Chelsea sign Vitality as official health insurance partner
July 10 – Vitality, already the stadium naming partner at Premier League Bournemouth, has become Chelsea’s official health insurance partner.
Swiss FA boss’s comments fly him into trouble with dual nationality players
By Andrew Warshaw
July 9 – The extent of the rift within the Swiss camp following their exit from the World Cup has been widely exposed by an unprecedented outburst from their Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka in response to comments made by Swiss FA secretary general Alex Miescher.
FIFA warns Vida after Croatian offends Russians with bad Ukrainian ‘joke’
July 9 – In the latest political row involving players at the World Cup, Croatia’s Domagoj Vida has avoided punishment from FIFA after being filmed proclaiming “glory to Ukraine” in the wake of his side’s quarterfinal victory over Russia.
Brazil bid to keep Tite through to Qatar 2022
July 9 – The Brazilian FA (CBF) wants to maintain Tite as head coach of the Brazilian national team until the 2022 World Cup in Qatar even though Brazil crashed out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage following a 2-1 defeat against Belgium.
Last minute sub Hierro quits Spain after World Cup cameo ends in early exit
July 9 – He was only a stand-in but he has already stepped down. Fernando Hierro, forced at the 11th hour into leading Spain at the World Cup, has given up the post and will not return to his former role as sporting director.
AC Milan in the wind again as Li misses interest payment to Elliott hedge fund
July 9 – AC Milan’s Chinese owner Yonghong Li has missed the deadline to repay €32 million of interest on the debt to US hedge fund Elliott Management which provided an estimated €335 million of the €740 million Li used to buy the club.
US Soccer to build its digital touchpoints with hackathon for new ideas
July 9 – The US Soccer Federation is to hold its first football-specific hackathon on Chicago, July 14-15, at the 1871 – Chicago’s Centre for Technology and Entrepreneurship.
Buffon ends 17-year stay at Juve for final push at PSG
July 9 – He may be 40 and have retired from international football but Gianluigi Buffon is about to enter a new phase of his stellar career.
FIFA convenes panel to share diversity and anti-discrimination learnings of Russia 2018
July 9 – One of the big success stories of the World Cup so far has been the welcome the Russians have given to visitors regardless of nationality, colour or religion.
CAF issues life ban to Kenyan ref Marwa over $600 gift sting
July 9 – The rising career of Kenyan referee Aden Marwa has been terminated after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Saturday banned him for life.
North African alliance: Morocco could join with Algeria and Tunisia for 2030 bid
By Andrew Warshaw
July 6 – Morocco’s unexpected recent announcement that it will bid for the 2030 World Cup despite five previous failures can be explained by the fact that it will almost certainly be a joint effort with its north African neighbours.
The cost of going up: Bournemouth settle FFP promotion year breach with £4.75m
July 6 – Bournemouth, about to enter their fourth season in the Premier League, have finally settled with the English Football League (EFL) over a breach of financial fair play (FFP) rules when they were in the Championship in 2014/15.
Serie A says betting sponsorship ban will destabilise Italian football’s economic model
By Paul Nicholson
July 6 – Italian football faces a sponsorship crisis following a government proposal to ban on all gambling advertising, including sponsorship or promotional deals with gambling companies.
Facebook picks up premium Premier League rights market with £260m deal in SE Asia
July 6 – The entry of the giant OTT streaming services into the top tier football rights market is gathering pace with Facebook agreeing an estimated £260 million deal for live Premier League matches in south-east Asia.
SVGFF’s president Coombs banned for touting Brazil 2014 tickets
July 6 – FIFA has slapped St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation president Venold Coombs with a two-year ban and a hefty fine after finding him guilty on corruption charges.