By Andrew Warshaw
May 3 – The two bidding candidates for the 2026 World Cup made back-to-back presentations in the same European city today as they pitched their respective campaigns before the six Nordic nations whose support could prove crucial come the all-important vote next month.
May 3 – LaLiga is moving from Pay TV to OTT (over the top) in the UK after the Spanish league refused to accept an offer from Sky less than the £18 million a year deal paid in the previous cycle.
May 3 – Roma president James Pallotta says it will be an “absolute joke” if video assistant referees are not introduced in the Champions League after his side were cruelly knocked out by Liverpool 7-6 on aggregate in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
May 3 – It will likely go down as a landmark moment in the continuing development of the women’s game, at least in the UK. Subbuteo is launching its first all-female team sets to co-incide with the SSE Women’s FA Cup Final this weekend.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 2 – The row over alleged dirty tricks from within the FIFA administration to have Morocco thrown out of the 2026 World Cup bid process has prompted former Senegalese international El Hadji Diouf to further denounce claims that he has a family link with FIFA’s number two Fatma Samoura.
May 2 – In a move that seems likely to fuel increasingly fraught relations between FIFA and UEFA, Europe’s leading federations have reportedly been offered up to $75 million every two years under plans by Gianni Infantino for a new global league, part of his ambitious proposed $25 billion overhaul of world football.
May 2 – Spain have the power to regain the World Cup title they lost to Germany in 2014, according to a ranking by the CIES Football Observatory that looks at the most likely Russia 2018 winners.
May 2 – There may still be life in the North American Soccer League (NASL) that shelved its 2018 season after US Soccer denied the league Division 2 status, effectively ripping away its commercial underpinning.
May 2 – The completion of the election to find the successor to Musa Bility as the president of the Liberian FA is not getting closer after a Liberian court ruled that a stay order remained in place while it considered whether it had the jurisdiction to rule on a complaint that the LFA had overlooked procedures.
May 2 – Genius Sports have signed a new partnership with the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) to manage and commercialise their official match data in real-time.
May 2 – Safe standing areas in the top two divisions in English football is to be debated in Parliament on June 25 after a petition to have the matter discussed reached 100,000 signatures last week.
By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
May 1 – Gianni Infantino’s grandiose plan to radically change the landscape of world football kicked into gear Monday when FIFA hosted initial talks with confederation leaders over investment proposals for two new competitions worth an estimated $25 billion.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 1 – Donald Trump has again entered the World Cup lobbying arena, perhaps not quite with the same threatening tone or language but nevertheless potentially in danger of again violating FIFA’s ethics code and by association undermining his country’s joint bid for the 2026 World Cup.
May 1 – Following a special session organised by the Sports Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) at the Miami Dade College in Florida, USA, SIGA has launched an action plan against abuse, smuggling and trafficking of children and young people in sport.
By David Owen
May 1 – Spare a thought for FIFA Congress delegates whose efforts to collect the $250 per diems to which they are entitled at this year’s event in Moscow may be complicated by pesky “Russian legislation”.