By Paul Nicholson
October 9 – Qatar has stepped up in the Asian Football Confederation’s hour of need to host the four uncompleted AFC Champions League (East) groups and knockout rounds, starting November 18, in Doha. Their hosting will enable the completion of the AFC’s flagship club competition which had been identified as a priority by the confederation.
October 9 – Gianni Infantino’s hopes of influencing the judicial case against former Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber (pictured) appear to have been dashed.
October 9 – With Spain and Portugal having confirmed their joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup, their two top leagues have similarly renewed their vows, extending a cooperation agreement signed in 2017 for a further three years.
October 9 – Paraguay and Peru drew 2-2, Uruguay defeated Chile 2-1 and Lionel Messi dragged Argentina to a 1-0 win over Ecuador on Thursday to get the South American qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup finally under way after the coronavirus shutdown.
October 9 – On a night of nerve-shredding action, Serbia reached the Euro 2020 playoff finals Thursday with a 2-1 away win away over Norway after extra time while seven other nations joined them across four different groups in what promises to be a series of thrilling head-to-head climaxes next month.
October 9 – Six months after the coronavirus pandemic halted sports in India, the I-League qualifiers got the 2020-2021football season under way on Thursday.
October 9 – With the rules of football under more scrutiny than ever – offside, handball, VAR etc – FIFA’s recently appointed Head of Global Development, Arsene Wenger, has come up with some forward-looking ideas he believes will improve the game.
October 9 – A new organisation entitled Football’s Black Coalition (FBC), has been launched by black coaches in the UK to lobby governing bodies to combat racism in the game.
October 9 – An under-19 friendly between England and Scotland on Thursday was abandoned during the first half after the visitors’ head coach Billy Stark tested positive for Covid-19.
October 8 – German prosecutors have searched several offices of the German Football Association (DFB) in the latest investigation into corruption, this time over the conduct of six former and current DFB bosses suspected of serious tax evasion.
October 8 – A report by Women In Football has found that 66% of women have experienced gender discrimination in football.
October 8 – The biggest impact the Covid pandemic has had on football’s transfer market is to slow down the inflation of players’ prices that in the 2019 window, where like-for-like player transfer price inflation was running at 15%.
October 8 – Gianni Infantino praised Qatar’s preparations for the 2022 World Cup amid the difficulty of navigating the coronavirus pandemic after a visit to the Al Bayt stadium and a meeting with the Emir.
October 8 – January 9 is the date being reported in Spain that could spell the end of the reign of Barcelona supremo Josep Maria Bartomeu in a no confidence vote.
October 8 – On the day they played each other in an Iberian friendly, Spain and Portugal announced Wednesday they were pushing ahead with a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup.