USA 2 Costa Rica 2 (USA win 4-3 on pens)
June 29 – You’d hate to use the word ‘sterile’ to describe a Concacaf Gold Cup quarter-final, but following the drama and passion of Guatemala versus Canada, it all felt a little flat as the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) and Costa Rica kicked off for the right to face Guatemala in St. Louis. After 90 minutes and the drama of penalty kicks,
September 21 – Not before time, FIFA is set to back down and lift its ban on British national teams displaying the poppy symbols on shirts and armbands to honour the war dead of World War 1 and all conflicts since.
September 25 – The chaos of Sierra Leone took another political twist at the end of last week when the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) banned 19 officials from football activity in what was a response to the previous day’s indictment of Sierra Leone FA president Isha Johansen (pictured) on six corruption charges by the country’s anti-corruption commission.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 25 – After weeks of deliberation and speculation, Kenya has been stripped of the right to host the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) following last weekend’s Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive committee meeting in Accra led by CAF leader Ahmad Ahmad.
September 25 – UEFA has wasted no time securing its first media deals for its newly announced Nations League competition with China’s Super Sports Media stepping up to acquire exclusive digital media rights to the competition in China for the 2018-19 and 2020-21 editions of the competition.
September 25 – Hassan Al Thawadi (pictured), the public face of the Qatar World Cup, has made his latest defence of the Gulf state’s credentials – again denouncing the “negative headlines” about its right to stage the 2022 event despite the fact that it will be the first hosts to have never previously qualified for the finals.
By Samindra Kunti
September 25 – The Argentinean national women’s team has gone on strike, citing structural problems and a lack of basic resources to properly train and play matches. The strike is an embarrassment for the newly formed AFA management team which has only recently taken control of the federation after a FIFA normalisation committee had been parachuted in to run football in the country.
September 25 – With Europe’s giant clubs setting up academies, coaching schools and grassroots initiative across China, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) has stepped in to bring some kind of order to the chaos.
September 25 – The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) has hired Ty Francis to spearhead its commercial growth as the organisation builds its portfolio of products for the sports business and governing bodies.
September 22 – Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Paris St-Germain’s Neymar were selected Friday as the final three nominees for the Best FIFA Men’s Player award.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 22 – Russia’s new FIFA Council member, Alexey Sorokin, says his country fully deserves to maintain its place at FIFA’s top table. “The fact is it was important for Russia to preserve its place in the world governing body of football. We’ve had a role since 1947. We are a prominent football nation and we think we deserve a seat on the FIFA Council and deserve to take part in the overall management,” said Sorokin in an interview with Insideworldfootball.
By Paul Nicholson
September 22 – Liberian head coach James Debbah (pictured right with Must Bility) has apologised to journalist and broadcaster Danesius Marteh on the Liberian FA’s (LFA) Facebook site after Debbah assaulted Marteh during a radio show.
By Mark Baber
September 22 – The High Court’s ruling that the Kenyan Premier League should revert to a 16-club competition with immediate effect and nullification of the recent adoption of CAF/FIFA club licensing requirements will be challenged by the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) in the country’s Appeal Court.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 22 – For years, football’s European stakeholders – leagues, clubs and especially fans – have complained about meaningless friendlies and pushed for an alternative that makes games more competitive.
September 22- Real Madrid have renewed their shirt sponsorship deal with Dubai airline Emirates in a record value deal taking them through to the end of the 2020/21 season.
September 22 – Mexican football is on a hold as domestic clubs have rallied to offer aid relief after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake killed more than 200 people and inflicted mass devastation in Mexico.