By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
June 26 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino, unable to shake off continuing suspicion over his motives for undocumented meetings with under-fire Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber, has broken his silence by insisting it was “absurd” to suggest he had done anything wrong.
June 26 – The Brazilian FA (CBF) and local clubs are projecting an early August start and February finish for the national championship. The coronavirus pandemic prevented the top flight league from kicking off in May.
By David Owen
June 26 – FIFA will raid its well-stocked reserves to finance a COVID-19 relief plan that will make up to $1.5 billion available to the wider “football community”.
June 26 – FIFA may have canned the its quadrennial Confederations Cup, the curtain-raiser and test bed held the year before in the World Cup by the host nation, but Qatar will still have the opportunity to give its new facilities a rigorous workout in 2021 with the announcement of a new pan-Arab tournament.
June 26 – On Saturday, the NWSL Challenge Cup will kick off the new women’s season in the US, becoming the first team sport to return to play in America amid the coronavirus pandemic.
June 26 – FIFA is to release $1.5 billion from its reserves for its Covid-19 relief plan via a number of grants and interest-free loans to national federations who are facing loss of income as a result of the pandemic.
June 26 – Is the eagerly awaited revised climax to the Champions League, set for Lisbon in August, suddenly in jeopardy?
June 26 – About 1,100 construction workers on 2022 World Cup projects have tested positive for Covid-19 with one worker, a 51-year old Filipino electrical engineer, having died of the virus on June 11.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 26 – Thousands of Liverpool fans celebrated long into the night after the club ended a 30-year drought on Thursday by clinching the English top-flight title without even playing and with a record seven games to spare.
June 25 – Odds-on favourites Australia and New Zealand won the right today to stage the 2023 women’s World Cup, beating outsiders Colombia in a two-horse race to make history by bringing the tournament to the southern hemisphere for the first time.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 25 – The vote later today for the right to stage the 2023 women’s World Cup is likely to be much closer than anticipated after it emerged that UEFA has controversially called on its nine FIFA Council members to back outsiders Colombia, according to sources close to the bid process.
June 25 – The financial effect of the coronavirus pandemic on football has hit revenues and values, not least in the player transfer market, with the overall market value being predicted to drop 20-25%.
June 25 – The English FA have released data on player agent commissions showing that in the period 1 February 2019 to 31 January 2020, agents earned a combined £263 million.
June 25 – German football is widely regarded as the most fan-friendly of any of the major European footballing nations. But more than 1,000 supporters have so far signed a petition to demand a major reform of the sport saying the current model cannot continue.
June 25 – It could only be a matter of hours before Liverpool, back to their best in a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday, are crowned English champions for the first time in 30 years and the first time since the Premier League was formed.