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By David Gold
April 19 – Alisher Usmanov continues to buy shares in Arsenal despite American businessman Stan Kroenke becoming the London side’s majority shareholder and launching a formal takeover bid.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 19 – Mohamed Bin Hammam can count on the support of at least 10 members of his Asian Confederation when he bids for the presidency of FIFA on June 1.
By David Gold
April 19 – The draw for tickets to the Euro 2012 Championships, co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland, begins today following a record number of applications.
By David Gold
April 19 – MATCH Hospitality, the FIFA Hospitality Programme rights holder, has launched a global Invitation to Tender (ITT) process for companies interested in becoming official and exclusive agents of hospitality for the 2013 Confederations Cup and 2014 World Cup in their respective countries.
By David Gold
April 18 – Up to 10 of the 13 Brazilian airports currently being upgraded for the 2014 World Cup, are unlikely to be ready on time or able to cope with the volume of air traffic during the tournament, a report by the country’s Institute for Applied Economic Research shows.
By David Gold
April 18 – Japan’s plans to take part in the Copa America are facing another threat after German clubs including Borussia Dortmund announced that they were unwilling to release their players for the tournament, taking place in Argentina this July.
By David Gold
April 18 – Thailand Football Association President and FIFA Executive Committee member Worawi Makudi (pictured) believes that Southeast Asia could host the World Cup in 2030.
By David Gold
April 18 – Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has announced that approximately $5 billion (£3 billion) would be required for the construction of new stadiums and upgrades to the country’s infrastructure for the World Cup in 2018.
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Soap operas dressed up as morality tales do not come any better than the American Stan Kroenke’s take-over of Arsenal. The official word from Arsenal made the latest arrival of a foreign owner sound like the welcome a 19th century father might have given a man seeking the hand of his daughter.
This is what Peter Hill-Wood, the long serving chairman of the club, said: “The board of directors and I consider it a key responsbility to protect the ethos and spirit of the club.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 18 – A Swiss television network is to launch an official complaint to FIFA after two of its journalists were detained in Qatar for 13 days for filming a report on the 2022 World Cup hosts.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 17 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter believes he has the support of seven Central American federations for his re-election campaign.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 16 – Lennart Johansson, the former UEFA chief humbled by Sepp Blatter for the Presidency of FIFA 13 years ago, has called for a fair fight when Blatter stands for a fourth term of office.
By David Gold
April 15 – Kiev and Warsaw have been told to strengthen anti-terrorism plans for the European Championships, being held jointly by Ukraine and Poland in 2012, by Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 15 – A galaxy of footballing legends past and present, led by Pele and Franz Beckenbauer (pictured), meet next month to start to find ways of improving the game as a result of some of the sterile encounters at last year’s World Cup.
By David Gold
April 15 – Carling Cup winners Birmingham City could be denied entry to the Europa League next season due to concerns over the club’s finances.