Saul Pope looks at two footballers who may go on to represent their adopted countries, and the concerns this has provoked

With Euro 2012 qualification in full swing, Russia will be hoping to join close neighbours and hosts Ukraine at the finals tournament. If they manage to qualify, it will be the first time the two have appeared at a major tournament together. There may be another first, as both sides could feature naturalised black players – Senegalese defender Papa Gueye for Ukraine, and Brazilian forward Welliton for Russia. 

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The uses that organised crime groups have for football are changing, in both scope and style. Matthew Barker reports

Stories of organised crime latching onto football are nothing new. Illegal gambling rings, match-fixing, extortion, money-laundering – the globalisation of the game has seen a parallel growth in criminal activity.

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Several football grounds now double up as venues for professional rugby. Roger Titford suggests that competition from another sport is becoming a problem for clubs that are already struggling

Once upon a time, about 130 years ago, football and rugby sat happily enough alongside each other as almost alternative flavours of the same basic sport. Then came professionalism, division, social change and a century or so of estrangement, with each finding security in its own territory. Times are changing again.

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By the time it was scrapped in 2008, the Intertoto Cup had little respect. In 1995, when English sides were first made to enter, it had even less. Owen Amos looks back at that first season

From 1961 to 1995, the Intertoto Cup was a summer tournament for mid-ranking, mainland European clubs. It offered pre-season football, modest prize money and – most importantly – kept the pools companies happy (Australian state league games having the same function here). By the mid-1990s, according to the November 1994 Intertoto newsletter – yes, there was one – the tournament was stagnating. The pools companies wanted better games, and bigger names. The organisers asked UEFA for help and, after some discussion, the Intertoto was made the fourth UEFA club competition.

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Glenn Hoddle seems an unlikely saviour, but one struggling club has survived due to a deal with his academy. Steve Wilson reports

The Spanish region of Andalucía, with its year-round sunshine, unspoiled beaches and sprawling vista of manicured golf courses, is long accustomed to English visitors. Some recent arrivals, however, are here for more than just a two-week getaway and the chance to improve their handicap. An unlikely alliance between a former England manager, a group of young players deemed surplus to requirement at British clubs and a lower league Spanish side has seen Los Ingleses welcomed with open arms in the unassuming town of Jerez.

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