October 19 – Alisports, the sports arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, has signed a deal with Happy Valley (HVAA), a Hong Kong first division club, to promote Alisports’ esports World Electronic Sports Games (WESG) event.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 18 – Would it have been a national disgrace or was it vital for developing the country’s grass-roots game? The jury was out but now it makes no difference after the English Football Association’s proposed £600 million sale of Wembley stadium to Pakistani-American billionaire Shahid Khan unexpectedly fell through on Wednesday when the owner of Premier League Fulham and the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team suddenly withdrew his offer.
October 18 – Any hopes that Iran might permanently relax its ban on women attending football matches have been well and truly dashed, with the country’s prosecutor general saying such a move would “lead to sin”.
October 18 – Spanish prosecutors are reported to have set a February trial date for former Barcelona strongman Sandro Rosell who is accused of money laundering related to television rights and sponsorship of the Brazilian national football team.
October 18 – Arsenal is transitioning from Arsene Wenger to Unai Emery, and from being a publicly traded company to a privately owned football club. As the changes take place so the financial transparency and supporter interaction with the club is taking a new shape.
October 18 – The dispute over plans to play a La Liga fixture in the USA in January has taken yet another twist with Real Madrid officially protesting the move by writing to Spain’s football federation.
October 18 – A SIGA Special Session in New York highlighted the increasing importance of good governance to world sport’s major sponsors who sent a clear message that if they are to spend big dollars they should be seen by rights holders as stakeholders and not just cash cows.
October 18 – With the threat of further scandal hanging over their confederation, Uruguayan clubs have voted in favour of removing their former FA president Wilmar Valdez (pictured) from his FIFA Council role, a move that will be taken forward to Friday’s Conmebol congress for formal action by member federations.
October 18 – It is a sign of how far the football business has progressed to being part of the entertainment business that senior executives from the BBC and ITV have been shortlisted as the frontrunners to replace Richard Scudamore as chief executive of the Premier League, according to Sky.
October 18 – Manchester City have agreed a deal with cashless experts tappit, who becomes the Club’s Official Events Cashless Payments Partner.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 17 – His critics may describe his actions as verging on paranoia but banned former UEFA chief Michel Platini remains steadfast in his attempt to clear his name and prove he was the victim of a plot engineered by former FIFA officials.
By Samindra Kunti
October 17 – In a rare move Iran allowed women to attend Team Meli’s friendly with Bolivia on Tuesday in Tehran. Women have been banned from watching football in the country since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
October 17 – Madagascar have qualified for their maiden African Cup of Nations finals after defeating Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Vontovorona. They will be joined in Group A by Senegal and north African powerhouses Egypt and Tunisia for the 2019 finals.
October 17 – Turkish prosecutors have charged Barcelona midfielder Arda Turan over a brawl with a well-known Turkish pop singer and have called for a jail sentence of 12 years.
By Paul Nicholson
October 17 – A self-imposed broadcast advertising ban by bookmakers on pre-9pm ads could drive UK betting sponsors and their marketing money back to clubs and drive up the value of premium shirt sponsorship positions.