By David Owen
September 30 – The coronavirus pandemic is having a deep impact on the sports industry and putting Europe’s pyramidal structure at risk, according to a new survey.
September 30 – Lionel Messi has drawn a line under his much-publicised fallout with Barcelona insisting he always had the club’s “best interests in mind” throughout the summer despite all the attention over his future.
September 30 – Concacaf have released the schedule for their Scotiabank Concacaf League club competition, the secondary club competition to its Champions League, which will now complete at the end of January 2021.
September 30 – UEFA’s 2020 grassroots programme kicked off this week highlighting the importance of ensuring everyone, everywhere can continue to safely play the world’s number one sport – in their own garden, at school or with a local amateur club.
September 30 – Ferencvaros, one of great old names of European club football, have reached the group stage of UEFA’s top competition for the first time in 25 years.
September 30 – With the extended transfer window slamming shut next Monday, Manchester United have stepped up their pursuit of Jadon Sancho, one of the hottest young properties in European football.
September 30 – Macclesfield Town have been expelled from the National League just days before the kick-off of the 2020/2021 season after receiving a court winding-up order.
September 29 – After the government rejected Italian football’s proposal for more fans to be allowed at stadiums, Serie A boss Luigi De Siervo (pictured) has said that the top flight has lost more than €500 million because of the coronavirus pandemic.
September 29 – Fourteen players and staff members of Serie A side Genoa have tested positive for Covid-19 as the virus continues to disrupt a spate of clubs across the Continent.
September 29 – Qatar, guesting in the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup next summer, were handed a favourable group draw that kept the AFC visitors away from the local confederation heavy hitters of Mexico, the US and Costa Rica in the opening group stages.
By Paul Nicholson
September 28 – The soap opera that is the United TTFA’s desperate politicking to regain control of the Trinidad and Tobago FA took a couple of more plot turns over the weekend with the withdrawal of the notice to withdraw the court proceedings against FIFA on Friday, and the news from Concacaf that they were keeping the TTFA in the Gold Cup draw, at least for now.
September 28 – Italian football fans won’t be returning to grounds in large numbers anytime soon after the Italian government shot down a proposal to allow for more supporters at sporting events.
September 25 – UEFA are to adopt the five substitutes rule in their competitions for the rest of the season in line with many domestic leagues in order to cope with a congested calendar created by the coronavirus pandemic.
September 25 – Champions League winners Bayern Munich are celebrating a remarkable quadruple after clinching the Super Cup with a 2-1 extra time win over Europa League victors Sevilla on Thursday. But just as importantly for UEFA, the game passed off smoothly as a trial run in front of a live audience – the first major European club game to allow fans into stadiums amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Paul Nicholson
September 24 – FIFA’s patience with the former leadership of the Trinidad and Tobago FA (TTFA) has inevitably run out. The world governing body tonight suspended the TTFA “with immediate effect and until further notice”.