Ziggo rolls over Ajax shirt sponsorship deal
January 12 – Dutch cable operator Ziggo has added another year to its shirt sponsorship of Ajax with an option to extend until 2025.
KPMG reports on Covid’s money massacre at Europe’s financial elite
By Paul Nicholson
January 11 – The scale of Covid’s decimation of the football industry’s revenue infrastructure is highlighted again in KPMG Football Benchmark’s annual review of Europe’s champion clubs.
Covid clampdown: Premier League warns clubs and players to follow rules or face sanction
January 11 – Following a string of postponed games and scores of players being forced to self-isolate, the English Premier League has threatened disciplinary action against anyone who breaches strict Covid-19 protocols.
TTFA could turn to much-abused House of Football to dig itself out of debt hole
January 11 – The beleaguered Trinidad and Tobago FA (TTFA), under the control of a FIFA normalisation committee but still unashamedly refusing to meet its debts, in particular to former employees and coaches sacked under the ousted regime of William Wallace, could turn to the House of Football as the solution to its deepening money problems.
Hoppe springs eternal: American hat-trick hero saves Schalke’s losing record blushes
January 11 – Schalke 04 have avoided great embarrassment. On Saturday, the club from Gelsenkirchen finally picked up three points after 30 Bundesliga games without a win, leaving the all-time German winless record in the hands of Tasmania Berlin.
Challenges to Le Graët’s FFA presidency mount as Moulin and Thiriez declare for election
January 11 – French FA president Noël Le Graët (pictured), who came under pressure for prematurely closing down last season’s domestic league campaign despite other European countries managing to complete theirs, has not yet declared whether he is running again when his term ends in March.
Amnesty critical of Infantino over Saudi promotional video
January 11 – FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been denounced by Amnesty International for appearing in a promotional video for the Saudi Arabian government in which he said the country has made important changes.
Marine sunk by Spurs fire-power but FA Cup remains a winner in dark times
January 11 – Tottenham Hotspur and Carlos Vinicius’ 13-minute hat-trick ended Marine FC’s fairy tale run in the FA Cup in a 5-0 demolition of the non-league club, who sit 161 places below the Londoners in the English football pyramid.
SIGA Youth Forum unveils agenda for end-Jan webinars
January 11 – The Sports Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) has released the webinar schedule for its first SIGA Youth Forum, January 27-29.
Turfed out: Ahmad reign is over as suspended CAF chief fails election eligibility checks
By Samindra Kunti
January 8 – Ahmad Ahmad has been banned from standing for the Confederation of African football (CAF) presidential election, the African governing body confirmed on Thursday. The candidatures of both South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe and Mauritanian FA president Ahmed Yahya will undergo additional eligibility checks before they are cleared to run in the election.
Arsenal take out £120m Covid loan
By David Owen
January 8 – Arsenal, the North London club who have perked up recently under Mikel Arteta while remaining in the lower half of the Premier League table, are taking out a £120 million government loan to help them to navigate their way through the covid crisis.
FIFA to trial concussion subs at Club World Cup in Feb; 5 subs rule remains
January 8 – FIFA has broken new ground by announcing it will trial concussion substitutes at next year’s Club World Cup in Qatar.
Benzema to face trial in France over sex-tape blackmail case
January 8 – Real Madrid and former French international forward Karim Benzema will face trial for his alleged involvement in the attempted sex-tape blackmail of former teammate Mathieu Valbuena, prosecutors in Versailles have finally confirmed several years after the story broke.
Blatter hospitalised, family say health is improving
January 8 – Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter is recovering after being rushed to hospital, but his life is not in danger according to Swiss media.
World Cup 2026 to stay on proven TV channels in Nordic countries
January 8 – FIFA has stuck with traditional broadcast channels and in particular state-owned terrestrial channels with the award of the 2026 World Cup broadcast rights in each of the Nordic territories: DR and TV2 in Denmark, YLE and MTV in Finland, TV2 and NRK in Norway, and SVT and TV4 in Sweden.