September 7 – The ongoing pandemic has left a big mark on the world of sports, in general, and football, in particular. When the lockdowns were still in full effect, the Football Association floated the idea of suspending the Premier League season completely – an idea rejected by several English football teams, considering that it would’ve pushed them to the brink of bankruptcy.
September 7 – FIFA’s top ranked national team Belgium have renewed their kit partnership with Adidas, taking them through to 2026.
September 7 – Chocolate brand Cadbury has added a fourth Premier League club to its sponsorship roster, becoming Liverpool’s first Official Global Chocolate Partner.
October 4 – SIGA has released the programme for its first Sport Integrity Week, taking place next week September 7 to 11.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 4 – In a move that took most of the footballing world by surprise, the English Premier League has pulled the plug on its overseas television deal with Chinese broadcaster PPTV – with immediate effect and after just one season.
September 4 – Reports of discrimination across all levels of professional football in England and Wales rose by an alarming 42% last season despite the campaign being halted for months due to Covid-19.
By Samindra Kunti
September 4 – In a dramatic few weeks for Indian football, East Bengal look set to become the 11th franchise in the 2020/21 ISL season. The Kolkata giants have secured a new investor in the club, Shree Cement, which could propel them towards ISL entry as organisers ISDL issued invitations to bid for a new franchise.
September 4 – The row over the premature ending of France’s 2019/20 Ligue 1 season is rumbling on with Olympique Lyonnais (OL) demanding €117.7 million in compensation.
September 4 – The new French season has been plunged into further chaos after defending champions Paris St Germain announced three more positive cases of COVID-19 in their squad, 24 hours after unconfirmed reports that Brazilian superstar Neymar was one of them following a holiday in Ibiza.
September 4 – Germany’s professional clubs want to welcome back a limited number of fans in the new Bundesliga season, but league boss Christian Seifert has admitted that it will be “a demanding and difficult season.”
September 4 – Brazil’s Corinthians have taken a significant step towards paying off the $98 million debt of its stadium development with a the signing of a naming rights deal.
September 4 – Somalia’s Stadium Mogadishu has taken another step forward with the return of competitive football after 16 years, during most of which time it was used as a military camp.
September 4 – In contrast to elsewhere in Europe, Premier League clubs have again voted against using five substitutes instead of three in domestic matches next season despite a second attempt by the big boys to persuade the smaller clubs to accept the change.
By Paul Nicholson
September 3 – Qatar will play as a guest nation in the next two editions of the Gold Cup in the US , the blue riband national team event for Concacaf’s member countries, in 2021 and 2023. The Asian Cup Champions are also scheduled to guest at Conmebol’s Copa America in 2021 as they prepare for their own hosting of the 2022 World Cup.
By Paul Nicholson
September 3 – Concacaf has further expanded its bi-annual Gold Cup with a series of changes that increase member nation participation and the integrity of the competition structure.