FIFA takes its 2016 Congress to Mexico
January 7 – Mexico will host the 2016 FIFA Congress in a year which is increasingly becoming of huge importance for the country and its regional confederation CONCACAF.
World Football
OFC votes in Chung who immediately sets sights on a full World Cup berth
January 7 – Oceania Football Confederation President David Chung says obtaining direct entry into the World Cup instead of his region being forced every time into an intercontinental playoff will be a major priority after he was re-elected unopposed to run FIFA’s smallest regional bloc, in terms of footballing stature at least.
NWSL appoints Plush to lead expansion as league preps for 3rd season
By Paul Nicholson
January 7 – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the US has appointed Jeff Plush as its new Commissioner. Plush has a background in soccer having been managing director of Colorado Rapids in the MLS from 2006 to 2011 and a board director of English Premier League club Arsenal with specific overview of the global media business.
Messi tops CIES transfer value list, Real Madrid have most valuable squad
January 6 – With the January transfer window starting to warm-up the player market, the CIES Football Observatory has released its latest ranking of the 120 big-5 league players with the highest transfer values.
Heat controversy ignites after Aussie A-League match temps hit 39º
January 6 – An A-League clash between Perth Glory and Adelaide United, which reportedly left a number of players suffering the symptoms of heat stroke, has reignited the debate over the temperatures it should be considered acceptable for matches to be played and whether player welfare is being sacrificed in the interests of television.
VfB Stuttgart, Hannover 96 renew kit deals with Puma, Jako
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
January 6 – German football clubs VfB Stuttgart and Hannover 96 have extended their technical sponsorship deals with sports apparel makers Puma and Jako, respectively.
Barca fire Zubizarreta, Puyol quits, as Spanish giant re-groups
January 6 – The off-the-field crisis at Barcelona has deepened with the news that the Catalan giants have sacked Andoni Zubizarreta (pictured) as director of football.
CSKA Sofia money man calls for player wage cut but bigger win bonuses
By Alexander Krassimirov
January 6 – One of the largest shareholders in Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia, Petar Mandjukov (pictured), has called for aggressive cuts in player wages, but the introduction of a bigger bonus system if the club qualifies for European competition.
Diary dates that will shape football’s political landscape
By Andrew Warshaw
January 5 – The FIFA presidential election may not be until May 29 but as 2015 gets into its stride, Insideworldfootball identifies a number of key dates over the first quarter of the year that could shape the direction of football politics.
Nigerians edge towards arbitration in attempt to keep football out of court
By Mark Baber
January 5 – The request of Leo Iyke Igbokwe for an arbitration committee to be set up to examine the validity of the September 30 Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) elections is expected to be presented to the NFF Board on January 8, offering another chance for football in Nigeria to bring the current leadership crisis to an end, without the involvement of civil courts.
Evans debate rages over his attempts to return to football after release from jail
January 5 – An English lower-league club is under pressure not to offer a convicted rapist a contract as debate over whether he should be given a chance to resume his footballing career after serving a jail sentence intensifies.
UAE and Kuwait Asian Cup warm-up turns ‘un’friendly as game scrapped in the tunnel
By Andrew Warshaw
January 5 – Preparations for this week’s Asian Cup in Australia, the continent’s flagship competition, have been plunged into controversy after a warm-up game between two of the finalists was called off just moments before kickoff.
Britain releases Government files relating to 80s fight against football hooliganism
By David Owen
January 4 – Hundreds of pages of documents relating to the British Government’s handling of the football hooliganism problem before and after the Heysel Stadium disaster in Brussels in May 1985 have been released by the National Archives.
Sheikh Ahmed backs Qatar, criticises racist media and supports Blatter for re-election
By Paul Nicholson
January 5 – President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), Kuwaiti Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah, has repeated his assertion that Qatar’s 2022 World Cup has been the subject of a “racist campaign”. He also questioned the independence of an American investigator to lead the FIFA ethics investigation into the world cup bidding.
Sales tax levy set to hike Ligue 1 ticket prices
By Samindra Kunti
January 5 – French football fans will have to fork out more money in 2015 if they want to watch Ligue 1 action following an injunction by the European Commission, asking for the nationwide implementation of VAT for sports tickets.