By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
March 13 – A three-page newspaper scoop claiming that Qatar is planning to launch a groundbreaking ‘Dream Football League’ next month, featuring the world’s most iconic clubs in a 24-team tournament that could ultimately rival the Champions League, has been dismissed as an elaborate hoax.
Exclusive: by Osasu Obayiuwana
March 13 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has told InsideWorldFootball, in an exclusive interview, that he was “surprised” by the decision of China’s Zhang Zilong, to withdraw from the race for the presidency of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
March 13 – Football at the top level is a rich man’s ownership game and attracts the richest men in the world. Business magazine Forbes has issued a list of the 11 richest football billionaires from the Forbes Rich List.
March 13 – Tanzania has again been warned by FIFA that it will be suspended if the government interferes in the administration of the sport.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 13 – Caribbean football, striving to enhance its image since the 2011 cash-for-votes scandal, at last has some good news, no doubt in part due to the efforts of Jeffrey Webb, president of CONCACAF which covers the region.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 13 – Just as his club were staging one of their greatest comebacks to take their customary place in the Champions League quarterfinals, Barcelona president Sandro Rosell (pictured) found himself at the centre of possible fraud charges in Brazil.
By Mark Baber
March 12 – The European Commission has opened a formal investigation into the financial affairs of Valencia, Hércules and Elche after their recent bail-outs from local government.
March 12 – The power of Brand Beckham was never more evident than in a Rich List just published by Goal.com, the football web site owned by Perform.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
March 12 – Former FIFA administrator Jerome Champagne has not ruled out running for President if, as expected, Sepp Blatter steps down in two years’ time. Since leaving FIFA under a cloud in 2010 after 11 years, the multi-lingual former French diplomat has been primarily working as an international football consultant in the field of development as he considers his next heavyweight move.
By Paul Nicholson
March 11 – Violence erupted in Egypt again over the weekend and the Egyptian FA headquarters were burned down after fans rioted after the second court ruling following the Port Said disaster in February 2012 handed down sentences to a further 54 people and confirmed the 21 death sentences already passed last month.
By Mark Baber
March 11 – Influential Australian think-tank, the Lowy Institute, has published a new report examining how football diplomacy around the 2015 Asian Cup will provide opportunities for government, business and community groups to strengthen their engagement with Asia.
By Mark Baber
March 11 – As FIFA seeks clarification over reported remarks by the head of the Nigeria Women Professional League (NWPL), a tape of the controversial interview has been released by Nigeria’s Premium Times and activists have called for a FIFA ban.
By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
March 11 – Financial figures released by the Premier League’s bottom club, Queens Park Rangers, in their bid to remain in the top flight of English football will have raised eyebrows throughout Europe, not least at UEFA’s Swiss headquarters.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 11 – A Lebanese referee forced to flee for his life has decided to quit, the latest unsavoury episode to strike at the heart of the sport in the Middle Eastern country.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 11 – The biggest fan ownership scheme in English football has moved a vital step closer after the group hoping to buy stricken Portsmouth exchanged contracts to buy the club out of administration.