Scottish third-tier Lowland League side East Kilbride Manager Martin Lauchlan has "slammed the idea" of Premiership sides Celtic and Rangers youth teams "jumping the queue into League Two or being parachuted into the Lowland League." Reports over the weekend suggested the Glasgow sides’ U20 teams "could be included" in Scottish football’s senior set-up as part of "Project Brave," the Scottish FA’s new plan for youth development. Former Celtic and Scotland defender Malky Mackay was "controversially appointed the SFA’s new performance director last week and one of his first moves will be to try and persuade clubs to admit Colt sides" (Scotland DAILY RECORD, 12/21).
Tim Cahill has "thrown his support behind Football Federation Australia's tripling of its marquee war chest" that brought the veteran Socceroos striker home to the A-League. As part of its record new six-year, A$346M ($251M) TV deal with Fox Sports, the governing body has pledged to set aside A$3M ($2.2M) annually "for its marquee fund in a bid to attract more high-profile recruits." Cahill is the "only player with enough of a marketing reach to have persuaded FFA to dip into the fund" (AAP, 12/21).
Russian deputy PM Vitaly Mutko is among five declared candidates for five European vacancies on the FIFA Council "but must pass an eligibility check ahead of April's election." Mutko, who has sat at FIFA's top table since '09, has submitted an eligibility questionnaire -- "but questions surround his candidacy following a World Anti-Doping Agency investigation into state-sponsored doping in Russia." The 58-year-old was Russian sports minister until October, and the ministry "stands accused of directing a conspiracy that covered up hundreds of positive tests" between '11 and '15 (PA, 12/21).
The U.K. National Police Chiefs' Council announced that the number of suspects in the U.K.-wide football child abuse scandal "has reached 155." Police said that "there are now 429 potential victims, some as young as four at the time of the alleged offence, and 148 clubs are now involved." Separate figures "show the number of historical child abuse suspects across all walks of life stands at 3,469" (BBC, 12/21).
Selangor has become the latest team to announce its "possible exit from the 2017 Malaysia Super League." A couple of the club's players "swiftly exited the powerhouse" which has "yet to secure any funds for the new season." Selangor VP Datuk Subahan Kamal said, "Without funds, it will be difficult for us to continue. If there are no funds, we are considering the possibility of pulling out of the league" (ESPN.com, 12/21).
Match Hospitality confirmed that Lagardère Sports has been appointed its sales agent in Germany and Switzerland for the sale of the official hospitality program of the 2018 World Cup and the 2017 Confederations Cup. Match Hospitality is the exclusive rights holder of the 2018 World Cup official hospitality program and is the only company worldwide that has been appointed by FIFA to promote and sell, either directly or via its global network of sales agents, official commercial hospitality packages including guaranteed match tickets (Lagardère Spors).
