Football Governance
European Match Fixing Scandal Hits The Beautiful Game - 21/11/2009
At least 200 European football games are being investigated after police said they had dismantled an alleged international criminal ring suspected of running Europe's biggest ever match fixing scandal...
Big Blow For Scottish Football - 15/11/2009
Scottish football has suffered a big blow after the Premiership effectively ruled out Celtic or Rangers ever joining the competition...
La Liga To Change Match Times? - 08/11/2009
Kick off times in the Spanish Primera reflects the pecking order of clubs...
Strike Threat in La Liga - 07/11/2009
Spanish clubs have threatened to go on strike following the announcement of Spanish Government plans to remove tax laws that give La Liga a big advantage over the English Premiership...
Three Clubs Face League Probe - 01/10/2009
Three clubs are to be considered by the Football League board next week after questions were raised about whether they met the 'fit and proper person' test...
Sports Minister Loses His Patience With FA - 27/09/2009
Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe has demanded that the Football Association speed up its plans to modernise...
English Clubs To Fight Platini's Plans - 21/09/2009
Some of Europe's leading football clubs, especially those in the Premiership, are preparing to oppose plans by Uefa to curtail the ability of club owners to buy their way to success...
A Good Time To Be Paranoid? - 07/09/2009
As Michel Platini has become increasingly bullish about his 'financial fair play' strategy which many see as targeted at the top English clubs some fans of those clubs may feel they are justified in being paranoid...
Platini Declares War On England - 31/08/2009
Uefa president Michael Platini has given Premiership clubs a three year ultimatum to clear up their debts or be booted out of the Champions League...
Premiership Response To Government Criticisms - 16/05/2009
The Premier League has made a number of responses to government criticisms of the way it runs its affairs and whilst the proposed changes do not address the competitive balance or debt burden issues raised by culture secretary Andy Burnham, he has welcomed the Premiership's response...
Burnham Wants To Break Grip of Top Four - 09/05/2009
Culture Secretary and Everton supporter Andy Burnham has stepped up his campaign to break the grip of the top four clubs on English football...
FIFA's 6+5 Policy In Trouble - 02/05/2009
Fifa's desire to force the controversial 6+5 blow on English clubs, which has been seen as a major threat to the Premiership, has been dealt a heavy blow by the European Commission...
MPs Want to Tighten Fit and Proper Persons Test - 25/04/2009
The All Party Football Group has called for a reform of the 'fit and proper persons' test for owning a football club...
Parliamentary Group Backs Blatter Plan - 20/04/2009
Following a year-long investigation into the state of English football, the All Party Parliamentary Group is expected to back Sepp Blatter's plan for a 'six plus five' rule...
UEFA Denies Fair Play Tax is Attack on Premiership - 28/03/2009
Uefa have denied that their plans for a fair play tax are the latest shot in a campaign to undermine the English Premiership. Europe's richest football clubs, many of them in England, would have to pay a luxury tax on their star players...
Blatter Forecasts Economic 'Tsunami' - 13/03/2009
Blatter argued, 'Football has yet not so much been touched by the first wave of an economic tsunami. But the second wave will touch football, especially with the sponsorship of club football and sport in general...
Mawhinney's Salary Cap Plan - 07/12/2008
Lord Mawhinney, chairman of the Football League, is proposing to extend the salary cap that already operates in Coca-Cola League Two...
Premiership Agrees To Debt Probe - 07/12/2008
Barclays Premier League officials have signed up to a voluntary investigation into debt levels among their clubs as part of their efforts to head off threats of regulation by Europe...
Britain Defeats French Threat To Premiership - 06/12/2008
Britain has fought off an attempt by France to use its rotating presidency of the European Union to impose a French-style regulatory system on British football clubs...
The M Word - 06/12/2008
Ground sharing between clubs is always unpopular with fans, but mergers of clubs attract even more opposition as they destroy a cherished identity...
Two Tier Premiership Idea Revived - 25/10/2008
The idea of a two tier Premiership has been revived by Bolton chairman Phil Gartside...
Premiership Faces Political Challenge - 19/10/2008
The Premiership faces perhaps its biggest ever political challenge from what is in effect a combined front of the new culture secretary, Andy Burnham and FA chairman Lord Triesman...
UEFA Threat To Debt Ridden Clubs - 09/10/2008
Uefa are threatening to ban debt ridden clubs from their competitions. This is a major threat to leading English clubs to whom Champions League football is a key slice of their income...
Blatter Hits Out At Foreign Ownership - 07/10/2008
Fifa president Sepp Blatter has called for stricter rules on foreign ownership of clubs in the UK and elsewhere in Europe...
Smaller Premiership With No Relegation Urged - 21/08/2008
Manchester City executive chairman Gary Cook believes that the Premiership remains too parochial in its outlook and the future lies in an elite league of perhaps 14 clubs with no relegation...
Police Bid To Make Football Pay Starts Row - 21/08/2008
There has been a strong reaction to a proposal by the Association of Chief Police Officers that football should pay all the costs of policing games with some commentators suggesting that the plan is based on envy and class hatred...
Two Clubs Thrown Out of Champions League - 08/06/2008
Two qualifying clubs, one in Bulgaria and one in Portugal, have been thrown out of next year's Champions League competition...
FIFA Backs Blatter's 6 + 5 Plan - 31/05/2008
Football's governing body Fifa has backed president Sepp Blatter's 'six-plus-five' scheme which would limit the number of foreign players in a team to five...
Is The Premiership Boring? - 12/05/2008
The end of the football season has brought renewed discussion of the dominance of the Big Four clubs and suggestions that the Premiership is so predictable that it is boring. Nevertheless, plenty of armchair fans were attracted by the championship and relegation struggle on the last day...
The Strange World Of The Administrator - 20/04/2008
Over the past decade more than 30 professional football clubs have entered administration. It is rare for there not be to at least one club in administration in the British leagues (currently Gretna and Rotherham). However, the special nature of football as a business means that club administration is far from a routine matter for insolvency practitioners...
More Premiership Clubs May Face Police Questioning - 12/04/2008
More Premiership clubs may face a visit from the City of London Police after the questioning of Birmingham co-owner David Sullivan and managing director Karren Brady signalled new developments in the football corruption probe...
Leave My Team Alone - 30/03/2008
The dream of a real life Championship Manager in which fans get the chance to pick an actual team has run into trouble. Ebbsfleet United supremo Liam Daish has pleaded with MyFootballClub not to meddle with his team until the end of the season...
A-League Set To Expand - 14/03/2008
Australia's A-league is set to expand beyond ten teams in 2009. Gold Coast Galaxy and a Townsville-based consortium narrowly missed out on inclusion...
Scudamore Defiant On 39th Game Plan - 24/02/2008
The Premiership remains defiant over its controversial proposal to introduce an 'international round' of fixtures, despite being told by the FA board that the plan is not sustainable in its present format...
Is Playing Abroad Plan Finished? - 17/02/2008
Everyone has been piling in during the past week to condemn the Premiership's plan to play one extra game abroad each season. Mohamed bin Hammam, president of the Asian Football Confederation - where some of the most lucrative markets are located - opposed the idea,...
Playing Abroad Scheme Is Controversial - 08/02/2008
The Premiership's scheme to play additional matches outside the UK has caused considerable controversy. Ten extra games would be played at five different venues, with cities bidding for the right to stage them...
G-14 is Dissolved - 19/01/2008
The controversial association of top European clubs, G-14, has been dissolved and it is to be replaced by a new and larger clubs' organisation backed by Uefa...
Do Authorities Want To Cut Back Number Of Clubs? - 06/01/2008
Luton manager Kevin Blackwell has suggested that the football authorities may want to reduce the number of clubs. Of course, in any other industry exit and merger is a normal mechanism, but football clubs are different because they are often a core part of a fan's personal identity...
G-14 and Uefa Come Closer Together - 05/12/2007
G-14, the organisation of top European clubs, appears to be close to a rapprochement with Uefa...
Fans Website Takes Over Club - 13/11/2007
Fans' community website MyFootballClub has agreed a deal to take over Blue Square Premier outfit Ebbsfleet United (formerly Gravesend and Northfleet)...
Will UEFA's Regulation Survive the Test of EC Law? - 04/11/2007
The debate concerning the quota on foreign players within domestic competitions continues to stoke the fire of potential litigation between UEFA and the European Union institutions...
Agents Threaten To Sue FA - 14/10/2007
Football agents have threatened to sue the Football Association unless it waters down new regulations aimed at eliminating corruption from the game...
Blatter Renews Call For Quota On Foreign Players - 30/09/2007
Fifa president Sepp Blatter is ready to challenge the European Union to get a quota for foreign players within European teams....
Scudamore Defends Role of Business in Football - 30/09/2007
There is plenty of complaining about the way in which football has been commercialised, but it is rare for someone to make a robust defence of business involvement in the game but Premiership chief executive Richard Scudamore has done so in response...
Fanchester Dream May Come Real - 22/07/2007
The dream (or nightmare) of a real club in which fans make all the decisions is not far off fruition. Will Brooks' website myfootballclub.co.uk is not far off raising the £1.375m it needs to buy a football club...
Police Raid Three Clubs In Corruption Probe - 17/07/2007
The Economic Crime Unit of the City of London Police has raided three football clubs as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in football...
Brussels Takes Middle Line In Sports White Paper - 14/07/2007
The European Union's first comprehensive white paper on sports has taken a middle line between the demands of football and the concerns of its competition directorate...
Trust Route Is Full Of Pain - 03/07/2007
Supporters' trusts are often seen as the way out when clubs have run into financial difficulty. The club can be taken back into the control of the community rather than being operated for the benefit of business investors. However, a football club has to be run on business lines if it is to survive and succeed...
Seventeen Problematic Transfers Found In 'Bung' Inquiry - 18/06/2007
Lord Stevens' report into an alleged 'bung' culture in the English Premiership has listed 17 problematic transfers involving 15 football agents and five clubs...
Fifa Altitude Ban Hits Andean States - 09/06/2007
Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador have been told by Fifa that they can no longer stage international matches in their capitals. Football's governing body has imposed a ban on international games being played above altitudes of 2,500 metres...
Gang Of Four Likely To Fail In Court Challenge - 11/05/2007
Sports lawyers think that the 'Gang of Four' relegation threatened clubs are likely to fail in any court action against the Premiership for its failure to deduct points from West Ham for breaking regulations over the registration of Carlos Tévez...
Bottom Clubs Threaten To Sue Premiership - 05/05/2007
Four relegation threatened clubs are threatening to sue the Premiership over its controversial decision not to deduct points from West Ham over the transfers of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano...
FA Backs Down In Row With Agents - 02/05/2007
A row between football agents, the Football Association and the Government has led to the FA temporarily backing down, although they have insisted that they are determined to press ahead with rules governing the conduct of agents...
When A Minnow Is Not A Minnow - 17/04/2007
Today I was rung by BBC Channel Islands Television and asked if I could do an interview on the fact that the Jersey 'national' side has received a three yearsponsorship deal of £100k...
More Managers Face Sack Says Allardyce - 15/04/2007
Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce has forecast that there could be mass sackings in the Barclays Premiership next season...
Dispute On Shareholder Rights At Galatasary - 18/02/2007
Several investors in the merchandising arm of leading Turkish football club Galatasaray are locked in a dispute with the club's owner over minority shareholding rights...
Italian Clubs Play Behind Closed Doors - 11/02/2007
Most Italian clubs had to play behind closed doors this weekend after a government decree ruled that grounds that did not meet new safety standards could not admit spectators...
Platini Victory Is Also One For Blatter - 04/02/2007
The election of former French international Michel Platini by the narrow margin of 27 votes to 23 as Uefa president is as much a victory for Fifa president Sepp Blatter...
Platini May Have His Work Cut Out - 29/01/2007
New Uefa president and former French international Michel Platini may not find it so easy to take away England's fourth Champions League place as he has promised...
Incomes and Goals Slump - A Threat To The English Premier League? - 29/12/2006
A complaint increasingly heard from fans is that clubs outside the top four of the Premiership are increasingly focused on survival because of the increasing costs of relegation and that this leads to negative and boring football...
Stevens Criticises FA Over Transfer Deals - 22/12/2006
Lord Stevens has criticised the way that the FA handles transfer deals, but has been unable to find evidence of wrongdoing that would stand up in a court of law...
Dundalk Fan Invades FAI Headquarters And Threatens Self Immolation - 15/12/2006
Such is the passion for football in Ireland that a Dundalk fan invaded the FAI offices in Dublin, doused the place (and later himself) in petrol and demanded a meeting with FAI Chief Executive John Delay...
Should Chelsea 'B' Play In The Championship? - 10/12/2006
Chelsea's José Mourinho is no stranger to controversy. Is his suggestion that Chelsea B should be allowed to play in the Championship just another arrogant wind up or a stimulus to a needed debate about the future of reserve football in England?...
Do Clubs Know How To Choose A Manager? - 28/11/2006
The revolving door in football management is going round faster and faster and the typical Championship manager lasts little more than a year...
Deal Reached On Wembley - 22/10/2006
Hopes have been raised by a deal struck between the FA and builders Multiplex which avoids a costly and acrimonious court battle over delays to the construction off the stadium...
Bung Probe Identifies Fifty Suspect Transfers - 24/09/2006
About 50 transfers out of 362 involving Premiership clubs investigated by the Stevens inquiry have raised suspicions among investigators...
'I Am A Million Per Cent Innocent' Says 'Arry - 17/09/2006
Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp has responded to speculation that he might be featured in a BBC programme about bungs in football to be screened on Tuesday night by insisting that he is a 'million per cent innocent'...
FIFA Decision Opens Up New Transfer Loophole - 6/09/2006
Discontented players may in future be able to transfer to a club in another country but not in their own country following a decision by Fifa....
Supporters' Trusts Are Not An Easy Solution - 19/07/2006
Supporters' trusts are often seen as the way forward for clubs in the lower leagues. They enable supporters to run their own clubs in a prudent fashion, safeguarding them for the community from developers or businessmen with a dubious past...
Football League Attempts Crackdown On Agents - 17/07/2006
The Football League is attempting a crackdown on the amount of money that flows out of the game into the pockets of the agents...
Ten Years After Bosman - 02/07/2006
Loughborough University staged a workshop on this theme at the weekend with one of the page editors giving a paper on the G-14 group of big clubs...
TV Programme Pinpoints FIFA Bribes Allegations - 13/06/2006
Fifa President Sepp Blatter is being investigated by Swiss police over his role in a secret deal to repay more than £1m worth of bribes pocketed by football officials, BBC Panorama revealed in a programme screened on Sunday 11 June 2006...
Blatter Wants 18 Team Premier League - 10/06/2006
Fifa's Congress has endorsed a proposal for Europe's top leagues to be reduced to a maximum of 18 clubs by the start of the 2007-8 season...
World Cup Should Be Held Every Two Years - 05/06/2006
The World Cup should be held every two years according to a report prepared for the G-14 grouping of top clubs by Hypercube...
UEFA Lead At Half Time In Battle With Clubs - 27/05/2006
A report by a special European Commission task force on the future of football headed by former Portuguese minister José Arnaut...
Italian Football Rocked By Major Scandal - 14/05/2006
Italian football has been rocked by a major scandal centred on top club Juventus with allegations of match fixing...
Female Soccer Fans in Iran - 30/04/2006
Iran is divided over the issue of whether women should be allowed to attend soccer matches. At least six senior ayatollahs, including some of Iran's most senior clerics, have issued rulings condemning a decision by President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad to allow women to sit in the stands....
UEFA versus G-14 - 27/03/2006
A controversial and potentially far reaching court case in Belgium raises tensions between UEFA and G-14...
0-0 Draws To Be Banned? - 17/03/2006
It is usually from the United States that we hear complaints that there are two few goals in 'soccer' and that something should be done about it, for example by making the goals bigger...
Is French Football Boring? - 17/03/2006
There are fears, particularly among TV executives, that French football is becoming dangerously dull, and the league have responded by commissioning Michel Hidalgo to draw up a list of proposals to beat the boredom...
Fans Invited To Take Part In EU Football Review - 25/02/2006
Fans were invited to take part in a major review of European football launched by the EU. The dedicated website for the review is at Football Review . Responses were required before March 13 2006...
Wembley; 'Don't Panic; Says FA - 22/12/2005
Despite a statement by the Football Association advising that there is no need for panic, it looks increasingly unlikely that Wembley Stadium will be handed over by the scheduled date of...
UK Initiative To Clean Up Football - 21/11/2005
Britain is using its presidency of the European Union in an initiative to 'clean up football'. Sports ministers from the five top football markets are to meet...
Referee Scandal In Brazil - 16/10/2005
Football administration has been known for years to be rotten in Brazil, so it should perhaps be no surprise that the country has been hit by a refereeing scandal...
Make Your Mind Up Time For FA On Training Centre Project - 2/10/2005
The Football Association has been criticised for its standards of governance in recent years and one of its most controversial decisions was the attempt to build a national training centre near Burton upon Trent modelled on France's successful Clairefontaine academy...
Saudi Soccer Hit By Fatwa - 10/09/2005
The Saudi daily Al-Watan reported recently that Islamic extremists were inciting Saudi soccer players to quit their teams and wage jihad in Iraq...
Start Of Season Chaos For Serie A - 30/08/2005
The Italian football season is about to get under way accompanied by the usual chaos...
Rise In Policing Costs Could Ruin Some Clubs - 21/08/2005
Clubs in England and Wales are facing the possibility of massive increases in match day policing costs. In a move that could be the final blow for lower league clubs facing administration or financial hardship...
FA Faces Shake Up - 14/08/2005
With the final report from businessman Lord Burns now available, the structure of the FA faces a major shake up, if the opposition of the 'blazer brigade' to modernisation can be overcome...
UEFA's Rules On Homegrown Players Will Have Increasing Impact - 14/08/2005
New Uefa rules on homegrown players are likely to have an increasing impact, with the European governing body hoping that national associations will implement similar rules despite protests from top clubs...
Polish Football Hit By Corruption Scandal - 24/07/2005
Just when Poland's bid to host the 2012 finals together with Ukraine is making progress, Polish football has been hit by a major corruption scandal...
FA Needs 'Substantial Reform' - 11/06/2005
Interim report by former Treasury mandarin Lord Burns charged with reviewing the Football Association has said that its structures need 'substantial reform...
Supporters Trusts Formed At Two Clubs - 11/06/2005
Supporters trusts have been formed at two clubs in the last week: Southampton, a relegated club where many fans are angry with club chairman Rupert Lowe and Charlton Athletic where fans have had a supporters' director on the board...
Cole Legal Challenge Could Change Transfer Rules - 06/06/2005
The legal challenge planned by Ashley Cole's lawyers could change the rules relating to the 'tapping up' of players...
Four Points For Away Win in Premiership? - 29/05/2005
The Premiership's Attendances Working Group has suggested that clubs could receive four points for an away win in a bid to make games more entertaining...
Homegrown Quota To Be Kept Out Of Premiership - 06/02/2005
The Premiership will resist any attempt to introduce Uefa's new quota of 'homegrown' players into England's top league. Under the new rules clubs' 25-man squads for the Champions League and Uefa Cup will have to include two players whom they have...
They Also Served: The History of FA Chief Executives - 05/12/2004
One of the problems that surrounds Brian Barwick's role at the FA is that no one is quite sure what it is. But it is also true that many of his predecessors did not seem to know what they were doing...
Chief Executive Appointment Does Not Solve FA Problems - 28/11/2004
Brian Barwick, the controller of ITV sport, has been appointed chief executive of the Football Association, but he inherits a difficult situation at football's governing body...
Top European Clubs Plan To Extend G14 - 28/11/2004
Europe's top clubs are planning to expand their exclusive organisation, G14. They have already expanded the membership from fourteen to eighteen...
Are Academy Programmes Working In The Premiership? - 28/11/2004
Considerable emphasis is placed on Academy programmes in modern football. Thousands of youngsters sign up each year in the hope that one day they will tread the hallowed turf of a great club...
Premiership Introduces 'Fit and Proper' Person Test - 26/08/2004
Sweet FA - 04/08/2004
I am not fan of David Mellor, but he made a good point on Radio 5 on 2nd August when he pointed out that the row at the Football Association is not really about who slept with whom and when (did Sven do a two second tailgate on MP?), but the ability of football's regulatory body to get its own house in order...
New Transfer System Hits Football League - 07/06/2004
Will Protected Status of Football Creditors End? - 30/05/2004
No More Pies As Scottish Clubs Hit The Rocks - 15/02/2004
Fans Back Fergie But Club Admits Damage - 01/02/2004
Who Will Speak For Football In Europe? - 24/12/2003
EU May Veto Italy's 'Saviour' Law - 06/11/2003
Pressure On To Clean Up The Game - 01/02/2003
G14 Wants Players To Be Paid For Internationals - 17/03/2002
