“For He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.” Mary’s Song, Luke 1:48, King James Bible
The meteoric rise of Southampton has been lauded by many as one of the truly great football achievements of our times. As recently as 2011, the 32,505-seat St Mary’s Stadium was home to a club in League One, England’s third tier.
By David Owen
November 10 – FIFA faces the prospect of having to ship anti-doping samples outside the host-country for analysis for a second World Cup running in 2018, as part of the possible fallout from this week’s devastating report into alleged doping practices in Russia.
November 10 – The World Health Organisation’s declaration that Sierra Leone is now officially free of ebola will have an immediate positive effect on the country’s football programme.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 10 – The president of the Colombian Football Federation Luis Bedoya has resigned unexpectedly, prompting immediate speculation that his decision was linked to the FIFA corruption scandal. Although Bedoya said he was stepping down for “personal reasons,” government sources were quoted as saying he had flown to New York last week.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 9 – Wolfgang Niersbach, one of the leading voices in European football administration and touted by many as a future president of UEFA, succumbed to what had become almost insurmountable pressure by resigning today as head of the German FA (DFB) over the 2006 World Cup slush fund scandal.
By Mark Baber
November 9 – Football Federation Australia has announced the launch of the Football Cares initiative which aims to raise donations for UNHCR’s programmes to support displaced Syrians – both domestically and internationally.
By David Owen
November 9 – Justin Trudeau, the new Canadian Prime Minister, may not be a soccer fan, but he has reason to be thankful for the economic boost that the sport has given the country in recent times.
By Samindra Kunti
November 9 – The Dutch FA KNVB is considering possible legal steps against FIFA after Sepp Blatter’s controversial revelation that Russia was awarded the 2018 FIFA World Cup with a fixed agreement. The KNVB have contacted their Belgian counterparts for consultation.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 9 – The English Football Association has written to FIFA demanding answers to “important questions”, following Sepp Blatter’s revelation that a pre-arranged pact was made to hand the 2018 World Cup to Russia before the vote.
We may be heading towards a tipping-point in the globalisation of football. Actually, that is not quite exact: we may be heading towards a tipping-point in the Europeanisation of world football culture. What I have in mind is the point when the big European leagues – Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A – start to earn more from international rights to broadcast their matches than domestic rights.
November 8 – Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been ordered to rest because of stress as he awaits the outcome of an ethics investigation into alleged financial misconduct.
November 8 – One of Europe’s most famous derbies was played out in front of thousands of empty seats on Sunday as fans of both Roma and Lazio boycotted the game in protest over increased security measures at the Olympic Stadium.
By David Owen
November 8 – The President of three-times European Cup winners Internazionale has been elected chairman of the Indonesian Olympic Committee.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 8 – Secret documentation obtained by Insideworldfootball appears to contradict the assertion of a senior German 2006 World Cup official that no financial inducements were paid to land the tournament.
By Paul Nicholson
November 8 – Two Bahraini footballers at the centre of the human rights abuse allegations against FIFA presidential candidate Sheikh Salman have come forward saying there was “absolutely” no torture and that they have no knowledge of him being involved in action against protest marchers in 2011.