Colombia national team Manager José Pékerman confirmed that his team will play two friendlies in Argentina prior to this summer's World Cup in Brazil. Colombia's opponents for the matches, which will be held in May, were not revealed (OLE, 4/17). ... Chilean first division side Deportes Iquique defeated Huachipato 3-1 in the finals of the Copa Chile on Wednesday night, then dedicated the title to victims of the 8.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Iquique, Chile on April 1 (EFE, 4/17). ... Uruguayan national football coach Oscar Tabárez on Wednesday addressed the "recent crisis in Uruguayan football," which resulted in the Uruguayan FA having to name new members to its exec board. Tabárez said, "What happened is not good. We do not want to give opinions outside our area beyond that, but as football people, we have a vision of what this is" (EFE, 4/16). ... ManU shares climbed more than 8% in value on the N.Y. Stock Exchange on Wednesday, "fuelling the prospect of an imminent announcement" of a new £600M ($1B) kit deal. United has been in negotiations "with current kit suppliers Nike for more than twelve months" (London TELEGRAPH, 4/17). ... FIFA this week launched the Panini Online Sticker Album for the 2014 World Cup hosted on FIFA.com with the support of presenting partner Coca-Cola. Supporters can collect and trade virtual stickers of the players and teams participating in the World Cup (FIFA). ... South Africa football coach Gordon Igesund "has been cleared of allegations he incited Bafana Bafana players to strike for more money ahead of CHAN 2014." The South Africa FA said that "it had found no basis for any of the allegations" (BBC, 4/17). ... Bulgarian football club CSKA Sofia repaid debts in excess of 1M leva ($692,000) "in order to meet club license requirements." The debts "were accumulated under the former ownership of Titan AS" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 4/16). ... Polish Ekstraklasa side Pogon Szczecin CEO Jaroslaw Mroczek said that the club "is planning to either modernize its stadium or build a new facility." Mroczek: "Over the next years, our aim is to play in the [Europa League]. The question of the stadium requires a final solution" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 4/17).
