Wanda refocuses on China with €266m pledged for Dalian grassroots build
May 2 – Chinese property giant Wanda Group, which in Europe has developed a sports marketing agency, is to invest €266 million into grassroots football in China.
World Football
Headaches all round for Spurs as Ajax take a one goal lead in CL semi
May 1 – Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino insists his medical staff followed UEFA protocol after defender Jan Vertonghen was briefly allowed to return to the field despite suffering a serious-looking head injury in the Champions League semi-final loss to Ajax on Tuesday.
Egypt to rethink AFCON ticket pricing after fans complain of hiked Egyptian game prices
May 1 – The Egypt Football Association (EFA) will re-examine ticket prices for this summer’s Africa Cup Nations tickets after an angry outcry from fans protesting at the cost of tickets for host nation matches.
LaLiga vs RFEF: Spanish FA approves Cup competition format the league doesn’t want
April 30 – Further details have emerged of radical changes to the formats of Spain’s Copa del Rey and, especially, the Spanish Super Cup that have caused a huge rift between the Spanish FA and La Liga.
Lazio let-off over Mussolini banner and racist abuse at AC Milan cup game
April 30 – Lazio have somehow escaped an immediate stadium closure after around 50 supporters displayed a banner honouring Benito Mussolini and performed fascist salutes ahead of last week’s Italian Cup match against AC Milan, followed by instances of disgraceful racist abuse during the game itself.
Two arrested over Sala morgue pictures
April 30 – Two people, a man and a woman, have been arrested in the UK after a photo purporting to show the post-mortem examination of Emiliano Sala, the promising young Argentine tragically killed in a plane crash in January after he had completed a £15 million move from Nantes to Cardiff City.
Sierra Leone court pushes back Johansen corruption case to end of week
By Andrew Warshaw
April 29 – A crucial court hearing scheduled for today into corruption allegations against Sierra Leone FA president Isha Johansen (pictured left with FIFA general secretary Fatma Samoura) has been unexpectedly postponed, with a new date set for Friday of this week.
PSG’s out of control Neymar get 3-match CL ban from UEFA
April 29 – Brazil’s Paris St Germain superstar Neymar has been banned by UEFA for three European games for insulting match officials on Instagram after the Champions League last-16 defeat by Manchester United.
Czech forward Sural killed in Alanyaspor team bus crash in Turkey
April 29 – Czech international striker Josef Sural (pictured) has been killed following a minibus crash in Turkey according to his club Aytemiz Alanyaspor.
Canada’s CPL kicks off first season with a local look and a passionate commitment
By Paul Nicholson
April 29 – The world’s newest tier 1 national league kicked off at the weekend with the Canadian Premier League (CPL) officially opening its inaugural season in Hamilton with a 1-1 draw between Forge FC and York 9 FC.
Bielsa puts game first as Norwich and Sheffield Utd reach EPL’s promised land
April 29 – Sheffield United have been promoted to the English Premier League for the first time since 2007, joining Norwich City in the top flight, but they had an unusual helping hand from Yorkshire rivals Leeds.
Cameroon beat Guinea in penalty shoot-out to win AFCON U17 title
April 29 – Cameroon defeated Guinea 5-3 on penalties to win the final of the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Dar Es Salaam on Sunday. Both finalists qualify for the U-17 World Cup in Brazil alongside losing semi-finalists Nigeria and Angola.
Sala tragedy continues: Emiliano’s father Horacio dies of heart attack
April 29 – The father of Emiliano Sala, the promising young Argentine tragically killed in a plane crash in January after he had completed a £15 million move from Nantes to Cardiff City, has died of a heart attack.
Europe’s big clubs go to war with its big leagues over Super League look-a-like talk
By Andrew Warshaw
April 26 – Potentially explosive plans to overhaul the Champions League post-2024 and turn it into the nearest thing yet to a much-debated European Super League are causing an unprecedented rift between Europe’s clubs and leagues as well as threatening to destabilise the main stakeholders within the entire European football landscape.
Rift between LaLiga and RFEF deepens as clubs reject Supercup in Saudi plan
By Paul Nicholson
April 26 – The deepening discontent between La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has been further highlighted by LaLiga’s unequivocal rejection of RFEF president Luis Rubiales’ plan to reinvent the Spanish Supercup as a four-team competition, potentially in Saudi Arabia.