FIFA turn down Bolivia World Cup points appeal
February 6 – Bolivia’s appeal against being docked points for fielding an ineligible player in two World Cup qualifiers has been rejected by FIFA’s appeals panel.
World Football
Celtic eSports League kicks off with Sportego as main sponsor
February 5 – The inaugural Sportego Celtic eSports League kicks off February 6 with a 14-week season that opens with Linfield against Shamrock Rovers followed by Crusaders vs Dundalk.
Calhanoglu ban ends his season and leaves Leverkusen’s Voeller fuming
February 3 – In a fascinating case that will be noted by all stakeholders in football’s transfer landscape, player power has lost out to contractual obligations after Bayer Leverkusen’s Turkish international midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu had a four-month ban upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport meaning he will miss the rest of the season.
UEFA opens up bid process for 2019 club championship finals
February 3 – In a significant break with the past regime of Michel Platini and as promised by his successor Aleksander Ceferin, UEFA have introduced an open tender process for cities keen to stage its major club finals and have named those interested in hosting in 2019, with formal bidding now under way.
Picking sides. African presidents in spat over Infantino’s African power play
February 3 – In the latest power play for control of African football, an unsavoury war of words has broken out between two federations presidents over alleged meddling by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Egypt and Cameroon bring a familiar look to AFCON final
By Samindra Kunti
February 3 – For the third time in history Egypt and Cameroon will meet in the final of the African Cup of Nations. In the semi-finals the two traditional powerhouses of the African game defeated Burkina Faso and Ghana respectively.
Argentines play season opening Super Cup under cloud of financial uncertainty
By Samindra Kunti
February 3 – This weekend Lanus and River Plate will play in the Argentine Super Cup, but the start of the domestic season has been overshadowed by financial turmoil in the country that is ranked number one in the world by FIFA.
Media giant A+E buys stake in NWSL in the US
February 3 – Media group A+E Networks has bought a stake in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the US which will see its women’s entertainment brand Lifetime become a sponsor of the league in a three-year deal beginning in April. A+E will will also launch a joint venture company – NWSL Media – to market commercial rights.
FIFA and CONCACAF fly into calm overheating U.S. Virgin Islands storm
By Paul Nicholson
February 1 – Hillaren Frederick, president of the U.S. Virgin Islands Soccer Federation, has hit back at the four members of his executive committee who tried to suspend him and two other exco members, saying that the allegations of financial negligence are untrue and that it is “merely an attempted coup”.
MLS expansion: 12 bidders submit for four new franchise slots
February 1 – Major League Soccer has announced that 12 new ownership groups submitted official applications by Tuesday’s deadline to land one of the four franchises that will see North America’s elite league expand to 28 clubs.
Ceferin pilots in new world thinking at UEFA as old world gets ‘burned’
By Andrew Warshaw
January 31 – Four and a half months into his UEFA presidency, Aleksander Čeferin says he’s having to work far longer hours than he imagined and has denounced those who doubted his ability – even within his own circles.
Islands in a storm. Frederick battles to hold on to power at USVISF
By Paul Nicholson
January 31 – U.S. Virgin Islands FA president Hillaren Frederick is fighting for survival as head of his federation after rejecting a suspension by his own executive committee, saying that they did not have the authority to suspend him. A delegation from FIFA and CONCACAF is expected in the islands this week to investigate the situation.
Gulati sits on the wall over US World Cup 2026 bidding and immigration issues
January 31 – As global condemnation of Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration intensifies, U.S. Soccer president and FIFA powerbroker Sunil Gulati says his country still hasn’t yet made up its mind whether to bid for the 2026 World Cup.
Man Utd, Spurs and Chelsea fans show FA Cup is still full, at least for fans
January 31- Premier League managers may have taken the opportunity to give key players a rest this week with the Fourth Round of FA Cup matches, but fans were in no mood to to take a week off. Five of the eight Premier League clubs with home matches sold out more than 95% of their capacities.
Brazil’s World Cup beacon Maracana stadium plunged into darkness
By Samindra Kunti
January 27 – Rio de Janeiro’s famous Maracana stadium, which hosted the 2014 World Cup final and the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympics and is one of football’s spiritual homes, was plunged into darkness on Thursday after Light, the energy provider for the stadium, cut off the electricity supply due to unpaid bills that reach back to October last year.