Barcelona announced that on May 24 it will play a friendly in Doha, Qatar against Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli. The game is part of the sponsorship agreement that the club has with Qatar Sports Investment and Qatar Airways (Barcelona).
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that Indonesia's suspension from int'l football for government interference in the country's football federation "has ended after almost a year." However, the FIFA Congress "confirmed the existing suspensions for Kuwait and Benin over government interference in their football associations." The decision on Indonesia "was taken by the FIFA Council after the government agreed to lift a decree considered to constitute unacceptable interference in the football federation" (REUTERS, 5/14).
The Oceania Football Confederation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Asia "to work together in developing football in both regions." The two-year agreement between the confederations was signed in Mexico City by AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and OFC President David Chung. Chung said that the partnership "allows the two Confederations to exchange information, experience, knowledge and best-practice across these matters" (RADIO NZ, 5/13).
Effective from '17, the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup will see "major new reforms." Sixteen clubs divided into four groups of four "will participate at the group stages instead of the current eight at the pool stage." The new format was one of the "key highlights of the speech by CAF President Issa Hayatou, in his address at the 38th Caf Ordinary General Assembly" held on May 11 in Mexico City (GOAL, 5/12).
Three people were injured in Turkey after Eskisehirspor football fans "trashed their own stadium and set it on fire following a 2-1 defeat to Medipol Basaksehir." Luckily, the team is "set to move to a newly built stadium next season." As the final whistle blew, disappointed supporters "began to slowly and sorrowfully destroy the stadium, tearing out seats, setting bleachers and billboards on fire, and throwing them down onto the pitch." Three people "were taken to the hospital after suffering minor injuries as a result of fire and smoke inhalation" (RT, 5/15).
