By David Gold
March 18 – Japan has been forced to cancel a friendly with New Zealand scheduled for March 29, due to be played in Tokyo, and will instead hold a charity match in Osaka, with their opponents yet to be confirmed.
By Michael Church in Kuala Lumpur
March 18 – Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Mohamed Bin Hammam declared his long-speculated intention to run against incumbent Sepp Blatter for the role of FIFA President on June 1, outlining plans to significantly overhaul the game’s decision making body.
By David Owen
March 17 – Mohamed Bin Hammam will tomorrow fire the starting-pistol for what promises to be a hard-fought contest for the top job in world football.
So now we know. After seemingly interminable prevarication, Mohamed Bin Hammam has finally shown his hand and announced that he really does intend to try and end Sepp Blatter’s 13-year reign at the head of football’s world governing body.
For the last few months, at conferences and congresses the world over, rather like handing a sweet to a child and then withdrawing it at the last moment, bin Hammam has teased us with all manner of hints and innuendos.
By David Gold
March 16 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has opened a new football academy in Myanmar and spoken of the country’s potential to play a “very active role” in the development of football in Asia.
By Duncan Mackay
March 15 – The firm that put on the annual Leaders in Football conference have been taken over for £1.8 million ($2.9 million) by Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI), a company co-founded by former Leeds United chief executive Chris Akers, it was announced today.
March 15 – Nine hotels will be opened by Hilton Worldwide in Russia ahead of the 2018 World Cup, taking its total number of hotels in the country to 16, as it looks to expand its presence there.
By David Gold
March 15 – Japan has been forced to postpone all J.League games during March, placing in doubt the country’s participation in the Copa America in July.
By David Gold
March 15 – Chelsea and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have renewed their partnership, formalising the club’s support to the development of football in the Asian confederation.
By David Gold
March 14 – The Football Association have confirmed that players will only be selected for the London 2012 Olympics in addition to next year’s European Championships, to be held in Ukraine and Poland, with the explicit permission of their clubs.
“Let me tell you something: a few months ago, about seven or eight months ago, we were about to buy shares in Manchester United.
“We kept it secret because I thought we were going to do it, but now it’s impossible, so let’s talk about it.”
It was, quite simply, one of the most surreal moments of my journalistic career.
By David Gold
March 14 – Time to organise the dates and venues for the 2013 Confederations Cup is running out according to FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke, who says that the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was easier to organise than the 2014 tournament in Brazil.
March 13 – The England women’s team manager Hope Powell has spoken of her excitement at the prospect of seeing the UEFA women’s Champions League final being staged at Fulham’s Craven Cottage on May 26.
By Tom Degun in Barcelona
March 11 – Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo leads the way in showing how an athlete can use social networking to their own advantage according to Christian Hernandez, the Head of International Business Development at Facebook.
By Duncan Mackay
March 10 – The Football Association have denied to FIFA that they are preparing to back any “credible rival” to Sepp Blatter in this year’s elections for the President of the world governing body.