The Scottish Professional Football League recorded its "highest cumulative attendances in almost a decade" as more than 4 million fans "clicked through the turnstiles last season" across 788 games, including playoffs, in the country's four divisions. The total attendance of 4,267,467 was an increase of more than 12% on the previous season and it is the first time attendances have topped the 4 million mark since '08-09 (Scotland DAILY RECORD, 6/14).
Council for East and Central African FAs (CECAFA) Secretary General Nicholas Musonye "laid the blame for the crisis in East and Central Africa's regional body firmly at the door of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda." A "furious" Musonye said that football administrators from the four nations "needed to take a hard look at themselves" (BBC, 6/13).
Qatar's national football team "could face disciplinary action" from FIFA after players warmed up for a World Cup qualifier against South Korea in t-shirts "showing support for the country's emir." The players prepared for the game in Doha wearing white shirts "emblazoned with a profile portrait of Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani." The image has become a "widely-used symbol of defiance by Qataris in response to the current diplomatic crisis in the Gulf" (AFP, 6/14).
A fire broke out on Wednesday at the World Cup venue under construction in Volgograd, Russia, authorities said, "attributing its cause to neglected safety regulations." Volgograd will host four group stage matches in the '18 tournament (REUTERS, 6/14).
The Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran and the Japan FA "struck an agreement on the promotion of cooperation and interaction between the governing bodies" (PRESS TV, 6/14).
The Palestinian FA appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Tuesday "seeking to force FIFA to rule on the future of Israeli clubs playing in the West Bank." The case is "aimed at voiding a FIFA resolution" to push back a decision on the Israeli clubs until March '18 "at the latest" (AFP, 6/13).