CAF stadium bans force postponement of Qatar 2022 qualifiers
May 7 – A ban on several stadia across the African continent has led to the widely anticipated postponement of several World Cup qualifiers that were scheduled for June.
Serie A partners with Crypto.com and NFTs from Atalanta vs Juve Coppa Italia final
May 7 – Italy’s Serie A has become the first football league to embrace the potential of cryptocurrency, unveiling Crypto.com as a partner and launching the collaboration at the Atalanta vs Juventus Coppa Italia final (May 19) with a special NFT collection, including the official trophy and match highlights.
FIFPro and KPMG combine for data platform monitoring player workloads
May 7 – Players’ union FIFPro as part of a three-year co-operation with the KPMG Football benchmark team, has launched a Player Workload Monitoring (PWM) platform.
Arsenal’s goon show continues as they crash out of Europa League
May 7 – Arsenal’s season came crashing down on Thursday with a damaging exit from the Europa League, following a goalless draw against Villarreal in their second-leg semi-final, raising the spectre of no European football for the first time in a quarter of a century for the North London club.
RedBird lands on Malaga, acquiring minority stake
May 7 – RedBird Capital Partners have invested in plagued Spanish club Malaga, building a football club portfolio alongside Fenway Sports Group (FSG).
Sheeran and Ipswich Town strike an accord with one-season shirt deal
May 7 – Musician Ed Sheeran has become a shirt sponsor of Ipswich Town, once a powerhouse of the English game but in modern times a middling League one club.
Bayern and Canadian ace Davies to launch NFT on Binance crypto platform
May 7 – Bayern Munich and Canadian starAlphonso Davies has become one of the world’s first players to embrace cryptocurrency opportunities with the planned launch of a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) collection in June 2021.
Another bloody nose for Real Madrid as court rules in favour of LaLiga’s right to manage
By Paul Nicholson
May 6 – Real Madrid have lost a Spanish court case against LaLiga which challenged the legal right of the league to promote and sell its commercial and broadcast inventory.
ESL refusnik’s Real, Barca, Juve and AC Milan could face Champions League shutout
May 6 – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and AC Milan – the four renegades who have refused to abandon the European Super League project – could be thrown out of the Champions League for two years if they continue to dig their heels in, according to reports.
Chelsea swagger to UCL final to meet Man City’s aristocrats. 8,000 English fans could follow
By Samindra Kunti
May 6 – Two years after Liverpool were crowned European champions following a 2-0 victory against Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City will lock horns in another all-English Champions League final at the end of May in Istanbul after the London club dispatched a fading Real Madrid 2-0 (3-1 on aggregate) in their semi-final.
Man Utd fan protest causes fixtures pile up as reds chase Champions League spot
May 6 – Manchester United face having to play four times in eight days after their postponed home Premier League match with Liverpool was rearranged for Thursday May 13.
Improving with age? Messi tops another player ranking, Man City fill 5 of top 10 slots
May 5 – Lionel Messi has topped another European ranking of players based on their performances this season. He heads PSG’s Neymar Júnior who seems to have finally settled in Paris, and Bayern goalscoring machine Robert Lewandowski.
Fox Sports picks up 1,500 hours of Conmebol rights for US
May 6 – US broadcaster Fox Sports has added English language rights for Conmebol’s competitions in a six-year deal.
Belgian Broos to take on South African rebuild, starting with Qatar 2022 qualifiers
May 6 – Bafana Bafana have a new manager with Belgian coach Hugo Broos, an AFCON winner, taking on the role to steer South Africa to a brighter future after the country’s recent elimination from next year’s continental finals.
SPFL winners Rangers agree record shirt deal with Kindred Group betting brands
May 6 – Scottish champions Rangers have renewed their shirt sponsorship with Kindred Group betting brand 32Red in what the club is saying is a record deal.