US investors take control of Swansea City for £110m

June 6 – Another English Premier League club has been bought by US investors. Welsh club Swansea City, who play in the English league and cup, have completed a sale of what is believed to be 60% of their shareholding for £110 million to US investors Jason Levien (pictured) and Steve Kaplan.

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No freedom for Women’s national team in the land of the free

us womens_world_cup_1999_23-05-12

By Paul Nicholson

June 6 – The dispute between the world beating US Women’s national team and the US Soccer Federation over the women’s demands for equal pay for representing their country – they generally earn between 62% and 25% less per match than their male counterparts – took a controversial turn in a Chicago court when a judge ruled they could not take strike action.

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FIFA bosses bagged $80m bonus booty, say US lawyers

FIFA-headquarters

By Andrew Warshaw

June 3 – With precision timing just when the organisation’s new president Gianni Infantino was under mounting scrutiny for a raft of allegedly suspect manoeuvres to boost his authority, FIFA’s American lawyers hit back today by revealing that Sepp Blatter, Jerome Valcke and Markus Kattner awarded themselves pay rises and bonuses worth $80 million over five years.

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Copa Centenario completes one journey and kicks off another. USA vs Colombia

Copa Centenario logo

By Paul Nicholson

June 3 – The much-anticipated and often troublesome Copa America Centenario kicks off Saturday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, with the US hosts facing Colombia. The opening match has the potential to spark what could be a celebration of sparkling football which will be in stark contrast (and a relief from) the dark areas of football corruption that this tournament has brought into the light.

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News Analysis: Infantino has a problem

By James Dostoyevsky

Yesterday, Switzerland’s staunchly conservative daily, known as ‘NZZ’ among Zurich’s intelligentsia, headlined its back page: ‘Gianni Infantino has a problem’. The paper proceeded to list a host of “problems”, all of which look to be self-inflicted. And some of which will lead (have led) to an Ethics investigation by a man who cannot be bought: Cornel Borbély is a strong fighter for the good, and has no worries about being asked to leave.

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