Fluminense looks to expand in US with a club buy
By Mark Baber
April 17 – Peter Siemsen, president of Brazil’s Fluminense Football Club, said the Brazilian champions are looking to buy a team in the US.
World Football
Italian clubs want increased competition for their reserve teams
April 17 – In order to develop more young talent, Serie A clubs in Italy want their reserve teams to be allowed to play in the country’s lower leagues.
NBC stakes its claim for the US football TV market
By Tom Parsons
April 17 – NBC sports group will air all 380 Barclays Premier League games during the 2013/14 season live on its networks. The US broadcaster will present the games across their platforms as well as streaming them live via NBC’s Sport live extra service on desktop, mobile and tablets.
Polish club crisis sees latest casualty Lodz dropped two divisions
By Krzysztof Baranowski
17 April – LKS Lodz, one of Poland’s oldest league clubs with a proud 105-year tradition, has declared itself bankrupt and unable to pay money owed to former players and coaches.
Women call for inclusion in FIFA 14 virtual world
By Mark Baber
April 16 – As EA Sports prepares to unveil its plans for the launch of FIFA 14, evidence suggests Brazilian 2nd division sides will be included in the new game, speculation has renewed over when women will be included.
Qatar and Germany to strengthen ties in World Cup build up
By Mark Baber
April 16 – Angela Merkel yesterday urged Qatar to ensure transparency and reliability in the bidding for World Cup 2022 projects.
Trinidad woe for Warner over missing football cash claims
By Andrew Warshaw
April 16 – Former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner has described himself as “incorruptible” following explosive new revelations about alleged serious financial foul play.
AFC frontrunner Salman accused of vote buying and human rights abuses
By Paul Nicholson and Mark Baber
April 16 – The leading candidate for the presidency of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, has been implicated in a series of human rights abuses in his home country of Bahrain where he is a member of the ruling Royal family. Insideworldfootball has also been provided with information allegedly linking him to a vote buying scandal orchestrated by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in 2009 when he ran for AFC election to the FIFA executive committee against Mohamed Bin Hammam.
Exclusive: Al Medlej says he may be the last man standing, unless he stands down himself
By John Duerden
April 16 – Hafez Al Medlej may be the forgotten candidate for the upcoming Asian Football Confederation presidential election but the Saudi appears to believe he could end up becoming the sole contender from West Asia at the May 2 ballot.
SPL dissenters kill Scottish league reform despite majority in favour
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
April 16 – Scottish football was plunged into total disarray when Premier League clubs failed to reach a consensus on a groundbreaking deal designed to restructure and re-invigorate the game, prompting widespread anger and in-fighting.
Pitch invasion set to condemn stricken AEK to lower league life
By Andrew Warshaw
April 15 – The political instability in Greece has now been matched by football unrest after AEK Athens players were chased off the pitch by their fans, causing the abandonment of their top-division fixture at the weekend.
Exclusive: Makudi is losing support of Asean votes in the AFC presidential race
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
April 15 – The race for the presidency of the Asian Football Confederation has taken a dramatic new twist with the news that FIFA vice-president Worawi Makudi may not be able to count on the unanimous support of his own south-east Asia region.
Kazakhs cold on united league with Azerbaijan and Georgia
By Mark Baber
April 15 – The Kazakhstan football federation has poured cold water on the hopes of Georgian federation president Zviad Sichinava (pictured), who is pushing to submit plans to UEFA for a united football league for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan which he claims would be able to attract significant investment.
FIFA investigator Garcia blacklisted by Russian government
By Paul Nicholson
April 14 – FIFA’s chief investigator Michael Garcia has been declared persona non grata and put on a ‘black list’ by the Russian government. He is one of 18 US citizens on the list who will be denied any entry to Russia.Garcia, who is central to the FIFA investigations into allegations of corruption, has yet to report any findings but is known to be looking into the ISL case and the 2022 Qatar World Cup award.
La Liga pushes towards centralisation of TV rights sales
By Gareth Messenger
April 12 – The chief executive of La Liga, Francisco Roca, believes clubs in Spain will agree to sell their television rights colectively within the next three years as they look to slim down the gap in commercial sales revenues between their clubs, and also in comparison with international competition like the Premier League and the sales-revamped Bundesliga.