Qatar to guest in UEFA’s 2022 World Cup qualifiers
December 9 – World Cup hosts Qatar are to be included as a guest team in the European section of qualifying for the 2022 tournament in order to gain more match experience.
UEFA lifts home bans for Armenia and Azerbaijan whilst ceasefire holds
December 9 – UEFA have lifted their ban on club and national team matches under their jurisdiction in Armenia and Azerbaijan, imposed in October because of the military conflict in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
2022 World Cup draw plots clear travel routes to Qatar for Europe’s ‘big’ nations
By Andrew Warshaw
December 8 – For once there wasn’t a group of death as such but there is no doubt some got it far easier than others.
Bundesliga to offer stake in TV sales business as it faces €1bn drop in revenue
December 8 – The Bundesliga will suffer a drop in revenue of a €1 billion this season if fans remain shut out of attending matches because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to German Football League (DFL) projections.
Real Madrid and RB Leipzig focus on youth for new players. Spurs and Man City make top 20
December 8 – Real Madrid head a ranking of big-5 league clubs who recruit the youngest players to their squads, with an average age of 22.2 years.
UAE sheikh crosses the religious-political divide with 50% stake in Beitar Jerusalem
December 8 – One of the most unusual and surprising footballing acquisitions of recent years has taken place in Israel with a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family purchasing a 50% stake in Beitar Jerusalem, the only club in the country’s top flight never to have fielded an Arab player.
Asian Champions League: Korean clubs eye semi-final places
December 8 – The chances of an all-Korean semi-final in the East zone of the AFC Champions League have increased with Ulsan Hyundai FC and Suwon Samsung Bluewings being drawn in opposite quarter finals, to be played on Thursday in Qatar.
Record entrants for FIFAe Club World Cup
December 8 – FIFA is reporting a record 480 teams entered into its FIFAe Club Series, a 150% increase on last season.
I-League readies for January kick off in Kolkata bubble
December 8 – The I-League has released its match calendar for the regular 2020-21 season with debutants Sudeva Delhi FC and Mohammedan SC contesting the campaign’s curtain raiser.
AFC plants a seed in eastern Europe with Sportklub broadcast deal deal
December 8 – The AFC has taken a significant step into eastern Europe’s broadcast market with United Media picking up the rights for Southeast Europe to the Asian confederation’s major national and club competitions.
News analysis: A year overflowing with Club World Cups
By Paul Nicholson
December 7 – Somewhat incredibly, perhaps incredulously, the much derided and unloved Club World Cup (at least by Europe’s clubs and more recently by FIFA itself), has survived to see another day, in fact two more days, in its current 7-team format.
No return: Infantino defends VAR saying people, not tech, are the problem
By Andrew Warshaw
December 7 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has leapt to the defence of VAR amid the chaos and confusion over marginal offside decisions and penalised accidental handballs that many feel are ruining the game as a spectacle.
Iniesta strikes as Vissel Kobe, Ulsan, and Beijing FC progress in ACL
December 7 – The Asian Champions League East Zone is continuing at pace in Qatar with last 16 matches (8 teams playing in the East Zone) completing today. Quarter finals will be played Thurday.
FIFA finds calendar space to squeeze in two editions of its Club World Cup in 2021
By Andrew Warshaw
December 4 – The Club World Cup, which many assumed would be a thing of the past in its current anachronistic guise following its next edition in Qatar in February, is being continued by FIFA with Gianni Infantino declaring the importance of defending the interests of the “global” club game.
NWSL’s Utah Royals look set for a move to Kansas
December 7 – The National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) Utah Royals FC franchise will relocate to Kansas City, once the sale of the team is finalised, according to US media reports.