Qatar 2022 World Cup ticket sales open with final priced at $1,617 for Cat1
January 19 – Tickets for the Qatar 2022 World Cup have gone on sale, with individual ticket prices ranging from $69 to $1,607 for the showpiece final.
Author: Paul Nicholson
AFCON: Comoros surprise win ends Ghana’s tournament
January 19 – Comoros stunned Ghana 3-2 with their first-ever win at the Africa Cup of Nations to eliminate the Black Stars from the continental finals in the group stage.
Turkey commits 3,250-person force to Qatar for 2022 World Cup security
January 19 – Turkey say they will send 3,250 security officers to Qatar for the World Cup in November this year.
Is Infantino losing Africa? CAF furiously questions FIFA ‘partnership’ over Gueye ban
By Paul Nicholson
January 19 – Cracks look to be appearing in FIFA’s suffocating dominance of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), divisions that could signal a weakening FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s powerbase within his core support.
Serie A rolls out limited edition Supercoppa NFTs
January 19 – Just a week after the playing of the Supercoppa Frecciarossa between Inter and Juventus, Serie A have launched their latest limited edition NFT collection on Crypto.com.
Giggs’ Welsh return on hold as court date pushed to August
January 19 – The trial of Wales manager Ryan Giggs over alleged domestic violence has been delayed until August 8 – due to a lack of court space.
Spain mourns loss of Real Madrid legend Paco Gento, aged 88
January 19 – Real Madrid and Spain legend Francisco ‘Paco’ Gento, the only player to have won the old European Cup six times, has died aged 88.
SIGA keeps the sport integrity pressure on with Azores MoU
January 19 – The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) has continued to gather new members and supporters with the signing of what is described as a ‘large scale’ co-operation agreement with the Government of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal.
Mannaert to keep Belgian Pro League role despite being named in ‘Clean Hands’ probe
By Samindra Kunti
January 18 – Club Brugge’s Vincent Mannaert (pictured) has retained his six-month mandate to lead the Pro League, even after he was named as one of 57 suspects in operation ‘Clean Hands’.
AFCON: CAS overrules FIFA and allows banned Papa Gueye back into Senegal team
January 18 – In a snub to FIFA, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has overturned a decision to suspend Pape Gueye from the African Cup of Nations with the Marseille midfielder now free to play for Senegal.
Heart trouble: Arsenal’s Aubameyang leaves Gabon squad
January 18 – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang insists he departed the Africa Cup of Nations due to medical reasons and played down speculation of a disciplinary breach.
Burnley lose another fixture as covid hits squad
January 18 – Burnley vs Leicester has become the latest Premier League game to be postponed because of Covid-19 and injuries among home players.
Brand Britain: Premier League generated £7.6bn for UK economy in covid-hit 2019-20
January 18 – An economic and social impact report highlights the contribution of the Premier League to brand Britain, as well as the important social role it plays within the UK and in England in particular.
Yellow card amnesty for European World Cup plays offs benefits 100 players, but not Ibra
January 18 – An amnesty for yellow cards in European qualifying for the World Cup has lifted the threat of suspension for dozens of players involved in the playoffs in March.
Sale of Watkins and Benrahma offsets operating losses at Premier League new boys Brentford
By David Owen
January 18 – Brentford, the West London club whose finances have been transformed by promotion to the top tier for the first time since 1946-47, have produced figures for the year to end-June 2021, their promotion season.