By Mark Baber
July 29 – The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has granted the Indian Super League (ISL) permission to delay the start of the competition for a third time, whilst the signing of the 40-year old Robert Pires generates more enthusiasm.
By David Owen
July 21 – The President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is hoping that next year’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Presidential election will usher in a period of much-needed harmony in the region’s football affairs. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, the former OPEC chairman who has become one of world sport’s foremost power brokers, said he thought the 2015 election “will found the unity of Asia”.
By Paul Nicholson
July 21 – Interpol are claiming a major success in the battle against illegal betting rings in Asia with a six-week World Cup operation carrying out more than 1,000 raids, 1,400 arrests and the seizure of $12 million.
July 18 – An Australian court has sanctioned a third British footballer for his part in a match-fixing racket that rigged games in the semi-professional league in the state of Victoria.
July 7 – Etihad Airways has expanded its Australian football presence, sponsoring Hyundai A-League side Melbourne City FC in a five-year deal that will see the airline branding on the club’s shirts.
By Mark Baber
July 3 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeal filed by Virach Chanpanich against the decision taken on 17 October 2013 by the Football Association of Thailand to elect the controversial Worawi Makudi as its President.
June 27 – The Chinese are finding ways to use the 2014 FIFA World cup to circumvent local gambling laws. In general gambling is illegal in China, but in instances where the proceeds are donated to charity, exceptions are allowed. Alibaba and Tencent Holdings, two of China’s dominant Internet companies, have linked up with provincial lottery centres so as to allow betting on world cup matches.
By Mark Baber
June 23 – Macau police claim to have smashed two illegal gambling rings, arresting 26 people in separate hotel raids and seizing cash and other evidence. The raids uncovered evidence of HK$5 billion in illegal bets on World Cup football matches in a week – including a single HK$40 million (£3 million) bet on one World Cup match.
By Paul Nicholson
June 23 – Human rights group Nonviolence International has released the full report written in conjunction with the Palestinian FA into the abuses and disruption by Israeli authorities of footballers and football in the Palestinian occupied territories.
By Mark Baber
June 18 – Chinese beer industry, and particularly Tsingtao Brewery and Anheuser-Busch InBev owned Harbin Beer are using World Cup to boost market share, especially amongst the younger demographic.
By Mark Baber
June 16 – China’s blooming sports lottery, which debuted in 2009, is expecting a big boost from the World Cup with revenues estimated to increase by US$13.5 billion-$16.2 billion over the coming month.
By Mark Baber
June 11 – Thailand’s Supreme Administrative Court, this morning, ruled in favour of RS Plc, a pay tv broadcast rights holder for the tournament, in a legal dispute with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).
By Andrew Warshaw in Sao Paulo
June 10 – The youngest and most reformist member of FIFA’s inner sanctum, Prince Ali bin Hussein of Jordan (pictured right), was dramatically shunted out of office as Asia’s FIFA vice-president today when the region took what could prove a totally misguided decision to merge his position with that of AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa (pictured left) in 2015, thereby giving the Bahraini total control of an organisation he only inherited a year ago.
By Mark Baber
June 6 – The AIFF, which turned down the appeals of four clubs against being barred from next season’s I-League, has come under attack for failing to meet its own criteria.
By Mark Baber
June 6 – Hangzhou-based e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd announced Thursday that it is taking a 50% stake in Guangzhou Evergrande for 1.2 billion yuan ($192 million). The valuation of $284 million would put Evergrande into 20th place in the latest (2013) Forbes List of the World’s Most Valuable Clubs.