 18 – Frustrated with South Africa’s continual refusal to put its own house in order, FIFA’s ethics committee prosecutor Michael Garcia has opened an investigation into allegations of match-fixing in friendlies in the lead-up to the 2010 World Cup.
Matt Scott: United’s overseas commercial empire begins to take on an infinite form
“Men yearn for poetry though they may not confess it; they desire that joy shall be graceful and sorrow august and infinity have a form, and India fails to accommodate them,” E.M. Forster, A Passage to India
When, four seasons ago, so many Manchester United fans adopted green and gold, the colours of their club’s first-ever kit, it was as a symbol of peaceful protest against the ownership of the Glazer family.
Amnesty details Qatari migrant worker abuses and demands FIFA gets tough
By Andrew Warshaw in Doha
November 17 – Amnesty International has urged FIFA to take a tougher line over the plight of migrant workers in Qatar as a damning new report highlights widespread abuse of human rights in the country that is preparing to stage the 2022 World Cup.
Qataris unveil first new stadium design and promise delivery…and safety
By Andrew Warshaw in Doha
November 16 – Their World Cup bid campaign message, still seen emblazoned across parts of the capital even though it is now almost three years after the vote, was ‘Expect Amazing’. Having achieved their goal of being awarded the event, Qatar’s 2022 organisers have come up with a new, updated logo, ‘Expect Delivery’. Nine years out from hosting the tournament, officials today unveiled their first stadium design and promised to make sure the workers who construct it will be safe from injury.
Exclusive: Six years on, London’s Olympic stadium shambles over Premiership football bites deep into UK taxpayers
By Mihir Bose
November 15 – The decision to lease the Olympic stadium to West Ham still generates huge controversy with Barry Hearn owner of Leyton Orient vowing to fight it all the way to Europe. Hearn is awaiting a report on Olympic Legacy by a select committee of the House of Lord’s due on Monday.
Tears and fears for Euro giants Bayern and Man Utd over financial results
By Paul Nicholson
November 15 – It was a mixed bag of emotions amongst Europe’s elite clubs this week as both Bayern Munich and Manchester United announced club record financial results.
Bulgaria puts its hard football face aside to embrace blind fan
By Alexander Krassimirov
November 15 – Not all Bulgarian football stories are about owners at war, death threats to referees and violent fans forcing coaches to quit. The love of football by one Bulgarian fan has touched the hearts of the nation and his favourite club CSKA Sofia.
UN scrutineer urges Qatar to use 2022 to end ‘Kafala’ and migrant abuse
By Andrew Warshaw
November 15 – A leading United Nations official has called on Qatar 2022 World Cup organisers to use the tournament to improve the conditions of migrant workers. Qatar has the highest ratio of migrants to citizens in the world: nearly 88% of the total population are foreign workers, employed largely in construction, services and domestic work.
CFU combines with MLS to open professional door for young talent
By Paul Nicholson
15 November – The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) and Major League Soccer (MLS) have signed a partnership agreement in Antigua that will showcase young Caribbean football talent to the MLS and give the players the opportunity to progress towards professional football in the US. “This provides an opportunity to get our best young players on to the professional ladder. It is the start of an initiative to develop the standard of football across the region,”
Hamm is first woman inductee into Pachuca World Football Hall of Fame
November 15 – Former US national team player Mia Hamm became the first woman to be inducted into the World Football Hall of Fame in Pachuca, Mexico. Hamm played 275 times for the US over a 17-year career, scoring 158 goals – more than any other international players, male or female.