August 16 – MLS team LA Galaxy has signed a multi-year partnership with Virtual Reality firm Laduma to create original 360-degree 3D VR content experiences around the club and its star players.
August 16 – City Football Group (CFG), owner of Manchester City, has committed to funding a Special Olympics project in Beijing, China, for the next three years.
August 16 – William Hill has agreed a three-year title sponsorship of The Football Writers’ Association (FWA), taking over from Barclays Bank after 15 years as the organisation’s principal supporter.
By Samindra Kunti
August 15 – The delirious scenes over the weekend as the Brazilian national women’s and men’s teams progressed to the semi-final brackets of their Olympic football tournaments revealed a nation desperate for success in their chosen sport, one that they know has been their national showcase to the rest of world. Olympic football in South America is important, in Brazil, at these games, it has almost reached defining importance.
August 15 – Last to turn up at the men’s Olympic football party in Brazil, could the Nigerians also be the last to leave? From being stranded in the US where plane tickets for the next leg of their journey to the tournament had not been paid, the African nation have fought their way through to the semi-finals and a match-up against Germany.
August 15 – The hate-hate relationship between Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley and and Rangers FC’s board is heading back to the Scottish courtrooms with Rangers claiming Sports Direct paid itself illegal dividends from Rangers Retail and suing former directors of the club for £4 million.
August 15 – The long march of Chinese money into Europe’s big leagues took a significant step into France’s Ligue 1 this weekend with Olympique Lyonnais owner OL Groupe announcing that Chinese investment fund IDG Capital Partners has agreed to take a 20% stake in the club.
August 15 – Roma’s proposed Stadio della Roma may not have started its build yet but it does have management consultants contracted, emphasising AS Roma’s American president Jim Pallota’s ambition for the club to build a new home in what is a challenging local construction environment.
August 15 – It was the shock result of the tournament, The US women’s team, so dominant in the women’s game as current World and Olympic champions, crashed out on penalties in the quarter finals to Sweden who only scraped into the knockout rounds as third place qualifier in their group.
August 15 – Trials of the video assistant referee system (VAR)has continued in the US with the third tier USL league, working in collaboration with Major League Soccer (MLS).
August 15 – Premier League Stoke City has stepped up its push into Arabic markets with the appointment of KingFut as the club’s official digital media partner.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 12 – Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the former Chilean FA boss who led the FIFA evaluation team for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, has broken his long silence over his ban from the game, accusing FIFA of double-standards and of blocking his attempts to gain justice.
August 12 – Charlton Athletic (CAFC), relegated to England’s third tier Division 1 with a cacophony of complaint from its fans last season, has acted to control the social media agenda by threatening a fan to withhold his season ticket unless he stops posting aggressively about the club’s ownership.
August 12 – An arrest warrant has been issued in Turkey for former international striker Hakan Sukur as part of the investigation into the failed July 15 coup. Houses in Istanbul and Sakarya were raided but Sukur is understood to be living in the US.
August 12 – Premier League Crystal Palace have added a third new sponsor partner in time for the start of the season this weekend. New Amsterdam Vodka has become the club’s Official Vodka Partner.