McDonald’s renews World Cup vows for women’s 2023 and men’s 2026 events
May 18 – FIFA has renewed its long-standing sponsorship with McDonald’s that will now run through the Women’s World Cup 2023 and FIFA World Cup 2026.
EC gives Panathinaikos €115m boost to begin build of new Athens stadium
May 18 – Greece’s Panathinaikos have been given the go-ahead to begin construction of the club’s new stadium in Votanikos, Athens.
FC Bayern migrates to SAP Emarsys platform to drive fan engagment
May 18 – Bundesliga giant FC Bayern Munich has engaged the SAP Emarsys platform to drive its fan engagement experience and grow its active supporter base.
Concacaf draws groups for 2023/24 edition of Nations League
May 18 – The draw for the third edition of the expanded 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League (CNL) has seen Panama, Guatemala and El Salvador in a Central America-heavy group in League A. Haiti and Jamaica headline Group B which has an all-Caribbean profile, bar the challenge from Honduras.
Kenya to join with Uganda and Tanzania in bid to host 2027 Africa Cup of Nations
May 17 – Kenyan president William Ruto has said he will support a joint bid with neighbours Uganda and Tanzania to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations in a joint bid.
Sheikh Jassim puts more cash down in run-off with Sir Jim for Man Utd
May 17 – Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar has reportedly submitted an improved offer in the latest bid manoeuvring around the sale of Manchester United. The new offer is understood to be in discussion between the Glazer family and the Raine Group, the New York-based investment bank, who are handling the sale.
Serie A breaks up broadcast packages for Italy with €7.2bn target
May 17 – Serie A is targeting up to €7.2 billion from the upcoming sale of its domestic TV rights. The Italian top flight plans to extend contract durations from their current three-year cycle to up to five years in a bit to narrow the revenue gap with the Premier League, LaLiga and Bundesliga.
Rwanda forfeit AFCON qualifier after fielding suspended player
May 17 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has ruled that Rwanda’s national team must forfeit their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Benin due to fielding an ineligible player. The points deduction is a significant setback for the Amavubi’s hopes of reaching the continental finals.
USL names first teams for launch of pro women’s Super League to rival NWSL
May 17 – The NWSL professional women’s league in the US is set to have a new rival with the USL Super League announcing the first eight teams and markets for the top tier licensed league that is scheduled to start play in August 2024.
OL Groupe and Michelle Kang combine to form first women’s multi-club ownership group
May 17 – Multi-team ownership is coming to the women’s club game globally with the announcement of a deal between OL Groupe, owner of Olympique Lyonnais, John Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings, majority owner of OL Groupe and MicheleKang (pictured), owner of the Washington Spirit who play in the NWSL.
India U-17s start DFB organised training camp in preparation for Asian Cup in Thailand
May 17 – India’s U-17 national team has started a 15-day training camp in Germany arrives as part of their preparations for the 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup to be held in Thailand later this year.
Concacaf launches new club and league rankings; Mexicans dominate followed by US and Honduras
May 17 – LigaMX sides Monterrey and Club America top a club ranking of 184 teams across the Concacaf confederation. LAFC from the MLS are third in the ranking that sees seven teams from Mexico and three from the US in the top 10.
Serbia initiates €20m country wide stadium renovation plan with encouragement of UEFA
May 17 – The Football Association of Serbia (FSS), with the help of UEFA, will invest over €20 million to modernise a number of the stadiums in the country, with many to receive state-of-the-art turf pitches.
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
A soccer specific stadium holding 26,000, the stadium was built for MLS team FC Cincinnati.
Located in the West End on the the former site of Stargel Stadium, the stadium cost about $250 million to construct.
The stadium was proposed in 2016, as part of the team’s bid for an MLS franchise that was awarded in 2018, when the build began.
UEFA sells out UCL women’s final as attendance records continue to tumble
May 16 – For the first time, the Women’s Champions League final will be sold out with all 34,100 tickets for the flagship match between FC Barcelona and Wolfsburg at the PSV Stadium in Eindhoven sold.