By Andrew Warshaw
October 23 – The global outcry surrounding Saudi Arabia in the wake of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi will be the elephant in the room when Gianni Infantino’s plans to radically change the game’s global landscape is discussed by the FIFA Council later this week.
October 23 – Cristiano Ronaldo has broken his silence over the rape allegations against him saying his “lawyers are confident” and that the truth will come out.
October 23 – Italy has a new federation (FICG) president with Gabriele Gravina (pictured) elected on Monday almost a year after the departure of his predecessor.
October 23 – Four years after the death of Julio Grondona, once the second-most powerful man in world football, Argentina has temporarily regained a place at the top table of FIFA.
October 23 – Germany’s DFL will kick off its first esports league, the VBL Club Championship (Virtual Bundesliga), on the EA Sports FIFA 19 platform in January next year. Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 teams have until December 21 to register teams.
October 23 – The UK tax authorities are following the Spanish lead and focussing on payments to players for their image rights that have not been declared for tax. The payments are made separate to the player’s salary and are often taken outside the UK by companies holding the rights, rather than directly to the players or managers.
By David Owen
October 23 – Next month will bring the end of a football broadcasting era, with Francis Tellier set to step down as chief executive of Host Broadcast Services (HBS) after almost two decades.
October 22 – Bookmaker Betfred has agreed a one-year extension to its title sponsorship of the Scottish League Cup taking the company through to the end of the 2019/20 season.
October 22 – Asian football is mourning the death of former Asian Football Confederation general secretary Peter Velappen, for years the public face of Asian football, with the tributes led by AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa.
October 22 – Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has launched an unprecedented attack on the media for their criticism of the German giants, even citing the country’s constitution.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 22 – Bemoaning the fact that Europe’s top 14 clubs pocket around half the revenue on offer from the Champions league, the umbrella organisation for Europe’s major leagues have renewed their call to UEFA to impose greater competitive balance between the haves and have-nots.
October 22 – Paris Saint-Germain has expanded its esports division partnership with Chinese esports organisation LGD Gaming to form a FIFA Online team as it builds its brand presence on the continent.
October 22 – Amateur club organisation US Club Soccer, which has more than 4,000 members across the US, has launched a club certification system based on its Players First philosophy.
October 22 – The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has launched a project to recruit 100 foreign football coaches to work at grassroots centres across the country.
October 22 – The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) has announced Philadelphia as the second city to have a team in the third tier league when it kicks off play in 2019. While the location in the City of Brotherly Love has been announced, the club’s home venue, ownership and team name is still to be released.