By Andrew Warshaw
February 22 – A two-day conference on match-fixing at which the dangers facing Asian football were starkly underlined have resulted in the Asian Football Confederation setting up a task force to try and clamp down on arguably the most serious crisis facing the game.
The timing is quite striking.
On July 3, Bob Diamond resigned as chief executive of Barclays, in the midst of a political firestorm touched off by a £290 million fine meted out to the bank by UK and US authorities.
On July 12, it extended until May 2016 its sponsorship of the English Premier League.
By the end of August (with Chelsea three points clear at the top of the table),
By Andrew Warshaw
February 21 – The battle to succeed Mohamed bin Hammam as head of Asian football has taken a surprising twist with Saudi Arabia’s Hafez Al Medlej (pictured left) almost certainly putting his name forward along with the anticipated contenders.
February 21 – Brazilian customs announced Wednesday that they had seized 200,000 counterfeit Chinese balls which were being smuggled into the country.
By Mark Baber
February 21 – Youssef Suleiman, a player from the Homs-based al-Wathbah club, was killed by a mortar attack on the Tishreen Sports Complex in Damascus on Wednesday.
It has been a move so sharp, opportunistic and clinical any of the great strikers would have been proud of it.
Sepp Blatter moving into the space ahead of UEFA and putting himself and FIFA at the forefront of the fight against racism.
A set of apparently tough proposals from FIFA’s Strategic Committee are to be put in front of the Executive Committee late in March, and conceivably ratified by FIFA Congress in May.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 21 – The two rival football federations in Indonesia have agreed to merge to avoid stringent FIFA sanctions that would wreck the country’s entire international status.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 21 – In what appeared to be yet another unprovoked anti-Semitic ambush, Tottenham Hotspur fans have been attacked in a bar in the French city of Lyon on the eve of their side’s Europa League last-32 tie.
By Paul Nicholson
February 20 – David Gill, chief executive of Manchester United, is to stand down from the position he has held since 2003 but will remain on the board as a director of the club.
By Mark Baber
February 20 – Fresh fears of whether Brazil will be ready in time to host the 2013 Confederations Cup Construction have arisen again, as workers refurbishing the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro went on strike on Monday.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 20 – The acting head of Asian football says stakeholders throughout the entire Continent must work together to eliminate the “cancer” of match-fixing which has its roots in illegal Asian gambling dens.
February 20 – Kenya has confirmed its intention to bid to host the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019 as well as the 2017 Africa Youth Championships.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 20 – In a landmark fan protest that could have significant long-term consequences, supporters of two English clubs have joined forces to condemn what they claim are unlawful ticket and travel restrictions.
February 20 – The Football League has once again rebuffed a rival bid to take over stricken English club Portsmouth, re-iterating they will only consider a fans’ takeover.
The elation of winning the Africa Cup of Nations, being at the top of the continental football summit, is what matters for the ordinary fan; National team triumph, and the accompanying two-year bragging rights, mean everything to them.
But as football federation officials from Nigeria, the newly crowned champions – or the 28 previous winners of the trophy – will bluntly tell you, that is all a nation gets.