By Andrew Warshaw
October 8 – Newcastle United, one of the English game’s proverbial sleeping giants, look set to become European football’s latest superpower after the long-drawn-out £300 million+ takeover of the club by a Saudi Arabian-backed consortium was finally completed.
October 8 – Saudi Arabia moved a step closer to 2022 World Cup participation with a landmark 1-0 victory against Japan to maintain a perfect record with nine points from three matches in Group B in Asia’s third round of qualifiers.
October 8 – The sky might be the limit on the field for Newcastle United following the takeover by a Saudi-led consortium but the club could soon become a pariah off it – the one everyone loves to hate.
October 8 – The US and Mexico have gone joint top of the 8-team final qualifying group for the Qatar 2022 World Cup after four matches, but a feisty Canada are not letting them run away with qualification, forcing a 1-1 draw in Mexico City and sitting two points behind them in the group.
October 8 – Ahead of the Netherlands’ World Cup qualifiers against both Latvia and Gibraltar, the Dutch FA (KNVB) is accelerating its ‘Football supports change’ campaign, which seeks to achieve sustainable change for labour migrants in Qatar.
October 8 – The US and Mexico have gone joint top of the 8-team final qualifying group for the Qatar 2022 World Cup after four matches, but a feisty Canada are not letting them run away with qualification, forcing a 1-1 draw in Mexico City and sitting two points behind them in the group.
October 8 – Manchester’s two Premier League giants top a European ranking of highest squad transfer values, with both United and City worth more than €1.2 billion. Their nearest rival is Chelsea who are more than €200m behind them with an estimated squad value of €946 million.
October 8 – The MLS has renewed its sponsorship with Continental Tire for a new multi-year term. The tyre brand has been an MLS partner since 2010.
By Samindra Kunti in Turin
October 7 – With a phenomenal rearguard action, world champions France came from two goals down to triumph 3-2 over neighbours Belgium and book a place in the Nations League final against Spain.
October 7 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter and former UEFA president Michel Platini will go before a Swiss court to decide their case concerning the CHF2 million ‘disloyal payment’ made by FIFA to Platini in 2010.
October 7 – FIFA has launched the bid process for hosting the 2023 Beach Soccer World Cup with a deadline for declarations of interest of 29 October 2021.
By Samindra Kunti in Turin
October 7 – France captain Hugo Lloris (pictured centre) has voiced his opposition to FIFA’s plans to stage the World Cup every two years, arguing that the global finals should be protected as “something rare”.
October 7 – The fast-improving Canadian men’s team will host two of their crucial Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying matches in Edmonton, Canada, one of the two Canadian cities bidding for a 2026 World Cup hosting.
October 7 – LaLiga and Microsoft have combined to launch a new football statistics portal, Beyond Stats, that they say will revolutionise the fan experience with deeper insights into game play.
October 7 – World Cup 2026 bid city Houston kept their focus on the hosting prize with the launch the ‘Spirit of Houston’ campaign yesterday marking the start of the campaign with a social ‘roadblock’ that saw organisations and indivduals share the campaign launch video.