French women’s team should secure a London 2012 medal says confident Bini
By David Gold
February 25 – French women’s football coach Bruno Bini has set his team the target of picking up a medal at this summer’s Olympic Games in London.
IMG pull out of football representation
By David Gold
February 25 – Sports management moguls IMG will no longer represent professional footballers, including Manchester City and Argentinian striker Sergio Agüero (pictured), after deciding the business does not represent value for money.
Amos Adamu loses CAS appeal
By Andrew Warshaw
February 24 – Fifteen months after being banned by FIFA from world football over corruption allegations, Nigeria’s Amos Adamu (pictured) today lost his final attempt to clear his name at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Exclusive: ICSS reveal details of Chris Eaton’s recruitment
By Andrew Warshaw in Doha
February 24 – Fresh details have emerged over the imminent departure from FIFA of its head of security Chris Eaton (pictured), arguably the most important figurehead in the fight against match fixing.
Abedi Pele and Gheorghe Hagi join Blatter’s FIFA Task Force
By Andrew Warshaw
February 24 – Two more footballing icons have joined the star-studded FIFA panel set up to try and make the game more of a spectacle.
ZDF and ARD secure German EURO 2016 media rights
By David Gold
February 23 – UEFA has announced that ARD and ZDF have been awarded Germany’s exclusive broadcast rights to the European Championships 2016, held in France.
South Korea qualify for London 2012
By David Gold
February 23 – South Korea will be at London 2012 after a comfortable 3-0 win over Oman in their penultimate Olympic men’s football qualifier, whilst Japan are as good as qualified.
FIFPro backs FIFA vice-president’s pro-hijab campaign
By Andrew Warshaw
February 23 – The international players’ union FIFPro is backing the campaign by FIFA vice-president Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan to change the law and allow Muslim women to wear the hijab during matches.
Rangers’ Whyte sells club’s historic Arsenal shares to Usmanov
By David Gold
February 23 – Glasgow Rangers owner Craig Whyte (pictured) has severed the club’s historic link with Arsenal by selling shares the Scottish champions owned in the Premier League side to their minority shareholder Alisher Usmanov.
Olympic Stadium would have to feel like home for West Ham, Sullivan claims
By Duncan Mackay
February 22 – West Ham United are not prepared to share the Olympic Stadium with another football or rugby club and will only move there if they are confident that the atmosphere will be good, their co-chairman David Sullivan has warned.
Scotland to invest £25 million in National Performance Centre for sport
By David Gold
February 22 – Up to £25 million ($39 million/€30 million) will be invested into the first ever national performance centre for sport in Scotland, it has been announced.
Fans should have to remain seated and not be allowed to stand claims new report
By David Gold
February 22 – In response to growing calls for “safe standing” areas, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has said that sports fans should remain seated at major stadia.
Prime Minister backs FA homophia and transphobia campaign
By David Gold
February 22 – The English Football Association has launched a campaign at Wembley Stadium, “Opening Doors and Joining In”, backed by Prime Minister David Cameron, which aims to tackle homophobia and transphobia.
Beckenbauer calls for increase in handshaking
By Andrew Warshaw
February 22 – German football legend Franz Beckenbauer says players should do more handshaking in order to improve sportsmanship.
Fenerbahçe chair Yıldırım protests innocence in court over match fixing allegations
By David Gold
February 22 – Fenerbahçe chairman Aziz Yıldırım (pictured) has been in court defending himself against allegations of involvement in the match fixing scandal which has thrown football in Turkey into disarray.