Qualtrics joins as Man City partner with mission to improve fan experience
October 14 – Manchester City today have partnered with Qualtrics who will become the club’s official Experience Management Software partner.
Chelsea top ranking of most minutes played by expats; Serie A and EPL clubs are most open
October 14 – The UK might have voted for Brexit and are now suffering a European backlash for doing so, but the English Premier League is still one of the most welcoming of foreign players of any country in the world, according to new data released by the CIES Football Observatory.
UEFA to ‘evolve’ its commercial model with landmark sales and marketing tender
By Paul Nicholson
October 13 – UEFA has issued an open tender for a partner to market the commercial rights to its men’s club competitions in what the European governing body says is an ‘evolution’ of its approach to marketing and sales of the properties.
EA Sports deal with FIFPRO triggers new questions over FIFA gaming commitment
By Paul Nicholson
October 13 – EA Sports has renewed its licensing deal with players’ union FIFPRO in what is described as a “long term commitment”, but at the same time raises further doubts over EA’s ‘commitment’ to FIFA and use of its brand name.
Japan put Qatar 2022 qualifying back on track with crucial win over Aussies
October 13 – Japan reignited their World Cup qualifying campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Australia, ending the Socceroos 11-game winning streak.
Iran and South Korea lead Qatar 2022 qualifying, Saudis unbeaten
October 13 – After a tight and tense fourth round of matches in the Asian Qualifiers for Qatar 2022, Iran cemented their lead in Group A with a draw against nearest challengers South Korea in Tehran.
Violence in Albania as fans pelt Polish players, Hungarian racism blights England game
October 13 – Two World Cup qualifying games were disrupted by fan violence on Tuesday as the race for places in Qatar intensified.
Adidas are latest to put boot into FIFA’s biennial World Cup plan
October 13 – Criticism of FIFA’s proposal to stage a biennial World Cup continues to mount up, this time from an unexpected source: one of its own main sponsors.
Berbatov misses Bulgarian goal as Mihaylov saves his presidency
October 12 – Dimitar Berbatov has failed in his bid to become the president of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFS). The incumbent Borislav Mihaylov (pictured) was re-elected for a fifth term.
UEFA launch bid process for Euro 2028 hosting
October 13 – UEFA have launched the bidding process for hosting Euro 2028 with member associations having until March 2022 to declare their interest. The final decision on hosting will be made in September 2023.
Denmark join Germany for Qatar 2022 finals
October 13 – After an economic 1-0 victory against Austria, Denmark is heading to the World Cup again, seven points clear at the summit of Group F.
Palestinians cancel Infantino visit as he turns Israeli trip into political PR coup
By Paul Nicholson and Andrew Warshaw
October 12 – The tense relationship between Palestinian football and FIFA chief Gianni Infantino reached fever pitch on Monday when a meeting between the two was cancelled by the Palestinian FA who in a statement today said they could not support a PR visit designed around the “support of evangelical Zionist groups that advocate the negation of Palestinian rights.”
UEFA fact checks Courtois’ outburst on congested calendar and money
By Samindra Kunti and Paul Nicholson
October 12 – The Belgium and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has criticised UEFA and FIFA for the congested international match calendar, labelling the third-place play-off between his national team and Italy in the Nations League “a money game”. He argued that UEFA don’t care for player welfare.
LFP’s Labrune says sale of stake in commercial subsidiary could raise €1bn
October 12 – France’s Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) president Vincent Labrune has said the league’s new commercial subsidiary could raise €1 billion with an investment partner that will be key to the survival of French professional football.
Iran closes doors on women as Korea qualifier set to be played without fans
October 12 – Having announced that women would be allowed to attend the crucial Iran vs South Korea Qatar 2022 qualifiers, Iranian authorities appear to have staged a last-minute u-turn in banning fans from attending. It would have been the first time in two years that women would have been allowed to attend such a high-profile fixture.