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,
October 22 – UEFA has signed three start-up businesses as part of its business innovation drive to develop new technologies and products that will significantly impact the commercial management and promotion of football and its assets.
October 22 – In September the Qataris launched the official emblem for the 2022 World Cup. Last week they launched a new official emblem for this year’s Club World Cup to be played in December.
By David Owen
October 21 – Women’s football is on a roll – and more power to its elbow for that. Nonetheless, the viewing figures for this summer’s Women’s World Cup, released at the end of last week to some fanfare, deserve to be treated with a certain amount of caution.
October 21 – Plans to stage a La Liga fixture in Miami have been resurrected, this time involving Villarreal’s home game against Atletico Madrid on December 6.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 21 – Everyone was appalled by the headline-making events in Sofia recently when England’s black players were verbally abused by a section of the Bulgarian fans.
October 21 – Racism has once more marred Italian football. This time Sampdoria and England U-21 midfielder Ronaldo Vieira was the target of monkey chants from AS Roma fans.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 21 – In another strategic move to preserve football’s geo-political status quo, UEFA have decided to keep apart Russia and Kosovo in European competition because of “security risks”.
October 21 – FIFA is expected to confirm China this week as host for its 24-team Club World Cup in 2021, overcoming opposition from Europe. The revamped tournament will provide the Zurich-based body with a new revenue stream.
By David Owen
October 21 – India’s Reliance Industries is mulling bidding for Indian streaming rights for the English Premier League and other top-notch sports competitions in future. Nita Ambani, a Reliance board member, told the Financial Times: “I would be very interested to get the digital rights of some of these games to be shown on digital in India.”
October 21 – Another weekend, another raging VAR controversy, this time surrounding Liverpool’s high-profile globally televised fixture at Manchester United on Sunday with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp declaring the way the technology is being used in England does not make “too much sense”.
By Samindra Kunti
October 18 – At last, Indian football has a roadmap. After years of dragging its feet the Indian governing body, AIFF has presented a plan to establish a single league by the 2024-25 season.
October 18 – Conmebol has proposed the format for South American qualification route for the revamped club World Cup in 2021, but has met opposition to the proposal from heavyweight regional giant.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 18 – No final decision on the format to revamp the Champions League post-2024 will be taken for at least a year but a closed shop competition is a “no go” area, according to the head of the umbrella body representing Europe’s major leagues.
October 18 – Senegal has denied reports of age-cheating after announcing their 21-man squad for the Under-17 World Cup in Brazil later this month.
October 18 – British politicians from across all parties are urging UEFA to ban teams who do not tackle racism effectively, following Monday’s highly publicised incidents in Sofia when England played Bulgaria.