By David Gold at the SportAccord Convention in Québec City
May 23 – Don Hardman, the vice-president of venues for the Canada 2015 Women’s World Cup, told insideworldfootball here today that there was plenty of interest in the country for the tournament.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 23 – Kosovo’s bid for international recognition on the world stage has been handed a massive boost after FIFA gave its 208 member countries permission to start playing friendlies against the Balkan province.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 22 – FIFA have indirectly conceded that not all the required stadiums may be ready in time to stage next year’s Confederations Cup, the dry run tournament for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 22 – FIFA has appointed its first female Executive Committee member in a bid to restore credibility after the most scandal-tarnished period in its history.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 22 – Ukraine’s police force has been urged to go easy on foreign tourists at the 2012 European Championship and improve their image of heavy-handedness.
With Manchester City winning the Premier League, Chelsea the Champions League and Malaga qualifying for Europe’s top competition next season, it may feel to some as though football’s soul has been permanently corrupted by the influence of ‘new money’.
Which is why events in Burgundy last night should warm the soul of football purists everywhere. Another of those teams who have reaped the rewards of a wealthy foreign owner, Paris St Germain, were beaten by a team,
By David Gold
May 22 – Just days after winning Chelsea the Champions League title, Didier Drogba appears set to become the latest big name to move to China.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 22 – Barring a last-minute hitch, the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) will name Jeffrey Webb as its new President tomorrow, heralding in a new era of transparency for the troubled region.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 22 – Ukraine’s most iconic sportsman, Sergey Bubka, says talk of a boycott of the 2012 UEFA European Championship by European Governments is “senseless” and will serve no purpose.
By David Gold
May 22 – Montpellier’s first ever French Ligue 1 title was marred as Auxerre fans caused chaos and two delays during the crucial game between the two sides at the Stade de l’Abbé-Deschamps.
By David Gold
May 21 – Samsung Electronics has renewed its sponsorship agreement with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for a further three years.
Didier Drogba’s Champions League-winning penalty in last Saturday’s heart-stopping shootout in Munich may have been the greatest moment in the history of Chelsea football club but it also exposed arguably UEFA’s cruellest, most unjust regulation.
Just a fortnight ago, Chelsea came sixth in the Premier League equalling their worst, repeat WORST, position for a decade.
Under normal circumstances such a poor return by one of the richest clubs in the world would have relegated them to the Europa League.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 21 – UEFA President Michel Platini has reiterated his opposition to goal-line technology – and says his counterpart at FIFA, Sepp Blatter, may yet do the same.
By Alan Hubbard
May 20 – Rio Ferdinand, “gutted” at being omitted from England’s UEFA European Championship squad by manager Roy Hodgson, is set to be thrown an international lifeline with a place in Britain’s 2012 Olympic football team.
By David Gold
May 19 – World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi has been appointed as manager of big-spending Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande.