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.
January 27 – Three men have been arrested after an English part-time footballer died following an assault in Retford in the east midlands area of the country.
January 24 – A Deloitte study suggests the BeneLiga could generate up to €400 million, reinforcing the idea of a future merger between the Belgian and Dutch top flights into a single more competitive and powerful league.
January 24 – The news of Michel Platini’s return to football administration appears to have been premature, at least in terms of a formal appointment.
January 24 – After threatening to pull all four of their participants out of the Asian Champions League, Iranian authorities have relented after The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirmed it is moving two preliminary matches out of Iran to neutral venues because of security concerns.
January 24 – Increasingly frustrated at their once all-conquering team’s diminishing reputation and lacklustre displays, Manchester United fans have been criticised for the way in which they have taken their frustrations out on chief executive Ed Woodward (pictured).
January 24 – Players who defy Olympic rules by making political protests at the Tokyo Olympics this summer will be supported by their global union..
January 24 – Concacaf has named Guatemala as host for its 2020 Futsal Championship which will qualify four teams for the Futsal World Cup in Lithuania 2020.