Adidas and JD keep faith with Scottish Football through to 2022
September 3 – The Scottish FA (SFA) has renewed agreements with Adidas and retailer JD sports taking them through to the end of 2022.
Political house cleaning: Guzman suspension extended
September 3 – Osiris Guzman, the former Dominican Republic federation president who famously once used a speech to compare Sepp Blatter to Jesus Christ, Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill all rolled into one, has had his own ban extended by FIFA for a further 45 days.
Celtic review safety procedures after fans caught in crush outside stadium
September 3 – Five Celtic fans were injured because of overcrowding before the so-called Old Firm derby with Rangers in Glasgow on Sunday, prompting calls for an immediate inquiry.
Bid talk: British FA’s commit to feasibility study on joint World Cup 2030 bid
By Andrew Warshaw
August 31 – The Scottish and Welsh FAs have confirmed that exploratory talks are under way for a UK bid for the 2030 World Cup – even though South America would probably be regarded as favourites.
Barca brouhaha? Spanish police to re-open Abidal’s organ trafficking case
By Andrew Warshaw
August 31 – Spanish prosecutors are reported to be re-opening proceedings into the bizarre and still seemingly murky case of the liver transplant undergone six years ago by former French international defender Eric Abidal, now sporting director at Barcelona.
CL draw hands Ronaldo a trip to Manchester; while Spurs, Barca and Inter grouped for battle
By Samindra Kunti
August 31 – Manchester United will face a reunion with Cristiano Ronaldo after drawing Serie A champions Juventus in the Champions League group stage. Last-season’s runners-up Liverpool were handed a tough group, paired with PSG, Napoli and Red Star Belgrade.
Infront wins overseas distribution rights to Scottish leagues
August 31 – Infront has picked up the international media rights for the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) in a multi-season deal that covers all four leagues, the IRN-BRU Cup and the Betfred Cup.
Blackbridge and SportyCo combine to offer cryptocurrency opportunity to clubs
August 31 – Cryptocurrency is increasingly making inroads into the commercial football club market with the latest announcement being a strategic partnership between investment finance dealmakers Blackbridge Cross Borders and blockchain technology business SportyFi, operator of the SportyCo platform.
FIFA sends in ‘normalisation’ team to run Ghana FA
August 31 – Ghana is the latest country to see its football affairs come under the temporary control of FIFA after world football’s governing body set up one of its trademark normalisation committees in the wake of ongoing crisis.
UEFA considers adding third European club competition
August 31 – Almost 20 years after the demise of the European Cup Winners’ Cup, absorbed in 1999 by the Europa League, UEFA are considering re-introducing a third European cup competition in 2021, according to Germany’s Bild newspaper.
LaLiga predicts big Indonesian build-up with SportsHero deal
August 31 – Sports prediction and gamification app SportsHero has become LaLiga’s exclusive Indonesian partner for the 2018/19 season, with an option to extend for a further season.
TV villain: Belgian football presenter Pauwels on armed robbery charges
August 31 – One of Belgium’s leading football TV presenters has been charged with being an accomplice to an armed robbery, according to prosecutors.
Old punt finds new life: creating your own football accumulator tips
August 31 – Accumulators are one of the most exciting ways to bet on football. It is an evolving betting space that is offering new opportunities and flexibility in the football space.
Napout’s pleas go unheard as Judge Chen sentences him to 9-year jail term
By Andrew Warshaw
August 30 – Six months after being found guilty, Juan Angel Napout (pictured), one of the biggest scalps in the sprawling FifaGate corruption scandal that brought the organisation to its knees, has been jailed for nine years in the latest get-tough sentence handed down by US justice authorities.
The one Red Card that did the trick
If an unindicted co-conspirator in a US federal criminal case tells you “I want to thank Gianni Infantino for being here – he’s the president of FIFA and a highly respected man,” it is a dubious honour at best. If the same unindicted co-conspirator continues to say “Let’s see, in 2026 I won’t be here [as president]. Maybe they’ll extend the term? If they don’t extend it the media is going to be very boring,