January 10 – Italy’s Serie A, mired in multiple integrity issues including its failure to act on institutional racist issues, election malfeasance and its controversial Super Cup deal with Saudi Arabia, has elected Paolo Dal Pino as its new president.
January 10 – International players’ union FIFPro has launched a Global Player Council to strengthen the role of male and female professional footballers.
January 10 – In search of a final career challenge, has Michel Platini decided which path to take?
January 9 – Senegal’s Sadio Mane has apologised for not visiting his homeland before returning to Liverpool after being named African Player of the Year.
January 10 – With the AFC’s U23 Championship and Olympic qualifiers in full swing, Concacaf have announced the draw for the eight-team tournament that will qualify their two teams for the Tokyo 2020 game.
January 10 – Amid all the criticism over human rights abuses and accusations of sports washing at the address of Saudi Arabia and its hosting of the Spanish Super Cup, Atletico Madrid tore up the script on Thursday in Jeddah by defeating FC Barcelona 2-3 to set up a Spanish Super Cup final against city rivals Real Madrid.
January 10 – Ajax’s United States international right-back Sergino Dest has left his club’s training camp in Qatar because he does “not feel comfortable” amid rising political tensions between the US and Qatar’s neighbour Iran.
January 9 – English football authorities have agreed to review their decision to allow broadcast rights for FA Cup games to be sold for streaming by betting companies after critics warned the arrangement could encourage gambling.
January 9 – Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has hit out at the new format of the Spanish Super Cup, saying it is only taking place in Saudi Arabia because of the money.
January 9 – At 78, he would be too old to serve on UEFA’s executive committee yet can still represent Europe at the top table of FIFA.
January 9 – Major League Soccer has unveiled plans to celebrate the league’s 25th anniversary, including a jersey reveal ahead of New York Fashion Week and other events to mark the landmark.
January 9 – Lazio have been fined a token €20,000 for their fans’ racial abuse of Mario Balotelli during last weekend’s Serie A fixture at Brescia, avoiding a stadium closure.
By Paul Nicholson
January 9 – It has been a good week so far for Qatar-based broadcaster BeIN Sports who have secured the rights in France to the UEFA 2020 European Championships, while in the US expanding its free service, BeIN Sports Xtra, on to the HC2 Broadcasting platform.
January 9 – Liverpool and Senegal’s Sadio Mane – in what is a rare reversal of awards fortune – came out on top of Egyptian and club team mate Mo Salah to win the African men’s player of the year award for 2019. Nigerian and Barcelona forward Asisat Oshoala took the African women’s player of the year.
January 9 – The UK’s Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has ordered Betway to drop a video promotion that it deems to be advertising and in breach of advertising regulations.