July 20 – Football fans, along with spectators of other sports, could be allowed back into stadiums in England on October 1 provided a series of test events are successful in the coming weeks.
July 20 – The long-awaited return of football in Paraguay has been set back after players from three different club tested positive for the coronavirus.
July 20 – FIFA has sanctioned a club in Mauritius for failing to use its Transfer Matching System (TMS).
July 20 – The MLS has announced more casualties of the coronavirus, announcing it is postponing the inaugural seasons of three expansion clubs. Charlotte’s debut will move from 2021 to 2022 while St. Louis and Sacramento, will now begin play in 2023, instead of 2022.
July 17 – After weeks of speculation the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed that its showpiece event, the African Cup of Nations, will stick to the summer months in 2023 and be held June/July in the Ivory Coast – a massive ask for the players who will now have to play three major tournaments in 18 months.
July 17 – Newly-promoted VfB Stuttgart’s achievement in getting back to the top flight in Germany has been marred by them becoming the latest cash-strapped Bundesliga club to seek financial aid because of lost matchday revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic.
July 17 – Spain’s Health Minister, Santiago Illa, has cast doubt on the possibility of fans being able to go back to stadiums when the new season starts in September.
July 17 – Despite a season when they were often far from their scintillating best, Real Madrid are Spanish champions once again, ending Barcelona’s two-year grip on the title and prompting coach Zinedine Zidane to declare it felt sweeter than any of the three straight Champions League crowns the club has won under his tenure.
By Paul Nicholson
July 16 – Egyptian giants Zamalek are taking their protests over CAF’s 2020 award of the ‘African club of the Century’ to Al-Ahly to the confederation’s ethics function, claiming the club rankings that decided the title were rigged.
July 16 – The German Bundesliga is working up plans to return fans to stadia following discussions with health authorities, with the start of the 2020/21 season, September 18, being the target date for opening up of the leagues.
July 15 – The president of Benfica, Luis Filipe Vieira (pictured), plus the company that operates the club and the one that owns the stadium, have all been indicted by the Portuguese justice for tax evasion, according to unconfirmed local reports.
July 15 – Former Ivory Coast icon Didier Drogba’s hopes of becoming the next president of his country’s football federation has suffered a serious setback after the failure of his fellow players to support his candidacy.
July 15 – City Football Group (CFG), owners of Manchester City, look to have upped their quest to take a stake in French club.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 14 – High-ranking officials and experts are questioning the entire future of UEFA’s financial fair play rules in the light of Manchester City winning their appeal against a two-year ban from European competition.
July 14 – With Juventus inching towards a new domestic crown and Cristiano Ronaldo still proving to be a decisive marksman, Serie A is demanding rights holder Sky fulfills its financial obligations. The league is also clamouring for fans to attend matches again before the end of the current 2019/2020 season.