“Quand on enferme la vérité sous terre, elle s’y amasse, elle y prend une force telle d’explosion, que, le jour où elle éclate, elle fait tout sauter avec elle.” Émile Zola, J’accuse
By Andrew Warshaw
May 19 – Amnesty International, Football Supporters Europe and eight other human rights and fan groups have collectively urged FIFA to put up a minimum $440 million – roughly the equivalent of World Cup prize money – as a compensation fund for hundreds of thousands of migrant workers they claim have suffered abuses in preparation for the tournament in November.
May 19 – European governing body UEFA is reportedly shelving plans for a multi-billion euro financial package that was originally designed to help European football recover from the global health crisis.
May 19 – The AFC will broaden the base of is return from the covid pandemic next week with the draw (May 24) for the AFC U17 Asian Cup Bahrain 2023 and AFC U20 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2023.
May 19 – Wearing the message United for Ukraine on their shirts, Ukraine’s national men’s team won its second straight friendly since the Russian invasion by beating Italian Serie A club Empoli 3-1.
May 19 – Eintracht Frankfurt ended their 42-year European trophy drought on Wednesday by beating Rangers 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw to lift the Europa League in a nail-biting final that will be remembered for the display of passion by both sets of fans in Seville.
May 19 – The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) is reinforcing its player development pathway as it targets a ranking among the world’s elite football nations by the time World Cup 2034.
May 19 – The 2021/22 season is ending and the transfer race for the big names across the leagues in Europe has begun. While most of these player moves will be for better financial conditions, this is a unique year and it is likely many moves will be made just for a guarantee of playing time.
May 19 – Senegalese president Macky Sall has voiced his support for Paris-Saint Germain player Idrissa Gueye, who refused to play in PSG’s match last weekend over a shirt designed to support an anti-homophobia initiative.
May 19 – Premier League Liverpool has selected US cloud-driven networking business Extreme as its Official Wi-Fi Network Solutions Provider and Official Wi-Fi Analytics Provider.
By Paul Nicholson
May 18 – Speaking at the 32nd AFC Congress, president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said that “it is clear that the AFC, our members and our Regional Associations are well on the road to recovery”, and confirmed the AFC’s support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino in the next FIFA presidential campaign.
May 18 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino cut a quite different figure at today’s AFC Congress where he appeared (virtually) alongside the AFC president and General Secretary looking more relaxed, comfortable and confident than he has in his previous confederation congress outings over the last month.
May 18 – In a historic moment, US Soccer and its national teams agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that will for the first time guarantee equal pay between men’s and women’s teams for games and equal division of World Cup prize money.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 18 – Glasgow Rangers and Eintracht Frankfurt, two massively supported clubs who have had lean times when it comes to European success, turn back time tonight when they attempt to carve out a place in modern football history by winning the Europa League.
May 18 – All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel has been sidelined from the game after the country’s Supreme Court appointed a committee to finalise the ruling body’s constitution and manage everyday administration.