By Mark Baber
June 24 – The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has had a busy week, criticising national teams for their lack of success, holding manager Steven Keshi to account for allegedly making a job application to another team and attempting to haul record-breaker Vincent Enyeama up on charges he brought Nigeria into disrepute.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
June 24 – Polish construction company Murapol has unveiled plans to take over top tier club Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biala. The builder, which currently serves as the Ekstraklasa side’s main sponsor and owns a 35% stake in Podbeskidzie, is aiming to increase its shareholding to become the majority owner.
By Mark Baber
June 24 – Ahead of Friday’s quarter final against the USA, China’s women’s team, known as the ‘Steel Roses’, have been awarded a record bonus for their accomplishments in the tournament to date, in line with China’s president, Xi Jinping’s plan to revitalise football in the “sleeping giant” of world football.
By Mark Baber
June 24 – Long awaited reform of Qatar’s ‘kafala’ sponsorship system, promised by the Qatari government, have hit a significant obstacle as the country’s Advisory Council reportedly voted against adopting the draft law and agreed to send amendments, which would strengthen the rights of employers, back to committee for further study.
By Paul Nicholson
June 24 – Unlike West Ham whose move to the revamped London Olympic Stadium in Stratford is costing them just £15 million in contribution to the £270 million conversion works, Tottenham Hotspur are digging deep, both into their pockets and the ground, with their new White Hart Lane stadium proposal.
June 24 – Plans for AS Roma’s new stadium, the Stadio della Roma, are progressing rapidly with the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) having now been appointed to provide the security strategy and design.
By Matt Scott
June 24 – UEFA last night issued a defiant statement shrugging off a preliminary decision from a Belgian court that ruled against further restrictions in its Financial Fair Play regulations.
June 24 – Liverpool have opened up ticket sales to two opening training sessions on the Australian leg of their pre-season tour next month with the revenue going towards local charities and the club’s official charity.
June 24 – Premier League champions Chelsea have announced Gibraltar based sports betting firm BetVictor as their global betting and gaming partner.
June 23 – English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur has launched a new club app – Spurs Go – which will provide on demand video as well as the club’s Match Centre and social hub.
By Samindra Kunti
June 23 – In recent years Ajax Amsterdam has become subservient to the business interests of Johan Cruyff, according to a report in Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant. Youth staff must follow a course at the Cruyff institute and Cruyff, rather than keeping the knowledge to Ajax, sells the secrets of the youth academy to foreign football clubs.
By Paul Nicholson
June 23 – Russia has formalised a 30 billion rubles ($560 million) cut in its 2018 World Cup spending. The government cuts will be around planned infrastructure projects with hotel development plans being the hardest hit. There are no plans to cut spending on stadia and construction will continue unaffected.
June 23 – Parma have finally been stripped of their status as a professional football club as the administrators of the bankrupt club conceded defeat in their attempts to find a buyer after Baseball legend Mike Piazza and Giuseppe Corrado pulled out of talks.
By Mark Baber
June 23 – Whilst most attention has been focused on the role of the FIFA President and General-Secretary in relation to the current US and Swiss investigations of corruption in football, a largely unnoticed statement by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – the inter-governmental body whose responsibility it is to promote policies to protect the global financial system against money laundering – has pointed a finger of blame at financial institutions.
By Alexander Krassimirov
June 23 – With the future of CSKA Sofia now sealed in the amateur leagues but under the financial stewardship of Bugaria’s richest man Vasil Bozhkov, Turkish businessman Deniz Kiziloz (pictured) who several times tried to start negotiations with the club, said he now intends to invest in another Bulgarian club – Lokomotiv Plovdiv.