By Andrew Warshaw
August 10 – FIFA is understood to be on the verge of officially announcing the various representatives on its much-touted Reform Task Force which it hopes will bring about much-needed change to the way the organisation is both run and perceived.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
August 10 – Zbigniew Boniek (pictured), the president of the Polish Football Association (PZPN) and former Polish international with spells at Roma and Juventus, has spurred controversy with a string of negative tweets criticising Never Again (Nigdy Wiecej), a Polish anti-racist association which cooperates with the anti-discrimination group FARE.
By Mark Baber
August 10 – Sunday’s second leg of the historic cup final between Al-Ahly, the top team in the West Bank and Gaza’s champion Shejaia was called off by the Palestinian Football Federation on Friday as Israel denied entry permits to seven of the Gaza party, including four players, whom it demanded be subjected to questioning.
August 10 – It looked lined up to be the Gold Cup final in July, but it never happened once Jamaica knocked out the US in the semi-final. Now the US and local rivals Mexico will have the chance to kick a ball in competitive anger with the winners taking the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup berth.
August 10 – Whether you love him or loathe him, few would argue against Jose Mourinho’s tag as the best manager in the Premiership and Chelsea have been quick to ward off any potential suitors by giving the Portuguese a new contract in his second spell at the club.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 10 – Marseille are looking for a new coach after one solitary game of the new French season. Marcelo Bielsa stunned supporters by announcing his resignation within minutes of their opening-day Ligue 1 defeat by Caen having just started his second campaign in charge.
August 10 – Police in Germany are investigating an unprovoked attack on a Bundesliga team bus which was on its way to pick up players travelling to an away game.
By David Owen
August 8 – Worawi Makudi, the former FIFA Executive Committee member, is to challenge for the Presidency of the Asean Football Federation (AFF), according to local press. Malaysia’s New Sunday Times reported that the 63-year-old President of the Football Association of Thailand would challenge Sultan Ahmad Shah, the incumbent, at elections in Burma this month.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 7 – Former International Olympic Committee director general Francois Carrard (pictured) has emerged as a possible chairman of FIFA’s reform taskforce set up in the light of the unprecedented corruption scandal that has enveloped the organisation.
August 7 – McDonald’s has re-iterated its demand for FIFA to appoint an independent reform commission to help restore the organisation’s credibility.
By Samindra Kunti
August 7 – Today Paris Saint Germain kick off Ligue 1 with an away game to Lille. The question is not if the Parisians will dominate domestic French football, but how far they can progress in the UEFA Champions League?
August 7 – Police made 53 arrests, though only three of them supporters of visiting Southampton, before the English club’s Europa League tie against Vitesse Arnhem on Thursday.
By Mark Baber
August 7 – Industrial action by the Dutch police has led to the postponement of five Eredivisie matches at the start of the new season, the Dutch football association KNVB announced on Thursday.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
August 7 – German second tier Bundesliga club 1.FC Kaiserslautern has signed a new sponsorship contract with financial services firm Maxda Darlehensvermittlungs GmbH. The deal, which will see the firm become the club’s main sponsor for a one-year period, is estimated to be worth a total of €1.4 million.
By Ricardo Setyon
August 7 – They were best of friends but they have become the worst of enemies. Known in Brazil as ‘O Gordo e o Magro’, (the fat and the slim), former FIFA vice president and CBF chief Ricardo Teixeira (pictured left), and Traffic principal José Hawilla (right) have fallen out, and spectacularly so.