Bubble burst: Wales send three home for covid rule breaking
March 30 – Three of the Welsh squad preparing for tonight’s all-important World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic have been sent home for breaching Covid-19 rules.
Inter Milan unveil new club logo for style-conscious digital entertainment age
March 30 – Italian giants Inter Milan has unveiled a new logo and visual identity for club that will be used on playing shirts and rolled out across the club from the start of the 2021/22 season.
Lewandowski to miss Poland’s crucial 2022 in England
March 30 – Poland captain and world player of the year Robert Lewandowski will miss Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier with England due to knee injury, a potentially damaging blow to his country’s hopes of automatic qualification.
LAFC flexes local muscle with new shirt sponsor
March 30 – MLS team LAFC have agreed a new shirt sponsorship with power tool maker Flex that will being this season.
Nationwide agrees multi-year deal with NWSL ahead of April kick-off
March 30 – The National Women’s Soccer League in the US has agreed a sponsorship with Nationwide to become the league’s first exclusive insurance partner.
Former Pakistan FA boss leads storming of PFF HQ and kicks out Normalisation Committee
March 29 – Pakistan risks being thrown out of world football after defying a FIFA-imposed normalisation committee by dramatically taking back control of the national federation.
South Africa crash out of AFCON 2021 qualification with loss in Sudan
March 29 – South Africa have failed to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations after suffering a 2-0 defeat in their final group C game against Sudan in Karthoum.
Saudi’s NEOM project raises global profile with AFC sponsorship
March 29 – Saudi Arabia has taken another significant step of integration into the Asian, and global football environment, with the announcement of a sponsorship deal between the AFC and the new city of NEOM currently under construction in the kingdom.
Loss of £60 million for relegated Bournemouth
By David Owen
March 29 – Relegated Bournemouth, now lying just outside the play-off places in the second-tier Championship, have become the latest English club to post a big loss for covid-hit 2019-20.
Greek 2004 hero Zagorakis to wear the armband on Hellenic FA board
March 29 – Euro 2004 hero Theodoros Zagorakis has been elected the new president of the Hellenic Football Association (EPO) for a four-year term.
Serie A secures €2.5bn DAZN deal, Sky picking up the leftovers
March 29 – The pandemic-accelerated march towards digital media taking over from traditional broadcast linear channels and established pay-TV platforms took another big step at the end of last week with sports streaming service DAZN taking the bulk of Serie A rights and German regulators granting a licence to broadcast the Champions League in Germany to Amazon.
Mexico and Honduras head for Tokyo Olympic finals, US and Canada out
March 29 – Mexico and Honduras make the final qualification list for the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympics to be played this summer.
Thierry Henry quits social media demanding platforms clean up rampant racism and bullying
March 29 – Former French international and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has quit social media until the various platforms start tackling racism more effectively.
Portuguese fury as officials rule out clear Ronaldo goal
March 29 – Where was VAR when it was most needed? Portuguese football, and in particular Cristiano Ronaldo, are still seething at an appalling referring decision that cost them a winning goal in their recent World Cup qualifier against Serbia.
UEFA drops jailed Vrbanović from committees
March 29 – UEFA has stepped in to remove Damir Vrbanović from its National Team Competitions Committee after the Croatian was imprisoned for fraud and tax evasion.