Ceferin and Agnelli call for European unity and dismiss Super League as ‘fiction’
November 20 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has made his most categoric statement to date against the idea of a European Super League.
Investigation uncovers mass Cypriot match-fixing scam led by Chinese club investor
November 20 – More than 30 close-season friendly games in Cyprus during 2016, 2017, and 2018 were allegedly fixed, according to local reports citing a probe by a Romanian member of the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC), a widespread media network.
EFL agrees £595m Sky deal but Championship clubs aren’t happy
November 20 – The deadline set by the English Football League (EFL) for its dissident Championship clubs to come up with an alternative TV deal beating the £595 million offer from Sky Sports passed yesterday.
PSG agrees two-year betting deal with LoveBet for Asia
November 20 – French champions Paris Saint-Germain have agreed a new two-season regional partnership with Asian online betting operator LoveBet.
Cyber soccer: NordVPN join Liverpool’s global sponsor roster
November 20 – Online security specialist NordVPN has become Premier League Liverpool’s Official Cyber Security Partner.
SPFL confirms biggest ever TV deals with Sky, Premier and BBC
November 20 – The Scottish Professional Football League has officially confirmed a series of broadcast deals following an auction process which sees Sky Sports become the lead broadcaster of the SPL from 2020 and Premier Sports the Betfred Cup.
Dutch last-gasp equaliser knocks French out of Nations League final spot
November 20 – No Germany, no Spain – and now no France. It may be premature to suggest that the power in European football is shifting but few would have predicted the four finalists of the inaugural Nations League competition.
Infantino goes for gold with FIFA sell-off and a seat at the head of the ‘Newco’ table
By Paul Nicholson
November 19 – FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell off the rights to two new FIFA competitions for $25 billion has been revealed as being just a stepping stone for a movement of all FIFA’s competition rights, including the World Cup and its archive, into a newly created Swiss company that he would chair.
Germany’s Grindel calls on Infantino to come clean over ‘facts’ behind $25bn sell-off plan
By Andrew Warshaw
November 19 – A prominent FIFA council member is urging Gianni Infantino to come clean over his alleged landscape-changing plan to sell off FIFA’s World Cup rights as part of a $25 billion deal with a consortium linked to Saudi Arabia.
Swiss and English win Nations League thrillers to reach finals; Portugal to host
November 19 – England, Switzerland and Portugal emerged as the big winners at the weekend as the new Nations League competition, initially derided by many as being unwieldy and over-complicated, took centre stage.
Japanese prominent as nominees for AFC Annual Awards Oman 2018 unveiled
November 19 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has unveiled the nominees for its annual awards with Japan dominating the nomination lists after what has been an outstanding year at club and international level for the county.
Swiss federal investigator cleared of FIFA corruption but he will not be returning to work
November 19 – A Swiss federal prosecutor cleared of wrongdoing after being suspended amid questions about his conduct during investigations into suspected corruption surrounding FIFA will not be getting his job back.
Ghana and South Africa show early form as Women’s Afcon kicks off
November 19 – Hosts Ghana kicked off the 2018 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations with a 1-0 win against Algeria in Accra on Saturday. South Africa provided the first major upset of the finals defeating powerhouse Nigeria 1-0.
Sheikh Ahmad steps down from IOC while Kuwaiti political scandal is investigated
By Andrew Warshaw
November 19 – Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, one of the most influential powerbrokers in world sport who not so long ago was a major player at FIFA, is “temporarily” stepping aside from his International Olympic Committee duties after he was charged with forgery in Switzerland.
Players call for PFA boss Taylor to quit his £2.29m a year union job
November 19 – An open letter calling on the chief executive of England’s Professional Footballers’ Association, Gordon Taylor (pictured), to step down after 37 years in charge has been endorsed by more than 200 current and former players.