Coronavirus: Conmebol postpone 2021 Copa America
March 18 – Just like its European equivalent, South America’s flagship tournament, the Copa America, has been postponed from this year to 2021 because of the coronavirus outbreak.
World Football
CAF postpone CHAN in Cameroon in April, but award May club finals
March 18 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has postponed the 2020 African Nations Championship (CHAN), an international tournament with domestic-based players only, amid growing concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Covid-19 forces UEFA to postpone Euro 2020 until summer 2021
By Andrew Warshaw
March 17 – UEFA has postponed Euro 2020 for a year until June 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic following an emergency video conference involving their 55 member nations plus the bodies representing Europe’s clubs and leagues.
Coronavirus in Europe: League by league operational status
March 17 – The umbrella body for Europe’s leagues says not a single one of its members are playing competitive football normally as a result of the coronavirus.
Carioca and Paulista stop play as covid-19 spreads in Brazil
March 17 – The state federations of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have suspended their state championships following the CBF’s decision on Sunday to postpone matches indefinitely.
Coronavirus: England’s National League joins pro game in suspending play
March 17 – The National League, which comprises the fifth and sixth tiers of the English football pyramid immediately below the four professional leagues, has finally seen sense and joined the rest of the country – and beyond – in suspending games because of the spread of Covid-19.
Leagues and FAs lobby to push Euros back 6+ months ahead of UEFA summit
By Andrew Warshaw
March 16 – On the eve of UEFA’s all-important video conference call with member federations and other key stakeholders to determine the fate of Euro 2020, signs are growing that the tournament will be postponed for either six months or a year.
Coronavirus: Swiss and Serb FA bosses have virus; 5 Valencia players test positive; Atalanta isolate
March 16 – The presidents of the Serb and Swiss federations have tested positive for the coronavirus – another headache for UEFA since both attended the recent 55-nation UEFA Congress in Amsterdam.
Sala crash pilot was not licensed to fly passengers
March 16 – The official report into the plane crash that tragically killed Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala has found the pilot was “not licensed” to fly the aircraft at the time of the accident.
Coronavirus: CBF acts after Brazilian clubs complain at being forced to play
March 16 – Following club protests, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has suspended all national football competitions for an indefinite period, but the state federations control the immediate future of state championships that dominate the domestic calendar until the end of April.
Burglars held Vertonghen’s family held at knifepoint when Spurs were away to RB Leipzig
March 16 – Tottenham Hotspur’s Belgian international defender Jan Vertonghen’s family was held at knifepoint as four armed men burgled his home while he was abroad on Champions League duty last week.
Inter Milan launch appeal as players and staff donate €500,000 for Covid-19 research
March 16 – First-team players, technical staff and employees Italy’s Inter Milan have launched a global crowdfunding campaign with the finds to be donated to the Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences at the Luigi Sacco Hospital of Milan, a leading centre for infectious diseases and epidemiological emergencies and on the front line of the fight against the killer virus in Italy.
Coronavirus: Rooney says ‘guinea pig’ footballers should have been protected
March 16 – Former England captain Wayne Rooney says the government and football authorities have treated his profession as “guinea pigs” during the coronavirus outbreak by not acting as responsibly as other sports.
OFF: Premier League, LaLiga, SerieA, Ligue1. Bundesliga continues in closed stadia
By Andrew Warshaw
March 13 – Despite the British government advising there was not yet any urgent need to ban large public gatherings including sports events, all professional football in England and Scotland has been suspended until at least April 3 as a result of the spread of coronavirus.
TTFA in crisis as debt hits $50m, accounts frozen and new House of Football remains closed
By Paul Nicholson
March 13 – Coronavirus is proving to be the scourge of world football but in Trinidad and Tobago the financial failure of the organisation and its new leaders to work their way out of or deal with a series of court cases is proving far more dangerous to the sport on the island.