The FIFA sanction prohibiting Barcelona from signing players for the last 14 months expired on Monday. The club can now add players. The two best-known players are Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan -- who were signed during the summer, but were unable to play for the club until now. Additionally, the FIFA sanctions affected all of Barcelona's youth teams, with Mundo Deportivo reporting that across all levels, Barcelona has registered a total of 76 players (AS, 1/4). ... Atlético Madrid "is making historic achievements," finishing '15 with 81,286 members, the most in club history. The team filled the stadium for La Liga home games against Barcelona, Real Madrid, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao, and also for a Champions League game against Benfica. Atlético's goal is to reach 100,000 members (AS, 1/4). ... The African Football Confederation (CAF) said that Guinea "has been cleared" to host int'l football matches after being declared free of Ebola transmission. Guinea "had been banned from staging games since August 2014 and was playing its home matches in Casablanca, Morocco."
Guinea's next scheduled home game "is an African Nations Cup qualifier against Malawi on March 23" (REUTERS, 1/4).
