October 6 – FIFA has turned the world spotlight on African cotton producers ahead of World Cotton Day to explore how football can help small producers in the Cotton 4 (plus) countries in Africa.
October 6 – LaLiga partnered with sports startup accelerator SportsBoost, set up by legendary Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas, to hold a conference on Tuesday that probesd into the benefits of artificial intelligence through the lens of the sporting world.
By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
October 5 – Within minutes of FIFA opening up the 2034 World Cup solely to countries from Asia and Oceania, Saudi Arabia became the first to announce it will bid to host the tournament, confirming a long-established desire to stage the biggest footballing show on earth.
By Samindra Kunti
October 5 – With a decision that will reshape football’s pinnacle event, FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino revealed that the 2030 finals will be played in six countries on three continents with opening matches to be held in South America to celebrate the tournament’s centenary. The decision paved the way for Saudi Arabia to stage the finals in 2034.
October 4 – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is calling for the club’s controversial Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend to be replayed after a VAR blunder cost his team a crucial goal.
October 5 – David Beckham has fiercely defended his decision to accept millions of pounds from Qatar to serve as a football ambassador for last year’s World Cup.
By Samindra Kunti in Antwerp
October 5 – On a night of high and low emotions in the Champions League, Newcastle United spectacularly overcame star-studded PSG 4-1 at an electric St James Park, while Belgian champions Antwerp failed to win their first-ever UCL match after giving away a two-goal lead on home soil in a 3-2 defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine.
October 5 – Specialist football financial research and advisory group Football Benchmark is collaborating with London’s Birkbeck University to launch a special course in football management and finance.
October 5 – In April 2023, an EU committee voted for new restrictions against the use of rubber granules, which could doom artificial turf football projects across the continent.
October 4 – Pepsi MAX and EAFC have partnered in a deal that will see EAFC 24 players have the chance to win exclusive in-game items via codes found on Pepsi MAX products.
October 5 – Turkey’s Besiktas says it has signed the most valuable sponsorship deal in its 120-year history with Turkey’s largest industrial Turkey – Tüpraş.
October 4 – UEFA have announced they have received the formal bid by Turkey and Italy to jointly host the 2032 European Championships, leaving Britain and Ireland as the sole bidder for the 2028 tournament, subject to final approval from the governing body’s executive committee next week.
October 4 – Danish FA (DBU) president Jesper Møller (pictured) has defended UEFA’s decision to let Russian U-17 national teams re-enter European competitions, refusing to disclose how he voted but opening the door to Danish teams playing Russia at youth level.
October 4 – Expressing its ‘upset’ at UEFA’s readmission of Russian youth teams to European competitions, the Ukrainian FA (UAF) has again called on European countries to boycott any matches against Russian teams.
October 4 – A lapse of concentration and loss of focus by the VAR team led to Liverpool not being awarded a legitimate goal against Tottenham Hotspur, the referees’ body in England said on Tuesday after releasing the audio from the VAR hub from Saturday’s Premier League match.