January 6 – Brazil 1970 and Pele will forever remain the standard bearers of the beautiful game. In the book ‘Brazil 1970 – How the Greatest Team of All Time Won the World Cup’, author Sam Kunti chronicles the story of Brazil’s landmark victory.
By Samindra Kunti in Sao Paulo
January 6 – Following a media storm, Ricardo Kaka has failed to explain why he did not attend Pelé’s funeral procession. Kaka, Ronaldo and other World Cup-winners as well as Neymar have been heavily criticized for failing to pay their last respect to Pele in Santos.
January 6 – The government of Guinea-Bissau has become the second country to heed the call of FIFA president Gianni Infantino and rename a stadium after Pelé.
January 5 – Cameroon football has again been rocked by an age fraud scandal with 21 out of 30 Under-17 national team players disqualified after failing MRI tests ordered by the country’s FA (Fecafoot) chief Samuel Eto’o.
January 5 – Supportive messages have poured in, including from FIFA president Gianni Infantino, after French international Samuel Umtiti was racially abused by Lazio fans who have once again tarnished the sport in Italy.
January 5 – Danielle Reyna, the mother of US midfielder Giovanni Reyna, has come forward saying she told U.S. Soccer of the domestic violence incident involving US coach Gregg Berhalter in 1991.
January 5 – Premier League Manchester City, whose owners City Football Group (CFG) have ambitions to expand in India, has unveiled a new regional partnership with Indian digital services company Jio Platforms.
January 5 – Corsican businessman Pierre-Marie Geronimi (pictured), former president of SC Bastia, has been charged with fraud, bankruptcy and misuse of corporate assets as part of a judicial investigation into possible financial embezzlement before the club’s 2017 liquidation.
January 5 – Online bookmaker EstrelaBet, who before Christmas sealed a deal with the Brazilian federation (CBF) for sponsorship of all its futsal clubs, has now moved into mainstream Brazilian football becoming the main sponsor of América Futebol Clube.
January 5 – Just four months after his dismissal by Bournemouth, Scott Parker has succeeded Carl Hoefkens as head coach of Belgian champions Club Brugge.
January 5 – In a surprise appointment, Nigel de Jong will become the new director of football at the Dutch FA (KNVB), succeeding Jan Hoogsma.
January 5 – West Ham United joint-chairman and co-owner David Gold has died at the age of 86 on Wednesday following a short illness, the English Premier League club said.
By Samindra Kunti in Santos, Brazil
January 4 – On Tuesday Santos and Brazil bode farewell to Pelé, the nation’s greatest icon. Almost a quarter of a million mourners and supporters, including newly sworn-in president Luiz Inacio da Silva, filed past Pele’s coffin in a serene funeral procession before a private internment.
January 4 – Africa’s Cape Verde has become the first FIFA member nation to heed president Gianni Infantino’s call to rename a stadium in every country in the world after Pele.
January 4 – Iranian authorities have accused the United Kingdom of plotting for the Iran team to defect on the pitch during the World Cup in Qatar.