STARS IN EUROPE - IVORY COAST / GERMANY - MAN CITY WERE BEATEN BY BAYERN MUNICH

Yaya Toure's club lost the match after a last-minute strike from former City defender Jerome Boateng.

18 Sep 2014
STARS IN EUROPE - IVORY COAST - STRIKER GERVINHO EXTENDS CONTRACT AT ROMA

The 27-year-old joined in 2013 from Arsenal and has scored nine times in 33 league appearances.

17 Sep 2014
NATIONAL TEAM - NIGERIA - CRISIS AFFECTS COACH VACANCY

Nigeria will face a last-minute rush to appoint a coach before the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sudan next month because of the crisis at the country's football federation.

15 Sep 2014
NATIONAL LEAGUE - EGYPT - AL AHLY WIN SUPER-CUP AHEAD OF NEW SEASON

Al Ahly beat Zamalek on penalties to win the Egyptian Super Cup ahead of the start of a new Premier League season.

15 Sep 2014
TRANSFER - NIGERIA - JOHN OGU HOPES ISRAEL MOVE WILL LEAD TO RECALL

John Ogu is hoping his move to Israel's Hapoel Be'er Sheva can help resurrect his international career with Nigeria.

14 Sep 2014
TRANSFER - NIGERIA - STRIKER UCHE NWOFOR HAPPY WITH MOVE TO LIERSE

Nigeria international striker Uche Nwofor believes his move to Belgian side Lierse S.K will aid his progression as a player.

13 Sep 2014
NATIONAL TEAM - GHANA - COACH - KWESI APPIAH LEAVES HIS POST AS COACH BY MUTUAL CONSENT

Former coach Milovan Rajevac is being widely tipped to return to the post he held between 2008 and 2010.

12 Sep 2014
2015 AFRICA CUP QUALIFIERS - GROUP STAGE - 2ND MATCHES - All RESULTS

Cameroon hit form to thrash Ivory Coast - They continued their resurgence as they hammered Ivory Coast 4:1 in their 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Yaounde.

11 Sep 2014
2015 AFRICA CUP QUALIFIERS - GROUP STAGE - 2ND MATCHES - Results so far

Group qualifiers - 10.09.2014  - DR Congo sweep aside Sierra Leone

10 Sep 2014

FIFA - PORTUGAL - candidate Luis Figo wants World Cup with 48 teams

Luís Figo World Cup 2014

 

Luis Figo would consider a bigger World Cup if he is elected to replace Sepp Blater as Fifa president.

Releasing his manifesto at Wembley Stadium, the legendary Portugal midfielder said he would look at increasing the number of teams from 32 to 40 or even 48.

Figo, 42, is one of three candidates challenging Blatter in the election on 29 May.

He also proposed sin-bins and reverting to the old offside rule interpretation.

Dutch federation president Michael van Praag and Jordanian Prince Ali bin Al Hussein are also in the running to become head of football's world governing body.

Former Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan winger Figo, who played at two World Cups, said on Thursday that the current format could be increased to 40 teams or Fifa could stage two 24-team competitions simultaneously on two continents, followed by a knockout phase in one nation.

He said: "Both these options are feasible with an extra three to four days of tournament play.

If this expansion were to take place I believe that additional teams should come from non-European nations.

"We not only make sure that we include more countries from across the world, but also enable Fifa to raise significant increased revenues that can be used to invest in the growth of the game globally."

Figo, the 2001 Fifa world player of the year, also proposes:

•    Spreading half of Fifa's $2.5bn revenue over four years to associations to fund grassroots football.    

•    Redistributing $1bn of Fifa's $1.5bn cash reserves to the 209 national federations. 

•    Increased use of technology in the game, using sin-bins for unsporting behaviour.    

•    Reverting back to the previous interpretation of the offside rule, "where a player is judged offside whether directly involved in the play or not".


Blatter, 78, has been Fifa boss since 1998 and said in June 2014 that he intended to run for a fifth term.

He was criticised for Fifa's handling of Michael Garcia's report into alleged corruption during the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

 

 

21 Feb 2015
(BBC Sport UK)

Related countries

Related articles