February 10 – The market for betting sponsorship of Italian clubs may be drying up domestically as gambling authorities move in with new rules, but the appetite for promotion in international markets is still there.
February 10 – In a city where the lead striker of one of the world’s biggest clubs collects honours for fighting a campaign to maintain free school meals and fight child hunger, the clubs themselves have gorged on the transfer market at world leading levels.
February 9 – FIFA is extending until the end of April its relaxation of the rules that force clubs to release players for international duty.
February 9 – Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers say they are anticipating full stadiums when the tournament takes place in 21 months’ time.
February 9 – Bayern Munich completed the line-up for the Club World Cup final following a brace from Robert Lewandowksi in a routine 2-0 win over African Champions Al Ahly in the semi-finals.
February 9 – Major League Soccer (MLS) and the players union (MLSPA) have voted to ratify the amended collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that will govern their relation until 2027, avoiding a potential lockout or strike before the new season kicks off.
February 9 – The battle over who can collect match data from Premier League stadia took another ugly turn early this week when official data provider Genius Sports Group sued Sportradar in the UK saying it was illegally sending ‘data scouts’ to matches.
February 9 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has increased the pace of its broadcast rights sales with two new partners announced for its 2021 to 2024 rights cycle, one in Europe and one Asia.
February 9 – A second successive Champions League last-16 game as been switched to neutral ground in Hungary due to Covid-19 travel restrictions in Germany.
February 9 – English Premier League referee Mike Dean has asked not to officiate at any games this weekend after he and his family received online death threats following recent highly controversial red card decisions he handed out.
February 9 – Ajax’s international goalkeeper André Onana (pictured) has been banned for one year by UEFA for a doping infraction and is set to miss next year’s African Cup of Nations in his home nation of Cameroon for whom he has 15 caps.
February 9 – Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng have been kicked out of the AFC Champions League group stages for unpaid debts.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 8 – Thrown out, surprisingly re-instated, and now apparently thrown out again in a battle for supremacy within African football’s warring factions. The saga over disgraced Confederation of African Football (CAF) chief Ahmad Ahmad’s presidential status has taken another unexpected twist typical of the political shenanigans at the highest level of African football’s heirarchy.
February 8 – Mexico’s Tigres upset Copa Libertadores winners Palmeiras from Brazil in a 1-0 semi-final victory at the Club World Cup to become the first Concacaf club to reach the final of tournament.
By Paul Nicholson
February 8 – Tunisian protests against federation president Wadie Jary found their way to FIFA headquarters in Zurich on Friday when a group set up banners outside the entrance to FIFA House, waved flags and demanded an end to Jary’s presidency.