Oman goes professional with launch of new Omantel league
By Mark Baber
September 2 – The Oman Football Association (OFA) is to launch its first professional league, the Omantel Professional League (OPL), the with new league starting with the new season on September 13.
Teixeira heads for safe haven of Andorra and out of Brazilian reach
By Paul Nicholson
September 2 – Ricardo Teixeira, the former FIFA executive committee member and head of the Brazilian football federation (CBF) for 23 years, has applied and, according to reports, been granted residency in Andorra. The landlocked micro-state in the Pyrennees, bordered by Spain and France, does not have an extradition treaty with Brazil, effectively putting Teixeira out of the reach of any potential Brazilian court summons.
Andrew Warshaw: Breakfast with Platini, Qatar 2022, but don’t mention the FIFA presidency
Breakfast with Michel Platini is an annual media gathering on the fringes of the Champions League draw in Monaco that has become almost de rigueur for anyone trying to get inside the head of the UEFA president.
Informal and charmingly mischievous, you invariably get him in an engaging, outgoing mood – in a variety of languages – away from all those official functions and formalities.
Yet among the nods, winks, innuendos and wise-cracking,
Blatter says Swiss wage proposals would create problems for football
By Mark Baber
September 2 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has warned urgently against the Swiss 1:12 initiative which he says would create a real problem for football in the country and the hinder the possibility of attracting talent from abroad, in an interview with the newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag.
Finally, Bale deal is done, records broken and all sides ‘moving on’
By Andrew Warshaw
September 2 – The worst kept secret in football was officially rubbed-stamped on Sunday as Tottenham Hotspur’s Gareth Bale joined nine-time European champions Real Madrid on a six-year deal for a staggering world record transfer fee of €100 million (£85m).
Khoza stands aside in South Africa, opening way for Jordaan or Mazibuko
By Andrew Warshaw
September 2 – Danny Jordaan, the public face of the 2010 World Cup who has waited patiently to fulfil his ambitions amid a myriad political manoeuvring, is one step closer to snaring the most powerful football position in his native South Africa after his one-time ally turned bitter rival, Irvin Khoza, withdrew his candidacy for the presidential election on September 28.
Powerbrokers head for Zurich to seek Palestinian solutions
By Andrew Warshaw
September 2 – The landmark first meeting of the newly created FIFA Task Force set up to try and break the bitter divisions between Israel and Palestine over travel restrictions imposed in the West Bank and Gaza will be held tomorrow (September 3) at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.
Platini calls for transfer window shake-up and a healthier system
By Andrew Warshaw in Monaco
August 30 – UEFA boss Michel Platini wants to shorten the summer transfer window to try and end the instability and brinkmanship across Europe that is increasingly infuriating coaches who are unable to plan ahead.
FFP is working with UEFA reporting club losses cut by €600m
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent, in Monaco
August 30 – With the threat of sanctions hanging over them, European clubs have drastically reduced their losses in order to abide by UEFA’s strict financial fair play regulations which include the ultimate punishment of throwing teams out of the Champions League and Europa League. Figures provided by European football’s governing body show that overall losses among the 237 clubs participating in UEFA competitions fell from €1.7 billion in 2011 to €1.1 billion last year –
Team India land Oil and Natural Gas Corporation as lead sponsor
August 30 – The All India Football Federation (AIFF) President, Praful Patel, has said that the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will be the sponsor of the Indian national team for the next season.
Trabzonspor’s Sen walks off in tears after verbal abuse from his own fans
By Alexander Krassimirov
August 30 – Trabzonspor footballer Volkan Sen walked off the pitch in tears after receiving verbal abuse from his own side’s supporters during the game against Rizespor in the Turkish Super Lig.
Pailan Arrows shot down as Indian federation disbands development club
By Mark Baber
August 30 – The All India Football Federation (AIFF) have disbanded the Pailan Arrows, a Kolkota-based I-League club set up in 2010 to nurture young Indian talent for the 2018 World Cup.
Australia to launch FFA Cup in 2014
August 30 – Football Federation Australia (FFA) has granted in-principle approval for a new domestic cup competition, based on the model of the English FA Cup and including amateur, semi-professional and top flight teams.
Euro drama as Besiktas out, Tromsø and Apoel in, and execs dash for Prague
By Paul Nicholson in Prague
August 30 – Besiktas have lost their last minute appeal against the decision by UEFA to exclude the Turkish club from the Europa League 2013/14. The draw for the group stages, taking place today in Monaco, will now see Besiktas replaced by Norwegian club Tromsø – who had lost to Beşiktaş in the play-off round.