Albania gives diplomatic passports to national team as reward for qualifying for Euro 2024
December 22 – The Albanian government has decided to reward all players and coaches of the Albanian national team with diplomatic passports.
Competitions
UCL draw: Serie A and LaLiga clash as Inter draw Atletico, and Barca meet Napoli in last 16
December 18 – Holders Manchester City were handed arguably the easiest tie in the last 16 of the Champions League after being paired with FC Copenhagen, while Spanish heavyweights Barcelona will face Napoli as today’s draw kept Europe’s giant clubs apart.
Spanish protest French banning of 300 travelling fans for Lens-Seville UCL tie
December 12 – In an 11-hour move that marked a new and depressing low in French football, Sevilla fans have been banned from travelling to Lens for their final Champions League group stage match tonight.
UEFA names EA Sports FC as platform for eEURO 2024 tournament
December 12 – UEFA has announced that EA Sports FC, the flagship football video game produced by EA SPORTS, will be the official platform for the UEFA eEURO 2024 tournament.
ECA endorses UEFA’s game-changing expansion of Women’s club competitions
December 11 – The European Club Association (ECA) has given an unequivocal endorsement of UEFA’s reformatted women’s club competitions that will come into play with the 2025/26 season.
UEFA breaks new ground with multi-brand Euro 2024 sponsorship with Unilever
December 6 – UEFA has secured a first-time partnership with FMCG giant Unilever with sponsorship activation during Euro 2024 for its personal care and nutrition brands.
Dutch double in added time kills off England and Team GB dreams of Olympic qualifying
December 6 – The Netherlands clinched the top spot in Group 1 of the UEFA Women’s Nations League with a 4-0 victory against Belgium on a night of added time goals and passion that saw England’s 6-0 thrashing of Scotland not being enough to take the European Champions and World Cup finalists through to the final four.
Adidas chip in with high tech Euro 2024 ball to speed up ref decision-making
December 6 – The ball being used at Euro 2024 will help produce faster offside and handball decisions, a welcome development after so many controversial calls in recent months.
UEFA releases detail of expanded women’s club competition eco-system
December 5 – UEFA has released more detail of its reformatted Women’s Champions League and its new knock-out women’s club competition, both of which will come into effect with the 2025/26 season.
Euro 2024: Battle lines revealed at a fruity championship draw
By Andrew Warshaw
December 4 – Perhaps no group of death as such but plenty to get one’s teeth into. The draw for next summer’s Euro 2024 finals has thrown up some intriguing ties with a couple of heavyweight clashes that are bound to get the pulse racing.
Sweden out of Nations League and Olympic contention, England cling on, Germany close in
December 4 – Sweden have failed to qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time following a 1-0 defeat to Switzerland. England remain in contention for the Paris 2024 play-offs after a dramatic 3-2 comeback win against the Netherlands.
Euro 2024 prize pot grows to €331m
December 4 – UEFA has released details of prize money distribution or the Germany 2024 European Championships that will be played from June 14 to July 14. The winning team will receive a maximum of €28.25 million – if they win all their games on the way to the title.
Police arrest 39 in violent clashes with Legia Warsaw fans ahead of Aston Villa ECL tie
December 1 – Thirty-nine people were arrested and four police officers hurt in clashes with Legia Warsaw fans in the build-up to Thursday’s Europa Conference League game at Aston Villa.
UEFA agree Euro 2024 bookmaker deal with Betano
November 30 – Following in the footsteps of FIFA, UEFA has teamed up with Betano, who will become the European confederation’s betting partner for Euro 2024.
Swiss coach Yakin gets vote of confidence for Euro 2024
November 30 – Switzerland coach Murat Yakin has kept his job for next year’s European Championship after the national federation resisted calls to fire him.