Stats Perform win MLS and US Soccer data contract
January 31 – Major League Soccer (MLS) and U.S. Soccer have appointed Stats Perfom as their exclusive official data deal with Stats Perform.
Puma joins Beach Soccer World Wide as global partner in time for Mundialito de Clubes
January 31 – Beach Soccer World Wide (BSWW), organisers of the Beach Soccer World Cup and the upcoming Mundialito de Clubes in Moscow, has signed a multi-year deal with Puma to become an Official Global Partner.
Platini is ‘happy’ but he still doesn’t like Blatter or VAR
January 31 – Free to work in football again now that his ban from the game is over, Michel Platini says he is a happy man despite never realising his ambition of running FIFA and instead seeing his reputation shattered.
SAVE THE DATE: Sports Law at the Crossroads II – Decoding the new codes
January 30 – The third Rex Sport/Insideworldfootball conference will be held June 5-6, Barcelona, Spain, at the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona. Click here to register your interest in attending and to receive conference information updates.
Coronavirus spread forces Chinese FA to suspend all domestic football
January 30 – The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has postponed all domestic games due to the coronavirus epidemic as the number of fatalities and infections continues to rise.
AFC renews commitment to war on match-fixing with extended Sportradar partnership
January 30 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has extended its integrity partnership with Sportradar aimed at tackling match manipulation and betting fraud in the Asian game. The agreement will run through to 2023 and the next Asian Cup in China.
Atletico Madrid secure Ottawa franchise for CPL’s second season
January 30 – The Canadian Premier League (CPL) has green lighted an Ottawa franchise team run by Spanish club Atletico Madrid.
Canada’s Sinclair creates history, smashing world scoring record
January 30 – Forget the US women superstars, it is Canada’s Christine Sinclair’s name will now be etched into the record books. On Wednesday, the Canadian striker scored twice in a 11-0 win over Saint Kitts and Nevis in Olympic qualifying to become the all-time top scorer in international football, surpassing previous record holder Abby Wambach of the United States.
Millwall and QPR keep the betting cash coming with BetUK and MansionBet
January 30 – Betting companies are not being put off spending marketing money with English Championship clubs QPR and Millwall both agreeing new betting partner deals despite the warnings from the UK government that football needs to re-examine its relationship with bookmakers.
Gold Cup 2021 qualifiers see Trinidad, Guatemala and Haiti still battling for slots
January 30 – With 12 teams now qualified for the 2021 Gold Cup – the 16th edition of Concacaf’s blue riband national men’s team competition – the draw for the play-offs for the final four spots has been released. The deciders will be via elimination rounds in the March 2020 international window before a final round of play-offs in June 2020.
Manchester City fans fly into trouble with Munich air crash taunt
January 30 – Manchester’s two rival clubs face being sanctioned after tensions ran high between both sets of supporters during their League semi-final second leg tie on Wednesday.
Samoura unclear of her future as FIFA’s African overseer
January 29 – FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura is refusing to say whether her remit for getting African football’s house in order will continue after her six-month contract runs out on February 1.
More Premier League red ink as West Ham announce £28m loss
By David Owen
January 29 – West Ham United, the East London club battling to avoid Premier League relegation, have become the latest English top-tier outfit to post a loss for the 2018-19 season.
Belgian corruption probe sees police swoop on home of Standard Liege chairman Venanzi
By Samindra Kunti
January 29 – Belgian police swooped on the home of Standard Liege chairman Bruno Venanzi (pictured) and carried out searches at the club’s stadium Sclessin on Wednesday morning as part of the investigation into football agent Christophe Henrotay.
Argentine Macri takes lead role at FIFA Foundation with $1bn target
January 29 – Former Argentinean president Mauricio Macri has a landed a new job. He will head the FIFA Foundation, an organisation founded by the world federation to promote social change.