Argentine and Uruguayan fans mourn death of ‘Morro’, aged 30
February 8 – Fans in Argentina and Uruguay are mourning the apparent suicide at just 30 of forward Santiago Garcia, nicknamed ‘Morro’, who played for Godoy Cruz.
World Football
Mexico and US in same group as Concacaf confirms Men’s Olympic qualifiers for March
February 8 – Concacaf has released the schedule for the eight-team 2020 Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying to be played in Guadalajara, Mexico, March 18-30.
Concacaf reformats its Champions League with expanded teams, groups and split calendar
By Paul Nicholson
February 4 – Concacaf is completely revamping its 16-team Champions League into a 50-team competition that will begin with a 2023/24 season and see its three regions open up group stages before going into the 16-team knock-out rounds.
No route found round German border restrictions for Liverpool’s CL trip to Leipzig
February 5 – Covid restrictions have barred Liverpool from travelling to Germany next week for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against RB Leipzig, prompting a frantic search for a solution.
European Leagues meet to debate Champions League restructure
February 5 – Following months of conjecture, football leagues across the Continent were holding crucial talks virtually today on a new-look Champions League from 2024 that will radically reshape the tournament.
Canal+ throw LFP a €35m lifeline for more TV rights to end of season
February 5 – France’s professional leagues have been handed a badly needed lifeline to help them over their broadcast rights crisis after Ligue 1 reached an agreement with Canal Plus to screen the remainder of matches this season following the spectacular collapse of a record contract with Mediapro.
Morocco dump hosts Cameroon out of CHAN to face Mali in final as favourites
February 4 – Morocco will have the chance to retain their African Nations Championship (CHAN) title against Mali in Sunday’s final after the defending champions stormed past hosts Cameroon with a 4-0 victory in the semi-finals.
New York, London and LA top world sports cities ranking
February 4 – An annual ranking of cities worldwide that are most associated with sports has again placed New York at the top, followed by London and Los Angeles.
Social media firms warned of £ billions in fines unless they tackle racist abuse
February 4 – The British government has threatened social media companies with fines which could amount to “billions of pounds” if they fail to tackle abuse of footballers on their platforms.
Mussolini’s great-grandson signs for Lazio
February 4 – The great-grandson of Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini has signed for Lazio – a section of whose supporters are notorious for salutes and racist chants at matches.
UK politicians line up against oligarchs to exclude Chelsea and Everton from trade missions
February 3 – The British government is coming under even more pressure to ban two English top-flight clubs from official projects promoting Britain overseas because of their links to Russian billionaire oligarchs.
Marseille suspend Villas Boas after claim he never wanted Celtic’s Ntcham
February 3 – It isn’t every day that the manager of a top-flight club openly and publicly criticises the way it operates and offers his resignation.
UEFA brings in single-leg knockout rule as Liverpool’s trip to Leipzig in doubt
February 3 – European knock-out ties hit by travel restrictions caused by the impact of Covid-19 could be played as one-off matches at neutral venues under new rules issued by UEFA.
Tebas calls out Infantino, agent WO1, as party to European Super League plot
By Andrew Warshaw
February 2 – La Liga chief Javier Tebas has accused Gianni Infantino of privately supporting the launch of a breakaway European Super League despite FIFA steadfastly opposing the project.
CAS throws Ahmad an election lifeline with freeze on FIFA ban pending fast-tracked hearing
By Andrew Warshaw
February 2 – In a rare and unexpected move that will raise questions over football’s judicial process at the highest level, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dramatically reinstated disgraced African football chief Ahmad Ahmad as head of his confederation pending a full appeal against his five-year FIFA ban.