By Andrew Warshaw
May 22 – Gianni Infantino’s hopes of expanding the Qatar World Cup to 48 teams have been dealt a crushing blow with FIFA announcing it has ditched the idea – exactly two weeks before it was due to be debated by the organisation’s entire global membership.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 23 – Is the noose starting to tighten around the neck of controversial African football supremo Ahmad Ahmad?
May 23 – Poland will launch the U-20 World Cup against Colombia on home soil today as tomorrow’s stars compete for the world crown. Defending champions England failed to qualify for the tournament.
May 23 – With anticipation mounting ahead of a potentially pivotal summit of Europe’s clubs early next month to discuss the future direction of the Champions League, those who represent their inner sanctum are giving nothing away as to what the outcome might be.
May 23 – FIFA has promised to do “doing everything it can” to ensure families can sit together at next month’s Women’s World Cup in France following reports that some group ticket buyers have been split after receiving their allocation.
May 23 – Marc Wilmots will succeed Carlos Queiroz as coach of Iran in a four-year deal 50-year-old signed with the Iranian Football Federation on Wednesday.
May 23 – Juventus has said it plans to build a new stadium specifically for its women’s and youth teams near to its Allianz Stadium.
May 23 – Premier League Champions Manchester City have extended their partnership with Wega, the club’s Official Acoustic Contactless Secured Card Payment Partner.
May 23 – Champions League finalists Liverpool have added five years to their Carlsberg partnership that will take them through to the end of the 2023/24 season.
By Paul Nicholson
May 22 – Italian competition regulators have ruled that Serie A missed out on international broadcast revenue because agents MP & Silva, B4 Capital and IMG fixed the acquisition price of the rights from the league over three rights cycles from 2008 to 2017.
May 22 – The decision by Arsenal’s Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan not to travel to Baku in Azerbaijan to play in the Europa League final against Chelsea on May 29 has been described by the Azerbaijan FA (AFFA) as an “unwarranted decision”.
May 22 – LaLiga president Javier Tebas, who first applied the phrase “financial doping” to football to describe how the likes of Manchester City and Paris St Germain allegedly attempt to flout UEFA’s financial fair play rules, is back on the attack, repeating his stance that both should be kicked out of European competitions if found guilty of violations.
May 22 – Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool have taken action over fans trying to sell on Champions League tickets at inflated prices amid fears that thousands of ticketless supporters will converge on Madrid for the final on June 1.
May 22 – Angola have pulled out of the Cosafa Cup, the regional tournament for southern Africa that is due to begin Saturday – the second country to do so after Madagascar, throwing the competition into disarray.
May 21 – FIFA experts expect this summer’s Women’s World Cup in France to produce the fastest matches yet at the tournament as established powerhouses will square off with lightweights and debutants in the 24-team tournament.