Canada 4 Martinique 0
By Paul Nicholson at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena
June 15 – Four goals from a rampant Canada opened the 2019 Gold Cup in style at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The Canadians issued an early warning that talk of them being contenders for the title is not misplaced. Group and tournament favourites Mexico will have taken note.
June 12 – The US broke a World Cup record by annihilating Thailand 13-0 to begin their title defence with an emphatic statement. Alex Morgan grabbed five goals in a 90-minute massacre.
June 12 – Alipay, the world’s leading digital payment and lifestyle platform with more than 1 billion users, has activated its European partnership with a new UEFA lifestyle ‘mini-app’.
By Paul Nicholson
June 11 – More detail surrounding the commercial deals between French equipment supply company Tactical Steel and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and its embattled president Ahmad Ahmad are emerging, with a new company, ES Pro Consulting, now being linked to the parties.
June 11 – The United States will launch their title defence at the Women’s World Cup in Reims, France, against Thailand tonight. The Americans, the most successful team in women’s football, are sky-high favourites to win the tournament.
June 11 – Turkish authorities have protested at how the country’s national footballers were treated at Iceland’s Reykjavik airport in the build-up to tonight’s Euro 2020 qualifier.
June 11 – Macau have refused to travel to Sri Lanka to complete their 2022 World Cup qualifier citing concerns over safety in the country.
June 11 – Adidas has announced it is starting legal proceeding against the Spanish FA (RFEF) for seeking early termination of their kit partnership that runs through to 2026.
June 11 – Zambia won the Cosafa Cup in a narrow victory 1-0 over Botswana in Durban, South Africa, in the annual Southern Africa championship.
June 11 – Fly-on-the-wall documentaries charting the seasons (and generally struggles) of fallen giants battling to return to former glories makes popular television. English Championship club Leeds United look set to become the latest English club to feature in an Amazon documentary series.
June 11- English League 2 club Stevenage has turned to sports investment platform Tifosy to raise £1.2 million by offering 12% equity in the club.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 10 – Battle lines have been drawn in the race to stage the 2030 World Cup with the Spanish FA confirming, after months of speculation, that they and Portugal are seriously considering making a joint bid.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 10 – In its most significant stance yet to combat sexual abuse of women players, FIFA has banned for life one of the most notorious culprits, former Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) president Keramuudin Karim (pictured), and also fined him one million Swiss francs.
By Samindra Kunti in Valenciennes, France
June 10 – England edged a strong and valiant Scotland 2-1 to get their World Cup campaign off on a high. Brazil and Germany also got off to winning starts while Italy upset Australia 2-1 in the opening weekend of the tournament.
By Abdelaziz Abuhamar
June 10 – Former CAF General Secretary Amr Fahmy has made a rare TV statement on the corruption investigations against CAF president Ahmad Ahmad, (pictured) claiming that his case was inspired by Egypt President Abdelfattah Al-Sisi.
June 10 – Portugal won the inaugural Nations League defeating the Netherlands 1-0 to record a historic double for Fernando Santos’ team. England claimed third-place in the competition, edging Switzerland on penalties.