A leading official from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim’s Carso Group has "played down reports" that he has plans to acquire a Spanish football club, according to SOCCEREX.com. Slim has been "heavily linked" with a move for a La Liga club, specifically Getafe. However, Slim’s brother in-law Arturo Elias Ayub has denied that the Carso Group, "a global conglomerate owned by Slim," plans to purchase a Spanish football club. Ayub wrote on Twitter, "The Carso Group has neither talked to nor approached Getafe or any other Spanish club." Ayub’s comments come after Mexican club Pachuca VP Andres Fassi told the Marca newspaper in Spain that Slim was "seeking an opportunity to invest in European football, specifically in Spain where they would look to challenge Real Madrid and Barcelona for titles within seven or eight years" (SOCCEREX.com, 11/6).

Singapore's 2013 Great Eastern-YEO'S S-League will kick off with 12 teams after Gomak United's pull-out was confirmed on Tuesday evening, according to Fabius Chen of the STRAITS TIMES. Several other changes were also announced for next season. The most significant change is a new competition format, which will see the football league "split into two groups of six, based on their ranking at the end of the regular two-round season." The teams will then play each other in their respective groups -- first to sixth and seventh to 12th -- to determine the final league standings. Other changes include "an increase in the foreign player quota from four to five, a change in the league's mandatory fitness test from the beep test to a 2.4km run, as well as an increase in prize money" (STRAITS TIMES, 11/6).