December 12 – The CIES Football Observatory has ranked the top 10 performers in the Big 5 European leagues so far this season in eight positions. Four leagues have players filling top positions, only the Bundesliga fails to have a position leader.
December 12 – Premier League fixtures are coming thick and fast in the run-up to and through Christmas. Last week’s round 16 fixtures are followed by another round of mid-week fixtures starting tonight. December will see seven rounds of Premier League fixtures completed.
December 12 – Spurs fans nostalgic for their old White Hart Lane stadium can now revisit the stadium via a 360 degree video on the web titled ‘The Lane 360’. It is the first football club video of its kind celebrating the dismantled stadium and allowing users to immerse themselves in a journey through the old ground, including watching archive footage.
By Paul Nicholson
December 11 – Musa Bility, the controversial president of the Liberian FA (LFA), is directing LFA officials and standing committees to exclude his arch-critic Rochell Woodson from standing against him in presidential elections due in March 2018.
December 11 – Real Madrid will have to overcome one of the teams of the moment if they want to achieve a hattrick of Champions League crowns.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 11 – FIFA’s highly controversial decision to purge its senior governance officials last May with the backing of Gianni Infantino has been seriously called into question in a scathing attack by the Council of Europe.
By Mark Baber
December 11 – Turkish footballers and fans protested US President Trump’s controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, unfurling pro-Palestine banners at domestic football matches.
December 11 – The Premier League’s tender for its domestic broadcast rights package for 2019-22 has seen the league boost the number of packages available to seven with a total of 200 live games (up from 168).
By Paul Nicholson
December 11 – Toronto FC have created their own piece of history becoming the first Canadian team to win the MLS Cup and the first team to win the treble of domestic honours. The final also gave the opportunity for the United 2026 World Cup bid of Canada, Mexico and the US to promise a 2026 finals that will be bigger, better and more.
December 12 – Further pressure is growing on Zimbabwean football boss Philip Chiyangwa, an ally of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, after his leadership came under a strongly worded attack from former Zimbabwe FA (ZIFA) chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze.
December 11 – Trials of assistant video referees in the German Bundesliga threw up yet another controversial case at the weekend when a player had actually left the field after being sent off before being called back on.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 8 – And then there were 12. If UEFA’s decision to drop Brussels as one of the 13 original hosts of Euro 2020 was widely anticipated, handing Wembley the four matches the Belgian capital would otherwise have staged is hard to justify in terms of what the tournament is supposed to stand for.
December 8 – UEFA has set the seedings for the inaugural Nations League draw on January 24 with Germany, Portugal, Belgium and Spain in Pot 1 of League A. England are in Pot 2 of the same league.
December 8 – Within 48 hours of being re-instated by FIFA following a two-year ban, Kuwait has been confirmed as host of the upcoming Gulf Cup, ending widespread uncertainty over whether the troubled event can take place.
December 8 – Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded the Ballon d‘Or for world player of the year on Thursday for a joint-record fifth time, equalling the feat of Lionel Messi.