North Korea beat Japan to win U20 Women’s Asian Cup, Aussies take 3rd spot
March 18 – DPR Korea came from behind to beat Japan 2-1 in the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2024 final at the JAR Stadium.
Author: Paul Nicholson
Georgi Ivanov beats Dimitar Berbatov to Bulgarian FA presidency
March 18 – Former Bulgarian international and Levski Sofia legend Georgi Ivanov-Gonzo is the new president of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU), beating former Manchester United star Dimitar Berbatov to the post in the first round of voting.
Man Utd dump Liverpool, Man City beat Newcastle to set up possible rerun of all-Manchester FA Cup final
March 18 – Manchester United have been handed a dream FA Cup semi-final draw after beating Liverpool 4-3 in an Old Trafford thriller, and could face rivals Manchester City in the final for the second year running.
Brugge fire Ronny Deila after poor run of results
March 18 – Club Brugge have dismissed their Norwegian manager Ronny Deila following a 2-1 defeat to STVV on the last day of the regular season, leaving the club with little to play for on the domestic front.
Spain extend World ranking lead as US drop to fourth
March 18 – The Official FIFA Women’s world rankings have undergone a reshuffle following the recent international break, as the US Women’s National Team suffer an all-time lowest placement despite lifting the W Gold Cup earlier this month.
Las Palmas focussed on being a ‘selling’ club with Moleiro set to follow in Pedri’s footsteps
March 18 – UD Las Palmas Sporting Director Luis Helguera has backed young star Alberto Moleiro to become the next Pedri, explaining his club’s business model as an ‘academy’ club whose revenue model is based on developing and selling players.
Land of the giants: Man City face Real Madrid, PSG meet Barca in UCL quarter-finals
March 15 – Holders Manchester City have yet again been drawn against Real Madrid in the heavyweight clash of the Champions League quarterfinals, a tie that sees the most recent winners of Europe’s premier club competition take on its most successful side.
Just three years in, NWSL’s San Diego Wave sells for women’s club record $113m
March 15 – The San Diego Wave, who this weekend will start just their third season in the NWSL, will set a new record for the most expensive sale of a women’s club franchise following a staged $113 million deal agreed with Los Angeles-based couple Arthur Levine and Lauren Leichtman.
Australia, Uzbekistan win AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 and 2029 hosting rights
March 15 – Football Australia and the Uzbekistan Football Association (UFA) have been nominated as the recommended Host Associations for the 2026 and 2029 editions of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
Nagelsmann shakes up his German squad pre-Euros, Toney get England call-up
March 15 – Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann has shaken up his under-performing squad before this summer’s European Championship, which the country is hosting, by naming six new players for warmups against France and the Netherlands.
FIFA awards 5 years of World Cup U17 hosting to Qatar and Morocco, starting 2025
March 15 – In a surprise move, global governing body FIFA has awarded five expanded U-17 World Cups to Qatar and five 24-team U-17 Women’s World Cups to Morocco, highlighting Qatar’s enduring influence in the game and the organisation’s insatiable expansion drive.
Jamaican presidential battle stays nasty as Ricketts and Anderson head into Sunday’s election
March 15 – The Jamaican Football Federation (JFF) will hold the postponed election for president on Sunday (March 17), with incumbent Michael Ricketts going head-head with challenger Raymond Anderson, currently the JFF’s first vice-president.
Norwegian club to lobby at federation AGM for boycott of Saudi Arabia 2034
March 15 – Norwegian club Frederikstad have voted to pressure their national federation to boycott the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia that FIFA is expected to award to the Arab Kingdom this year because there are no other bidding candidates.
Everton can’t score goals for toffee
March 15 – As Roma, Inter Milan and Arsenal are the three most lethal teams when it comes to taking goal chances in Europe’s Big 5 leagues.
Europe’s sponsorship market hits €30.9bn record
March 15 – European sponsorship has surged to €30.9 billion, marking a return to pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest research by the European Sponsorship Association (ESA) in collaboration with Nielsen Sports.