De Bruyne, Jorghino and Kante vie for UEFA player of year award
August 23 – Three Premier League players make up the shortlist for the UEFA Men’s player of the year awards, while three Barcelona players make up the Women’s shortlist.
Commonwealth Bank activates naming rights deal with Aussie women’s teams
August 23 – Commonwealth Bank have officially activated their four-year national team naming rights partnership with Football Australia that will take the Australian game though the 2023 Women’s World Cup they are co-hosting with New Zealand.
Concacaf reworks W Championship and launches new 12-team W Gold Cup
By Paul Nicholson
August 20 – Concacaf has boosted competition opportunity for its national women’s teams with a revamped W Championship and the introduction of the W Gold Cup, the women’s version of the men’s competition that completed in Las Vegas August 1.
Saudi to host AFC Champions League final; China make Qatar home for 2022 qualifier
August 20 – Saudi Arabia has won the rights to host the 2021 AFC Champions League final which will be played November 23 and qualify one team for the second Club World Cup this year – to be played in Japan as part of their centenary celebrations in December.
Brazil’s Vasco Da Gama say paying £14.7m wage debt on demand makes club inoperable
August 20 – Brazilian club Vasco Da Gama have appealed against a court ruling that would force the club to settle wage debts of €14.7 million with immediate effect, arguing that the verdict will “completely make the functioning of the club unfeasible”.
Beach Soccer World Cup kicks off in Moscow with wins for UAE and Team RFU
August 20 – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) kicked off the 2021 Beach World Cup in Russia with narrow 4-3 win against two-time finalists Tahiti in the tournament’s opening match.
Afghan youth player dies in Kabul airlift mayhem
August 20 – A promising Afghan footballer who played for the national youth team tragically fell to his death after trying to cling to a US plane airlifting residents out of Taliban-controlled Kabul, it has been confirmed.
Ecuador break Brazilian grip on Copa Libertadores, Flamengo next
August 20 – Ecuador’s Barcelona eliminated Fluminense 3-3 on aggregate to prevent an all-Brazilian affair in the last four of the Copa Libertadores.
Serie A opens up VAR real estate to Cryto.com sponsorship
August 20 – Italy’s Serie A has built on its crypto relationship with Crypto.com who will become the first Innovation & Technology Partner of the league in what Serie A is calling a multi-year partnership.
Klopp comes out against Liverpool fans homophobic chant
August 20 – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has condemned the homophobic chanting that marred Liverpool’s opening Premier League win at Norwich last weekend.
UEFA plans €6bn club relief fund and vigorous revamp of FFP
By Samindra Kunti
August 19 – UEFA is planning a €6 billion relief fund to help leading European clubs survive the global health crisis that has ravaged the football industry.
Fluminense set to make it all-Brazil semi-final line-up as country dominates Copa Libertadores
By Samindra Kunti
August 19 – Brazilian clubs have become the playground bullies and are bossing the Copa Libertadores. On Wednesday, both Flamengo and Atletico Mineiro stormed past their opponents to join Palmeiras in the last four. Fluminense will try to complete the Brazilian quartet against Ecuador’s Barcelona after a 2-2 draw in their quarterfinal first leg.
DAZN secures 8-year package of AFC rights in Japan, TV Asahi keeps free-to-air
August 19 – The Asian Football Confederation has expanded its broadcast rights deals in Japan with global streaming channel DAZN taking rights to all national team and club competitions, while free-to-air channel TV Asahi will broadcast national team games.
Final AFC Cup group kicks off with Mohun Bagan taking early lead
August 19 – The AFC Cup club competition resumed yesterday with group D, centralised in the Maldives, and seeing wins for India’s ATK Mohun Bagan and Bangladesh’s Bashundhara Kings.
Flamengo former president Bandeira to appeal suspension after criticism of fire deaths
August 19 – Flamengo have sidelined Eduardo Bandeira de Mello with a membership suspension of 90 days, preventing the former club chairman from voting or participating in the presidential elections later this year.