June 26 – Qatar’s 61-year-old emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani announced yesterday that he has transferred power in the energy-rich and increasingly influential gulf nation to his fourth son – the 33-year-old crown prince, Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (pictured), who has strong footballing links.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 25 – Thailand have avoided being thrown out of world football after a tiny fourth-tier club agreed to withdrew a lawsuit that threatened to stop the Thai FA (FAT) from holding controversial elections.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 24 – Thailand are facing a ban from all FIFA competitions over an election row that could plunge lucrative pre-season tours by Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea into jeopardy. FIFA has warned the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) – headed by controversial FIFA executive committee member Worawi Makudi – that it must resolve the dispute by the end of today (Monday) or face suspension.
By Paul Nicholson
June 21 – Sports broadcaster, beIN SPORT, which has been rapidly growing its global footprint, has announced the launch of three high-definition sports channels in Indonesia in partnership with TV sports rights specialists MP & Silva from Italy. The channels will launch July 1.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 21 – Arsenal’s problematic pre-season tour of Vietnam, the first to the country by an English Premier League side, will go ahead despite another dispute – this time over a promotional video.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 18 – Asian football, so often embroiled in negative politics, is doing its best to support thousands of Syrian refugees who have been streaming over the Jordanian border.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 14 – Organisers of a pre-season friendly between Arsenal and Vietnam’s national team are facing a battle to ensure the match goes ahead after the owners of the Hanoi stadium involved hiked up their fees.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 11 – Prince Ali, head of the Jordanian FA, has had an increasingly influential and vocal role as a member of the FIFA executive committee and successfully championed the lifting of the ban on the hijab in women’s football.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 9 – The Australian government has apologised to Jordan for its Iraqi national team coach, Adnan Hamad, being detained for more than four hours when the squad flew into Melbourne last week ahead of tomorrow’s (Tuesday) crunch World Cup qualifier.
June 6 – Bottlers Nepal Ltd, the sole bottlers of Coca-Cola in the Himalayan kingdom, have extended their sponsorship of the Coca-Cola Cup U-16 Inter-school Football Tournament for a further five years.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 6 – Jordan are planning a formal complaint to FIFA after national team coach, Iraqi Adnan Hamad (pictured), was detained for questioning by Australian immigration authorities for more than four hours when the team flew into Melbourne – and into an international storm – ahead of a crucial World Cup qualifier on June 11.
June 3 – Dubai’s Emirates Airline expects to be signing its next big football sponsorship with a club outside Europe, according to Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the airline’s chairman and chief executive.
June 3 – Optus, Australia’s second biggest telecommunications company, has made a strategic decision to withdraw from major sports sponsorships and will not be renewing sponsorship and digital content rights deals with Football Federation Australia (FFA).
By Mark Baber
May 29 – A row has broken out between the football authorities of the UAE and Iran after the announcement that the UAE Pro League will be renamed the Arabian Gulf League from next season.
May 29 – The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee has appointed Amsterdam Arena and IMG as the Stadium Operations Consultants for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.