April 5 – The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) is championing its Women’s Challenge Series 2018 as a “recommitment to female players” in the region. The competition marks a return to locally organised game play in a forgotten region of world football that has been left emaciated, underfunded and excluded by political power plays at CONCACAF and FIFA level.
April 2 – Manchester United are returning to the US for their pre-season tour for the second consecutive year. Their two-week tour, presented by sponsor AON, will include matches against Mexico’s Club America and MLS side San Jose Earthquakes.
March 27 – The US will host the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship, to be played October 4-17. Venue for the 8-team championship have still to be decided.
March 20 – The Caribbean Football Union (CFU), emaciated by the withdrawal of financial support by CONCACAF and FIFA, has shown that it still has some teeth left with the announcement of a new women’s competition, the CFU Women’s Challenge Series.
March 14 – The three-way co-operation between Canada, Mexico and the US in the bid for the 2026 World Cup, is seeing new alliances formed at the top end of club football in their countries. Liga MX and Major League Soccer have agreed a long-term partnership that will see new club competition between the countries.
By Paul Nicholson
March 8 – CONCACAF have announced the structure and completed the first draw for their new tiered Nations League men’s national team competition that will ultimately include all 41 confederation members.
March 6 – CONCACAF has unveiled its first ranking of national teams in the North, Central America and Caribbean region. Mexico are ranked top, the USA, despite not qualifying for Russia 2018, are second, and Costa Rica third.
March 6 – CONCACAF has unveiled its first ranking of national teams in the North, Central America and Caribbean region. Mexico are ranked top, the USA, despite not qualifying for Russia 2018, are second, and Costa Rica third.
March 5 – Mexico’s football federation (FMF) president Decio de Maria (pictured) has resigned and will leave his post after the 2018 World Cup. Yon de Luisa will take his place.
February 28 – The North American Soccer League (NASL) has cancelled its 2018 season with three of its six clubs shifting to the National Premier Soccer League which kicks off this April.
February 28 – CONCACAF, who on Monday announced an expansion of their blue riband Gold Cup national team tournament, have followed up with the unveiling of a multi-platform digital media rights deal with Verizon for all its competitions.
February 27 – The next edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the confederation’s blue riband national team tournament held every two years, will be expanded from 12 to 16 teams in 2019.
By Paul Nicholson
February 26 – The already precarious future of the North American Soccer League (NASL) now looks even more uncertain after the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit denied the NASL’s appeal to obtain a preliminary injunction that would have reinstated its status as a Division 2 league for the 2018 season.
February 21 – The Dominican Republic will host the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield this April 13-21. The 12-team championship provides a pathway for the region’s smaller football nations towards the newly formed 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF League.
By Paul Nicholson
February 12 – It took three rounds of voting before Carlos Cordeiro emerged triumphant in the ballot for the US Soccer Federation presidency. Cordeiro, who has been the US federation’s vice president for the last two years and an independent board member for nine years, fought off eight challengers for the post in what proved to be a canny campaign that appealed to the broader base of US soccer’s community.