By Alexander Krassimirov
June 9 – Bulgaria has started the reconstruction of its national stadium, Vasil Levski. The renovation will pass through three stages, said Bulgarian sports minister Krassen Kralev, who spoke yesterday after an inspection of the stadium.
By Mark Baber
June 9- With women’s football reaching new heights of popularity, the timing of Monday’s announcement that the FA Women’s Cup, described by the FA as “the most popular cup competition in female football,” will be sponsored by energy firm SSE was immaculate.
By Mark Baber
June 9 – The annual study by Brand Finance ranking the world’s biggest football clubs by their “brand value” sees Manchester United, whose brand is said to be worth $1.2 bn, displace Bayern Munich from top spot. The list remains dominated by Premier League sides with six English clubs in the top ten.
By Paul Nicholson
June 9 – The CIES Football Observatory has released its top 100 ranking of the highest transfer values for big-5 league footballers. Not surprisingly Lionel Messi heads the table with an estimated value of between €255 and €281 million – more than it would cost to buy half the teams in the English Premier League, Aston Villa is reckoned to be on sale for £100 million.
By Alexander Krassimirov
June 9 – Embattled Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia, which has so far been refused a license to play next season, was struck another blow when former player Youness Bengelloun was awarded €407,296 (BGN 803 000) in compensation for unpaid salary. The decision was taken by a FIFA tribunal with judges from England, Croatia, Argentina, South Africa and Brazil.
By Mark Baber
June 9 – In a commentary, Xinhua, the official press agency of China, has claimed the indictment of FIFA officials exposes Washington’s arrogance as “world police” and also “set a bad precedent for international relations.”
By Andrew Warshaw
June 9 – Domenico Scala, the Swiss official who has emerged as the key figure spearheading reform at FIFA and orchestrating a smooth transition to the next president, has outlined the chain of events that led to him being plunged into the limelight when Sepp Blatter resigned.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
June 8 – Termalica Bruk-Bet Nieciecza, one of the two promoted teams to Poland’s top tier Ekstraklasa for the 2015/16 season, has unveiled plans to double the capacity of its stadium from the current 2,262 to at least 4,500 seats.
By Paul Nicholson
June 9 – With FIFA meeting Russia 2018 World Cup organisers in Samara early this week to discuss progress, on Thursday in Moscow clubs, host cities and suppliers and builders of the 2018 infrastructure will be meeting at the World Football Forum conference to share information and discuss the challenges they are facing.
By Matt Scott
June 8 – Insolvent Football League clubs will face an immediate 12-point deduction following new rules introduced at the competition’s annual summer conference in Portugal on Friday.
June 8 – With the international spotlight focused on corruption and money-laundering at FIFA and doping claims in athletics, the Qatar-based International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) is laying on a specialist session in Geneva in September to explore how sport, governments and the wider stakeholder community can tackle the issues and come up with ideas for robust reform.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 8 – With no senior men’s tournament to take centre stage, record after record looks set to be smashed at the women’s World Cup in Canada which began at the weekend.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 8 – The man now very much in charge at FIFA in terms of steering a path towards lasting reform and co-ordinating the extraordinary congress that will find a successor to Sepp Blatter has made it clear that the organisation could go as far as stripping Russia and Qatar of World Cup host status if conclusive new proof of corruption emerges over the bid process.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 8 – For years, amid constant claims of his involvement in widespread corruption and bribery stretching back to the Mohamed bin Hammam cash-for-votes affair and before, Jack Warner, FIFA’s notorious former vice-president, has never admitted he has done anything wrong.
By Paul Nicholson
June 8 – Alexei Sorokin, head of the organising committee for the Russia 2018 World Cup, has expressed frustration at having to repeat that the Russian bid was clean and transparent. Sorokin will speak again later this week at the World Football Forum in Moscow where he will outline progress in the preparations for 2018.