By Paul Nicholson
December 9 – AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has emphasised the unity of Asia’s national football associations as the core strength supporting the confederation not just during the unprecedented challenges of the covid pandemic but also as the international football world turns its attention to Asia in 2021.
By Paul Nicholson
December 9 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said that the new 24-team format Club World Cup, when it eventually holds its first edition “in China, will be the best club competition in the world.”
December 9 – UEFA have opened a disciplinary investigation into the disturbing scenes that marred Tuesday night’s Champions League fixture between Paris St Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir, abandoned after both teams walked off in protest at alleged racism, the first time that has happened in Europe’s elite club competition.
December 9 – Five of the 10 football clubs in the Moldovan top flight have been involved in match-fixing linked to organised crime this season, Europol has said.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 9 – Manchester United became the first high-profile victims of Champions League elimination on Tuesday as they failed to make the knockout stages, heaping even more pressure under-fire manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
December 9 – Major League Soccer’s 25th season has not turned into the celebration initially hoped for, with commissioner Don Garber in his State of the League address revealing that the MLS is expecting a $1 billion drop in revenue because of the coronavirus pandemic.
December 9 – SIGA’s chairman Franco Frattini and CEO Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros have both issues powerful calls to action in the fight against sports corruption on International Anti-corruption Day.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
December 8 – FIFA is reporting a record 480 teams entered into its FIFAe Club Series, a 150% increase on last season.