By Samindra Kunti
January 26 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has taken his sales pitch for a biennial World Cup to new, unprecedented and questionable levels when he seemed to link a World Cup every two years to a better future for refugees crossing the Mediterranean.
January 26 – Liverpool’s Sadio Mane suffered a head injury during Senegal’s last-16 match with Cape Verde in the Africa Cup of Nations but still scored in a 2-0 victory before he was taken off.
January 26 – Asian qualifying for the Qatar 2022 World Cup resumes tomorrow (Thursday) with Iran one win away from qualification in Group A. In Group B Australia need a win against China to stay in the hunt for an automatic berth in Qatar.
By Paul Nicholson
January 26 – Moldova top tier club FC Floresti has been sanctioned with relegation from the National Division for betting related match-fixing.
January 26 – Concacaf has pulled off a referring coup with the announcement that Serie A Head of Refereeing and FIFA World Cup and Serie A referee Nicola Rizzoli will join the confederation as Technical Refereeing Advisor.
January 26 – Roy Hodgson has come out of retirement to lead Premier League club Watford. He will be tasked to steer the Hornets, 19th in the Premier League table, to safety.
By Samindra Kunti
January 26 – African football boss Patrice Motsepe has said that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and local organisers bear “collective responsibility” for the deaths of eight supporters in a crush outside Yaounde’s Olembe Stadium at the last-16 match between Cameroon and Comoros.
January 26 – Amazon Prime Video has become a shirt sponsor of Argentina’s River Plate in a one-year deal.
January 26 – As the full-time whistle blew in the Premier League tie between Leeds United and Newcastle United, the visiting supporters were delighted, as they had seen their team pick up just their second win in the top flight this season.
January 25 – At least eight people died and another 38 were injured in a crush outside the Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé at the Africa Cup of Nations last-16 match between hosts Cameroon and Comoros.
August 25 – Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has criticised his successor Gianni Infantino for relinquishing his responsibilities by moving his personal base to Qatar and away from FIFA’s Zurich headquarters and for dividing global football at a time when the world needed its leading sport to bring unity.
January 25 – With Japan, Korea and China having booked quarter final places at the Asian Women’s Cup in India, and Australia pretty much nailed on to join them, focus is on the remaining second and third placed slots.
January 25 – Former Anderlecht manager Herman Van Holsbeeck will remain in prison for another month in an investigation into fraud and corruption centring on agent Christophe Henrotay.
January 25 – The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has signed a new regional sponsorship with online bookmaker W88 who will become the official AFA sportsbook in the Asian market.
January 25 – Support is gathering for the Oceania Football Confederation’s campaign to support Tonga following the devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami which hit the country.