By David Owen
April 10 – Aston Villa, the Birmingham club which has made sound on-field progress in its second season back in the Premier League big time, has become the latest English outfit to announce a substantial loss for the covid-impacted 2019-20 campaign.
April 9 – Three British clubs have decided independently to boycott social media platforms because of online racist abuse.
By Paul Nicholson
April 8 – The Gold Cup will open in Miami July 2 with a series of knockout rounds to qualify the final three teams for the 16-team Gold Cup that kicks off July 10.
April 8 – After waiting to start their Tokyo Olympic knockout qualifier for more than a year, China emerged favourites for the last AFC qualification slot after a 2-1 away over South Korea in Goyang City.
April 9 – Laura McAllister, the Football Association of Wales nominee for Europe’s female place on the FIFA Council, has launched her manifesto ahead of the election on April 20, highlighting her experience in football and how that, along with her professional skills, make her the ideal candidate to represent UEFA’s 55 member nations at the top table of world football.
April 9 – In their legal dispute with Flamengo, the parents of the late Christian Esmerio are demanding 10 million reais (€1.5 million) in damages from the Rio Club. In 2019, a night-time blaze swept through the Flamengo training centre on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, killing ten youth players.
April 9 – With UEFA due to decide a list of venues for the delayed Euro 2020 tournament at their executive committee on April 19, Azerbaijan has guaranteed 50% of total fan attendance at Baku’s Olympic Stadium for this summer’s finals.
April 9 – England’s Professional Footballers’ Association is considering legal action if the English Football League, which covers the three divisions below the Premier League, does not scrap its proposed limits on squad sizes.
April 9 – Arbejdernes Landsbank, a major partner of the Danish FA (DBU), have pulled their sponsorship of the national team over the quick-loans law with concerns over the Qatar World Cup lingering in the background.
April 9 – Having banned Pakistan earlier this week for third party interference in the national federation’s affairs, FIFA have also kicked out Chad because of government interference.
April 9 – African football may be struggling to secure meaningful broadcast deals with their domestic broadcasters, but their masters at FIFA have secured a key deal for the 2022 World Cup to be held in Qatar.
April 9 – The Romanian linesman who asked Europe’s most sought-after young player, Erling Haaland, to sign his red and yellow cards has reportedly been banned form officiating in his country’s top tier.
April 9 – Serie A’s Spezia Calcio, currently in their first season in Italy’s top flight, have renewed their kit deal with Acerbis for a further two years, taking them to the the end of the 2022-2023 Season.
By Samindra Kunti
April 8 – UEFA’s deadline for host cities to confirm minimum guarantees over fan attendance and seating capacities at this summer’s Euro 2020 lapsed yesterday (Wednesday), with Dublin and Bilbao now expected to drop out from staging any matches.
By Paul Nicholson
April 8 – Sudanese football has witnessed more administrative chaos in the battle for control with state Emergency Police having been called to break up the general assembly of the leading Almerrikh club.