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,
By Paul Nicholson
September 8 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has been forced to step in to protect the integrity and rights of its commercial partners following reported incidents concerning BeIN Sports having had their coverage of the Saudi Arabia vs Japan World Cup coverage disrupted.
September 8 – South Africa are considering appealing against FIFA’s decision to order a replay of their World Cup qualifier against Senegal 10 months ago over “match manipulation” by the referee.
September 8 – FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli over his middle-finger gesture during England’s World Cup qualifier against Slovakia on Monday.
September 8 – Bibiana Steinhaus has been announced as the referee for the game between Werder Bremen and Hertha Berlin on Sunday. She will be the first female referee to officiate in the Bundesliga.
September 8 – Edwin van der Sar, the former Dutch and Manchester United goalkeeper and now CEO of his beloved Ajax, says something has to be done about the European loan system which, he says, is stifling the first-team development of the brightest young talent.
September 8 – Forty-one North American cities have declared an interest in hosting matches at the 2026 World Cup as part of the joint bid by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
September 8 – Sports fashion retailer JD has become the first shirt sleeve sponsor of Premier League new boys Brighton & Hove Albion in an initial one season deal. No value was given for the sponsorship.
September 8 – England’s Women’s Super League could switch from two divisions of 10 teams to one division of 8-14 teams with full time professional players, and a second tier of 10-12 teams. The two divisions would operate independently, according to a report by the BBC.
September 7 – In a potentially far-reaching move that has been debated for months, English Premier League clubs have voted to close the summer transfer window before the first game of next season.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 7 – Like him or loathe him, it’s hard to ignore Javier Tebas when he is speaking his mind. Critics may accuse the Spanish league boss of being a publicity seeker but his comments at this week’s Soccerex sports business conference in Manchester, when he took to the podium with all guns blazing to attack those he accused of “financial doping”, was not some ill-thought-out rant.
By Paul Nicholson at the Edinburgh Sports Conference
September 7 – The transfer window just closed saw player agents earn more than $76 million in commissions England, once again the highest value market in Europe for football’s intermediaries.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 7 – Manchester City have vehemently defended their conduct in the transfer market after both they and Paris St Germain were accused by Spanish league boss Javier Tebas of “financial doping”.
By Mark Baber
September 7 – The Head of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, has slammed claims that the Iran-Syria game was fixed. Analysis of the game highlights confirms the Iranians made a determined effort to win.
September 7 – Ten months after South Africa beat Senegal in a World Cup qualifier, FIFA has taken the unusual step of ordering the match to be replayed after the official who refereed the game was banned for life.
By Paul Nicholson
September 7 – David Chung, president of the Oceania Football Confederation and the second highest official at FIFA as senior vice president, is under increasing pressure from football stakeholders in his home country Papua New Guinea, where a breakaway group of top clubs is running its own league and development programmes already with greater numbers and participation than Chung’s FIFA-backed organisation.