Inside World Football - Page 1761 of 2255 - For the Business of Football

Andrew Warshaw: Smoking gun but where does it really point us

For three and a half years, ever since FIFA president Sepp Blatter opened the proverbial envelope and pronounced the word “Qatar” to a tense auditorium in Zurich and millions more following proceedings worldwide, hardly a week has gone by without the hosts of the 2022 World Cup being forced on the defensive amid a spate of corruption claims.

Time and again, just when they think the furore over their fourth round landslide victory in December 2010,

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Palestinians win AFC Challenge Cup but still battle for the right to play

Palestine win AFC Challenge Cup

By Mark Baber
June 2 – Palestine’s national football team won their first ever international trophy on Friday – lifting the Asia Challenge Cup in the Maldives after defeating the Philippines 1-0. The win secures a place in next year’s AFC Asia Cup to be held in Australia and underlines the urgency of FIFA efforts to ensure an accommodation is reached between Israel and Palestine in order to allow Palestinian football to be played,

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INSIDE World Football goes (a little bit) public

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Dear readers, friends and associates
A year after its re-launch and after a successful liaison with our Chinese partners at NetEase, our daily publication for the business and the politics of football – not to mention our dedication to fight racism not only in football – InsideWorldFootball.com (IWF) has taken another step towards strengthening its position in the international marketplace.

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Blatter ready to continue his ‘mission’, if membership unites behind him

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June 2 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has re-iterated that he will only stand for re-election if he gets a strong enough feeling that this is the wish of the majority of the 209-strong membership at the organisation’s forthcoming congress.

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Pele’s son jailed, pending appeal, for 33 years for money laundering

Pele and Edson Cholbi Nascimento

June 2 – One of Brazilian football legend Pele’s seven children has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for laundering money for drug traffickers. Edson Cholbi Nascimento, known as Edinho, denies the charges, which date from 2005, and will reportedly be allowed to remain free pending appeal.

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David Owen: Anatomy of a World Cup qualifying competition

Heading to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup? Apprehensive about the demonstrations and logistical nighmares that might lie in wait for you? May I make a suggestion: pack a copy of James Montague’s kaleidoscopic new book Thirty-One Nil.

It will remind you that, however trying your current circumstances, things could be worse, while articulating, in a succession of scrupulously observed national tableaux, why you made the effort in the first place.

Not that the author makes a meal of his discomfort,

Osasu Obayiuwana

Osasu Obayiuwana: Counting the cost of the World Cup

As we edge closer to the start of the World Cup finals, my thoughts have nothing to do with the usual questions, like which team is likely to lift the trophy or the players that will distinguish themselves in Brazil and earn a deserved place in the tournament’s pantheon of legends.

What has preoccupied me is the consistent fury of working-class and under-privileged Brazilians, about the money being spent on hosting the World Cup.

Matt Scott

Matt Scott: Premier League transfer volcano looks primed to erupt

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“Anyone who lives within their means suffers a lack of imagination.” Oscar Wilde

A lack of imagination is not football’s affliction. This game gives flame to our childish dreams. The nine-year-old Aberdeen fan Boyd Gibson, who submitted a transfer wish list to his club requesting they purchase such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovich, Gareth Bale and Lionel Messi, was only echoing the boyish fantasies that consume every one of us at times.

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Qataris refute allegations, Salman offers support, Garcia arrives to ask questions

Qatar win bid

By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
June 1 – Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers have been quick to respond to the explosive allegations of corruption published by English newspaper the Sunday Times, saying that the bid committee broke no rules and that Mohamed bin Hammam was not part of the bid team. FIFA’s chief investigator Michael Garcia is meeting Qatar 2022 bid officials today as part of his on-going investigation of the conduct of all the bidding member associations.

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Chileans mine rich seam of World Cup support

Chilean miners

By David Owen
June 1 – Chile is better known for its copper than its football. So it is fitting that the industry should be providing a rich seam of support for Alexis Sánchez and the rest of the country’s World Cup squad as they make final preparations for Brazil.

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Bin Hammam ‘paper’ trail points to more woe for Qatar and its World Cup

Qatar 2022 image

By Andrew Warshaw
June 1 – FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce says the most explosive allegations to date linked to Qatar being awarded the 2022 World Cup must be added to the investigation into the entire bidding process being conducted by FIFA’s corruption buster, Michael Garcia.

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Bin Hammam ‘paper’ trail points to more woe for Qatar and its World Cup

Qatar 2022 image

By Andrew Warshaw
June 1 – FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce says the most explosive allegations to date linked to Qatar being awarded the 2022 World Cup must be added to the investigation into the entire bidding process being conducted by FIFA’s corruption buster, Michael Garcia.

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Winning is good but World Cup runner up is bad for business, says Goldman Sachs

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By Ben Nicholson
May 30 – Investment bank Goldman Sachs has produced a report, entitled ‘The World Cup and Economics 2014′. The report analyses the previous stock performance of host, winning, and runner-up World Cup nations, as well as providing a statistical review of each teams’ chances of progressing.

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FIFA releases its Sao Paulo Congress agenda

FIFA House

By Andrew Warshaw
May 30 – FIFA’s Congress in Sao Paolo next month will include some of the most pressing issues facing the game including match-fixing, third party ownership, the Israel-Palestine impasse and an update by Dominic Scala, chairman of the organisation’s Audit and Compliance committee.

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Puma: ‘World’s Fastest’ brand holds back for post-World Cup ad campaign

2014 UEFA Champions League Final Football Boots evoPOWER

By Mark Baber
May 30 – With Adidas an official sponsor of the World Cup and Nike topping the viral charts with its video marketing campaign, Puma have taken a different track to global domination – their World Cup marketing will get underway AFTER the tournament is over, and just prior to the start of the school year.