3 out of 5 Premier League players go bankrupt
By Mark Baber
March 5 – Xpro, the charity for ex-professional players, has revealed the shocking fact that three out of five Premier League players go bankrupt within five years of retirement.
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Rangers renew call for admission to English leagues
By Andrew Warshaw
March 5 – The idea of the two Glasgow giants abandoning Scottish football and being integrated into the English league has once again been raised – this time by Rangers chief executive Charles Green.
West Ham say Olympic Stadium deal is near
By Andrew Warshaw
March 5 – After months of inconclusive meetings and several delays, English Premier League club West Ham could now be days away from finally securing agreement to move into the London 2012 Olympic stadium – and avoid it becoming a classic post-Games white elephant.
Becks signs to boost Chinese Super League season launch
By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
March 5 – Rocked by corruption and controversy, Chinese football has gone for the boldest of coups in an effort to enhance its battered image on and off the field: signing up David Beckham.
Not all is rosy in the English Premiership money garden
By Paul Nicholson
March 5 – Manchester United may sit on top of the money league as the world’s most value sports club, but their colleagues in the Premier League are finding it much tougher to compete at their level, both on the pitch and off it.
AFC presidency race heats up as candidates declared and Al Serkal calls for withdrawals
By Paul Nicholson and Andrew Warshaw
March 4 – One of the three west Asian candidates seeking to replace Mohamed bin Hammam and run football in the entire Continent until 2015 has urged his two rivals to step aside to avoid a potentially damaging split.
As the Asian Football Confederation announced a four-man race for the presidency on May 2, Yousuf al Serkel (pictured), of United Arab Emirates, said he is to ask the two other regional candidates bidding against him to stand down. Read more …
Federation bans Nigerian Lesbians from football activity
By Mark Baber
March 4 – Dilichukwu Onyedinma, chair of the Nigeria Women Football League and a member of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) executive committee, has reportedly announced after the Annual General Assembly on Thursday, that lesbianism is now officially banned from Nigerian football.
Auxerre on edge of financial cliff staring relegation in the face
March 4 – Former French club giant Auxerre, currently in Ligue 2, is under scrutiny by French football’s financial watchdog and has until the end of the season to recapitalise or face possible relegation.
FT hitches up with IFA and heads to Rio for June Summit
March 4 – What better place could there be to head for a football business gathering and what better timing? In a major announcement the International Football Arena (IFA) has teamed up with the Financial Times (FT) to host a summit, June 17, in Rio de Janeiro.
Webb to demand tougher anti-racism penalties and more education
By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
March 4 – FIFA’s new anti-racism chief says tougher penalties need to be introduced to help eradicate abuse and wants to meet with both the perpetrators and victims. FIFA vice-president Jeffrey Webb, who runs the CONCACAF confederation that covers north and central America and the Caribbean, believes black players have been let down by football’s authorities and is determined to do something about it.
CAF steps into Congo row as League sets up interim committee
By Osasu Obayiuwana in Lagos
March 3 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has warned DR Congo’s government to stop interfering in its domestic football or face severe sanctions.
Webb to head new FIFA anti-racism task force
By Andrew Warshaw in Edinburgh
March 2 – FIFA are setting up a new crack unit to deal with the worrying resurgence of racism throughout the game, Sepp Blatter has announced.
Benfica TV picks up Premier League rights
March 1 – In a world first, a club TV channel has bought the broadcast rights to an international football league. Benfica TV has been awarded exclusive audio visual broadcast rights for all Barclays Premier League matches per season for from 2013/14 – 2015/16 in Portugal.
US and Qatar forget bid troubles to forge economic 2022 relations
March 1 – An unlikely trade mission this week pitched former World Cup bidding foes together in a show of friendship and economic opportunity. The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee and the US Embassy in Qatar concluded a joint trip to Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle.
Exclusive: Prince Ali summons West Asian candidates to Jordan to explain themselves
By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
March 1 – FIFA vice president Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein (pictured) has summoned three of the candidates hoping to run Asian football to a summit in Jordan next week to make sure they have a proper agenda and are not just playing politics.