By Osasu Obayiuwana
December 20 – In what is a unique drive, in African football, to increase revenue, leading Tanzanian club Simba has launched its own bank payment card. They hope to raise a minimum of $10 million through the deal.
December 20 – Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil who tweeted about China’s detention and persecution of Uighurs and other Muslims in the Xinjiang province, has been removed from the Chinese edition of Konami’s PES 2020 video game.
December 20 – Premier league Liverpool has added cyber storage company Acronis to its sponsorship roster in what is described as a multi-year partnership. No value was given for the deal.
December 20 – Adidas have become the latest FIFA sponsor to embrace the controversial Italian Super Cup after earlier this week Coca-Cola announced it would be the match’s title sponsor.
December 20 – Real Madrid have launched a new Facebook subscription service costing $2.77 as the club seeks monetise their giant following of a 110 million on the social media platform.
December 20 – Premier League West Ham United has announced ITD Global as its Official Logistics Partner.
December 20 – Volkswagen is targeting the 2022 World Cup to showcase its self-driving electric vehicles. The German carmaker has been working with the city of Doha, Qatar to provide a fleet I.D. Buzz autonomous vehicles for the start of the world finals.
By Samindra Kunti
December 18 – German Bundesliga’s FC Koln has taken a political stand over China’s human rights abuses, withdrawing from a €1.8 million deal to run a football academy in the country.
December 19 – Football’s complicated and often fragile diplomacy in middle east is often a tightrope walk. AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa (pictured left) was back in the UAE this week to meet with the UAE FA Transitional committee, sworn in last weekend after an emergency meeting following the resignation of the Federation’s Board of Directors.
December 19 – Barcelona and Real Madrid drew 0-0 at Camp Nou in El Clásico that failed to live up to its name on the pitch but delivered fierce clashes off it. The hosts remain top of La Liga on goal difference, but the game was overshadowed by cries for Catalan independence and violence outside the stadium, injuring 46 people.
December 19 – The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has requested an €18 million bailout from the Irish government amid the financial meltdown that is threatening to bankrupt the governing body.
December 19 – Eighteen players from the current Belgian squad have enrolled in a custom-made coaching course, devised by the Belgian FA (KBVB) to develop their footballing know how and enhance their coaching prospects.
December 19 – Coca-Cola has compounded the controversy of the Italian Super Cup to be played between Juventus and Lazio on December 22 in Saudi Arabia, by becoming the event’s title sponsor.
December 18 – Manchester City has launched a dedicated channel on YouTube Kids, the first football club to do so. The channel will feature City-themed children’s content aimed at an under 12 audience.
December 18 – Serie A has apologised in the wake of the furore over imagery of monkeys being used in artwork for their anti-racism campaign.