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It has been a good couple of weeks for Joseph Blatter, FIFA’s veteran President.
First, FIFA’s ruling Executive Committee rejected a proposal that might have limited the presidency’s mandate to two consecutive terms of four years.
March 30 – Irvin Khoza (pictured), the chairman of the organising committee for this year’s World Cup in South Africa, has denied allegations that he is behind a plot to overthrow the President of the South African Football Association (SAFA) Kirsten Nematandani.
March 30 – Indonesia’s President today opened a national football conference reviewing the poor results of the national team and the country’s top football official.
March 29 - UEFA President Michel Platini warned today that Ukraine was still in danger of losing the right to host Euro 2012 because of the slow pace of stadium construction and its share of matches moved to Germany.
History may not always repeat itself first as tragedy then as farce, as Karl Marx said, but there are some very curious and interesting similarities in the latest attempt to get West Ham into the Olympic Stadium.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
March 27 – England’s campaign to host the 2018 World Cup will not be affected by the shock resignation of Football Association chief executive Ian Watmore, the bid’s chief executive Andy Anson (pictured) claimed today.
March 27 – English football’s super-rich owners, like Sheikh Mansour at Manchester City and Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, face drastic new curbs on their influence under UEFA proposals, according to a report.
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March 26 – American Stan Kroenke (pictured) has increased his stake in Arsenal, putting him within 10 shares of the threshold that forces him to make a takeover bid for the Premier League club.
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I’ve been reading about and listening to all the “good judges’”- pundits, players and even some managers – who have recently been talking up England’s chances of leaving South Africa with the golden trophy.
March 26 – Chelsea’s billionaire owner Roman Abramovich has revealed that is prepared to serve on the Russian Football Union’s (RFU) advisory board if he receives a formal invitation, which could see him playing a leading role in the country’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup, his spokesman said today.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
March 26 – A presentation to the leaders of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Kuala Lumpur by England’s World Cup bid, led by chief executive Andy Anson and International President David Dein and also including former Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United winger David Ginola, has won high praise.
March 26 – The British Government has introduced a special resolution in its budget to ensure that players taking part in next year’s Champions League final at Wembley will not be liable to pay tax.
March 26 - Supporters from across the globe rather than FIFA officials will determine the man-of-the-match awards at this year’s World Cup in South Africa, it was announced today.
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March 26 – Japan’s campaign to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup today announced that they had signed up six new sponsors as official bid partners.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 25 – Michel Platini’s reign as UEFA President is almost certain to last at least another five years after announcing he would be standing for a second term of office.