January 21 – The Somali Football Federation (SFF) has continued with its regeneration of football in the country with the return of its Futsal Championship after a 15-year gap caused by the civil war and terrorism that plagued the country.
January 21 – The United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) played the first of two international friendlies this month beating Venezuela 3-1 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
January 20 – Citing health reasons and a lack of support from the local sports ministry, Mamatou Touré of Mali will not seek re-election for the FIFA Council, the embattled football official confirmed.
January 20 – French football’s third tier is set for a dramatic makeover, with the Fédération Française de Football (FFF) announcing plans to transform the Championnat National into a professional Ligue 3 by the 2026-2027 season.
January 20 – Last week, as reported in IWF, the Welsh clubs, Cardiff City, Swansea City, Newport and Wrexham were hopeful that they could open up lucrative pathways to Europe by competing and winning the Welsh League Cup. The wish now looks to be blocked by the Football Association.
January 17 – Spanish FA (RFEF) president Rafael Louzan has apologised for the treatment that the wives of Mallorca players suffered from Saudi Arabian fans during the recent Spanish Super Cup.
January 20 – FIFA has banned Manuel Álvarez, one-time general secretary of the Venezuelan FA, for five years for financial wrongdoing and fined him nearly $1 million.
January 20 – FC Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde has openly condemned the racist slurs he received during the club’s 1-1 draw with Getafe on Saturday night at the Coliseum stadium.
January 20 – The lines between sports are narrowing, and French super club, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is leading the way as they begin a collaboration with five-time National Basketball Association (NBA) World Champions, the San Antonio Spurs.
January 20 – Sixth Street, the global investment firm and lead backer of Bay FC in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), has announced that Kay Cossington, will join the company as Head of Global Women’s Football and CEO of Bay Collective, a groundbreaking multi-club organisation dedicated to advancing women’s football. Bay Collective is set to officially launch later in 2025.
January 20 – Belgium have dismissed Domenico Tedesco (pictured) as their manager following disappointing results at last summer’s European championship and in the subsequent Nations League. The Belgian FA (RBFA) also fired Yves Serneels, the long-standing manager of the women’s national team.
January 17 – Anti-discrimination group Kick It Out has written a powerful letter to FIFA boss Gianni Infantino asking what action, if any, was being taken over a video posted on social media by Chelsea’s Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez last year featuring an alleged “racist and transphobic” chant against French players.
January 17 – Cypriot national player Elena Aristodimou (pictured) has sharply criticised the Cyprus Football Federation for its attitude towards women’s football in the country and the lack of any development in the last few years.
January 16 – Panama FA president Manuel Arias has been banned for six months by the FIFA Ethics committee for fat-shaming comments he made in an interview about the country’s star women’s striker Marta Cox after Panama were knocked out of the group stage of the Concacaf W Gold Cup last March.
January 17 – While Angel City FC (ACFC) have not won anything on the pitch, anything they do off the pitch is big news, and that trend continues with the announcement that the club has appointed Mark Parsons as the team’s new sporting director ahead of the 2025 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) season to oversee all matters related to soccer operations.