West Ham engage with MuchBetter as digital payments partner
May 13 – Premier League West Ham have announced MuchBetter as their official online and digital payments partner.
New FIFA player contract rules aim at stability and clarify termination conditions
By Andrew Warshaw in Madrid
May 10 – Recently introduced legal moves designed to improve the financial relationship between clubs and players will act as important milestone in contractual stability, according to one of FIFA’s top legal experts.
Ban served, Mayne-Nicholls returns to football with Colo Colo in Chile
By Andrew Warshaw
May 10 – Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the FIFA-appointed official who led the inspection team that evaluated the credentials of all 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding candidates – only to be later banned for requesting work placements at Qatar’s famed Aspire academy – is back in football.
Arsenal and Chelsea make it an all-English party at top of UEFA’s club competitions
May 10 – Whether or not it is healthy for the European game remains highly questionable but English clubs have made history by taking all four spots in the finals of UEFA’s two major competitions, the first time this has happened anywhere on the Continent.
Greek Cup final to be played in an empty Olympic stadium
May 10 – The Greek Cup final between AEK and PAOK tomorrow will be played in an almost empty stadium following a government decision to ban fans for fear of crowd trouble.
LaLiga unveils record combined revenues of €4.4bn
May 10 – LaLiga’s aggressive international expansion and the smart player trading of its clubs has seen combined club revenues hit a record €4.479 billion for the 2017/18 season, a growth of 20.6% over the previous year.
Virgin Media extend with Saints and add women’s team to sponsor package
May 10 – Premier League Southampton have secured Virgin Media as the club’s sleeve sponsor in a three-year deal taking the partnership through to the end of the 2021/22 season.
Genius Sports wins ‘betting’ data contract for English and Scottish football
May 10 – Genius Sports, via its Betgenius division, has been won the exclusive rights from Football Dataco to collect and distribute official betting data for all the professional league and cup competitions in English and Scottish football, including the Premier League and English Football League.
Facebook to go behind the scenes at Copa America
May 10 – Facebook, which is gradually becoming a broadcast rights competitor for premium tier live football rights, has signed a content deal with Conmebol for this Summer’s Copa America in Brazil.
Expect the unexpected: Spurs deliver stunning second night of Champions League drama
By Andrew Warshaw
May 9 – Never in the modern era of European football’s greatest club competition have there been two back-to-back semi-finals quite like it.
Ceferin calls for calm as stakeholder debate over Champions League reform intensifies
May 9 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has issued a call for all relevant stakeholders not to jump to conclusions amid ongoing heated debate over proposed radical changes to the Champions League post-2024.
AFC re-tenders Saudi media rights sparking beIN fury and a broadcast power play
By Paul Nicholson
May 9 – The unrelenting piracy of TV rights in the middle east by Saudi Arabia-based broadcaster BeoutQ has ultimately forced a radical rethink of broadcast rights sales in the region with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) having announced it is retendering media rights for the country for the 2021-24 period.
Blatter threaten to sue Infantino over defamatory comments, and wants his watches back
May 9 – Banned former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, out of the spotlight in recent months, has revealed he plans to sue world football’s governing body and his successor Gianni Infantino for allegedly spreading “false information” and damaging his reputation, according to reports in Switzerland.
Nike kit deal with Barca could block women’s team entry into NWSL in US
May 9 – Barcelona, who have plans to enter a professional team in the US National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), have hit a stumbling block over their kit supply deal with Nike.
Concacaf to draw groups for restyled U17 Women’s Championship
May 9 – Concacaf have unveiled details of their restructured 2020 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship which will be played over three rounds by 32 nations.