Pandemic forces postponement of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
By David Owen
March 24 – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has finally bowed to the inevitable and postponed the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Exclusive: Disgraced TTFA board touted half-baked Arima Velodrome plan as debt solution
By Paul Nicholson
March 24 – The board and executive of the disbanded Trinidad and Tobago FA (TTFA) have reacted furiously to their removal saying that the plan they had in place for the development of a velodrome would have netted them the TT$50 million that would have cleared their debt.
UEFA postpone CL and Europa League finals as season looks set to run past June
By Andrew Warshaw
March 24 – UEFA has bowed to the inevitable and postponed the Champions League and Europa League finals, and the women’s Champions League final, due to have been played in May – with no rearranged dates.
Infantino scales back on Club World Cup but says it is key to football’s global funding
March 24 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino, whose expansionist plans for world football created widespread consternation among various stakeholders, now concedes the game needs to go the other way to help avoid a financial crisis because of Covid-19.
Nigerian gunmen kidnap two players on coronavirus leave
March 20 – Two Nigerian footballers have been kidnapped while taking a break because of the coronavirus with their country’s league suspended.
FIFA and WHO combine with social health campaign to kick out coronavirus
March 20 – FIFA has teamed up with the World Health Organisation (WHO) for a new awareness campaign in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Jorginho’s €58m sale to Chelsea pushes Napoli to record €205m revenue
March 24 – Serie A club Napoli have reported record revenues of €205 million for the 2018/19 season and a profit of €30.2 million.
World Football Cup called off
By David Owen
March 24 – With an air of weary inevitability, the 2020 World Football Cup has been called off.
Real Madrid find form as Asensio strikes to take LaLiga esports title
March 24 – LaLiga said that more than a million total viewers tuned in to its charity FIFA 20 Challenge esports tournament over the weekend, with more than 170,000 viewers watching as Real Madrid striker Marco Asensio beat Leganés player Aitor Ruibal to claim the title.
SIGA Strives III: Laureus Sport for Good Foundation joins integrity body
March 24 – Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA has joined the SIGA community as a ‘Committed Supporter’. .
FIFA medical chief D’Hooghe warns May restart could ‘punish’ us all
By Andrew Warshaw
March 23 – FIFA’s medical chief has hit out at plans to resume the European leagues in mid-May, warning that’s too early and could present a health risk.
Brief Premier League foray fails to wipe out Fulham losses
By David Owen
March 23 – Not even a £100 million leap in annual revenue was enough to propel Fulham into profit during its brief visit to the Premier League last season.
Serie A targets May resumption, Premier League discusses June, LaLiga and RFEF ‘agree’
By Paul Nicholson
March 23 – With Europe’s leagues desperate to find a way of resuming some form of play calendar discussions in Italy are suggesting a resumption in May, while the Premier League is reportedly reviewing plans to resume on June 1.
Colombian club bosses are using Covid-19 as excuse to cut wages, says union
March 23 – Acolfutpro, Colombia’s players union and an arm of FIFPro, has warned that local club presidents are using the outbreak of the coronavirus to pressure players into renegotiating their contracts.
Wage cut fears: FIFPro calls on clubs to use collective bargaining
By Andrew Warshaw
March 23 – The head of football’s world players union has urged clubs not to unilaterally slash salaries because of the effects of Covid-19 and says collective bargaining agreements are the best way forward.