For almost 60 years, Lyon have been playing in the Stade de Gerland, a venerable old stadium built in 1914 and a World Cup finals venue in 1998. But their recent run of success of eight consecutive championships from 2002 to 2008 has Lyon planning a rich new future at the Grand Stade in eastern Lyon.

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With World Cup qualifiers about to take place, there isn't too much happening at club level. But there are a few articles and updates that caught my eye.

The biggest news is the medical update on Bafetimbi Gomis. Two days ago at Guingamp, Gomis collapsed during practice with the France squad.

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Not sure I pictured this as a alternate career for Andres Iniesta.
Pretty awesome though.
On to the links:

• Three-year ban for Manchester pitch invader. [USA Today]
  
• W.C. stadiums are nearly finished. [SI]
  
• There's a hooligan-fighting unit in France.

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Turkey is hoping Wednesday's UEFA Cup final in Istanbul can be the latest step in a transformation from one of football's backwaters into a major power.
The match between Werder Bremen and Shakhtar Donetsk, the last before the 38-year-old tournament is rebranded as the Europa League, will be the second European final to be staged in the Turkish metropolis in four years. Click to continue reading...

Compared to the other Nordic countries and indeed any other nation it's reasonable to compare with, the stadia in the Norwegian top flight really are shiny and impressive. Within the last ten years, most teams in the Tippeliga have either built a new ground or had theirs heavily refurbished. And it shows.

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Compared to the other Nordic countries and indeed any other nation it's reasonable to compare with, the stadia in the Norwegian top flight really are shiny and impressive. Within the last ten years, most teams in the Tippeliga have either built a new ground or had theirs heavily refurbished. And it shows.

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Stuff to read while you watch this totally brilliant and totally intentional goal#8230;#8230;. Alan Pardew has a royal cock up during the Chelsea match. (The Spoiler) Sheffield United take cue from Dire Straits, Alan Pardew West Ham. (Unprofessional Foul) The #8216;return#8217; of an 18 year old Bojan. Click to continue reading...

Stuff to read while you get your daily dose of Andrei Arshavin's inner workings...... English sides might be doing well, but it's not because of the English. (guardian) The four bidders for Euro 2016 have been made official. (uefa) An interview with the lady from FSC. (Unprofessional Foul) A VIVA World Cup preview. Click to continue reading...

Cuatro han sido los países que han presentado su candidatura para organizar la Eurocopa del año 2016. Italia, Francia, Turquía o Noruega y Suecia en conjunto será la que albegue el torneo de selecciones del viejo continente dentro de nueve años, que será la primera edición que cuente con la participación de 24 naciones, en [. Click to continue reading...

Who should host Euro 2016? A joint bid from France & Italy, perhaps? The ten most annoying transfer sags of this millennium. Europe's most exciting league? The formerly chunky Ronaldo makes his return. While the other, less talented Ronaldo gets caught up in a real battle of wits. The multilingual diversity of gooooooooooooooooooool. Click to continue reading...

At least three countries - Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - are already planning a possible bid to host Euro 2016. Not as rival bids, but as triple co-hosts. Or tri-hosts, if you prefer. It's all "tentative" right now, but it could happen.

I've long believed that having European Championships co-hosts is a detriment to the tournament.

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At least three countries - Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - are already planning a possible bid to host Euro 2016. Not as rival bids, but as triple co-hosts. Or tri-hosts, if you prefer. It's all "tentative" right now, but it could happen.

I've long believed that having European Championships co-hosts is a detriment to the tournament.

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It was not quite as astounding as what went on in the global economy, but the week in football was certainly an eventful one.
I was certainly dumbfounded, but perhaps should not have been, by FIFA's woeful CHF 30,000 ($27,500) fine for the Croatian FA after their fans made monkey noises at black England players last month. Click to continue reading...

I was reading a few threads on Bigsoccer about possibly expanding the World Cup, which is something that was considered by FIFA a few years ago. It actually almost seems kind of inevitable given the almost certain expansion of Euro 2016 to 24 teams. It's sad because 32 teams is the perfect number to set up a 16 team second round. Click to continue reading...

There were a lot of smiling faces in the corridors of Geneva this week, and many of them were owned by members of the SFA, because it was they that had put forward the plan to expand the number of finallists in the European Championships from sixteen to twenty-four with effective from Euro 2016. On [. Click to continue reading...

There were a lot of smiling faces in the corridors of Geneva this week, and many of them were owned by members of the SFA, because it was they that had put forward the plan to expand the number of finallists in the European Championships from sixteen to twenty-four with effective from Euro 2016. On [. Click to continue reading...

There was shock today in Zurich as representatives of Chelsea's moneybags owner and Siberian orphan seller, Roman Abramovich, announced his intention to bid for EURO 2016.
It is believed that the bid involves buying the tournament lock, stock and barrel, allowing Abramovich to rename it 'Roman's Euro kickabout 2016', introduce compulsory oversized animal costumes for players and replace sendings off with summary executions, the method of which will be voted on by TV viewers via the red button. Click to continue reading...