Football

The five candidates for the Fifa presidency made their final pitches today (Thursday) on the eve of the long-awaited election to replace Sepp Blatter as president of football’s global governing body.

Member associations of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) have today (Thursday) voted unanimously to approve a package of reforms that are deemed critical to the long-term future of the embattled organisation.

The appeal committee of football’s global governing body, Fifa, reduced bans handed down to Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini yesterday (Wednesday) evening from eight years to six years.

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has formally separated from the control of the country’s government in a bid to give the national governing body of the sport more independence.

Fifa’s executive committee has urged its members to approve proposed reforms at Friday’s Congress as it was informed by acting secretary general Markus Kattner that football’s global governing body faces a “challenging” financial situation.

Fifa presidential candidate Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has strongly denied allegations that he used development project funds to finance previous election bids and has claimed rival candidate Gianni Infantino’s campaign pledges would bankrupt world football’s governing body.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has reiterated its support of Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa in this Friday’s elections for the presidency of Fifa, the sport’s global governing body.

Suspended Fifa president Sepp Blatter has maintained his innocence in relation to charges concerning an alleged “disloyal payment” to banned Uefa president Michel Platini and has defended former secretary general Jerome Valcke.

Wellington Phoenix will continue to ply its trade in the A-League after Football Federation Australia (FFA) granted the New Zealand-based club an extended 10-year licence to play in the country’s top tier of domestic football.

German sportswear giant Puma today (Thursday) reported a 42 per cent drop in its net profit for 2015, but has targeted a strong 2016 aided by major sporting events such as the Olympic Games and Uefa European Championships.

The chief investigator of Fifa’s Ethics Committee has recommended life bans for the former presidents of the Chilean Football Association (ANFP) and Colombian Football Federation (FCF) after finding cases of misconduct under the rules of world football’s governing body, including those pertaining to bribery and corruption.

German football great Franz Beckenbauer was today fined CHF7,000 (€6,310/$7,050) and warned by the adjudicatory chamber of the Fifa Ethics Committee for failing to cooperate with Michael Garcia’s investigation into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

A consortium of businessmen based in England have approached Harry van Raaij, the former chairman of Dutch Eredivisie football club PSV Eindhoven, in an effort to resurrect plans for an Atlantic League featuring clubs from across Europe.

Banned Uefa president Michel Platini has stated his satisfaction with the proceedings in his appearance before Fifa’s Appeal Committee over his suspension from world football, adding he hopes his name will be cleared in time to aid final preparations for the Euro 2016 national team tournament in his home nation.

The Dutch Football Association (KNVB) has announced that it has uncovered an attempt to fix a match in its top-tier Eredivisie domestic club competition seven years ago.

Former Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke has today (Friday) been handed a 12-year ban from all football-related activities, as the Ethics Committee of world football’s governing body detailed an array of additional areas of misconduct committed by the Frenchman.