Canada 2-0 El Salvador
June 24 – Fresh from emerging from a Concacaf-imposed timeout, Canadian head coach Jesse Marsch returned to the technical area at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, knowing any more misbehaviour would send him back to the naughty room. He needn’t have worried as their opponents El Salvador simply imploded in a red mist.
By David Gold
October 16 – Brazil’s preparations to upgrade infrastructure, and to renovate and construct several stadia are in a battle against the clock to be ready in time for the 2014 World Cup, its President Dilma Rousseff has admitted.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 15 – Video transcripts of disgraced ex-FIFA vice-president Jack Warner suggesting his Caribbean colleagues were free to accept gifts from former FIFA Presidential hopeful Mohamed Bin Hammam have been handed over to the Attorney General in Warner’s native Trinidad, according to reports.
By David Gold
October 15 – England women’s football coach Hope Powell has said it has been a “phenomenal year” for women’s football, but that she will not be satisfied with the growth of the game until England are world champions.
By David Gold
October 15 – A match involving a team comprised of players from a range of ethnic backgrounds and Polish stars has taken place in Warsaw as part of the ‘Never Again’ Association’s ‘Poland for All’ event.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 15 – UEFA President Michel Platini is expected to appear in court next Wednesday (October 19) to explain why his organisation has refused to re-instate FC Sion in this season’s Europa League.
By David Gold
October 14 – FIFA has welcomed the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) decision to abandon its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against world football’s governing body for not punishing five Mexican players who tested positive for clenbuterol prior to the CONCACAF Gold Cup earlier this year.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 14 – Exactly a week before FIFA President Sepp Blatter unveils his eagerly anticipated anti-corruption plans, the infamous cash-for-votes scandal claimed four more senior officials tonight in the conspiracy’s latest raft of sanctions.
By David Gold
October 14 – Moscow, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg are vying to host the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup in 2018, according to Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko.
By Andrew Warshaw at the ISEM conference in London
October 13 – London’s image as hosts of next year’s Olympics has definitely suffered because of the ongoing stadium row and will get worse unless the issue is resolved before the Games start, a leading sports administrator warned today.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 13 – Two years after being dealt the cruellest of blows by Thierry Henry’s infamous handball, Lady Luck at last shone on the Republic of Ireland today when they were handed by far the easiest pairing in the Euro 2012 play-offs following the draw in Krakow.
The debate about the future of the Olympic Stadium illustrates a very simple sporting truth about this country. The one sport that makes money is football, but only at the highest level.
All other sports, including lower league football, struggle. Any attempt to make money and market a sport other than football, particularly athletics, is extremely difficult and can result in failure.
The Government forgot this sporting truth and the result is that the future of the Olympic Stadium is uncertain and the taxpayer may end up paying for its maintenance.
By David Gold
October 13 – The London 2012 Olympic football qualifying tournament for Africa, which doubles as the under-23 African Championship, will be held in Morocco after Egypt had to withdraw as hosts earlier this week following violence in Cairo, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed today.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 13 – England’s hopes of winning their first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup were dealt a crushing blow today when UEFA’s disciplinary body banned Wayne Rooney for effectively the entire group phase of the Euro 2012 finals.
By David Gold
October 13 – Alisher Usmanov, the second wealthiest man in English football, has written to Arsenal shareholders in a bid to push his stake in the Premier League club to 30 per cent.
By Andrew Warshaw at the ISEM conference in London
October 13 – The world’s first ever non-profit-making organisation specialising in sharing security ideas for sporting events wants to set up a full-scale training programme to minimise the risk of crime and corruption and maximise safety.