Vietnamese call in police after more V-League match-fixing suspicions
September 1 – Organisers of Vietnam’s V-League have pledged to step up their crackdown on match-fixing after several games ended with questionable results.
Asia
I-League faces loss of Goa’s Dempo as ISL flexes its financial muscle
By Samindra Kunti
September 1 – Goa’s Dempo Sports Club are set to be the third Indian club to drop out of the 2016 I-League. The All India Football Federation AIFF wants a roadmap to have a single national Indian league in the future and it looks like the Indian Super League (ISL) is winning the race.
North vs South Korea football friendly mooted as bridge to new era
By Mark Baber
August 31 – The tenuous rapprochement between the two Koreas may see North and South Korea competing in a friendly for the first time in 10 years, according to an article in the English language Korea Joongang Daily, part of one of South Korea’s biggest newspaper groups.
Pakistan’s Hayat keeps AFC legal posts despite breaking the law at home
By Andrew Warshaw
August 28 – With little fanfare and hardly any publicity, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) recently proudly announced the makeup of its new standing committees for the next four years. One of those re-elected as chairman of its legal committee – was Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, the controversial Pakistani who has been at the centre of a bitter domestic dispute.
Qataris take cautious steps to independent players’ union and law reforms
August 26 – Almost two years after releasing Zahir Belounis, the French footballer who was trapped in the country for 19 months because of its antiquated kafala employment system, Qatar is stepping up is its efforts to set up a judicial body to resolve legal disputes.
AFF call in Sportradar to track U19 championship betting patterns
August 25 – The Asean Football Federation (AFF) are taking the threat of match-fixers seriously and have brought Sportradar in to monitor their U19 championships in Laos that kicked off August 22 and runs through to September 4.
World Stars line up to face Iranian Stars in Tehran charity match
By Mark Baber
August 24 – Iranian football fans will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to see some of the greats of world football playing this Friday, August 28 as a team of World Stars take on a team of Iranian Stars in a charity match.
Makudi pulls out of ASEAN presidential election at last minute
August 24 – Former FIFA executive committee Worawi Makudi’s last-ditch attempt to regain some kind of foothold within global or Asian football has failed after he withdrew from the election for the presidency of the 12-member Asean Football Federation (AFF) on the eve of the vote.
China targets world’s elite as CFA breaks away from state control
By Mark Baber
August 18 – One of the great anomalies in world football – FIFA’s tolerance of state control of football in China – looks to be coming to an end as the Chinese state publicly loosens its grip on the sport in a new reform drive announced on Monday.
Indonesians restart football with new competitions but FIFA bans remain
By Mark Baber
August 17 – As Indonesia celebrates its Independence Day, the government has intervened to set up two new competitions for lower league clubs, whilst La Nyalla Mahmud Mattalitti (pictured), the Chairman of the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) which is currently suspended by FIFA, laments that football in his country has not yet gained its independence.
ASEAN federation gets support to target World Cup 2034 hosting
By Mark Baber
August 14 – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations Football Federation (AFF) has set its sights on the ASEAN region jointly hosting the 2034 World Cup. Malaysian Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (pictured) has told local media that the 10 ASEAN nations who attended the ASEAN ministerial meeting on Sports in Kuala Lumpur have agreed to conduct a feasibility study.
Palestinian Cup Final back on after Gaza players successfully cross into West Bank
By Mark Baber
August 13 – The second leg of the historic cup final between Al-Ahly, the top team in the West Bank and Gaza’s champion Shejaia is back on after the Gazan team on Wednesday successfully crossed the Eretz border crossing into the West Bank.
Joy turns to despair as Palestinian cup final called off after Israel denies entry permits
By Mark Baber
August 10 – Sunday’s second leg of the historic cup final between Al-Ahly, the top team in the West Bank and Gaza’s champion Shejaia was called off by the Palestinian Football Federation on Friday as Israel denied entry permits to seven of the Gaza party, including four players, whom it demanded be subjected to questioning.
Makudi said to be preparing challenge for AFF post
By David Owen
August 8 – Worawi Makudi, the former FIFA Executive Committee member, is to challenge for the Presidency of the Asean Football Federation (AFF), according to local press. Malaysia’s New Sunday Times reported that the 63-year-old President of the Football Association of Thailand would challenge Sultan Ahmad Shah, the incumbent, at elections in Burma this month.
Qatar acquires a WADA-accredited anti-doping lab
By David Owen
August 6 – 2022 FIFA World Cup host Qatar has acquired another of the trappings of a top sporting nation, with news that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has this week approved the accreditation of the Doha laboratory for anti-doping analysis.