By Lefteris Charalampopoulos
December 29 – They claim to be extremely wealthy. They are owners of football clubs and controversial businessmen. Dimitris Melissanidis, owner of AEK Athens, and Giannis Alafouzos (pictured) of Panathinaikos, have money but they have failed to meet their payment obligations to their players and coaches.
December 30 – The United Nations resolution condemning Israeli settlements has heaped pressure on FIFA to resolve the issue of Israeli lower-league clubs based in the occupied West Bank, according to Human Rights Watch.
December 30 – World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo turned down the chance to leave Real Madrid for a staggering 300m Euros to join the flow of expensive talent towards China according to his agent.
December 30 – The English Football league (EFL) has reported record Christmas attendances with more than half a million football fans going to the Boxing Day round of fixtures boosting average attendances to higher than some of Europe’s biggest leagues.
December 30 – KV Oostende have accrued a loss of €7 million in the 2015/16 book year, with the Belgian club’s debts mounting to €23.4 million. In comparison Anderlecht reported a net profit of €1.6 million.
December 30 – Bob Bradley, the former US national team coach sacked by Swansea City after only 85 days in charge, says he could have made a success of being the first American to manage an English Premier League side if he had been given more time by his fellow Americans who appointed him in the first place.
December 30 – Sevilla midfielder Samir Nasri is being investigated by Spanish Anti-Doping authorities over treatment he received at a Los Angeles clinic.
December 29 – The English Premier League doesn’t take a winter break, but for football fans it felt like it had taken one with a flurry of fixtures over the 10 days of December 10-18 and then a long and lonely wait to the traditional feast of Boxing Day fixtures on December 26.
December 29 – Argentine striker Carlos Tevez has become the latest international star to head for China after signing for Shanghai Shenhua from his boyhood club Boca Juniors.
By Paul Nicholson
December 29 – The increased difficulty of getting Chinese money into Europe to complete club acquisitions has been highlighted with Ligue 1 Olympique Lyonnais owner OL Groupe announcing that it had now received the first €30 million of a €100 million investment by Chinese investment fund IDG Capital Partners. At the same time Dutch club ADO The Hague said it was suing its Chinese owners for €2.3 million in unpaid investments.
December 29 – It would be fair to say that Tottenham Hotspur are not having a love affair with Wembley, either on the pitch where they failed to get the Champions League results to take them to the knock-out rounds, or off it as they prevaricate over committing to playing Premier League games there in the 2017/18 season while their rebuilt White Hart Lane stadium is completed.
December 29 – Officials from the United States, Canada and Mexico are likely to meet next year to discuss a joint bid for the 2026 World Cup, according to CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani.
December 29 – FIFA will continue to “put pressure” on Qatar over the treatment of migrant workers helping to build World Cup stadiums for the 2022 tournament, says Gianni Infantino.
“Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies.” Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, JK Rowling
There is something magical about Notts County. They are the world’s oldest league football club, formed six generations ago in 1862, and although relatively few in world football might be acquainted with the Magpies, their impact on the global game is undeniable.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 28 – Despite fierce opposition from Europe’s clubs and the danger of the quality being diluted, FIFA’s member federations are “overwhelmingly in favour” of plans for a 48-team World Cup, almost certainly starting in 2026, according to Gianni Infantino.