January 12 – India and Australia kick off their Asian Cup campaign on Saturday (January 13) seeking to establish themselves firmly as a part of their regional football firmament.
January 12 – The latest report from the CIES football observatory has ranked Liga Portugal side Benfica as the club with the most profitable academy in world football.
January 12 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has extending its sports integrity partnership with Sportradar for a further three years through to 2027.
January 12 – New Brazil manager Dorival Jr has asked supporters to rally behind the national team in a bid to get the team back on the rails and regain self-esteem.
By Samindra Kunti in Doha
January 12 – Hosts and defending champions Qatar take on Lebanon in the curtain raiser of the Asian Cup on Friday with a point to prove on home soil after a disastrous World Cup campaign and the shock dismissal of Carlos Queiroz last month. Captain Hassan Al Haydos believes the team needs to send a message to the fans.
January 12 – Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita will become the first woman referee in AFC Asian Cup history to take charge of a men’s game at the finals when she leads out Australia and India for their opening group game on January 13.
January 12 – The Palestinian squad at the Asian Cup said they want to deliver a message of ‘life’ to the world by qualifying for the tournament knockout rounds, while also bringing at least a little happiness to people trapped in the violence of the war in Hamas.
By Paul Nicholson
January 11 – The Asian Cup 2023 that was originally scheduled for last summer in China but was switched Qatar after the Chinese pulled out, opens in a day’s time and is pretty much bursting to exit the starting gates.
January 11 – The Gambia’s African Nations Cup preparations took a turn for the worse on Wednesday when their flight to Ivory Coast had to return to Banjul airport because of a lack of oxygen on the aircraft. Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet said “they escaped death.”
January 11 – Real Madrid are reportedly assessing the prospect of making a move for Manchester City and Norway striker Erling Haaland, 23, because of concerns over whether France forward Kylian Mbappe, 25, will leave Paris St-Germain to join them.
January 11 – Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed he has terminal cancer and that, tragically, he might have less than a year to live.
January 11 – Atletico Madrid have announced a partnership with Riyadh-based Legends Museum, which will see the11-time La Liga champions open a technology-fuelled exhibition within the museum in a bid to appeal to its growing Saudi Arabian fan base.
January 11 – FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been named International Sports Personality for 2023 at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Awards ceremony in Dubai.
January 11 – The Asian Football Confederation has confirmed the cast of match officials that will oversee the opening match of the Asian Cup Qatar on Friday.
January 11 – Dorival Jr has been officially confirmed as the new head coach of the Brazil national side after he left Sao Paulo earlier this week.