By Paul Nicholson in Paris
June 4 – This Thursday in Ulaanbaatar the first ball of the 2022 World Cup will be kicked when Mongolia and Brunei Darussalam being the first round of AFC qualifying. In December in three years time the last ball will be kicked in Doha Qatar. The focus is on Asia, said AFC president Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa.
By Andrew Warshaw in Paris
June 4 – World Cup hosts Qatar have been handed the next two Club World Cups in December this year and in 2020 – the last before the tournament is controversially overhauled – in an apparent move by FIFA to test the tiny Gulf state’s capability and infrastructure.
By Paul Nicholson in Paris
June 4 – China were officially awarded the hosting rights for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 at the AFC Extraordinary Congress in Paris today, promising AFC member nations “that we will not let you down”.
June 4 – FIFA has lifted Sierra Leone’s international ban following a meeting of the world governing body’s ruling council in Paris, allowing FA president Isha Johansen to attend the FIFA Congress here on Wednesday.
June 4 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Qatar 2022 World Cup organisers have partnered via their key Dream Asia and Generation Amazing initiatives to collaborate across legacy and education areas thoughout Asia for the next four years.
By Andrew Warshaw in Paris
June 3 – With precision timing to generate the maximum impact 48 hours before Gianni Infantino’s re-election as FIFA president, Michel Platini has launched an astonishing broadside at his former UEFA number two who, he believes, seized the most powerful position in world football at his own expense.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 3 – The image of African football, already tarnished by a series of FIFA bans of former senior officials and allegations surrounding current leader Ahmad Ahmad, suffered a damaging blow on the field Saturday when the showpiece final of the continent’s top club competition was sensationally abandoned after Wydad Casablanca of Morocco refused to continue in protest of VAR not being employed.
By Andrew Warshaw in Madrid
June 3 – The sight of thousands of crestfallen Tottenham Hotspur fans traipsing out of the Wanda Metropolitano stadium on Saturday, lost in thought following bitter defeat in the Champions League final, hardly told the full story.
By Samindra Kunti in Madrid
June 3 – Liverpool won a sixth European Cup by defeating Tottenham 2-0 in a Champions League final that failed to ignite. Mohamed Salah converted a second-minute penalty before Divock Origi ensured Liverpool’s win on almost on the whistle.
June 3 – Mired in controversy off the field far more often in recent months than scoring goals on it, Brazilian star Neymar is back in the news for all the wrong reasons, denying allegations by an unnamed woman that he drunkenly assaulted her at a top Paris hotel.
June 3 – Last time Jamaica were in a World Cup final tournament in France was in 1998 when the Reggae Boyz instantly won hearts and minds as every football fan’s favourite second team. Now it’s the Reggae Girlz turn to bring the athleticsm and joy in the style only Jamaicans can.
June 3 – The data revolution has arrived at the English FA who have signed a new partnership with Google Cloud and the creation of a new analytics system that will be accessible to all the English national teams.
June 3 – The US Soccer Federation (USSF) has signed a new five-year deal with VISA with the global payments firm taking a lead on gender parity, specifying that 50% of its sponsorship should go towards the women’s game.
By Samindra Kunti in Madrid
May 30 – After a protracted three-week build up, Liverpool and Tottenham will provide the grand finale of the European club season on Saturday in the Spanish capital with an army of British fans invading the city ahead of the Champions League final.
By Samindra Kunti in Madrid
May 31 – At a seminar ahead of the Champions League final La Liga boss Javier Tebas again slammed the plans of UEFA and ECA to reform European football from 2024 with a continental Super League. He also rubbished what he deemed insinuations of racism by Manchester City boss Khaldoon Al-Mubarak.