January 12 – The rapidly growing partnership between the NFL and UK fans of the sport breaks new ground later this year when Tottenham Hotspur’s new 61,000-seat stadium hosts an NFL fixture for the first time when the Seattle Seahawks play the Oakland Raiders on October 14.
January 12 – Referees in African international matches are to be paid directly by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) instead of national associations in the wake of Ghanaian official Joseph Lamptey’s (pictured) life ban for match-fixing.
January 12 – Brazilian superstar Neymar has announced the launch of his own app – Neymar Experience – in partnership with mobile technology company Digible.
January 12 – Everton have set a 2022 target for taking occupancy of their new waterfront stadium at Bramley Moore Dock in Liverpool, at the same time that estimated costs have been acknowledged as having risen from an initial estimate of £300 million to £500 million.
January 11 – Forget the often over-contrived confederation year end awards, surely a real vote is one cast by the people? If so, then the UEFA.com Fans’ Team of the Year 2017 is what really counts with a record (and remarkable) 8.77 million votes cast, an increase of 1.6 million over 2016.
January 11 – FIFA has become embroiled in yet another unwanted potential scandal after Austrian prosecutors revealed they were investigating the head of the country’s national federation (OeFB) Leo Windtner (pictured) over a payment from FIFA in the build-up to Sepp Blatter’s re-election as president in 2015.
January 11 – The English FA has unveiled a package of new financing that centres around increasing investment in the English game from to £123 million to £180 million. The FA also said that it will have paid off its Wembley National Stadium debt by the end of 2024.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 11 – Little more than a month after the Council of Europe issued a scathing attack on FIFA’s governance, the two organisations have agreed to work closer together and strengthen co-operation.
January 11 – Manchester United and Sevilla are locked in a bitter ticket war over their forthcoming Champions League last-16 clash with the Spanish club saying they will report United to UEFA for not offering their fans enough seats.
January 11 – The use of video assistant referees, which made its debut in English football this week, is the main topic of discussion at the rescheduled business meeting of the International FA Board (IFAB), guardians of the game, on January 22.
January 11 – The Confederation of African football CAF has sent an inspection team to Cameroon to assess the preparations for the 2019 African Cup of Nations. In the past CAF president Ahmad Ahmad has repeatedly cast doubt over Cameroon’s credentials to stage the tournament.
By Paul Nicholson
January 10 – While dates have still to be set for the sentencing of former Brazilian FA president Jose Maria Marin and former South American confederation president Juan Angel Napout – both found guilty of corruption in the FIFA-gate case on December 21 – former CONCACAF president Jeff Webb’s sentencing date has been moved again, this time to March 7.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 10 – A year after a court in Malta described match-fixing as “a cancer at the heart of football,” UEFA has banned six Maltese under-21 football players for offences in relation to two European qualifying matches.
January 10 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship 2018 kicked off in China on Tuesday with the host nation China recording a comfortable 3-0 win over Oman and Qatar beating Uzbekistan 1-0.
January 10 – FIFA’s video game partner EA Sports has launched a vote for its own FIFA Team of The Year, with voters using social media to post their votes and promote their selections.