English goalkeeping legend Gordon Banks dies, aged 81
February 12 – England’s 1966 World Cup-winning goalkeeping hero Gordon Banks has died aged 81.
Concacaf League expanded in tandem with Champions League qualification revamp
February 12 – Concacaf is to expand the Concacaf League from 16 to 22 clubs, including five additional Central American clubs and one Canadian Premier League club, from 2019 onwards. The new format will also shift the Champions League qualification with six teams from the competition entering the main tournament.
Champions League results are more predictable than ever before, says report
February 12 – With UEFA searching for ways to find a greater competitive balance between clubs for its competitions, the latest research report from the CIES Football Observatory shows “a clear trend towards less balance and more predictability.”
PSG expands esports teams in Asia with Indonesia-based ‘Mobile Legends’ squad
February 12 – Paris Saint-Germain is expanding its eSports footprint in south-east Asia with the launch of a team to play on the ‘Mobile Legends’ game platform.
Spinning a £5.5m tale: UK government lobbyist who wanted to take on Qatar
By Andrew Warshaw
February 12 – A political spin doctor who worked for Britain’s Conservative party attempted to scupper Qatar’s bid to stage the 2022 World Cup according to UK reports.
Mourinho back on centre-stage with his own TV show on RT
February 12 – Nice work if you can get it. Jose Mourinho may be out of a management job at club level but he is rarely out of the limelight. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United boss has landed a plum mega-million role with English-language Russian broadcaster RT.
Minute’s silence for Sala before European club games
February 12 – In memory of Emiliano Sala, the Argentine player tragically killed en route to join his new club Cardiff City, a minute’s silence will be observed at all Champions League and Europa League games this week.
Champions League to make live broadcast debut with Goal on Twitter in SE Asia
February 12 – European Champions League football will be broadcast via football website Goal’s Twitter account in six markets in Asia with a mix of live matches and highlights packages.
Bility says Ahmad had no authority to rule on AFCON hosting or betting deal
By Samindra Kunti
February 11 – CAF president Ahmad Ahmad’s reign has again come under attack from Executive Committee (ExCo) member Musa Bility who has accused him of violating the governing body’s statues.
Integrity: Prince Ali says FIFA must act urgently to reform statutes on sexual abuse
By Andrew Warshaw
February 11 – Pressure is mounting on FIFA and the Afghan authorities to do more to combat the grave situation of sexual abuse among the country’s women players.
Post World Cup injuries have already cost top 6 Premier League clubs £70m+
By Paul Nicholson
February 11 – With big decisions coming up next month on FIFA’s proposed expansion of the international football calendar and concern around the pressures they will bring, an analysis of player injuries since Russia 2018 shows Premier League clubs have seen a 44% increase in injuries to players who played in Russia.
Hakeem al-Araibi freed in Thailand as Bahrain drop extradition request
February 11 – Bahrain has withdrawn its request to Thailand for the extradition of part-time footballer Hakeem al-Araibi.
Women’s World Cup: Ticket take-up hits 330K as FIFA announces new sales window
February 11 – Individual match tickets for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France will go on sale to the general public on March 7. To date 300,000 tickets have been sold out of a total allocation of 1.3 million.
Rio mourns as Flamengo training ground fire kills 10 academy players
February 11 – Rio de Janeiro has declared three days of mourning as investigators seek to determine the cause of the fire that ripped through a dormitory and killed 10 promising teenage footballers at the training ground of leading club Flamengo on Friday.
Caribbean storm: Grenada’s Joseph suspended while investigation takes place
February 11 – Cheney Joseph, Grenada FA president since 2010 and a vice president of the Caribbean Football Union, has been “provisionally suspended” by his own executive council following allegations that he has a court conviction against him.