By Andrew Warshaw
April 28 – There are heartwarming football stories. And then there is the story of Bournemouth. Celebration and euphoria were mixed with sheer disbelief last night when the tiny club on the English south coast, close to oblivion only a few years ago, effectively sealed their promotion to the top flight of the Premier League for the first time in their 116-year history.
By Paul Nicholson
April 28 – West Ham have responded swiftly to a call by a Charlton Athletic supporters group for a review of the rental agreement on the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, London, saying that their bid was the best option both for London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) and that this was the best deal on the table for the taxpayer.
By Paul Nicholson
April 27 – They may lag behind rivals Arsenal and Chelsea in the Twitter follower rankings if you just take into account their English language twitter feeds, but Man Utd are top of the world when it comes to total number of Twitter followers when adding in all language accounts held by clubs.
By Mark Baber
April 27 – Western Sydney Wanderers’ last home game of the season on Saturday was marred by controversy as police, including members of ‘Strike Force Raptor’, a specialised force designed to carry out operatives against gangs engaging in criminal activity, reacted to a flare being lit by entering the ‘active support area’ and using OC (pepper) spray, leading to a 14-year old boy being hospitalised for 7 hours.
April 27 – He is perhaps Aston Villa’s most influential self-proclaimed supporter. But at the height of an election campaign, he suddenly forgot where his allegiance lay.
April 27 – It’s known as the ‘eternal derby’ featuring one of the most notorious rivalries in European football. And once again it has been marred by crowd trouble.
By Paul Nicholson
April 27 – The row over West Ham’s move to London’s Olympic Stadium was re-ignited last week with Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust (CAST) seeking a review of the terms of West Ham’s rental agreement at the venue.
April 27 – Manchester United has expanded its social media presence in China, launching on WeChat, China’s largest and fastest growing social messaging platform.
April 27 – Asian football chief Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa may have suffered an untimely blow over fresh revelations about his general secretary Dato’ Alex Soosay but it seems clear the claims have not affected FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s opinion of the AFC or its leader.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 27 – Asian football has been rocked by fresh revelations that threaten to take the shine off Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa being re-elected unopposed as president of his confederation this week.
By Alexander Krassimirov
April 27 – The disciplinary committee of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) has punished CSKA Sofia with a fine of BGN 37,500 (€18,750) for a swastika flag which was flown by the fans during the match against Lokomotiv Sofia last weekend.
By David Owen
April 26 – FIFA is probably going to have to make do with the same size of financial contribution from the Olympic Movement in 2017-20 as it is getting in the present four-year cycle, culminating with the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
April 24 – The World Cup is coming to Northern Ireland – the trophy, not the competition.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 24 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC), poised for a series of crucial election ballots, has scrapped its executive committee meeting scheduled for the eve of its 47-member Congress in Bahrain on April 30.
By Mark Baber
April 24 – In the wake of UEFA sanctioning Croatia for the racist behaviour of same of their fans, the Croatian Football Federation turned on the Head of the Football against Racism in Europe (FARE) organiser in Croatia, falsely blaming him for the team having to play Italy behind closed doors. FARE have responded with an article on their website, which explores the issue in depth.