Infantino and Morocco’s Walid Al-Rakraki honoured at Dubai’s MBR Creative Sports Awards
November 23 – Three of the major honours at Dubai’s 2023 MBR Creative Sports Awards went to football at the awards ceremony in Dubai this week.
News
LaLiga’s clubs boost learnings with UK factfinding trip
November 20 – The Boost LaLiga initiative, introduced in 2021, has seen €2 billion pumped into Spanish league clubs via investors CVC, with the aim of improving overall stadium use across matchday and non-matchday events in order to maximise off-field profits.
Dutch hand sex-pest Overmars 2-year ban, but he can still work in Belgium
November 17 – Former Dutch international Marc Overmars has been banned from football in his homeland for a year after admitting to sending inappropriate messages to female colleagues “over a period of time”.
AC Milan’s Florenzi investigated for illegal betting
November 17 – AC Milan’s international defender Alessandro Florenzi has reportedly become the latest Italian player to be investigated by authorities over alleged illegal gambling activities.
El Ghazi takes Mainz 05 to court for being sacked over pro-Palestine post
November 16 – Anwar El Ghazi, a Dutch international winger of Moroccan descent, is taking legal action against Bundesliga club Mainz 05 for wrongful dismissal over a pro-Palestine social media post.
Turkey’s Artas Holding opens talks with Romanian club Universitatea Cluj
November 16 – Turkish company Artaș Holding will invest in the Romanian elite FC Universitatea Cluj, though terms for the partnership are unclear.
Spanish keeps Dani Alves locked up as sexual assault case heads for courts
November 15 – Former Brazil and Barcelona defender Dani Alves is to stand trial in Spain for alleged sexual assault.
With ECJ ruling close, Reichart keeps fire lit under prospect of a European Super League
By Paul Nicholson in Miami
November 15 – Bernd Reichart, CEO of A22 Sports, which was established to create and promote the European Super League project, said that if they win their case at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) they will progress to setting up a 60-80 team European club league structure.
England pay tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton, one of their greatest ever
November 14 – Former England World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton was remembered both as one of English football’s finest players and a “humble” and “fantastic” man as thousands of fans and a string of dignitaries bid him a final farewell on Monday.
Party for one? Real Madrid’s Perez launches new attack on UEFA and LaLiga in bid to ‘save football’
November 13 – Real Madrid president Florentino Perez launched a barrage of attacks on LaLiga and UEFA in his speech to the club’s ordinary general assembly on Saturday.
Botev Plovdiv demand security review after Levski Sofia ultras fire volleys of flares into Botev fans
November 13 – Botev Plovdiv’s management have strongly condemned the violence that took place during the derby against Levski Sofia in the Bulgarian efbet League.
Ghana’s Dwamena dies on pitch during Albanian Super League match
November 13 – Former Ghana international striker Raphael Dwamena has died after collapsing Saturday during an Albanian Super League match at the age of 28.
Lyon fury over Marseilles venue for postponed Ligue 1 clash
November 10 – The Ligue 1 clash between Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais, rescheduled for December 6 after being postponed due to an attack on the Lyon team bus, will still be played at Marseille’s Stade Velodrome, the French League (LFP) have announced, prompting an angry response from Lyon.
World Leagues Forum gathers women’s pro-leagues in San Diego ahead of NWSL season close
By Paul Nicholson in San Diego
November 10 – This weekend the NWSL closes its season with its Championship Final between OL Reign and NJ/NY Gotham FC at the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. It will also close out the careers of two US footballing legends, Megan Rapinoe and Ali Krieger.
Levski starts to clear its Bulgarian tax mountain
November 10 – Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia has paid nearly BGN 2.5 million (€1.25 million) of its debt to the National Revenue Agency (NRA) in the last eight months, according to information given to shareholders at the club’s AGM this week.