March 20 – When Canadian national team boss Jesse Marsch threw a political grenade at SoFi Stadium two weeks ago in the direction of US President Donald Trump, he embraced sports and politics.
His American-Argentine counterpart, USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino, was a little more ginger with the subject when quizzed prior to his team’s semifinal match-up against Panama in the Concacaf Nations League.
March 20 – New Zealand will be sky-high favourites to clinch Oceania’s 2026 World Cup ticket, but in the final round of qualifiers other contenders can secure a playoff berth.
March 20 – In a bizarre proposal, the Canadian host city of Toronto is considering spending $10.7million on hospitality tickets for the 2026 World Cup with the aim of reselling them at higher prices.
March 20 – “This has the potential to be a real heavyweight fight and we are excited to be part of it.”
By Andrew Warshaw
August 9 – Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is the latest footballing figurehead to express concern over the €222 million world record transfer of Neymar, saying all major stakeholders should “sit round the table” to discuss the whole question of inflated fees in order to prevent fans switching off from football.
August 9 – Aberdeen fans are crying foul following UEFA’s decision to open disciplinary proceedings against them because of crowd trouble at the recent Europa League tie against Apollon Limassol in Cyprus.
August 9 – German carmaker Volkswagen has clinched a significant deal to become the new mobility partner of Euro 2020 saying it would use the event to showcase its new I.D. electric model.
By Paul Nicholson
August 9 – Premier League Liverpool have announced Western Union as the club’s first sleeve sponsor in a five-year multi-million pound deal. No exact figure was officially announced for the sponsorship but it is being reported in local media of being worth £25 million.
August 9 – On the eve of the first round of the 24th edition of the French League Cup, the Professional Football League has announced DIY superstore Bricomarché as the official supplier of the competition for this season.
August 9 – Diego Maradona is at it again – not making a comeback but coming up with yet more madcap comments, this time pledging to be a “soldier… until death” for embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
August 9 – Championship club Brentford have expanded their partnership with the University of West London (UWL) as part of a new three-year deal.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 8 – Cameroon’s bid to cling on to hosting the 2019 African Cup of Nations, which has come under intense scrutiny since the decision to expand the finals to 24 teams, has suffered a further blow with the president of African football himself questioning the country’s credentials.
By Paul Nicholson
August 8 – Rochell Woodson, the Liberian FA executive committee member who was removed from her position at the LFA Congress in December 2016 while she was on maternity leave, has won her appeal against the decision at the Court for Arbitration of Sport (CAS).
August 8 – Ahead of the rival launches of Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 and FIFA 18, Konami announced that PES2018 is now the Official Video Gaming Partner of Spanish club Valencia CF.
August 8 – Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has broken his silence over the manner in which Neymar left the club for Paris St-Germain.
August 8 – UEFA have opened disciplinary proceedings against Aberdeen and Apollon Limassol following crowd trouble at their recent Europa Cup tie.
August 8 – The bitter internal dispute between Football Federation Australia (FFA) and Australia’s A-League clubs reaches a pivotal stage this week as a joint FIFA-Asian Football Confederation delegation arrives for talks aimed at resolving the impasse.
August 8 – Members of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA), who are also referred to as football stakeholders, are demanding an emergency extraordinary congress within three days’ time amid the chaos and confusion engulfing the country’s warring footballing factions.
