April 22 – China’s increasingly broad-based ownership positions in sport saw trading company Wuhan Double Co announce it is to spend €39.5million buying a 100% share of Nice International Sports Limited, whose principle business is player agency.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 8 – Asian football leaders are becoming increasingly concerned over individual member federations being suspended by FIFA because of government interference in their affairs, a trend they warn is seriously hindering development in the region.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 31 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has rehired its former general secretary Dato’ Alex Soosay (pictured) as a consultant less than a year after he quit over claims, still to be proven, that he was involved in a cover-up during an investigation into corruption allegations dating back to the era of Mohammed bin Hammam.
March 29 – Asian football has reacted with shock and anger at the deaths of at least 41 people, many of them children, caused by a suicide bomber who blew himself up just as trophies were being presented after a local tournament.
By Paul Nicholson
March 7 – Signs that China’s football market is more than a passing fad have been given further credibility with Adidas’ announcement that it plans to open 3,000 new stores in the country over the next five years, with football being a key driver of that expansion.
