By Paul Nicholson
December 7 – Wherever there is money in football these days you will generally find Europe’s clubs prospecting. The current gold rush is in China with AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Arsenal very much in the middle of the race for Chinese football’s hearts and mind.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 2 – Within days of declaring him a free man after two years in detention, Singapore authorities have re-arrested Dan Tan, one of the world’s most notorious match-fixing kingpins accused of being the mastermind behind a global syndicate.
November 30 – On a glittering Bollywood-style night of entertainment and awards in New Delhi, India, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) honoured their players and federations with a series of awards for a season that AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has taken the region to new levels.
By Paul Nicholson
November 27 – With the great and good of Asian football gathering in New Delhi in India for the annual Asian Football Awards, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) executive committee has given its backing to Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa in his election campaign to become the next FIFA president.
By Mark Baber
November 25 – Nissan have said they were “extremely shocked” to see Guangzhou Evergrande ditch their branding with one minute’s notice prior to the AFC Champions League final last Saturday. Nissan’s logo would have normally been on the front of the club’s shirts in what is the premier club competition in Asia, football’s most populous region.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 25 – In what will doubtless be regarded by Interpol and anti-corruption watchdogs as a major setback in the global fight against match-fixing, Tan Seet Eng, otherwise known as Dan Tan, the suspected kingpin behind a string of cases that reportedly netted millions of dollars, is a free man after winning a Court of Appeal ruling in his native Singapore.
By Samindra Kunti
November 24 – Legendary Brazilian striker Ronaldo has signed a deal with Ali Sports Group, a subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, to develop state-of-the-art football academies in China.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 20 – FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein has openly criticised the decision to force Palestine to play a couple of key World Cup qualifying games on neutral ground.
November 19 – Qatar may still have critics of their right to host the 2022 World Cup but on the field the Gulf state has struck a significant blow by becoming the first side to book a spot at the 2019 Asian Cup and the next round of 2018 World Cup regional qualifiers.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 18 – In what could be a huge embarrassment to their most influential sports supremo and FIFA executive committee member Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, Kuwait face the prospect of being thrown out of World Cup qualifying after failing to resolve a case of government interference in the running of the sport domestically.
By Samindra Kunti
November 17 – The I-League wants to introduce a single football league in India in two or three seasons with 14 to 16 competing franchises and clubs from both the Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 17 – Already fuming at being forced to play last week’s World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia on neutral ground, Palestinian officials are up in arms at being ignored over another fixture they have protested to FIFA about.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 16 – The crackdown on corruption by FIFA’s ethics investigators has snared another major figure with Nepal’s Ganesh Thapa banned for 10 years for bribery.
By Mark Baber
November 9 – Football Federation Australia has announced the launch of the Football Cares initiative which aims to raise donations for UNHCR’s programmes to support displaced Syrians – both domestically and internationally.
By Paul Nicholson
November 8 – Two Bahraini footballers at the centre of the human rights abuse allegations against FIFA presidential candidate Sheikh Salman have come forward saying there was “absolutely” no torture and that they have no knowledge of him being involved in action against protest marchers in 2011.