South Africa sack Ntseki after AFCON qualification failure
April 1 – South Africa have sacked their coach Molefi Ntseki after Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
Evergreen Messi is still Europe’s best player. Eat your heart out Ronnie
April 1 – He might not be making the shortlists of the end of year awards these days but Lionel Messi is still the best player in Europe, according to a just released statistical analysis of performance data from the first third of 2021.
Spanish media follow the political line and refuse to recognise Kosovo
April 1 – Spain’s World Cup qualifier against Kosovo on Wednesday may have gone ahead as planned but it was always likely to be embroiled in controversy.
UEFA stalls on Champions League reveal as big clubs and leagues battle for €$£
By Andrew Warshaw
March 31 – A decision on the future of the Champions League post-2024 has been delayed until next month with UEFA seemingly at loggerheads with Europe’s elite clubs and leagues over the precise nature of the deal.
Covid cheating? Benin stay on the bus refusing to accept validity of positive tests in Sierra Leone
March 31 – African football has been hit by yet another Covid-related controversy after Benin refused to play a decisive African Cup of Nations qualifying game in Sierra Leone after disputing that five of its players had tested positive just before kick-off.
FIFA tell Pakistan FA insurgents to hand back PFF HQ to Normalisation Committee
March 31 – Pakistan football is veering further towards an international ban after FIFA urged former federation leaders to immediately hand back control to a FIFA-installed normalisation committee.
Belgian boss Martinez calls for Euro 2020 squads to be expanded to up to 27 players
By Samindra Kunti in Leuven
March 31 – Belgium national team coach Roberto Martinez has voiced his support to expand national team squads to 26, 27 players for Euro 2020, calling it “a necessity”.
Swedish FA calls in Sportradar to boost fight against match-fixing
March 31 – Swedish football that has been rocked by match-fixing scandal and saw criminal charges issued against five individuals last December, has moved to beef up its integrity operations via an increased betting monitoring deal with Sportradar.
Belgians add voice to protests calling for change in Qatar and action against racism
March 31 – The world’s number one team Belgium wore t-shirts on Tuesday in support of migrant workers involved in building 2022 World Cup stadiums in Qatar, following other European sides in protesting for improved human rights in the Gulf state.
DFL advances private equity talks on 25% stake in media newco
March 31 – German Football League (DFL) boss Christian Seifert has confirmed that the league is offering a 25.1% stake in a new company to handles its media rights in a 25-year deal.
Gazprom fuelled for new Schalke 04 deal despite looming relegation
March 31 – Schalke 04 and Russian energy giant Gazprom have extended their long running shirt sponsorship agreement, the German club announced on Tuesday.
Big wins for Japan and Saudi Arabia as they look to settle AFC qualifiers early
March 30 – While UEFA and Concacaf have opened up their Qatar 2022 qualifying with a slew of matches, the AFC has pushed back the next rounds of its Asian Qualifer series to June where centralised groups will complete the preliminary round 2 of group play.
NWSL adds online bank Ally as sleeve sponsor across all 10 teams
March 31 – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the US has struck a deal with online bank Ally whose logo will appear on the sleeves of all 10 clubs in NWSL this season.
EFL secures £117m loan to fund Championship clubs through Covid
March 30 – The English Football League (EFL) has secured a £117 million loan fund for Championship clubs with MetLife Investment Management.
Omari calls it a day and says he will not run for Congolese FA presidency
March 30 – Constant Omari is slowly exiting football through the back door. The often controversial but influential official has said he will not stand in the upcoming elections of the Congolese Association Football Federation (FECOFA).