By Andrew Warshaw
February 26 – Despite a measured and convincing plea to the whole of Europe to “put football first”, Jersey’s application to become the 56th member of UEFA was crushed at the organisation’s annual congress today when not a single federation supported its bid for inclusion.
By Paul Nicholson
February 26 – The already precarious future of the North American Soccer League (NASL) now looks even more uncertain after the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit denied the NASL’s appeal to obtain a preliminary injunction that would have reinstated its status as a Division 2 league for the 2018 season.
February 28 – More than 200 betting industry experts will be sharing their knowledge and opinions on a wide range of subjects in and around football and betting at next month’s Betting on Football.
By Mark Baber
February 23 – The South American Football Federation (CONMEBOL) is set to tender television and commercial rights of the 2019 Copa América tournament which has been expanded by six teams to include invited nations from CONCACAF and UEFA.
By Samindra Kunti
February 23 – League reform was high on the agenda at a meeting of Belgian’s Pro League following plenty of discontent over the play-offs system, which was introduced in the 2009/10 season. A 14-team league in the current format with play-offs has been mooted as viable future alternative.
February 23 – English Football League clubs have voted in favour of falling into line with the Premier League and shutting the summer transfer window closer to the start of the season so that everyone knows their squads before the big kickoff, a move that has long been debated across the professional game.
February 23 – A police officer has died of a heart attack following violent clashes between rival fans before Athletic Bilbao’s home Europa League match against Spartak Moscow on Thursday.
February 21 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is set to introduce the video assistant referee (VAR) system for the first time this weekend.
February 21 – The Dominican Republic will host the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield this April 13-21. The 12-team championship provides a pathway for the region’s smaller football nations towards the newly formed 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF League.
February 19 – A Brazilian derby between Vitoria and Bahia was abandoned with 11 minutes remaining on Sunday after the hosts had six players sent off in a game marked by a mass brawl.
February 16 – Conmebol is reportedly considering moving its headquarters out of Paraguay, where it has resided since 1986, after losing a $10 million lawsuit.
February 16 – Germany’s Bundesliga has reported first half of 2017-18 season attendances as being the second-highest average attendance in Bundesliga history at 43,429 fans per match.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 15 – Football politics moves in unpredictable ways. Not so long ago, then English FA chief Greg Dyke criticised Qatar being awarded the rights to stage the 2022 World Cup as the “worst moment” in FIFA’s history.
February 14 – Uruguayan club Nacional have been fined $80,000 and their fans banned for three away games for taunting Brazilian rivals Chapecoense about the plane crash which killed 71 people including 19 Chapecoense players and staff in November 2016.
By Paul Nicholson
February 14 – The Jersey FA is seeking to become the 56th member of UEFA at the confederation’s Congress in Bratislava, Slovakia, next week. The island nation, part of the British Isles, has increased its lobbying and sharpened its case for inclusion, including making its case to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.