Al Sadd and Xavi romp to Qatar league title
April 5 – Al Sadd and their star midfielder Xavi Hernandez have been crowned champions of Qatar after a mammoth 7-2 win over Al Ahli to take an unassailable lead in the Qatar Stars League.
Hype Capital launches $75m innovation fund with Reebok and VfB Stuffgart old boys
April 5 – Digitally driven sports innovators have another tech fund to tap for development finance. Hype Sports Innovation has unveiled plans for a $75 million capital fund with Uli Becker, ex-president of Reebok and Bernd Wahler, former president of VfB Stuttgart.
Spurs smash Liverpool’s record with £139m profit
By David Owen
April 4 – Tottenham Hotspur, the North London club who played their first match at their gleaming new stadium on Wednesday, have announced a world record annual profit for a football club of £138.9 million for the year to end-June 2018, smashing the £125.1 million figure unveiled by Liverpool in February.
Football must do more to crackdown on discrimination, says #EqualGame panel
April 4 – Prominent figures from across European football have emphasised the crucial importance of diversity in the game.
Brazil’s CBF to downsize state championships by two match days
April 4 – The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) is considering a plan to downsize the regional state championships by at least two match days next season in order to avoid future conflicts with Brazilian national team fixtures.
Racism: Juve just don’t get it. Allegri and Bonucci blame Kean for monkey chanting
April 4 – Twenty-four hours after UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin lambasted the resurgence of racist attitudes across European football, one of the Continent’s most high-profile club managers has put himself unwittingly in the spotlight with unfortunate comments that did little to support Ceferin’s powerful stance.
Hillsborough police chief could face retrial, Sheffield Wednesday club secretary guilty
April 4 – The jury in the trial of the police chief facing allegations related to the 1989 Hillsborough stadium tragedy has been unable to reach a verdict with the prosecution now calling for a retrial.
Real Madrid unveil €525m Santiago Bernabeu refurb
April 4 – Real Madrid have unveiled plans for a refurbished €525 million Santiago Bernabeu Stadium with club president Florentino Perez vowing the renovation will create the best stadium in the world.
World Cup drives FIFA to top of IF social media performance ranking
By Paul Nicholson
April 4 – A survey of social media activity of international sports governing bodies has ranked FIFA as the best performing international federation (IF) across all platforms. The survey last year ranked FIFA in 10th place.
Michael Keane helps ‘best of the rest’ Burnley to impressive £45m profit
By David Owen
April 4 – Burnley, the team from the Lancashire mill town, have reported an impressive pre-tax profit of £45.1 million for the 2017-18 season when the Clarets qualified for Europe for the first time in more than half a century.
MyCujoo seals deals with Instagram giant 433, Japan’s Nadeshiko League and OFC
April 4 – Football streaming platform MyCujoo, has teamed up with 433, the largest Instagram account in the world, to share content with 433’s 35 million followers.
Beckham’s Inter Miami faces law suit from Inter Milan over use of name
April 4 – David Beckham’s dream of building an MLS franchise have hit a legal snag over trademark rights with reports from Italy that Inter Milan are planning to sue MLS over the name of Beckham’s proposed club – Inter Miami CF.
Time warp: Grindel steps down from DFB over earnings scandal and a Ukrainian watch
By Andrew Warshaw
April 3 – German Football Association president Reinhard Grindel, one of European football’s most influential figures who continually banged the drum for greater transparency and accountability, has himself been forced to resign after being embroiled in a domestic scandal.
LUNA Bar brand steps in to pay US women’s team bonus to match men ‘s pay
By Samindra Kunti
April 3 – On Equal Pay day in the United States, the national women’s team received a financial boost through a pledge from LUNA Bar to pay each member of the World Cup squad a bonus to equal that of their male counterparts.
Racism: Ceferin tells refs to be ‘brave’, follow protocol and stop games
April 3 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has urged referees to be brave enough to halt matches in order to help stamp out an alarming resurgence of racism from fans. Ceferin opened a UEFA conference on discrimination on Tuesday, organised in conjunction with England’s Football Association, and believes it is time officials took the plunge and abided by UEFA protocol.