By Paul Nicholson
January 6 – The scramble for football properties and a foothold in China is gathering pace with the winning bid for a 50% stake in Chinese Super League (CSL) side Beijing Guoan expected to be announced in the next few days.
By Samindra Kunti
January 5 – On a Saturday night in December jeeps and cabs briskly maneuvered and zigzagged their way through dense traffic on Hazza Bin Zayed Street, one of Abu Dhabi’s arteries. They were heading for the Al Wahda Mall, an architectural monstrosity in the UAE capital’s Al Nahyan neighborhood. Affluent expats and local Emirati sauntered into the complex to indulge in the luxuries offered by Western brands including Calvin Klein,
By Samindra Kunti
January 4 – India have won the South Asian Football Federation Cup (SAFF Cup) for the seventh time defeating Afghanistan 2-1 in the final to kick off 2016 on a high.
December 30 – China’s drive to boost its sports business and make it a key part of its economy was given renewed emphasis this week by the country’s sports minister, Liu Peng (pictured). At the same time the Dalian Wanda Group that has been growing in sports via European acquisition announced it had set up its sports headquarters in Guangzhou, the Capital of Guangdong province.
December 20 – Players in the top Asian professional leagues are far more likely to have made their debuts at clubs where they came through the youth system, and will be playing along more players from their own country than is the case at clubs in Europe’s Big-5 leagues.
December 18 – South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) have signed up match-fixing monitoring specialists Sportradar to police the Suzuki Cup which kicks off December 23 in India.
December 18 – The Chinese Football Association (CFA) completes its three day annual conference today in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province. Although the prospect of the country bidding to host the World Cup was not on the agenda for open sessions, it is believed it was discussed in closed meetings.
December 17 – The FIFA panel trying to bring about free movement of Palestinian players and equipment in the West Bank held its second session this week under the chairmanship of Tokyo Sexwale.
December 16 – Organisers in Jordan want next year’s under-17 women’s World Cup to “send a message that will hopefully ripple across the region” in terms of promoting gender equality.
By Samindra Kunti
December 16 – Yesterday FC Goa cruised to a 3-1 aggregate victory against Delhi Dynamos to reach the final of the Indian Super League in a battle between Brazilian coaches Zico and Roberto Carlos.
December 11 – Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah, arguably the most powerful official in Asian sport and a recently elected member of FIFA’s top brass, has vowed to fight a six-month jail term imposed in his native Kuwait for allegedly insulting the judiciary.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 11 – Without being able to rely on the majority support of his own confederation, FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein has been lobbying intensively in Africa, trying to swing some of its 54 votes his way ahead of the election on February 26.
By Paul Nicholson
December 7 – Wherever there is money in football these days you will generally find Europe’s clubs prospecting. The current gold rush is in China with AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Arsenal very much in the middle of the race for Chinese football’s hearts and mind.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 2 – Within days of declaring him a free man after two years in detention, Singapore authorities have re-arrested Dan Tan, one of the world’s most notorious match-fixing kingpins accused of being the mastermind behind a global syndicate.
November 30 – On a glittering Bollywood-style night of entertainment and awards in New Delhi, India, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) honoured their players and federations with a series of awards for a season that AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has taken the region to new levels.