By Andrew Warshaw
January 21 – In a rare collective show of strength, FIFA and its six individual confederations have threatened a World Cup ban on players who take part in any proposed European Super League – and have been simultaneously backed by Europe’s leagues.
By Paul Nicholson
January 21 – FIFA has replaced three of the four members its Normalisation Committee running football in Pakistan in a bid to bring “fresh impetus” to the process of getting the federation compliant with FIFA regulations and organise new elections.
January 21 – The English Premier League is making a head start on everyone else by becoming the first competition to approve permanent concussion substitutes from next week.
January 21 – Rotation can backfire. An understrength Real Madrid crashed out of the Spanish Cup in the round of 32 at the hands of third-division club Alcoyano on Wednesday, increasing pressure on French coach Zinedine Zidane.
January 21 – Egypt’s Mansour Group have acquired a majority stake in Right To Dream, the company behind Danish top flight club FC Nordsjaelland.
January 21 – Amnesty International UK have joined with the English Football Association in issuing a free guide and online training series which aims to increase refugee women’s participation in grassroots football.
January 21 – The first of this year’s two Club World Cups in Qatar will kick off February 4 with Concacaf champions Tigres UANL Mexico facing the AFC’s Champions League winners Ulsan Hyundai from South Korea.
January 21 – Under-fire Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is to be given more time to turn around the fortunes of the club, according to British reports, after they slumped to eighth in the Premier League despite spending a whopping £220 million during the summer.
January 21 – With hopes for an end to lockdown seemingly high in the north-west of England, Premier League Everton have agreed a multi-year deal with Clarity Sports to become the club’s new Official Team & Business Travel Partner and Match Break partner.
January 20 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, who has been wrestling with how to successfully and safely put on Euro 2020 ever since it was delayed by a year because of Covid-19, is now considering staging it in a single country, according to Bayern Munich boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
January 20 – Five Bayern Munich players and seven Olympique Lyonnais stars dominate the UEFA.com men’s and women’s teams of the year, as voted for by almost 6 million fans on the website.
January 20 – As the delayed African Nations Championship (CHAN) continues in Cameroon following its eagerly awaited kick-off last weekend, complete with trademark fanfare, off the field there is anything but unity in the bosom of the national federation (Fecafoot) which has been riven with political division.
January 20 – Canada’s MLS franchise based in Montreal will start the 2021 season with a new name, changing its 28-year moniker from Montreal Impact Club de Foot Montréal (CF Montréal).
January 21 – Football clubs’ engagement with eSports platforms has taken a deeper dive with 23 teams from around, including Manchester City, Juventus, Inter and AC Milan, partnering with Epic Games – the creator of video game Fortnite – to bring the first-ever official football kit inspired skins to the game.
January 20 – Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, nations bidding to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, will play in a tri-nations tournament in February to promote their hosting credentials.
