By David Owen
February 9 – Much as massed catenaccio defences once frustrated the best strikers, so Europe’s economic woes are slowing revenue growth at the continent’s top football clubs.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 9 – Stuart Pearce (pictured left) was today given caretaker control of the England team for the upcoming friendly against Holland on February 29 following a tempestuous 24 hours sparked by the shock resignation of manager Fabio Capello (right), English Football Association chairman David Bernstein confirmed.
By David Gold
February 9 – South Sudan is set to become a provisional member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as they continue their journey on the way to becoming a member of FIFA.
By David Gold
February 9 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) have agreed to work together to promote peace and security in central Africa.
By David Gold
February 9 – Oleksandr Popov, the head of Kiev’s city State Administration, has said that they are as ready for the European Championships, which Ukraine co-host this summer with Poland, as London is for the Olympic Games.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 8 – Fabio Capello sensationally quit as England manager tonight with immediate effect – ironically on the day Harry Redknapp, the bookies’ favourite to have replaced him after Euro 2012, was cleared of tax evasion charges after a two-week trial.
Whatever the final outcome of the John Terry case, and Terry must be regarded as innocent until his trial is concluded, it has already had a tremendous impact on the English game.
It has made us look at the role played by the captain in English football, and the relationship between the Football Association and the England manager. But the most long lasting impact of the case could be on how black footballers feel about racism in the game.
By David Gold
February 8 – Sauli Niinistö (pictured left) has quit his post as President of the Football Association of Finland (SPL-FBF) after being elected as the President of Finland.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 8 – Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp (pictured), who has spent the last two weeks in the glare of publicity for alleged tax evasion, was today cleared of all charges.
By David Gold
February 8 -Oceania’s football qualifying tournament for the London 2012 Olympic Games will be held at the Owen Delany Park in Taupo, New Zealand, from March 16 until 25, after they moved from Fiji following a legal row involving a leading official.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 8 – Manchester United have signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with Bulgarian telecommunications company Globul, offering the club’s fans in the eastern European country mobile phone access to exclusive news and interviews.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 8 – The 2022 World Cup will boost tourism to Qatar by 10 per cent according to Hassan Al-Thawadi (pictured), secretary general of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 8 – The global union for professional players, FIFPro, has called on FIFA and UEFA to heed their calls to make sure players in some countries are paid on time by their clubs or risk a potential strike.
By Duncan Mackay
February 8 – Baku 2020 has appointed Elkhan Mammadov, the general secretary of the Azerbaijani Football Association (AFFA), as its new head of communications for its bid to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.
By David Gold
February 7 – Louis van Gaal (pictured) cannot be named as a director at Dutch champions Ajax, a court in Amsterdam has ruled, following a dispute between members of the club’s Supervisory Board over his appointment last November.