By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
August 6 – Stripping Qatar of hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup just because of the heat issue and the fuss generated over a possible switch to winter is not an option, according to the FIFA-appointed expert who first cautioned about the dangers of taking the tournament to the Gulf state in the first place.
August 6 – Hard on the heels of the qualifying rounds of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Women’s Under 20 qualifiers, the CFU Women’s Under 17 tournament qualifiers kick off tomorrow in Puerto Rico.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 6 – Fallen Scottish giants Rangers are once again embroiled in turmoil after chairman Walter Smith quit less than a week before the start of the new league season describing the boardroom as “highly dysfunctional” and lacking integrity.
August 6 – FIFA have been quick to allay fears of a drugs problem in Turkish football following the announcement by the Turkish Athletics Association that 31 athletes have been banned for two years for doping violations.
By Mark Baber
August 4 – Anjorin Moucharafou, hugely experienced football administrator, former president of the Benin Football Federation (FBF) and a current member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive committee, has been imprisoned, along with Cécile Houssou, the former FBF accountant, accused of mismanagement of sponsorship funds.
By Mark Baber
August 4 – The Ghana Football Association (GFA) end-of season awards ceremony has been cancelled by the GFA due to the non-payment of sponsorship funds by Globacom (Glo), the League’s main sponsor, whose contract is currently due for renewal.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 4 – FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has admitted there were “challenges and deficiencies” for his organisation at this summer’s Confederations Cup, marred by nationwide street protests, but insists that any mistakes made at the World Cup warm-up tournament helped concentrate the mind on how to prepare for the real thing next year.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 4 – Israeli and Palestinian leaders have hailed Barcelona’s “peace tour” to the region as a vitally symbolic breakthrough but the visit also highlighted the deep-rooted distrust as Palestinian FA boss Jibril Rajoub, not for the first time, denounced Israel’s conduct towards his country’s athletes.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 4 – FIFA’s top medical man has re-iterated there is no systematic doping in football following three reported cases of players testing positive this year in FIFA competitions.
By Alexander Krassimirov
August 4 – The new governing and executive body of Bulgarian clubs CSKA Sofia has kept its promise and revealed the monthly salaries of the team’s players and coaching staff. CSKA is the first club in Bulgaria to disclose the salaries of its employees to the public.
By Paul Nicholson
August 2 – FIFA has provisionally suspended investigations into former FIFA executive committee member Chuck Blazer until the end of 2013 at the latest. The decision, taken by chief of investigation Robert Torres, was made after Torres received written confirmation that Blazer will not be engaging in any football-related activities until at least 31 December 2013.
August 2 – The Italian football federation has banned Lazio captain Stefano Mauri (pictured) for six months for his part in the 2011 Italian match-fixing scandal.
August 2 – Wells Fargo has become the exclusive retail banking and commercial lending sponsor of MLS following a deal struck with MLS commercial rights agency Soccer United Marketing (SUM).
By Mark Baber
August 2 – Nike has extended its apparel sponsorship deal with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) till 2017 whilst the AIFF continues its moves towards the creation of an IMG-Reliance League to run separately to the I-League.
August 2 – The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) has been accepted as a member of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) Consultative Committee.