By Paul Nicholson
August 12 – Renewed fears over the danger of spread of the Coronavirus in Asia have forced the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to push back qualifying rounds for the Qatar 2022 World Cup and Asian Cup China 2023 into next year.
August 12 – Serie A’s Atalanta, who face PSG in the quarter finals of the Champions League tonight, have unveiled Intesa Sanpaolo as a club sponsor and banking partner who lead on the financing of a €40 million stadium redevelopment.
August 12 – Scottish top-flight football has been plunged into turmoil just days after the start of the new season with Celtic and Aberdeen both having their next two matches postponed after players broke Covid-19 quarantine rules.
August 12 – A Champions League preliminary round tie was called off just over an hour before kick-off after a second player from Kosovan side FC Drita tested positive for Covid-19.
August 13 – Macclesfield Town have been relegated from League 2 after the English Football League (EFL) won an appeal against a points deduction that in turn triggered a further points penalty. As a result of the ruling, Stevenage will retain their League Two status.
August 12 – With doubts still remaining over whether LaLiga clubs will be able to take shirt sponsorship from betting brands, Betway has announced a new agreement with Real Betis, a record for the club.
August 12 – FC Barcelona have confirmed a positive coronavirus test ahead of their Champions League quarter-final with Bayern Munich, but the club said the respective player has not had contact with any of the squad members that will travel to Lisbon.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 11 – A strongly worded press release in Q and A format; a hastily arranged virtual press conference denouncing the Swiss judicial authorities; an attack on the reform process under the previous regime; letters fired off to every national association and every member of the all-powerful FIFA Council; and, if rumours are to be believed, the hiring of at least three (no doubt expensive) external specialist lawyers to help fight the case.
August 11 – Bundesliga clubs have had their hopes dashed by local authorities of allowing fans back into stadiums in time for the new league season that kicks off September 18.
August 11 – Former Concacaf president and FIFA vice-president Jack Warner’s attempted re-entry into public life in Trinidad and Tobago has ended as fast as it begun after he failed to win election as a member of parliament in the country’s just completed elections.
August 11 – Barcelona pay their players an $12.28 million annually, more than any other club in the world. That is more than a million more than Real Madrid (the world’s second highest payers) at $11.5 million.
August 11 – Newly promoted Leeds United, back in the Premier League after a 16-year absence, have unveiled online betting brand SBOTOP as the club’s new shirt sponsor.
August 11 – Phil Neville has been shortlisted for the role of head coach of Australia Women. In June, the English FA announced that his contract with England would not be extended.
August 11 – It isn’t every day that the prime minister of a country gets involved in a specific club take-over, but Boris Johnson has called on the English Premier League to explain why it neither approved nor rejected the recently failed Newcastle United deal.
August 11 – AC Milan Women, who are ploughing their own sponsorship furrow separate to their men’s team, have announced Italian bank Banco BPM as their new shirt sponsor.