By Mark Baber
June 22 – A newly formed partnership between Malawi and Morocco will see the Moroccan government inject $5 million into Football Association of Malawi (FAM) infrastructure projects via the Federation of Royal Moroccan Football (FRMF).
By Samindra Kunti in Moscow
June 22 – The Confederations Cup heated up last night as tensions flared in Sochi as Mexico edged New Zealand 2-1. Meanwhile in Moscow, hosts Russia face a first-round exit after Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal for Portugal leaves the hosts needing a win against the fiery Mexicans to make it into the next round.
By Paul Nicholson
June 22 – Scottish Premiership side Rangers have reached a new retail agreement in their long running and bitter dispute with Mike Ashley and Sports Direct (SD).
June 22 – A row has broken out over wages in the top divisions of South African football following claims that Kaizer Chiefs’ Bruce Bvuma was earning just R5000 (£303) per month against the background of a FIFPro survey which suggests 38% of players are earning less than R8000 (£486) a month.
June 22 – Cameroon coach Hugo Broos (pictured) has lamented the travel arrangements at the Confederations Cup as the Indomitable Lions got stuck in traffic on the way to practice and media duties in Saint Petersburg. The incident will put organisers on red alert for next year’s World Cup finals.
June 22 – Premier League Bournemouth have signed a record sponsorship deal with online gaming company Mansion, continuing the relationship with the firm whose M88 logo will appear on the front of the Cherries’ home, away and third shirts.
By Paul Nicholson
June 21 – FIFA has issued a statement denying that its ethics committee has any investigation proceedings opened against its president Gianni Infantino, though the statement does not mention whether general secretary Fatma Samoura is under investigation.
By Mark Baber
June 21 – Real Madrid star Luka Modric is to be investigated for perjury by Croatian authorities, after giving testimony at the corruption trial of his former manager Zdravko Mamic. If found guilty of lying under oath about when he signed a crucial contract annex, the ex-Spurs and Dinamo Zagreb player could face between six months and five years in prison.
June 21 – Spanish prosecutors have kept up their pressure on football’s alleged tax avoiders with Manchester United manager José Mourinho being the latest to be dragged before the courts. Mourinho has denied tax fraud of €3.3 million relating to his time at Real Madrid.
June 21 – Both RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg have been given the go ahead to participate in the UEFA Champions League, having restructured their relationships with the Austrian Red Bull energy drinks company to overcome the regulatory prohibition on common ownership of clubs.
June 21 – Telemundo is reporting record broadcast numbers on its digital platforms for its coverage of the Confederations Cup 2017 from Russia. Nielsen ratings report that the Portugal vs. Mexico reached 4 million total viewers on Telemundo and ranks as the most streamed match ever on Telemundo’s digital platforms.
June 21 – Premier League Manchester City has signed Philippines-based on-line gaming company Kai-Fa Yule K8.com as the club’s official betting partner in Asia.
June 21 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is partnering with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to ease the plight of refugees within the AFC region with the first joint pilot project under the agreement being the support of the Rohingya refugees in Malaysia.
June 21 – European governing body UEFA has partnered with conference organiser Leaders for the Generation XX Series to promote dialogue and profile of the women’s game.
By Mark Baber
June 19 – Qatar has moved swiftly to reassure the world’s football community that construction is progressing on stadia for the 2022 World Cup, despite the political, economic and social isolation attempts by its neighbours led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.