By Paul Nicholson
February 28 – Focus this weekend will inevitably be on the game changing decisions regarding video assistant referees at the meeting of FIFA’s rule making committee. But on Friday the governing body addresses arguably even more important and potentially life changing issues with its 4th Conference for Equality and Inclusion at FIFA House in Zurich.
February 28 – Spanish giant Real Madrid has launched its own 360° and virtual reality channel in The Dream VR app that has more than 2 million downloads in over 180 countries.
February 28 – The North American Soccer League (NASL) has cancelled its 2018 season with three of its six clubs shifting to the National Premier Soccer League which kicks off this April.
February 28 – The prospect of a winter break in top-flight English football, which has been discussed and debated for years with public opinion split, appears to be edging closer.
February 28 – The world’s most expensive player has suffered a damaging injury at the worst possible time. Neymar’s fractured metatarsal and sprained ankle is expected to keep him out of action for at least six weeks meaning he will miss Paris St Germain’s all-important upcoming Champions League last-16 second leg tie against Real Madrid.
February 28 – He may have successfully campaigned for the European Club Association, which he headed for nine years, to have a voice on UEFA’s decision-making executive committee but Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is annoyed at the decision not to use video assistance in next year’s Champions League.
February 28 – The new eSports league being launched by video game maker Konami and Spanish-based eFootball.Pro have signed Barcelona as their first professional team to the league which will be played on the Pro-Evolution Soccer (PES) game.
February 28 – Internazionale have opened their eighth academy outside of Italy, the latest being in Beirut, Lebanon. Inter is working in partnership with Water Resources LTD Company and Sportomondo on the project in Lebanon.
February 28 – CONCACAF, who on Monday announced an expansion of their blue riband Gold Cup national team tournament, have followed up with the unveiling of a multi-platform digital media rights deal with Verizon for all its competitions.
February 27 – There are just 10 days left to register for the Tackling Matchfixing conference, March 9/10, at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel, London.
By Andrew Warshaw
The 24 qualifiers for the one-off pan-Continental European Championship in 2020 will share record total prize money of €371 million, €70 million up on last time, with each of the finalists receiving a minimum of €9.25 million.
February 27 – Chelsea’s Eden Hazard is the world’s leading dribbler of the ball so far this season, topping Neymar and Lionel Messi in an analysis of Europe’s Big 5 league players.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 27 – Gianni Infantino says he has had no second thoughts about using video assistant referees (VAR) at the World Cup despite a string of controversial incidents that have called into question how effective the system is.
February 27 – Tottenham Hotspur’s eagerly awaited 61,000-capacity, state-of-the-art new stadium may not quite be ready in time for the start of next season according to English media reports.
February 27 – Atalanta have officially been charged by UEFA after their fans aimed monkey chants at Borussia Dortmund’s on-loan forward Michy Batshuayi during their recent Europa League clash.