May date set for first Women’s Football Day
April 13 – CONCACAF has launched its first Women’s Football Day as a celebration of women’s football across the region. Planned as an annual event, the first will be held on Saturday, May 23.
World Football
Azteca breaks SCCL attendance record as Club America march to final
April 10 – A new attendance record was set in the iconic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City for the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League semi-final between Mexican giants Club America and Costa Rica’s Herediano this week.
CSKA Sofia confusion as Tomov quits board and transfers shares
By Alexander Krassimirov
April 10 – The financial turmoil and instability at Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia has taken a new turn with major shareholder Alexander Tomov saying that he has filed an application to quit his post as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the club and no longer continue as a shareholder.
LeTV steps up for 5-year Chinese Women’s Super League deal
By Mark Baber
April 10 – The Chinese Football Association (CFA) have secured LeTV Sports and its LeTV Superphone, a competitor of the Apple iPhone, as the title sponsor of the Chinese Women’s Super League for the next five years.
Ibrahimovic to miss key PSG ties as foul-mouthed TV rant lands him 4-game ban
April 10 – Paris St-Germain’s star Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been suspended for four league games as a result of his foul-mouthed outburst that was captured live on TV.
Cameroonian Ebosse’s death was murder, says father
April 10 – Albert Ebosse, the Cameroon striker who died following a match in Algeria last August – ostensibly from injuries sustained by an object thrown from the stands – was murdered, according to his father.
Penalty re-take lasts just 18 seconds as England and Norway both go through
April 10 – After a five-day wait, they ended up playing for just 18 seconds! UEFA’s unprecedented decision to order England and Norway to replay the last moments of their women’s under-19 European qualifier duly took place Thursday night with the English grabbing the 2-2 draw they thought they had achieved first time round.
Lifeline for England after UEFA order teams to return for penalty retake
April 9 – In an extraordinary decision that UEFA admit is unprecedented in their competitions, England and Norway have been ordered to replay the last few seconds of their women’s under-19 European qualifier tonight – starting with a retaken 96th-minute penalty.
UEFA slams Croatian racists with order to play Italy behind closed doors
By Mark Baber
April 9 – The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) has hit back at those using football to spread their message of racial hatred with an order that Croatia’s upcoming game against Italy must be played behind closed doors.
Quaestor failure triggers seizure of Hungary’s Gyori ETO FC
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
April 9 – The failure of Hungarian financial services group Quaestor has pushed top division club Gyori ETO FC out of their stadium, into bankruptcy and almost out of the league.
Gabon win hosting of 2017 African Cup of Nations
By Andrew Warshaw
April 9 – Gabon have been chosen to host the seemingly perennially troubled Africa Cup of Nations in 2017 as a replacement for war-torn Libya who withdrew last year.
UEFA sanctions Montenegro and hands Euro points to Russia
April 9 – UEFA have awarded Russia a 3-0 walkover win over Montenegro following the abandonment of their Euro 2016 qualifier that saw Russian keeper Igor Akinfeev felled soon after kickoff when struck on the head by a flare.
Hayatou backs Blatter and flexes muscle for another term as CAF chief
By Andrew Warshaw
April 8 – Any concerns Sepp Blatter may have had that his solid support base in Africa could be in danger of waning as he bids for a fifth term of office have been swept away. As expected, African Football Confederation chief Issa Hayatou pledged his members’ total backing for Blatter at this week’s CAF Congress.
Dyke hands back watch in time to clear FIFA ethics investigation
April 8 – The so-called ‘Watch-gate’ saga is back in the news again with FIFA announcing no action is being taken against English FA chairman Greg Dyke.
Oyston left with egg on his face after Blackpool tumble to tier 3
April 8 – English football fans are normally pretty restrained when it comes to protesting about the actions of those who run their clubs.