By Andrew Warshaw
July 20 – The biennial club-versus-country row that has dogged African football’s major competition looks set to end after a landmark decision to switch the African Cup of Nations from January to June.
July 20 – Robert Kraft (pictured), owner of Super Bowl champions New England Patriots but, more significantly, a key player in the growth of soccer in the United States, has been named honorary chairman of the board for the joint 2026 World Cup bid from Canada, Mexico and the United States.
July 20 – Cameroon has been quick to re-assure African football leaders that it is fully capable of staging the 2019 African Cup of Nations with the necessary government backing.
July 20 – With the country still in mourning, Senegal’s Union Sportive Ouakam club has been suspended by the national federation for its role in last weekend’s stadium disaster.
July 20 – The international players union FIFpro says unions in Africa have started to achieve “clear improvements” in the welfare of thousands of players.
July 20 – Honduras will host the second CONCACAF Futsal Club Championship this August 21-26.
July 19 – Tonight the fifth edition of the International Champions Cup (ICC) kicks off in Detroit, USA, with Roma playing Paris St Germain. Tomorrow Manchester City and United replicate their local derby in Houston. The ICC may lack more than a little sporting integrity but it does deliver the biggest club names.
July 18 – Rangers have been fined €7,000 by UEFA for throwing balls of paper on to the pitch during their Europa League tie against Luxembourg minnows Progres Niederkorn.
By Paul Nicholson
July 18 – Trinidad and Tobago FA president David John-Williams who two weeks caught the ire of his members at the federation’s extra ordinary general meeting, this week could be facing a $600,000 plus lawsuit for failing to pay the Italian coaches of its women’s team.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 18 – Who says the crisis at FIFA is over? Angel Maria Villar, FIFA’s senior vice-president and one of the last surviving members of the organisation’s old guard, has been sensationally arrested in his native Spain along with his son in an anti-corruption raid carried out by Spanish authorities.
July 18 – A new future for African football could be about to be plotted if a two-day symposium this week, followed by an extraordinary general assembly, agrees to change the format of the continent’s top regional competition.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 17 – Having missed out numerous times on hosting the World Cup, Morocco says it is ready to take over from Cameroon in staging the 2019 African Cup of Nations “in case of lack of capacity”.
July 17 – The 12-team Gold Cup tournament has reached the quarter final stage with three power nations of the CONCACAF region – Costa Rica, Mexico and the US – all avoiding each other in the first round of knock-out games.
July 17 – In a commendable show of support, hundreds of Ajax fans staged an emotional rally at the weekend outside the family home of Abdelhak Nouri, the midfielder who tragically suffered brain damage after collapsing in a friendly match.
July 17 – African football has fallen victim to yet another stadium disaster after a wall collapsed in Senegal on Saturday, killing eight people and injuring between 60-90 according to conflicting news reports.