Inter Academy back in action with Dubai launch
September 6 – Inter Milan and its Inter Academy offshoot has partnered with Team Mind Sports Academy in Dubai to launch a new Inter Academy.
FIFA’s Wenger pushes biannual World Cup and a brave new world calendar
By Samindra Kunti
September 3 – FIFA director of development Arsene Wenger has again beaten the drum for Gianni Infantino’s latest calendar project, a biannual World Cup, claiming that those plans will benefit both the club and international game with less matches and higher quality tournaments.
WC thinking
So FIFA’s brilliance has created yet another money-making scheme – after the quietly supported Super League ended in a fiasco and the Saudi-sponsored complete makeover of FIFA a year or so ago didn’t find any takers either.
Infantino builds advisory team skill sets with return of Cordeiro to world football
September 3 – World governing body FIFA have appointed former US Soccer chief Carlos Cordeiro as a senior advisor for the organization’s global strategy and governance.
Hungarian racism blights Qatar 2022 qualifier as critics hammer FIFA for letting it happen
September 3 – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called on FIFA to take action over the “disgraceful” racist abuse meted out to England players by Hungary fans during Thursday night’s World Cup qualifier.
Oman stun Japan in opening game of final Qatar 2022 qualifiers. Aussies, Iran, Saudis all win
September 3 – Asia’s third and decisive round of World Cup qualifiers got under way with a stunning upset after Oman defeated continental heavyweights and top ranked Japan 1-0 to throw Group B wide open. Iran took the lead in Group A after a narrow 1-0 victory against Syria.
India take a competitive step up with switch to CAFA sub-region
September 3 – India will compete in Central Asian competitions to widen their pool of opponents, starting in 2022.
Al-Sabah linked to FifaGate probe as Geneva trial over Kuwaiti political plot continues
September 3 – Olympic powerbroker Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, once a major player at FIFA, has once again been implicated in the FifaGate scandal that has snared a succession of high-profile figures.
Inter secure €85m banking and crypto deal with Zytara and DigitalBits
September 3 – Serie A champions Inter Milan have signed a multi-year €85 million partnership with blockchain specialist Zytara Labs, that will see a collaboration across both cryptocurrency and digital banking.
Man City launch second NFT digital artwork drop
September 3 – Manchester City have announced a second NFT drop of digital artwork following the club’s first foray into the area in May with artist Jon Noorlander, who created a piece to mark their Premier League title win.
Four Asian nations unite to send support for FIFA’s biannual World Cup push
By Samindra Kunti
September 1 – Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh have thrown their weight behind plans for a biennial World Cup, becoming the first member associations from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to do so in a significant boost to Gianni Infantino’s pet project.
Club vs country: Argentina say they will not release Euro-based players back to clubs early
September 2 – Argentina says it will defy the wishes of English Premier League clubs and hold on to its English-based players for all three of its upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Euro 2020 smashes TV and digital records with cumulative 5.2bn live audience
September 2 – UEFA has reported a cumulative global audience of 5.2 billion for EURO 2020 and a series of individual match ratings that rank among the most viewed moments of all time. The tournament also broke live streaming social media records.
CR 111 – Ronaldo breaks all-time scoring record
September 2 – Cristiano Ronaldo became the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with two last-gasp goals for Portugal in a dramatic World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday.
Haaland torments Van Gaal’s Dutch revivalism. Crunch game with Turks looms
September 2 – The Netherlands stumbled to a disappointing 1-1 draw against Norway in World Cup qualifying on Louis van Gaal’s return to the Dutch dug-out, prompting the veteran coach to call his own team “sloppy” with pressure growing on Oranje.