Expanded Futsal Euros hand Dutch hosts tough draw
October 19 – Hosts the Netherlands have been drawn alongside world and European champions Portugal as well Ukraine and Serbia/Belarus in the draw for Euro 2022.
UEFA Nations League finals smash TV viewing and social media records
October 19 – UEFA is reporting that its just completed Nations League final tournament in Italy delivered a 30% growth in TV audience figures from the inaugural edition in 2019, helo in Portugal.
Sala flight fixer admits he broke rules over fatal aircraft charter
October 19 – A man involved in the arrangement of the fatal flight that carried Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala to Cardiff to sign for the Welsh club almost three years ago admitted to one charge in court on Monday.
Houston 2026 bid builds out legacy promise with Soccer Innovation Institute plan
October 19 – 2026 World Cup bid city Houston has launched plans for a Soccer Innovation Institute as part of its Spirit of Houston campaign and legacy programme.
FIFA summons men’s national team coaches to online meet to discuss biennial World Cup
October 18 – FIFA has increased the pace of its lobbying for a biennial World Cup announcing two online video conferences for men’s national team coaches this week to discuss the proposals for a potential new calendar that would start from 2024.
Poles go to FIFA accusing England of false racist accusations
October 18 – Poland and England have become embroiled in an unsavoury spat over racism allegations the Poles insist are totally unjustified.
Saudi debut in Newcastle falls flat as Spurs loss highlights the scale of their task
By Andrew Warshaw
October 18 – It was the start of a fresh era, the club’s new Saudi owners all smiles and decked out in black and white, an electric, expectant atmosphere and a tickertape welcome for the players.
IOC slams FIFA’s biennial plans as ‘undermining diversity’ and calls for wider consultation
By Paul Nicholson
October 18 – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has formally noted the concerns of other sports and football’s own stakeholders and has called for a “wider consultation…which has obviously not taken place.”
Nordic nations say FIFA calendar plan would ‘cannibalise’ game and marginalise women
October 18 – With opposition to the biennial World Cup snowballing, the Nordic football associations confirmed they won’t support Zurich’s calendar revolution, arguing the proposal would “cannibalise” existing competitions.
FIFA vow to take EA Sports head-on in football e-gaming as licensing deal looks dead
By Paul Nicholson
October 18 – With EA Sports review of its FIFA license increasingly looking like bringing an end to its FIFA branded game at the end of the current rights cycle, FIFA has issued a statement saying that it will be widening its own gaming and eSports portfolio.
IFAB to discuss Conmebol proposal to expand halftime to 25 minutes
October 18 – The idea of increasing halftime breaks to 25 minutes to provide the kind of entertainment that exists in US sports will be discussed this month by the game’s lawmaking body, the International FA Board.
Milletich takes over from Windtner at Austrian FA
October 18 – Gerhard Milletich, 65, has been elected the new president of the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB). He replaces Leo Windtner, who had been in charge since 2009.
Panama and El Salvador sanctioned with closed stadia for fans’ homophobic chants against US
October 18 – FIFA has sanctioned both Panama and El Salvador for discriminatory chants by their fans during recent World Cup qualifiers. Both incidents incurred in games against the US.
Independent thought: Maldini and Lahm critical of Infantino/Wenger biennial plan
October 15 – When Arsene Wenger rolled out the bought and paid-for FIFA legends in Qatar to sycophantically support FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s unrelenting push for a biennial World Cup, he probably wasn’t expecting quite the backlash from football’s biggest stakeholders.
Haaland overtakes Mbappe as world’s most valuable player
October 15 – Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland has overtaken PSG’s Kylian Mbappé as the most valuable player in the world with a market value of €144 million, according to new analysis by the KPMG Football Benchmark.