By Gareth Messenger
May 30 – It’s official, Emirates Airline has confirmed a four-year sponsorship deal with Spanish club Real Madrid believed to be in the region of around €120 million.
By Tom Parsons
May 29 – Everton fans caused a twitter storm over the club’s proposed new club badege with 20,000 people signing a petition against the change. The club moved quickly to apologise and reverse the decision.
By Andrew Warshaw in Mauritius
May 30 – The head of the Palestinian football federation says the harsh treatment of his country’s players and officials by Israel is showing no sign of receding despite the best efforts of FIFA President Sepp Blatter.
May 29 – The roof failure during heavy rain on Monday at the Fonte Nova Arena was down to “human error” according to a statement by engineering director José Luis Goes, of the Fonte Nova Participacoes (FNP) group, which manages the stadium.
By Mark Baber
May 29 – A row has broken out between the football authorities of the UAE and Iran after the announcement that the UAE Pro League will be renamed the Arabian Gulf League from next season.
May 29 – The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee has appointed Amsterdam Arena and IMG as the Stadium Operations Consultants for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.
Exclusive: by Andrew Warshaw in Mauritius
May 29 – The full extent of the split between Europe and the rest of FIFA – and potentially between Sepp Blatter and his possible successor Michel Platini – over the much-touted reform process has been underlined with the revelation that UEFA were officially outvoted over the decision to postpone age and term limits for senior officials for another 12 months.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent, in Mauritius
May 29 – The official charged with enforcing proper financial controls at FIFA after a spate of corruption scandals has launched an astonishing attack on Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer, the disgraced duo who led CONCACAF for the best part of a generation.
May 29 – FIFA’s executive committee may have been split on the reform package they are to put to Friday’s Congress vote, but they did find concensus on other matters, including the awarding of tournament hosts, shortlisting of tournament bids and an update on next year’s World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw, in Mauritius
May 29 – The man leading the global fight to wipe racism out of football has confirmed that players and officials face five-match bans and that clubs and national teams face points deductions, stadium closures, relegation and being thrown out of competitions if found guilty of abuse.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correpondent, in Mauritius
May 29 – Sepp Blatter’s personal crusade to clean up FIFA after years of scandal and corruption has taken a massive hit with the news that age restrictions and term of office limits for FIFA officials – viewed as a key part of the two-year road map to reform – have been dropped from the agenda at Friday’s annual congress.
May 28 – Al Hilal Bank, the Abu Dhabi bank, has renewed its sponsorship of the UAE’s premier club tournament, the UAE President’s Cup, for a fifth year. The other major sponsors are Etisalat and the Abu Dhabi Sports Channel.
By Mark Baber
May 28 – Qatar’s Barwa Real Estate Group has denied its proposed Oryx Island & Gulf Resort projects, widely reported as planned to house World Cup fans, are in any way related to projects for the 2022 World Cup.
By Mark Baber
May 28 – Just when it looked like everything was at last under control in Brazil in readiness for the Confedertion Cup which kicks off mid-June, another building disaster has sruck.
