December 14 – South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai came from behind to defeat Japan’s Vissel Kobe 2-1 after extra time at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Qatar on Sunday to win the East zone of the Asian Champions League (ACL). They now face Iranian giants Persepolis next Saturday in final.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 14 – Former French head coach and Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier, one of the most knowledgeable, astute and widely respected figures of his generation, has died aged 73, prompting a string a tributes from across the footballing world.
December 14 – The Professional Football League (LFP) and Mediapro have reached an agreement to part ways with the Spanish agency paying €100 million in compensation.
December 14 – FIFA has appointed a normalisation committee for the Haitian Football Association after it found “strong indications” that the federation’s disgraced former president Yves Jean-Bart is still exerting his influence despite being banned for life last month following multiple accusations of systematic sexual abuse of female players.
December 14 – Ukraine have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against UEFA’s decision to award Switzerland a 3-0 walkover win in last month’s Nations League clash between the sides as a result of positive Covid-19 tests in the Ukrainian camp.
December 14 – Having met with AFC President Shaikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John on Sunday in Bahrain, the Saudi AFC Asian Cup 2027 bid team officially delivered their Bid Book to AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.
December 14 – In the top five European leagues, the Premier League has the lowest representation of domestic managers at 27%, a report by RunRepeat highlights.
By David Owen
December 14 – Footballers in Brazil were again more likely to pick up anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) than those in any other country, according to statistics relating to samples collected in 2018 made public this month by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
December 14 – The English Football League has appointed one of the country’s most sought-after and widely-travelled administrators, Trevor Birch (pictured), as its new chief executive.
December 14 – Kenyan media are boycotting the country’s top flight in response to authorities there selectively banning individual journalists from selected games.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 11 – Gianni Infantino’s increasingly bitter war with the Swiss justice authorities over whether he is guilty of corruption has taken another significant twist with a special prosecutor recommending a criminal investigation against the FIFA President for using a private jet in 2017.
By Paul Nicholson
December 11 – Concacaf, whose member associations have so often trailblazed in the women’s game, has restructured its senior women’s national teams calendar “with the aim of transforming women’s national team football across the entire confederation”.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 11 – The umbrella body representing all of Europe’s major leagues has re-iterated its concern over the Continent’s financial haves and have-nots and has urged UEFA to hand more of its Champions League cash to those not participating in its elite competition.
By Paul Nicholson
December 11 – Addressing the CAF General Assembly today, FIFA president Gianni Infantino spoke of a priority within global football to “project” Africa on the world stage. It was his second Congress address, having spoken to the AFC earlier in the week.
December 11 – The much-maligned and financially challenged Confederation of African Football (CAF) has said it is projecting a loss of $13 million for the 2020-21 season.