Winds remove section of AZ Alkmaar roof
August 12 – Dutch top-flight side AZ Alkmaar suffered a partial roof collapse at their stadium on Saturday after strong winds hit the country.
Author: Paul Nicholson
Bility armed for battle against FIFA ‘colonisation’ of CAF; Grafstrom denies threats
By Osasu Obayiuwana
August 9 – Musa Bility, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Executive Committee member, recently banned for 10 years, by the Adjudicatory Chamber of FIFA’s Ethics Committee, is accusing a key official of the world governing body of strong-arming him, over his refusal to accept FIFA’s direct intervention in CAF’s affairs.
Premier League clubs’ £1.41bn spending spree just misses transfer record
By David Owen
9 August – The Premier League’s summer transfer window closed on Thursday evening (August 8) with clubs narrowly failing to break the £1.43 billion spending record set in summer 2017.
Iran and FIFA on World Cup collision course over allowing women into stadia
August 9 – Iran’s ban on women entering stadiums is not the business of world soccer governing body FIFA, the country’s prosecutor-general said on August 7.
Hamburg’s Gambian refugee midfielder accused of false age and identity
August 9 – A Gambian-born midfielder is reported to be playing in Germany with a falsified name and age.
Mane battles Messi and Ronaldo for top Champions League striker gong
August 9 – UEFA has unveiled its shortlist of players for its 2018/19 Champions League positional awards, with five Liverpool players dominating the 12 names that are in contention for the best Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder and Forward awards.
Doubts raised over Cameroon’s ability to host AFCON 2021
August 9 – Having been stripped of hosting rights for this year’s African Cup of Nations due to lack of preparations, Cameroon may not even be ready to stage the showpiece event in two years’ time, according to their all-time leading goalscorer.
Leicester City cash in with Xpress Money partnership
August 9 – Xpress Money have become Premier League Leicester City’s official money transfer partner.
Jury out on Man Utd transfer business as club turns attention to recruiting technical director
August 9 – Manchester United have resumed their search for a technical director after the summer transfer window closed yesterday in England.
Dead and Bury-ied? EFL give Dale two weeks to show them the money
August 9 – As England’s top clubs spent a combined £1.41 billion on transfers, lower down the money foodchain EFL League One club Bury inched closer to extinction after the club was given a two-week deadline to meet financial regulations.
Whistleblowers question FIFA’s inaction over ‘widespread’ Afghan sexual abuse
August 8 – Two of the leading figures behind the campaign to expose sexual abuse by Afghan officials have gone back on the offensive accusing FIFA of not doing nearly enough and calling for far more concrete action.
Esperance keep CAF Champions League title but president Meddeb fined over safety threats
By Osasu Obayiuwana
August 7 – CAF’s Disciplinary Committee (DC) have confirmed that Tunisian club Esperance remain the 2019 African champions, after several weeks of controversy, following the abandonment of the May 31 Champions League final in Tunis, between them and Wydad Athletic Club (WAC) of Morocco.
Indian military clampdown forces I-League’s Real Kashmir FC to rethink pre-season
August 8 – I-League club Real Kashmir FC may shift their pre-season preparations to Jamshedpur or Mumbai over the tense situation in the state, clubs officials have said.
US women’s pay dispute gets political as federation hires lobbyists
August 8 – US Soccer has enlisted two Washington lobbying firms to argue that the women’s national team is not being underpaid.
Drogba, now special advisor to Ahmad, considers run at Ivory Coast FA presidency
August 8 – Former Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba, who last month joined the African Football Confederation (CAF) as one of two special advisors to Ahmad Ahmad, is weighing up whether to run for president of his national federation according to l’Equipe.