By Paul Nicholson
January 28 – BeoutQ may have stopped satellite transmission but the issues of piracy and the Saudi Arabian support for the rogue broadcaster still remain. BeoutQ’s decoder boxes are still in circulation and providing illegal access to third-party IPTV pirate apps streaming stolen live sports content, including all the world’s major football competitions.
January 28 – Rui Pinto, the Portuguese whistleblower whose string of incriminating revelations shook the footballing world before he was controversially extradited from Hungary to his native Portugal, has now been named as the source of leaked documents about the business dealings of Africa’s richest woman.
January 28 – German top-flight club Eintracht Frankfurt have post-humously stripped their former president Rudolf Gramlich, who was in charge when they won their only league title in 1959 and the following year when they contested the European Cup final, of an honorary title after discovering his involvement with the Nazis before and during the Second World War.
January 28 – Italian giants AC Milan will open three academies in Kerala in a three-year agreement in collaboration with Calicut Sports City LLP, the club has announced.
January 28 – Amnesty International have criticised the potential £340 million purchase of Newcastle United by Saudi Arabian investment fund (PIF) – a vehicle of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman – saying the deal is “sportswashing, plain and simple.”
January 28 – Bookmaker Paddy Power is continuing its ‘unsponsor’ campaign by taking its branding off tomorrow’s League Two match between Newport County and Macclesfield Town – now tagged as Paddy Power’s second ‘Unsponsored Derby’ as part of its ‘Save Our Shirt’ campaign.
January 28 – FOX Sports in the US have swept up a premium package of broadcast rights from Concacaf including the Women’s Olympic Qualifiers that kick off tonight with Costa Rica vs Panama and the US vs Haiti.
By David Owen
January 27 – Holders Kárpátalja face a typically eclectic group as they bid to win a second consecutive World Football Cup later this year in the North Macedonian capital of Skopje.
January 27 – The annual talks of a sale of Newcastle United by owner Mike Ashley have begun again with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) this time round being the buying party for £340 million.
January 27 – South Korea won the final of the AFC U23 Championship with a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia after defeating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final in Thailand with a goal in extra-time from Jeong Tae-uk.
January 27 – Belgian second-division club Sporting Lokeren has partnered with Chinese consortium Ke Hua Sports in a bid to stave off relegation, but the move has raised eyebrows over the integrity surrounding the deal.
January 27 – Britain’s Sports minister Nigel Adams has denounced football’s “dependency” on sponsorship from gambling companies and warned clubs to look for different income streams.
January 27 – More than 15 million football fans in Spain will watch matches live in public venues every season, according to new research findings released by Mediapro.
January 27 – Former Republic of Ireland striker Niall Quinn (pictured), one of the most respected figures in Irish football, has been appointed as the Football Association of Ireland’s (FAI) interim deputy chief executive as the federation strives to regain its credibility and reputation.
January 27 – Germany’s DFL has moved beyond its traditional football business and acquired an equity stake in MOVEZ, a mobile app start-up for football skills evaluation.