By Paul Nicholson
May 18 – English Football League club Blackpool who had a brief and colourful season in the Premier League in 2010-11 but have since dropped to third tier League 1, could have new owners in the shape of a Singaporean consortium – vSport – that has Wesley Sneijder on it board.
May 18 – He was among the biggest kingpins in European football – a FIFA and UEFA vice-president – and even for a time stood as interim UEFA president.
May 18 – The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has scored a hat-trick of sponsorship deal with Chinese companies. The news is timely boost for AFA, whose dysfunctions where highlighted again by the ‘flirting manual’.
May 21 – The Ghana FA has agreed a five-year sponsorship deal with Zylofon Cash to become the headline sponsor of the Ghana Premier League in a deal reportedly worth $2 million a season.
May 18 – He’s done some novel things since hanging up his boots and now Diego Maradona has entered new territory again by signing a three-year contract to become chairman of the Belarusian side Dinamo Brest after the World Cup.
May18 – On the eve of their record-equalling 20th FA Cup final appearance, Manchester United have reported third quarter revenue up 8% on the same period last year to £137.5 million, putting them on course for a year end revenue figure of £578 – 585 million.
May 18 – Lionel Messi was the best player in European club football this season and Manchester City’s David Silva was the second best. Sergio Aguero was better than Mohamed Salah and they were both better than Harry Kane.
By Samindra Kunti in Lyon
May 17 – Atletico Madrid outclassed Marseille 3-0 to win their third Europa League with an Antoine Griezmann’s brace and captain Gabi’s late goal. The final in Lyon passed off without major crowd incidents, though UEFA have still issued disciplinary charges against both clubs from racism to causing acts of damage in the stadium.
May 17 – The Argentine Football Association has apologised for the publication of a World Cup manual that included advice on how to seduce Russian women.
May 17 – US investment fund PEAK6, a minority owner of Serie A’s Roma that also holds a 25% stake in Premier League Bournemouth, is taking aim at another of Europe’s Big 5 leagues having entered into exclusive takeover talks with French Ligue 1 club Saint-Etienne.
May 17 – Europe’s leading football stakeholders have joined forces to oppose Gianni Infantino’s plans to radically change the game’s global landscape by saying they have “serious reservations about the process” surrounding his proposal to enlarge the Club World Cup to 24 teams and create a biennial global Nations League.
May 17 – The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) will hold the fourth edition of its SIGA Sport Integrity Forum and General Assembly at the United Nations, in Geneva, on July 26-27.
May 16 – Eight teams remain in the hunt for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League glory this season, after the competition’s Round of 16 ties were completed on Wednesday.
May 17 – Former FIFA Executive Committee member Worawi Makudi has scored a token success in the fight to clear his name.
By Samindra Kunti in Lyon
May 16 – Hosts Lyon are on red alert as thousands of Marseille fans descend on the city ahead of the European Cup final with Atletico Madrid. Stringent security measures have been implemented to prevent any scuffles or violence. For the match itself football bookmaker Unibet has the odds stacked firmly in favour of Atletico.