Magic circle: UEFA pulls out the €775m HatTrick rabbit
July 2 – UEFA has kicked off the fifth cycle of its HatTrick programme with a commitment to invest €775.5 million in the development of the game over the next four years.
Europe
UEFA confident Germany will be ‘safe and secure’ for Europa League finish
July 2 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin is confident that there will be “no need for a Plan B” for this season’s final eight of the Europa League which Germany will stage in August.
LaLiga invests in the future with ‘pioneering’ sports and education complex in Madrid
July 2 – LaLiga is investing in the build of a new multi-sport complex that will become the league’s new centre for national and international sports projects and education initiatives.
Flares, smoke bombs, racist banners and social stupidity mar Bulgarian Cup final
July 2 – Bulgarian football fans violated social distancing rules in the domestic cup final which Lokomotiv Plovdiv won for a second consecutive time by defeating CSKA Sofia from the penalty spot.
Anti-social Aalborg fans have their Danish Cup final day cut short
July 2 – The Danish Cup final was suspended for 15 minutes when fans refused to comply with the social distancing rules inside the stadium.
Coronavirus: Lisbon lockdown will not derail Champions League finale, says Ceferin
July 1 – Despite a spike in Covid-19 cases, Lisbon is still set to host the eagerly awaited finale of this season’s Champions League following talks between the relevant authorities.
English stakeholders take ‘small’ step with player-to-coach accelerator for BAME players
June 30 – English football stakeholders have joined forces to help BAME players move into full-time coaching roles in the professional game.
Out on a Lim. Valencia owner sacks sixth manager in six years
June 30 – Valencia have been plunged into chaos after sacking coach Albert Celades and appointing long-standing club servant Voro until the end of the Spanish La Liga season.
Bayern conclude Bundesliga with title encore and sights set on completing double
June 29 – The German Bundesliga became the first major European league to conclude after the unprecedented coronavirus shutdown in March with serial champions Bayern Munich cruising the victory at Wolfsburg this weekend, Thomas Muller making history and Werder Bremen condemned to the promotion-relegation play-off.
UEFA confident that Lisbon virus outbreak will not derail Champions League’s August finale
June 26 – Is the eagerly awaited revised climax to the Champions League, set for Lisbon in August, suddenly in jeopardy?
German fans petition for fairer competition and reform of TV money distribution
June 25 – German football is widely regarded as the most fan-friendly of any of the major European footballing nations. But more than 1,000 supporters have so far signed a petition to demand a major reform of the sport saying the current model cannot continue.
Slavia Prague make it 20 league titles with three rounds to play
June 25 – Slavia Prague secured a record twentieth league title on Wednesday after a 1-0 victory against Viktoria Plzen, establishing an insurmountable lead at the top of the table.
Serie A gets third VC hunting $bn stake as overseas broadcast deal comes under threat
June 24 – A third private equity firm has expressed an interest in bidding for a stake in Serie A, ironically at a time when the league looks on the verge of losing its biggest international rights buyers.
Dutch poised to allow fans in for new season in September, but no singing or chanting
June 24 – Dutch football is looking at the return of football fans at matches in September with the government expected to give the go ahead to allow spectators into stadia this week.
Russia returns to the bad old days as CSKA Moscow fined token amount for fans racist abuse
June 24 – Russia’s football authorities have meted out a token fine to CSKA Moscow after its fans racially abused Zenit St. Petersburg winger Malcom in the clubs’ first game back since the domestic league restarted.