Team GB star in meningitis scare
By David Gold
July 3 – Team GB men’s football forward Daniel Sturridge has had tests for meningitis, threatening his participation in the Olympic Games.
Dominica Football Association exile President following cash-for-votes scandal
By Andrew Warshaw
July 3 – The fallout from last year’s cash-for-votes scandal involving Caribbean FIFA members has taken another twist with the news that the Dominica Football Association has voted to bar their President Patrick John for the remainder of his term of office.
David Owen: A tale of two Euros – why Platini’s Big Idea for one Euro may hinge on politicians’ big ideas for another
Two years ago, it looked odds-on that the 2020 European Championship would be staged in Turkey.
An impressive campaign for Euro 2016, in which the Turks were edged out by France, many thought unluckily, allied to a vibrant economy and the scale to cope with the tournament’s expansion to 24 teams, left the strong impression that Ankara’s claim to Euro 2020 (pictured below, logo) would be all but irresistible – if they decided that they wanted the competition.
Superstar Marta to lead Brazil’s women footballers at London 2012
By David Gold
July 3 – Brazil’s women’s football coach Jorge Barcellos has named the 18-strong squad which will compete at this summer’s Olympic Games in London.
Exclusive: England could play friendly against Brazil to mark opening of Mineirão stadium
By Andrew Warshaw
July 3 – England could be invited to play a friendly in Brazil to mark the opening of the new Mineirão 2014 World Cup stadium in Belo Horizonte, insideworldfootball has learned.
Philip Barker: How Britain’s footballers earned a reprieve to compete in Melbourne 1956 Games
The announcement of Britain’s Olympic football squad has made front page news, not least because of who was left out. Back in 1956, the side for the Melbourne Games was named in instalments and they had already been knocked out of the tournament once.
For the first time, a home and away system of qualification had been introduced.
In those days British international teams were chosen by a panel of selectors.
UEFA to delay naming of Euro 2020 hosts
By Andrew Warshaw
July 2 – UEFA will vote on selecting the host nation for the 2020 European Championship in May 2014, several months later than originally announced, another decision which seems to help Istanbul’s campaign to stage the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.
There’s not a manager around who picks on sentiment, insists Pearce
By Andrew Warshaw at Wembley Stadium in London
July 2 – Team GB coach Stuart Pearce suffered the anticipated bombardment here today over the shock omission of David Beckham from his London 2012 squad – and steadfastly insisted the decision was taken for purely footballing reasons.
Deschamps favourite for French post following Blanc departure
By David Gold
July 2 – Laurent Blanc has left his role as head coach of the French national team following its quarter-final exit in the 2012 UEFA European Championship – with World Cup-winning captain Didier Deschamps primed to succeed him.
Clubs to enjoy share of €100 million after sending players to Euro 2012
By Andrew Warshaw
July 2 – Around 580 clubs will benefit from payments handed out by UEFA to cover players who were involved in both the qualification phase for the 2012 European Championship and the finals in Poland and Ukraine.
Giggs and Bellamy defy Welsh FA as they join Team GB for London 2012
By David Gold at Wembley Stadium in London
July 2 – Ryan Giggs and Craig Bellamy, as expected, defied the wishes of the Football Association of Wales (FAW) when they were confirmed by Team GB men’s football coach Stuart Pearce as part of his 18-man squad for the London 2012 Olympics here today.
I’d have picked Beckham, says former manager Eriksson
By Andrew Warshaw
July 2 – Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson is the latest figure to express surprise at David Beckham being omitted from Team GB as one of the three over-age players at the London 2012 Olympics.
Fenerbahçe chair Yıldırım hit with six-year jail sentence in match-fixing scandal
By David Gold
July 2 – Fenerbahçe chairman Aziz Yıldırım has been handed a six-year, three-month jail sentence after he was convicted for his role in the Turkish match-fixing scandal by a court in Çağlayan.
Postpone goal-line technology decision, urges UEFA
By Andrew Warshaw
July 2 – UEFA is doing its best to prevent football’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), from finally giving the green light this week to goal-line technology.
Mihir Bose: Hodgson’s man-management skills, not grasp of language, will determine his success with England
Fabio Capello’s dig at Wayne Rooney that the England star striker only understands “Scottish” has raised a few hackles. It was in response to comments by Rooney that under Roy Hodgson there are no language problems in the English team.
This has generated much debate about whether a team can perform well unless players and managers share a common language. The Italian (pictured below, second from right), who has been criticised for not learning English,