Malaysia and Indonesia are proposing the formation of a trans-national soccer league in southeast Asia to help revitalise the club game in the region, according to Malaysia’s Sports Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

Ahmad Shabery said his Indonesian counterpart Andi Mallarangeng had approved of the plan for the league, which would be set up within the framework of the 11-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Gavin Grant, a former Millwall and Bradford striker, will serve at least 25 years in prison for his role in the gun murder of an old friend.
Grant was given the sentence at the Old Bailey after being convicted on Friday of murdering Leon Labastide, 21, outside his parents' home in 2004.
The 26-year-old had previously been cleared of the murder of Jahmall Moore as a series of shootings scarred a north London estate.
But Grant was charged with Labastide's murder when new witnesses came forward.

Bulgaria’s soccer fans, who were not on the World Cup guest list, have something to look forward to at last with their league season getting off to an exciting start next weekend.
The two biggest clubs in the Balkan country—CSKA Sofia and fierce city rivals Levski—meet on the opening weekend of the campaign for the first time in the league’s existence.
Both teams are eager to forget last season’s disappointment when Litex Lovech clinched the title to become only the second club to upset the balance of power this century.

A Chinese fan enraged by two quick red cards shown to the Qingdao Chinese Super League club at the weekend registered his annoyance by launching a karate kick at the referee and shoving a linesman.

The incident dealt another blow to the image of Chinese soccer, which is widely considered to be corrupt and riven with violence both on and off the pitch.

Slovenian forward Aleksander Rodic was the first Qingdao player given his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card for diving in the 67th minute of the 2-0 loss to Shanghai Shenhua on Sunday.

Please note that the 10 moves below are rated in terms of how memorable the transfer was, and not necessarily how successful…

10) Joe Cole - Chelsea to Liverpool 2010
At No.10 we start with the most recent. For the first time in his career Joe Cole has moved away from London after five years at schoolboy club West Ham and seven at Chelsea where he won three Premier League titles. The former child prodigy has struggled badly with injuries in recent seasons, but at 28 still has a lot to offer providing he can stay fit.

While many footballers have thought about it, few have actually attempted it—but Paraguayan defender Jose Pedroso went that extra step at the weekend when he actually tried to strangle the referee.

The incident, which has been posted on the video-sharing website YouTube, occurred in a highly charged Chilean second division match between Pedroso's team Rangers and their opponents Deportes Concepcion.

It took place just after the referee had ordered a penalty against Rangers to be retaken three times.

Men in military-style uniforms raided the office of the Iraqi Football Association ahead of its meeting this weekend to elect new leadership, an association member said Monday.

The raid by unidentified men is the latest problem to befall the beleaguered federation, which was suspended last year by FIFA for political meddling in the association’s affairs. The suspension was lifted in March.

A member of the Iraqi Football Association said men in military-style uniforms and driving Humvees appeared at the federation’s offices Sunday and displayed arrest warrants for senior football officials, including Hussein Saeed, one of the main candidates for the association’s presidency.

Bosnia’s Football Federation (NSBIH) has risked suspension from FIFA and UEFA competitions after rejecting a request to reform its statute, Bosnian state radio reported on Friday.

Soccer’s ruling bodies had warned that failure to replace the NSBIH’s tripartite inter-ethnic presidency with a single president would lead to suspension, preventing Bosnian teams from taking part in international competitions.

After the Assembly voted against the abolishment of the presidency, UEFA and FIFA delegates immediately left the session saying that their executive committee would decide on measures against the NSBIH.

NSBIH, formed after the 1992-95 Bosnian war ended and the country was divided into two ethnically dominated regions, has been run by a three-man presidency whose members are chosen based on ethnic rather than professional criteria.

Federation officials did not answer phones in their office for comment.

Soccer fans across Bosnia have long protested against the NSBIH’s organisational structure and some players have boycotted the national team.

Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday banned the country's football team from international competition for two years following their dismal showing at the World Cup, his office said.

"President Goodluck Jonathan has directed that Nigeria withdraws from international competition for two years to enable the country to put its house in order," spokesman Ima Niboro told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting.

Nigeria finished bottom of their group in South Africa with just one point from three matches.