Heinz von Heiden naming rights deal builds on Hannover 96 platform
January 21 – German club Hannover 96 have replaced insurer HDI with construction firm Heinz von Heiden as naming rights partner for their stadium in a five-year deal.
China open Women’s Asian Cup in India with a win
By Samindra Kunti
January 20 – China got the 2022 Women’s Asian Cup underway with a convincing 4-0 victory over Taipei in the tournament’s curtain-raiser. The continent’s premier women’s competition, expanded with this Indian edition, will double as qualification for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Ex-Anderlecht boss Van Holsbeek arrested for fraud including Mitrovic and Tielemans deals
By Samindra Kunti
January 20 – Former Anderlecht general manager Herman Van Holsbeek (pictured) has been detained by Belgium authorities in an investigation into fraud and corruption centring on agent Christophe Henrotay.
Premier League set to revamp its abused covid-call-off rules
January 20 – The English Premier League is considering revising its controversial Covid regulations which have caused the postponement of 22 fixtures over the past five weeks – many of them linked to injuries and international call-ups as well as positive cases of the virus.
Brand confidence in sponsorship market remains strong despite omicron, says ESA
January 20 – The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) is reporting a sustained confidence in the sports sponsorship market despite the surge in the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
English FA probes suspicious betting patterns around Arsenal yellow card incident
January 20 – The English FA has opened an investigation into suspicious betting patterns around a yellow card issued to an Arsenal player in a match played before Christmas.
Mexican FA to take tougher line on homophobic chanters
January 20 – The Mexican Federation (FMF) has issued a warning that it will act more forcefully to put an end to homophobic chants that have blighted many of its national team matches and resulted in sanctions forcing home games to be played with closed stadia.
Turkey’s Acun Ilicali buys Hull City for £24m from Egyptian Allam family
January 20 – Turkish businessman Turkey’s Acun Ilicali (pictured) and his Acun Medya Group have become the new owners of Hull City, completing a €24 million takeover of the Championship club to end the 11-year reign of the Egyptian Allam family.
Concacaf ready to roll with VAR across all main competitions
January 20 – Concacaf has said it will roll out the use of VAR across all January and March World Cup qualifiers as well as a number of other national team competitions this year.
Women’s Champion League El Clásico set to break attendance records
January 20 – A women’s Champions League match looks set to break the world record for the most spectators and could set the record for the record for the most attended match in Europe this season.
Qatar 2022 World Cup ticket sales open with final priced at $1,617 for Cat1
January 19 – Tickets for the Qatar 2022 World Cup have gone on sale, with individual ticket prices ranging from $69 to $1,607 for the showpiece final.
AFCON: Comoros surprise win ends Ghana’s tournament
January 19 – Comoros stunned Ghana 3-2 with their first-ever win at the Africa Cup of Nations to eliminate the Black Stars from the continental finals in the group stage.
Turkey commits 3,250-person force to Qatar for 2022 World Cup security
January 19 – Turkey say they will send 3,250 security officers to Qatar for the World Cup in November this year.
Is Infantino losing Africa? CAF furiously questions FIFA ‘partnership’ over Gueye ban
By Paul Nicholson
January 19 – Cracks look to be appearing in FIFA’s suffocating dominance of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), divisions that could signal a weakening FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s powerbase within his core support.
Serie A rolls out limited edition Supercoppa NFTs
January 19 – Just a week after the playing of the Supercoppa Frecciarossa between Inter and Juventus, Serie A have launched their latest limited edition NFT collection on Crypto.com.