Egypt head coach Bob Bradley and his team are scheduled to open their qualifying campaign for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations on Feb. 29, but that could be pushed back after the Egyptian Federation requested a postponement.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has asked the Confederation of African Football (CAF) that its road match against Central African Republic be postponed due to the events that transpired in Port Said last Wednesday.

England's Euro 2012 plans have been thrown into disarray after Fabio Capello stepped down as national team manager.
Capello's resignation came after he publicly disagreed with the Football Association's decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy.
He spoke out against the FA on Italian state broadcaster RAI on Sunday and resigned after a meeting with the FA on Wednesday.

By Chris Wright

You turn you're back for one second and what happens? Just three months and three friendly games before Euro 2012 gets under way in June, Fabio Capello resigned as England manager last night after spending the afternoon bickering with FA chairman David Bernstein and general secretary Alex Horne at Wembley over his comments made to the Italian media vis-a-vis the FA's premature decision to strip John Terry of the national captaincy.

I wrote yesterday that Fabio Capello And FA were set for a fireworks meeting today with neither site apparently ready to concede ground over John Terry.

Well after meeting today, it became apparent that the two sides could no longer work together and the FA has announced that Fabio Capello has stepped down as England manager.

I wrote yesterday that Fabio Capello And FA were set for a fireworks meeting today with neither site apparently ready to concede ground over John Terry.

Well after meeting today, it became apparent that the two sides could no longer work together and the FA has announced that Fabio Capello has stepped down as England manager.

As the dust clears from the impact of the news that Fabio Capello had called it a day with/been fired by England, the Football Association have a minor headache to deal with in their search for a replacement.
Harry Redknapp has had his name on the job for some time, at least since Tottenham Hotspur's dazzling display in last year's Champions League convinced the doubters he could cut it in international football.

Today (Wednesday) the FA and Fabio Capello are expected to meet over the John Terry situation, and it appears that neither side is willing to concede anything to the other.

Capello will be asked by Football Association chairman David Bernstein to explain why he committed a serious breach of FA protocol in his explosive Italian television interview on Sunday.

Former Liverpool winger John Barnes has agreed to manage one of the 'franchise' teams in India's first professional football tournament. The tournament - scheduled to begin on th 24th March — will contain six 'franchises', and will be organised by Celebrity Management Group and the Indian Football Association.

By CALEB SONNELAND

Thierry Henry's return to Arsenal may last just a little longer than expected, according to manager Arsene Wenger.

The French striker has enjoyed his brief loan spell at Arsenal, netting a goal in the club's 7-1 win over the weekend.

The artist formerly known as England's Brave John Terry. Again.

Innocent or guilty, right or wrong the time has come for the Chelsea captain to leave the Three Lions, and the circus surrounding them, behind. Permanently.

An era passed

It's difficult to argue however much I disagree with the Football Association's decision to relieve Terry of the England captaincy in wake of the racist abuse trial he faces in July.

In that special, unique way that only they can, the FA managed to set a dozen hungry cats amongst the pigeons of the John Terry case this morning. Their announcement, that Terry had been stripped of the England captaincy for this summer's European Championships but that he would still be available for selection by Fabio Capello sends out a message so mixed that it would require an FA-branded centrifuge to be able to properly decipher.

What's stopping you, Kenya? is a post from: Just Football

Sudan aside, there's a glaring geographical gap at this year's African Cup of Nations. Andrew Crawford has a few ideas why:

Watching the current African Cup Of Nations (ACON), it is somewhat tellingly awkward how there isn't a stronger presence from countries from East Africa, although the same could be said for almost every ACON and since it began.

As you all know by now, John Terry has this morning been stripped of the England Captaincy once again. The "Official statement" from the FA reads as follows:

"Following the decision to adjourn the court case against John Terry to July, The Football Association confirm he will not captain the England team until the allegations against him are resolved.

By Chris Wright

"Say what now?"

The FA have just released the following statement:

"Following the decision to adjourn the court case against John Terry to July, the Football Association confirm he will not captain the England team until the allegations against him are resolved.

It's been less than five months since former U.S. coach Bob Bradley took over Egypt's national team in the wake of the country's upheaval and revolution. A revolution that now appears directly related to the stadium massacre at Port Said on Wednesday, believed to be premeditated revenge from pro-Mubarak thugs.

On Thursday, world soccer's governing body released the following statement after more than 70 soccer fans were killed following the Al-Ahly - Al-Masry Egyptian Premier League game on Wednesday, February 2nd. FIFA is deeply saddened by the tragic incidents which led to the death of football fans and others at last night's match in Port Said.

Thanks to Robert Mugabe's unique approach to democracy and socioeconomic policy, the Zimbabwe national football team doesn't get a whole lot of action outside of Africa and Asia. The Warriors are about to get a lot less action, as the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has suspended 67 players following a match-fixing scandal.

Okay, you can all relax now. Turns out that our hero, Arsenal captain Robin van Persie, will NOT be sanctioned for allegedly throwing an elbow in the face of defender Carlos Cuéllar, after all. Had the Football Association chosen to sanction him, and there certainly seemed to be justification for doing so, the punishment to both Robin as an individual and Arsenal as a cohesive whole would have been severe enough, considering the awful timing, to virtually end the team's season on quite a sour note.

Okay, you can all relax now. Turns out that our hero, Arsenal captain Robin van Persie, will NOT be sanctioned for allegedly throwing an elbow in the face of defender Carlos Cuéllar, after all. Had the Football Association chosen to sanction him, and there certainly seemed to be justification for doing so, the punishment to both Robin as an individual and Arsenal as a cohesive whole would have been severe enough, considering the awful timing, to virtually end the team's season on quite a sour note.

Okay, you can all relax now. Turns out that our hero, Arsenal captain Robin van Persie, will NOT be sanctioned for allegedly throwing an elbow in the face of defender Carlos Cuéllar, after all. Had the Football Association chosen to sanction him, and there certainly seemed to be justification for doing so, the punishment to both Robin as an individual and Arsenal as a cohesive whole would have been severe enough, considering the awful timing, to virtually end the team's season on quite a sour note.

Okay, you can all relax now. Turns out that our hero, Arsenal captain Robin van Persie, will NOT be sanctioned for allegedly throwing an elbow in the face of defender Carlos Cuéllar, after all. Had the Football Association chosen to sanction him, and there certainly seemed to be justification for doing so, the punishment to both Robin as an individual and Arsenal as a cohesive whole would have been severe enough, considering the awful timing, to virtually end the team's season on quite a sour note.

The FA Cup may well be the oldest football cup competition in the world a fact that television viewers will doubtlessly be reminded of around three hundred times over the next seventy-two hours or so -but football supporters that don't have to habitually wipe rage-induced spittle from the corner of their mouths could well be forgiven for approaching this weekends fixtures in the Fourth Round of the competition with a degree of trepidation.

Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli is facing a four-match ban after being charged with violent conduct by the Football Association for his stamp on Scott Parker's head during yesterday's 3-2 win over Tottenham.

The FA statement read:

"The FA has today charged Manchester City forward Mario Balotelli with violent conduct following an incident in his side's home game against Tottenham Hotspur.

Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli is facing a four-match ban after being charged with violent conduct by the Football Association for his stamp on Scott Parker's head during yesterday's 3-2 win over Tottenham.

The FA statement read:

"The FA has today charged Manchester City forward Mario Balotelli with violent conduct following an incident in his side's home game against Tottenham Hotspur.

Manchester City could be without striker Mario Balotelli for four games after he was charged with violent conduct by the Football Association.
The controversial Italian appeared to stamp on Scott Parker's head during City's dramatic 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and despite the incident going unpunished at the time, has been charged retrospectively.

It took barely three weeks for the blue sky thinking to start again in 2012, but this time the idea came from one of the more unlikely of available sources. In an interview with The Guardian, Andres Villa Boas has stated an opinion that Chelsea should be allowed to field a 'B' team in the Championship.

The stage is set for the 28th edition of the African Cup Of Nations that begins tomorrow in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon with two Group A fixtures between the hosts Equatorial Guinea and Libya in the early kick off and the eagerly awaited Senegal v Zambia clash in the late kick off.

The Thai FA have more front than Brighton beach. A couple of years ago they promised to support England's World Cup bid and in return England agreed to their request to play a friendly in Bangkok earlier this year.
The Thais reneged on their promise and England, perhaps not surprisingly, cancelled their proposed trip to Bangkok.

At the exact time of writing (almost one thirty in the afternoon), we do not know whether Darlington FC has been rescued or not. What we can say for certain is that a situation that may have seen the club die at one minute to midday has been extended and that further negotiations are now taking place and that a decision is due imminently over whether the club can be saved in its current form or not.

ITV has agreed a new £90m, two-year deal with the Football Association to continue broadcasting The FA Cup and England internationals, including home qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup.

FOOTBALL ACADEMIES: LOGGING IN THE FOOTBALLFOREST

Recently the PSSI has adopted a Youth Development Program. Timo Scheunemann, Indonesia's undisputed authority of youth development is appointed Director of this Program. It is a system of regional scouting of young promising players and bringing them into an intensive program of further development of their skills.

FOOTBALL ACADEMIES: LOGGING IN THE FOOTBALLFOREST

Recently the PSSI has adopted a Youth Development Program. Timo Scheunemann, Indonesia's undisputed authority of youth development is appointed Director of this Program. It is a system of regional scouting of young promising players and bringing them into an intensive program of further development of their skills.

The practice of veteran stars seeing out their careers in lesser leagues isn't exactly new, nor is it rare. The Middle East has been using oil-soaked checks to lure eager foreigners for years. And yet, this weekend might just take the cake for odd locations and trail-blazing new football landscapes.

Last year the Indian Football Association announced it would be launching Premier League Soccer in early 2012, with six franchises. The franchises are located in Kolkata, Howrah, Asansol, Midnapore, and Siliguri. When the league was announced, IFA also stated that each team would have one icon player and a maximum of three overseas players and one overseas player from Asia.

Neymar in action against the 'old enemy'

The Argentine Football Association has announced a friendly versus Brazil on 9th June.
The rivals are scheduled to meet in the MetLife stadium in New Jersey but the Brazilian Football Confederation have yet to confirm the fixture.
Brazil are next in action in February when their opponents could be Egypt (again to be confirmed).

Telegraph: Football Association to hold peace talks with Liverpool and Manchester United ahead of FA Cup clash

North-West giants will be urged not to inflame tempers ahead of FA Cup clash in the wake of the Luis Suárez-Patrice Evra controversy.

View the full story here: The Telegraph

A news article on 2012-01-10 06:00:02 from: The Telegraph

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Mail: FA call for Liverpool and Manchester United peace talks

The Football Association will write to Liverpool and Manchester United ahead of their FA Cup tie and ask them not to inflame a potentially explosive situation.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2012-01-10 01:14:42 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Mail: FA want call for Liverpool and Manchester United peace talks

The Football Association will write to Liverpool and Manchester United ahead of their FA Cup tie and ask them not to inflame a potentially explosive situation.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2012-01-09 23:17:03 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Guardian: FA will lay down the law to Liverpool and Manchester United

• Fourth-round FA Cup tie heightens tensions • Clubs to receive written reminders about conduct The Football Association will contact Liverpool and Manchester United to remind both clubs of their responsibilities ahead of a potentially explosive FA Cup meeting at Anfield this month.

Schalke 04 midfielder Jermaine Jones, pictured above heading into Boa Steakhouse for a bite on 26.12.2011, has been suspended for eight weeks after the American was charged with intentionally stepping on an opponent's injured foot. After first saying it intended to appeal, the club decided to accept the penalty instead.