May 5 – Having just completed hosting a centralised group stage of the AFC’s Champions League, Buriram in Thailand has stepped up again to fill the hosting gap left in the AFC Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 5 – It’s happened again, only this time it’s scarcely believable. Just like Paris St Germain, Manchester City are still chasing the most coveted prize in European club football after being knocked out in the semi-finals of the Champions League by a Real Madrid team who yet again defied the odds to take their place in the final against Liverpool on May 28.
May 5 – FIFA has selected Qatar’s Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium as the venue for the intercontinental play-off matches that will decide the final two places for the 2022 World Cup finals in the country later this year.
May 5 – The shirt worn by Diego Maradona when he scored the controversial ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in the 1986 World Cup has been sold for a staggering £7.1 million, the highest price ever paid at auction for a piece of sports memorabilia.
May 5 – Blockchain platform Socios has signed a league-level deal with Major League Soccer, making further strides into US sports.
May 5 – SIGA has set September 12-16 as the dates for its 2022 Sport Integrity Week (#SIW2022) which will become an in-person event but will retain its successful digital format of the past two years.
May 5 – African financial services platform Mukuru has secured the sleeve sponsorship of Crystal Palace in the Premier League and a naming rights deal for the top Malawi Super League Team, The Mighty Wanderers FC.
May 4 – The imminent sale of Chelsea is reported to have hit a potential snag over fears that owner Roman Abramovich might renege on his pledge to write off a £1.6 billion debt.
May 4 – FIFA have extended an investigation into alleged systematic sexual abuse of under-age players in Gabon by opening formal proceedings against four officials.
May 4 – With Liverpool through to the final of the Champions League and Manchester City aiming to join them to set up yet another all-English showdown, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has bemoaned the lack of competitiveness in other so-called Big Five footballing countries where the domestic leagues are perennially dominated by the same teams.
May 4 – Ajax Amsterdam have vowed to change their club culture and build a safe workplace for female employees following a report into Marc Overmars’ inappropriate behaviour.
May 4 – Manchester City will play Bayern Munich in a second pre-season fixture this summer in the US. The match will be played at the 81,000 capacity Lambeau Field, home of NFL giants the Green Bay Packers.
May 4 – Italy’s Serie A has signed and the online sales and auction platform eBay as an official partner across all its competitions.
May 4 – The European Club Association (ECA) has appointed former UEFA official Rob Faulkner as its new director of communications and marketing.
By Samindra Kunti
May 4 – Brazilian football is moving rapidly towards the launch of the breakaway league ‘Libra’ with six of the country’s biggest clubs now signed up.