By Mark Baber
March 12 – The European Commission has opened a formal investigation into the financial affairs of Valencia, Hércules and Elche after their recent bail-outs from local government.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 12 – Local officials insist that Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Maracana stadium, still worrying FIFA more than any other venue in the run-up to the Confederations Cup in June, will be ready to stage a test event next month.
March 12 – The power of Brand Beckham was never more evident than in a Rich List just published by Goal.com, the football web site owned by Perform.
By Paul Nicholson
March 12 – Michael Garcia, the American lawyer charged with investigating corruption in football, has given a very clear message to administrators and officials throughout the game: if you have information and “you want to talk, come and talk to me now. I am under orders from no-one.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
March 12 – Former FIFA administrator Jerome Champagne has not ruled out running for President if, as expected, Sepp Blatter steps down in two years’ time. Since leaving FIFA under a cloud in 2010 after 11 years, the multi-lingual former French diplomat has been primarily working as an international football consultant in the field of development as he considers his next heavyweight move.
The island of Ireland is a place where history casts a particularly long shadow.
So perhaps I shouldn’t be as surprised as I am that so few people seem to know about a proud episode in the island’s footballing history that took place 99 years ago.
I first stumbled upon this years ago during one of my periodic trawls through the pages of an old Rothmans football yearbook.
With the centenary approaching,
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
March 11 – Another leading FIFA administrator was dramatically suspended today when Sri Lanka’s Vernon Manilal Fernando (pictured) was provisionally banned from any football activity for 90 days as part of an ongoing investigation by corruption busters.
新增三个赞助商，中超的市场经营板块，在新赛季开始前要好看许多了。打开中超官网，首页下方滚动的几个logo分别是：万达广场、耐克、三星、山东临工和雷曼光电。打开内页，会有哈尔滨啤酒、全体育传媒、CCTV5、新浪体育、体奥动力和五大连池等logo。三星之外，在联赛新赛季开赛前一周，还有华视传媒和神州租车两个新的市场和作者加盟。这样一个市场经营版图，至少logo数量，较前几年丰富了许多。
虽然中超的整体市场经营架构，仍然显得相对杂乱，CCTV5、新浪体育、全体育传媒这样的媒体合作伙伴，与其他市场商业合作伙伴，被混为一谈，但中超的市场号召力，连续三年逐年上升，是显而易见的事实。三星在春节之前已经明确赞助中超，传言为3年6000万人民币，之后还有在公交地铁等户外数字电视平台运营代理权的华视传媒，以及提供用车的神州租车。
By Paul Nicholson
March 11 – Violence erupted in Egypt again over the weekend and the Egyptian FA headquarters were burned down after fans rioted after the second court ruling following the Port Said disaster in February 2012 handed down sentences to a further 54 people and confirmed the 21 death sentences already passed last month.
By Mark Baber
March 11 – Influential Australian think-tank, the Lowy Institute, has published a new report examining how football diplomacy around the 2015 Asian Cup will provide opportunities for government, business and community groups to strengthen their engagement with Asia.
By Mark Baber
March 11 – As FIFA seeks clarification over reported remarks by the head of the Nigeria Women Professional League (NWPL), a tape of the controversial interview has been released by Nigeria’s Premium Times and activists have called for a FIFA ban.
By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
March 11 – Financial figures released by the Premier League’s bottom club, Queens Park Rangers, in their bid to remain in the top flight of English football will have raised eyebrows throughout Europe, not least at UEFA’s Swiss headquarters.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 11 – A Lebanese referee forced to flee for his life has decided to quit, the latest unsavoury episode to strike at the heart of the sport in the Middle Eastern country.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 11 – The biggest fan ownership scheme in English football has moved a vital step closer after the group hoping to buy stricken Portsmouth exchanged contracts to buy the club out of administration.
