Japan chooses 11 founding women’s teams for inaugural WE League
October 16 – Japan’s professional women’s league – The WE League – has picked its 11 founding clubs ahead of the inaugural 2021-22 season.
Man Utd top up with Laybuy deal; Melitta buzzed with global renewal
October 16 – While Manchester United’s owners and top management have been playing politics over the future powerbase of English professional football with their backfired Big Picture Project, the commercial engine of the club has nevertheless continued to purr.
Conmebol returned $37m of stolen cash from Swiss accounts of Leoz and Deluca
By Samindra Kunti
October 15 – Conmebol is to receive a windfall $37 million from the Swiss bank accounts of Nicolas Leoz and Eduardo Deluca after the Swiss attorney general stated that “the forfeited funds will be returned directly”.
Premier League clubs reject Man Utd/Liverpool plan but release another £50m for EFL
By Andrew Warshaw
October 15 – Just days after radical plans for a major overhaul of English football became public, the proposed shake-up led by Liverpool and Manchester United was rejected Wednesday by Premier League clubs.
Dortmund post €60m loss but highlight strong core revenues and a high value squad
October 15 – Borussia Dortmund are reporting a 25% decline in revenue for the covid-hit final quarter of the 2019/20 season against the same quarter in 2018/19.
Argentina sets end-October date for return of club competition
October 15 – Domestic football will resume in Argentina at the end of October after the game shut down in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, Argentine Football Association (AFA) president Claudio Tapia has announced.
Denmark dump England, Portugal win without Ronaldo, Italy pay tribute in Bergamo
October 15 – Christian Eriksen’s penalty on his 100th appearance for Denmark earned his side a 1-0 upset win over England in their Nations League clash at Wembley on Wednesday as the hosts ended up with nine men.
Saudi Pro League set for restart with #OurLeague driving engagement
October 15 – Al Hilal begin the defence of their Saudi Pro League title this week behind closed doors, just a month after having taken the 2019-20 championship.
FIFA rebrands its esports and builds prize pool to $4.35m for new season
October 15 – FIFA has restructured its esports tournaments with three new competitive pathways and a combined prize money pot of $4.35 million. It has also rebranded with a new design under the tagline ‘Fame your game’.
Napoli lose four points for their covid-excuse no-show at Juve
October 15 – Napoli have been handed a 3-0 defeat by Italian football authorities and docked one point for not showing up for their high-profile Serie A match at Juventus because of Covid-19 positive cases.
FA would block breakaway ‘Big Six’ Champions League slots; EFL clubs eye the cash
By Paul Nicholson
October 14 – With battle lines being drawn around the ‘Project Big Picture’ proposal that would restructure professional football in England, the FA has said that it would use its veto to kill off any English breakaway league and take away Champions League qualification from those clubs.
Ceferin plans for fans at Euros, but contingency to drop number of host cities exists
October 24 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says the Euro finals, postponed until 2021 because of Covid-19, could be played with fans in stadiums across Europe but admits other scenarios are being explored.
Serie A narrows new money talks to €1.65bn CVC-led offer
October 14 – Serie A clubs are entering exclusive talks with a private equity fund consortium, led by CVC, for the sale of a stake in the league’s broadcasting media business, league officials announced on Tuesday.
Trinidad court rules against FIFA and hands control of suspended TTFA back to Wallace and crew
By Paul Nicholson
October 14 – A Trinidad and Tobago court has ruled that FIFA’s replacement of the board of the Trinidad and Tobago FA by a Normalisation Committee in March was illegal and that FIFA’s statutes are inconsistent with local law that formed the TTFA in 1982.
Beane-counting: Liverpool’s moneyball gathers speed with Fenway expansion proposal
October 14 – Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group looks set to expand its capital base with the sale of 25% of its stock to RedBall Acquisition Corp.