Man City keep Facebook lead over Man Utd, Arsenal more ‘likeable’ than Chelsea
February 3 – The past week of social media stats in the Premier League has seen a rare win for Twitter over Facebook or Instagram in terms of growth number.
FIFA shelves Early Warning System in favour Sportradar for war on match-fixing
By Andrew Warshaw
February 3 – The role and reputation of Sportradar in detecting global match-fixing and irregular betting patterns has received a major boost after FIFA decided to hire the specialist firm in place of its own detection division.
UEFA opens up bid process for 2019 club championship finals
February 3 – In a significant break with the past regime of Michel Platini and as promised by his successor Aleksander Ceferin, UEFA have introduced an open tender process for cities keen to stage its major club finals and have named those interested in hosting in 2019, with formal bidding now under way.
China goes back to school – 20,000 of them – to develop its football legacy of the future
February 3 – China may be attempting to put the brakes on the spending of huge fees for foreign players, but there is no slow down in their domestic focus on specialist football programmes to train a generation that can compete on the world stage.
West Ham top mid-week attendance chart as Burnley feast after FA Cup famine
February 3 – Premier League action returned mid-week after a weekend of FA Cup action, and so did the fans to Burnley and Middlesbrough, though neither sold out their stadiums.
Jeonbuk still out in the AFC Champions League cold as CAS refuses to open the door back
February 3 – AFC Champions League holders Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors have not been cleared to defend their title. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected the club’s request for ‘provisional measures’ to allow the club back into the 2017 competition following it January 18 sanction for historic match-fixing.
Picking sides. African presidents in spat over Infantino’s African power play
February 3 – In the latest power play for control of African football, an unsavoury war of words has broken out between two federations presidents over alleged meddling by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Egypt and Cameroon bring a familiar look to AFCON final
By Samindra Kunti
February 3 – For the third time in history Egypt and Cameroon will meet in the final of the African Cup of Nations. In the semi-finals the two traditional powerhouses of the African game defeated Burkina Faso and Ghana respectively.
Argentines play season opening Super Cup under cloud of financial uncertainty
By Samindra Kunti
February 3 – This weekend Lanus and River Plate will play in the Argentine Super Cup, but the start of the domestic season has been overshadowed by financial turmoil in the country that is ranked number one in the world by FIFA.
Media giant A+E buys stake in NWSL in the US
February 3 – Media group A+E Networks has bought a stake in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the US which will see its women’s entertainment brand Lifetime become a sponsor of the league in a three-year deal beginning in April. A+E will will also launch a joint venture company – NWSL Media – to market commercial rights.
Aussies bow to FIFA pressure to speed up FFA membership reform
February 3 – The Australian FA has agreed to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting to meet a March 31 deadline to reform itself and become more democratic following talks with FIFA officials in Zurich this week.
AFC names eight contenders running for its four seats on FIFA’s Council
By Andrew Warshaw
February 2 – The names have been revealed, now the campaigning begins. The Asian Football Confederation has announced that eight candidates have put their names forward for the Continent’s four available places available on the FIFA Council, at least one of which must be filled by a woman.
Report says clubs should not rule out public floats as a financial tool
February 2 – Raising money on public stock markets with a float of club shares was a popular financial tool for clubs up until the early 2000s when it went out of fashion. But how far does their on-pitch performance relate to the stock price?
China syndrome? PL clubs recoup more from other leagues than they spent in Jan transfer window
By David Owen
February 1 – The magic of amortisation means that top football clubs have long been used to their transfer dealings mitigating bottom-line losses or, especially in more recent times, augmenting profits. But to register a gain in cash terms, without spreading the cost of new signings over the length of their contracts, is much more unusual.
Sorokin critical of Russian detractors saying it is an attack on the World Cup product
By Andrew Warshaw
February 2 – With his country under global scrutiny because of the ongoing doping scandal, Alexei Sorokin, the public face of the 2018 World Cup, has come out fighting and taken a swipe at Russia’s mounting number of critics.