Concacaf Champions League still looks like Mexico’s to lose
May 21 – Mexico’s grip on the Concacaf Champions League does not look to be slipping with three LigaMX sides lining up for the 2021 semi-finals and one team from the US.
World Football
Club Brugges complete dominant season with draw against Anderlecht
May 21 – Club Brugge have retained their Belgian league crown with a 3-3 draw against Anderlecht, enough to cement their domestic dominance after a superb regular season but disappointing season finale in the playoffs.
Argentina ready to go it alone with Copa America hosting if Colombian unrest continues
May 20 – Argentina have offered to stage the whole of the Copa America on their own rather than share with joint hosts Colombia, where a wave of civil unrest has rocked the country since late April.
Goldman Sachs ease Barca cash crunch with €500m loan
May 20 – Embattled Spanish giants FC Barcelona have secured a €500 million loan from US bank Goldman Sachs to ensure the club’s operations can run stably in the next two years.
Euronics Group plugs into growing power of UEFA Women’s Football
May 20 – Electronics and home appliance retailer Euronics Group has signed a sponsorship deal for UEFA Women’s Football in a deal starting with the 2021-22 season and which will run until 2025.
Celtic boss Lawwell’s house firebombed
May 20 – Scottish police are investigating an apparent firebomb attack at the home of Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell.
England target 700,000+ ticket sales for women’s Euros and a ‘turbo-charged’ legacy
By Paul Nicholson
May 19 – Women’s Euro 2022 organisers England have unveiled ticketing and legacy plans for the tournament that aims to sell more than 700,000 tickets and see more than 120,000 girls playing across the nine host cities.
Bundesliga clubs turn down private equity cash to go it alone, ‘for now’
May 19 – Bundesliga clubs have turned down interest from private equity investors expressing an interest in investing in a minority stake in the newly created entities that will sell the league’s international rights.
French FA cost cutting will mean staff lay-offs
May 19 – The embattled French Football Federation (FFF) will downsize operations by letting 26 employees go in a bid to tackle a projected deficit for the 2020/21 season.
Player-led petition for an independent football regulator tops 100,000
May 18 – A UK parliamentary petition has now topped more than 100,000 signatures calling an independent regulator in English football.
Kane wants out of Spurs. £150m windfall for Levy?
May 18 – It’s the news every Tottenham Hotspur fan has been dreading. England captain Harry Kane has reportedly asked to leave at the end of the season, marking the end of an era and sparking a scramble among Europe’s richest clubs for the prolific striker’s prized signature.
UEFA’s Women’s Champions League gets rebrand and boost in prize money
May 18 – On Sunday, FC Barcelona were crowned champions of Europe with a thumping 4-0 win against English champions Chelsea in the Women’s Champions League. It marked a new high point in perception for the women’s game in Europe, with two of the biggest men’s clubs on the continent demonstrating they take the women’s game seriously.
Keller quits to allow for ‘deep-rooted and necessary restart’ at DFB
May 18 – Confirmation has now been made that Fritz Keller (pictured) has officially resigned with immediate effect as president of the German Football Association after sparking a wave of criticism for comparing his colleague to a notorious Nazi judge.
Motsepe says CAF finances are a grubby mess. But will his return to school clean them up?
By Samindra Kunti
May 17 – African supremo Patrice Motsepe has conceded unequivocally that sponsors don’t want to engage with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) because the toxic organisation has to “clean its house”.
Copa America set to go ahead despite Colombian civil unrest and Covid carnage
May 17 – Organisers of the oldest continental competition in world football, the Copa America, are reported to be backing joint hosts Colombia to stage this year’s tournament despite widespread civil unrest.