By Alexander Krassimirov
February 17 – Levski Sofia owner Todor Batkov (pictured) says that the Russian energy giant Gazprom is still an option for the main sponsorship of the club. The Russian company has frequently been named in connection with the Bulgarian cub for almost for two years, but there has been no firm developments to date.
February 17 – A Moldovan sports official has been banned for life for trying to bribe the coach of the country’s women’s under-17 team to fix an international match.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
February 14 – After being hit by several heavy fines for its fans’ behaviour at home and away matches last year, Legia Warsaw has announced plans to organise the first legal fireworks display at its stadium. Legia’s management aims to overcome the fireworks ban which has led to sanctions and subsequent financial losses for numerous Polish football clubs.
By Paul Nicholson
February 14 – “Barrow’s Holker Street ground is no more. It is now the Furness Building Society Stadium, Wilkie Road. But on emerging through the turnstiles on to the terraces, it is difficult to see what substantive changes the Furness Building Society have actually made, beyond financing a new mundane rectangular administrative block at one end of the ground, from which the teams later came out,” writes Steve Leach,
February 14 – Jibril Rajoub, chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, has said they will seek the expulsion of Israel from FIFA at the next FIFA Congress, and that he has the support of other Arab and North African nations.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 14 – The bitter row over Monaco’s special tax status in French football has intensified after seven other top-flight teams, including arch-rivals Paris St. Germain, threatened to take legal action, leaving the principality club “astounded”.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
February 13 – One of FIFA’s most influential administrators today stepped up the pressure on Qatar to comply with international employment standards as the 2022 World Cup hosts came under fierce scrutiny at the European Parliament.
By Paul Nicholson
February 13 – Birmingham International Holdings Limited (BIHH), the parent company of Birmingham City Football Club, is to sell 12% of its shares to Chinese advertising firm Beijing Triumph International Media Advertising Co for HK$45 million (£3.5 million).
February 13 – Olympiacos FC has made a €500,000 donation to the aid fund to support the residents of Greek island Kefalonia to recover from the devastating earthquake which hit the island two weeks ago causing substantial damage and leaving hundreds homeless.
February 13 – India and the Netherlands government officials have signed a memorandum of understanding for co-operation on sports and sports infrastructure. The first fruit of the partnership is a Amsterdam ArenaA announcing Tenon Property Services Limited and Ecofirst Services Limited, a Tata company, as their local Indian partners.
By Paul Nicholson
February 12 – Italian league leader Juventus created a social media first last weekend when the winner of a competition run via its Facebook site had his design turned into a crowd ‘choreography’ as the teams for the Juventus vs Inter match walked out on to the pitch.
By Alexander Krassimirov
February 12 – Bulgaria’s PFC Litex Lovech has signed a new sponsorship contract with Mtel, the largest telecommunications company in the country. No figure has been announced for the deal but the fee will rise depending on the success of the club.
February 12 – German insurer Allianz, after which Bayern Munich’s stadium is named, have taken an 8.33% stake in the European champions for €110 million, becoming the third strategic partner of the club along with Adidas and Audi.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 12 – The European Club Association, comprising more than 200 clubs across the Continent, will hold its annual general assembly next month without any replacement for former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell, one of the organisation’s most influential figures.
By Paul Nicholson
February 12 – UEFA closed its most successful Futsal EUROs to date on Sunday night with Italy beating Russia in the final in front of a near-capacity 12,000 spectators in Antwerp’s Sportpaleis. The match ended Spain’s recent dominance of the Championship that has now been held nine times and move on to Serbia in 2016. Football’s small sided game is finding its place on a bigger stage.