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.
European Leagues, with 10 FA’s backing, say NO to ‘old boy’s club’ UCL qualification
By Andrew Warshaw
March 26 – Ten European football associations have written to UEFA expressing serious misgivings about the future format of the Champions League post-2024.
Comoros and Gambia wins earn them debuts at AFCON finals in Cameroon 2022
March 26 – Comoros and the Gambia will debut at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations following stellar campaigns in their qualifying groups.
Club Brugges pull out of €229m IPO over weak share demand
March 25 – Club Brugge’s IPO adventure has been short-lived. On Thursday, the Belgian champions announced the postponement of their initial public offering, citing adverse “market conditions”.
CBS inks Concacaf deal in time for kick off of Qatar 2022 qualifiers
March 26 – CBS Sports is on a football rights buying spree, having now added the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers to the Serie A rights announced earlier this week.
Germans add voice to Qatar human rights protests with pre-match message
March 26 – Germany has become the latest footballing nation to protest against 2022 World Cup host Qatar’s human rights record, following in Norway’s footsteps by showing support for migrant workers in the Gulf state.
Venues chosen for AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022
March 26 – Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bhubaneswar will be the three host cities for the next AFC Women’s Asian Cup to be held in India, January 20 to February 6, 2020.