By Paul Nicholson
April 6 – The bitter conflict over broadcast rights and piracy in Saudi Arabia has seen the first regional resolution with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announcing an exclusive agreement with the Saudi Sports Company for the media rights to all its competitions for the 2021-2024 commercial cycle.
April 6 – After being empty for more than year because of the coronavirus pandemic, Wembley will welcome 8,000 fans for this month’s League Cup final between holders Manchester City, who are going for a unique quadruple of trophies, and Tottenham Hotspur.
April 6 – A Serbian referee has been handed a 15-month prison sentence and banned from officiating in his country for 10 years after awarding two highly suspicious penalties, one of which was described as “scandalous” by the local media.
April 6 – Umbro and the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) have extended their partnership to sponsor the country’s national teams in a new four-year deal.
April 6 – Premier League Everton have agreed what they are describing as a short-term strategic sponsorship deal with global gaming brand MY.GAMES.
April 6 – Valencia’s La Liga fixture at Cádiz on Sunday was suspended for 20 minutes after the visitors walked off the pitch in solidarity with one of their players who said he was subjected to racist abuse.
April 6 – Tottenham Hotspur are the latest club to call on social media companies to do more to combat racist trolls after their Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez revealed abuse was directed at him following the club’s 2-2 draw with Newcastle at the weekend.
By David Owen
April 5 – The high cost of escaping the second-tier Championship for the Premier League’s promised land has been highlighted once again, with Leeds United posting a pre-tax loss of a stunning £62.4 million for its promotion season.
Without fans football has at times been void of excitement during the coronavirus pandemic. Football is not just about the players and the ball but rather the atmosphere created by the game and the fans on the stands. There are countless situations in football history where fans have lit football matches with crazy reactions.
By David Owen
April 5 – Burnley, the English Premier League club recently taken over by Jersey-incorporated Velocity Sports, an entity controlled by new club chairman Alan Pace, has joined the select group of top-flight teams to have turned a profit in 2019-20 – albeit a tiny one.
April 3 – Manchester United have launched two Easter campaigns with compelling social action messages. Through its foundation and its co-operation with FareShare it will distribute 21,300 food hampers to families in Manchester. At the same time the club has continued its anti-discrimination campaign with the roll out of SEE RED.
By David Owen
April 2 – Championship-bound Sheffield United have become only the third Premier League club to date to post a pre-tax profit for the covid-affected 2019-20 financial year.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 1 – With a view to having as many fans as possible at this summer’s delayed European Championship finals, UEFA has scrapped its own ceiling on stadium capacity for fixtures that come under its jurisdiction.
April 1 – We all love a bit of football and there are some amazing movies out there to keep us engrossed. Full of emotion and passion, they can take us away from it all.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 1 – The Confederation of African Football has rescheduled the controversially postponed Sierra Leone-Benin AFCON qualifier until the next international window June, the latest illustration of the haphazard nature of the organisation’s decision making.
