By Mark Baber
January 2 – Hero MotoCorp Ltd, the world’s biggest bicycle and motorbike manufacturer, is in still in negotiation over the terms of a three-year deal to be the title sponsors for the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Federation Cup and the I-League – although the deal was announced last week.
December 30 – Japanese players have leapt to the defence of head coach Javier Aguirre after the Mexican vehemently denied any involvement in a match-fixing scandal during the time he worked in Spain.
December 30 – North Korea is reported to have replaced suspended head coach Yun Jong-su with his predecessor Jo Tong-sop (pictured) for next month’s Asian Cup in Australia.
December 29 – Japan’s national team coach Javier Aguirre has broken his silence over allegations of match-fixing when he worked in Spain with a passionate defence of his conduct and reputation.
December 29 – Vietnamese football authorities have imposed their latest crackdown on match-fixing, banning nine players for life for rigging an Asian club game.
December 23 – Japan’s Football Association has sent a delegation to Spain to get more information about the match-fixing scandal that has embroiled national team coach Javier Aguirre.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 22 – Israel and Palestine have been urged by FIFA to step up their efforts to allow for the free movement of Palestinian players and officials in the West Bank and Gaza.
December 19 – The 10th edition of the ASEAN Football Championship, known as the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup, comes to its climax on Saturday as Malaysia meet Thailand in Kuala Lumpur in the second leg of the final, looking to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg.
December 19 – Japan will stick with coach Javier Aguirre for next month’s Asian Cup in Australia, despite the Mexican being involved in Spain’s burgeoning match-fixing scandal.
December 17 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has called on Australia to beef up security for next month’s Asian Cup following this week’s fatal hostage siege in Sydney.
December 15 – While the hierarchy of Asian football continues to be embroiled in politics, on the ground the not-for-profit Asian Football Development Project is endeavouring to present the region in a more charitable, compassionate light.
By Paul Nicholson
December 9 – J-League club Vissel Kobe has been bought by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, the club’s shirt sponsor, for an undisclosed amount.
December 9 – Malaysia’s minister of youth and sports, Khairy Jamaluddin, has apologised to Vietnam supporters after they were attacked during the semi-final of the Suzuki Cup in at Malaysia’s Shah Alam stadium.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 8 – In another contentious shake-up within its hierarchy, Asian football looks set to scrap its automatic female vice-presidency, held by Australia’s Moya Dodd, a move that is bound to lay the region open to accusations of gender discrimination just when it has been making all manner of noises about inclusion and reform.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 1 – Asian football’s entire membership has been urged by their president to vote for Sepp Blatter at next year’s FIFA election despite the deepening crisis over the 2018 and 2022 World Cup anti- corruption probe.