Barca confirm €207.5m sale of stake in TV rights to Sixth Street
July 1 – Barcelona have confirmed the sale of a 10% stake in their LaLiga TV rights for the next 25 years to US private equity firm Sixth Street.
Author: Paul Nicholson
FIFA greenlights return of Pakistan’s domestic league and international play
July 1 – Fifteen months after the country was kicked out of world football for “undue third-party interference”, FIFA has lifted its suspension of Pakistan.
AFC U23 Asian Cup breaks social media with video content hitting 46.9m views
July 1 – The AFC is reporting record engagement across its social media channels for its just completed U23 Asian Cup in Uzbekistan, hitting a high of nearly 340 million impressions, a jump of 193.8% over the Thailand edition years ago.
Qatar human rights concerns force Shrewsbury to cancel friendly against club side
July 1 – A second English team has cancelled a fixture against Qatari opposition following a backlash over the World Cup host’s human rights record.
Canada taking big steps but can they maintain a sustainable pace?
July 1 – Football is a cruel master, Canada will tell you. Having broken back into the upper echelons of Concacaf’s national team hierarchy with World Cup 2022 qualification, they came down to earth with a bump losing the second match of their new Nations League campaign to Honduras.
UEFA working group finds Qatar is making human rights progress, but cautions still more to do
June 30 – A UEFA working group studying human rights conditions in Qatar has made its third visit to the World Cup hosts and acknowledged that significant progress has been made.
Concacaf W favourites unveil squads stacked with the big name stars of the women’s game
June 30 – The final 23-player rosters for the Concacaf W Championship have been released for the eight nations with the US and Canada, the two red-hot favourites for the tournament stacking their squads with in-form stars and big names.
Football hate crime can be punished with stadium bans, says UK criminal prosecution body
June 30 – Fans convicted of football-related online hate crime can now be banned from attending matches in the UK, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service has announced.
Al-Thawadi, Thomsen and Traverso line-up for Sport Integrity Week big bash in September
June 30 – Qatar 2022 chief Hassan Al-Thawadi, UEFA’s financial sustainability guru Andrea Traverso and European Leagues chairman Claus Thomsen are amongst the first headliners from football who are lined up to speak at Sport Integrity Week, September 12-16.
Just as Serie A and beIN looked to be kissing and making up, De Servio hits self destruct
By Paul Nicholson
June 30 – Just as Serie A looked to have repaired bridges with beIN Sports for its broadcast rights in the Middle East and Africa, the league’s chief executive Luigi De Servio has surprisingly cast doubts on a potential deal brokered by AS Roma that could bring the league and the broadcaster back into alignment.
Concacaf rolls out its new Coaching Convention as it seeks to unlock regional potential
June 30 – Concacaf has begun the rollout of its newly launched Coaching Convention across its region with a number of ‘Coach Education exchanges’.
Spreadex bet on a Sunderland push for the Premier League with 3-year deal
June 30 – Sunderland, better known these days for the club’s Netflix documentary than its football performances, has named betting firm Spreadex as its main shirt sponsor in a three-season deal ending in the summer of 2025.
Indonesian government backs PSSI bid to host 2023 Asian Cup saying it will be event ready
June 29 – Indonesia has become the latest country to express an interest in hosting the 2023 Asian Cup after government authorities threw their weight behind the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) bidding plans.
Final Qatar 2022 tickets to go on sale July 5, FIFA pushes sustainability messaging
June 29 – FIFA have announced that remaining tickets for the Qatar 2022 World Cup will go on sale July 5 on a first-come, first-served basis.