Salman says he has no link to AC Milan acquisition, or any other club
April 22 – The head of Asian football has denied reports in Italy that he is involved in talks to buy AC Milan.
World Football
Spanish tapes: Angry Rubiales says Pique commission was paid by Saudis, not by RFEF
April 21 – The storm around leaked phone tapes of Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales is still raging. Rubiales has hit back at what he calls “mischievous and dishonest” accusations from Spanish media of alleged wrongdoing over the deal to relocate the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia.
Madrid court removes protection of Super League rebel clubs Barca, Real Madrid and Juve
April 21 – Madrid’s commercial court, with a new sitting judge, has lifted the interim injunctions imposed on UEFA at the request of the Super League.
UEFA gives support to FSE’s ‘Win it on the Pitch’ campaign to change EU law
April 21 – UEFA has given its support to the Football Supporters Europe (FSE) ‘Win It On The Pitch’ campaign that is seeking a million signatures to trigger the EU to consider plans for a law against so-called super leagues.
Spanish tapes: Pique called on Rubiales to secure him a place on Tokyo Olympic team
April 21 – Barcelona lynchpin and former Spanish international defender Gerard Piqué asked for help from the president of the Spanish FA to play at the Tokyo Olympics despite retiring from international football, leaked audio recordings allege.
Club Brugge place 24,000 QR codes in stadium to combat racism
April 21 – Belgian champions Club Brugge will introduce QR codes to combat racism at home matches. Fans will have the opportunity to report racist incidents via their smartphones.
UEFA opens ticket sales for Champions League and Europa League finals
April 20 – UEFA has today opened ticket sales for the Champions League final in Paris and the Europa League final in Sevilla.
Serie A cancels plan to play its 20 teams in Orlando during Qatar 2022 World Cup
April 20 – Serie A has shelved ambitious plans to organise a tournament in the United States during this year’s World Cup using players not called up by their national sides.
Pique furiously defends €24m ‘fixers’ fee for taking Spanish Super Cup to Saudi
April 20 – Famed Spanish international defender Gerard Pique claims he has done nothing illegal after his sports event company, Kosmos, was reportedly paid a massive €24 million as part of the deal to move the Spanish Super Cup to the Middle East.
Brazil’s CBF reports record revenues of €191m
April 20 – The Confederation of Brazilian Football (CBF) has reported a record revenue of 971 million reais (€191.7 million) as well as a profit of 68.92 million reais (€13.64 million) for 2021, a year in which the governing body battled a major institutional crisis as well as the Covid-19 pandemic.
US draw Mexico, Jamaica and Haiti in Concacaf W group that doubles as 2023 WC qualifying
April 20 – Women’s World Champions USA have been drawn with 2019 World Cup qualifiers Jamaica and Concacaf’s third-highest ranked nation Mexico in the Concacaf W Championship that kicks off in Monterrey, Mexico, July 4-18.
AFCON 2023 qualifying draw plots national team routes to Ivory Coast finals
April 20 – Record seven-time Nations Cup winners Egypt were handed a difficult draw alongside Guinea, Malawi and Ethiopia in Group D of the qualifiers for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in the Ivory Coast.
LA’s SoFi Stadium schedules first soccer event with ‘Leagues Cup preview’ doubleheader
April 19 – The SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, one of the candidate venues for hosting matches at the 2026 World Cup, has scheduled its first-ever football (soccer) event for this August.
Malawi’s Mwase makes way for Marinica but later offered U23 role
April 18 – Meck Mwase is to remain a part of the Malawi national team structure despite having been dismissed as head coach of the senior men’s team by the Football Association of Malawi (FAM). He has now been appointed to the role of U23 national team coach.