Montreal withdraws host bid for World Cup 2026, opening up market for US cities
July 7 – Montreal has withdrawn its bid to be a host city of the 2026 World Cup, leaving Edmonton and Toronto as the only two Canadian applicants.
News
Martinez’s 3 penalty saves sets up Argentina vs Brazil final at Copa America
July 7 – Emiliano Martinez saved three penalties as Argentina beat Colombia in a semi-final shootout to advance to Saturday’s Copa America final against arch-rivals Brazilat the historic Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
AS Roma gear up with Hyundai logo on shirt back
July 7 – AS Roma and Hyundai Motor have extended their partnership with the car manufacture becoming the club’s main global partner for next season.
Qatar Airways lands on Concacaf in time for Gold Cup and 60th anniversary celebrations
July 7 – Concacaf are building on their links with Qatar with Qatar Airways committing to a confederation-wide partnership that sees the carrier becoming the Official Airline of the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup that completed its final preliminary qualifying rounds last night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Joma takes over at Norwich with record kit deal
July 6 – Norwich City, who have bounced back to the Premier League after a season in the English Championship, have unveiled Joma as the club’s new technical kit partner, in what the club says is a record-breaking sponsorship deal, believed to be worth £5 million a season.
Guadeloupe stun Guatemala after marathon penalty shoot-out
Prelim Qualifiers 2: Guatemala 1 Guadeloupe 1 (Guadeloupe win 10-9 on penalties)
July 6 – It took 12 rounds of penalties for Guadeloupe to create the shock of the Gold Cup group qualifying rounds and beat Guatemala to secure their first ever finals place.
LaLiga to return to India TV screens with MTV deal
July 7 – Entertainment broadcaster MTV will broadcast La Liga exclusively in India for the next three years.
Trinidad and Tobago grab dramatic Gold Cup group spot with penalty shoot out win
Prelim Qaulifiers 2: Trinidad and Tobago 1 French Guiana 1 (Trinidad win 8-7 on penalties)
July 6 – Trinidad and Tobago battled their way into the Gold Cup stages with a dramatic 8-7 win on penalties over French Guiana after the score was tied at 1-1 at full time.
Haiti turn on the power of Pierrot to brush Bermuda aside and had to Gold Cup group stage
Prelims Qualifer 2: Haiti 4 Bermuda 1
July 6 – It was billed as a shoot out between Haiti’s Duckens Nazon and Bermuda’s Nakhi Wells, but it was Haiti’s Frandzty Pierrot who stole the headlines with a first half hat trick that decided the game sent them into the group phase of the Gold Cup.
FIFA-man Wenger keeps up pressure for Word Cup every two years
July 6 – Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has repeated his call for the World Cup to be played every two years as part of a complete overhaul of the international calendar.
English leagues to return to full stadia from season start in August
July 6 – English Premier League grounds will be able to operate at full capacity next season after the British government announced it was sweeping away a raft of coronavirus restrictions in England from July 19 despite increasingly high levels of infection.
Online bookie VBET takes title sponsorship of Ukrainian Premier League
July 6 – Ukraine, whose national team had a strong run in Euro 2020 to the quarter finals, has sold the title sponsorship to its top tier Ukrainian Premier League (UPL) to online bookmaker VBET.
Guatemala bring the crowd and a possession game to Guadeloupe decider
July 5 –Guatemala, once a regular name on Gold Cup final tournament fixture lists, are having to battle their way back to the top tier of confederation competition through the knock-out qualifying rounds for the Gold Cup group stages.
Haiti vs Bermuda. Nazon vs Wells. Big guns in shoot out for Gold Cup group slot
July 5 – The Haiti vs Bermuda play-off for a slot in the Gold Cup group stages is a return to hostilities between two nations that went head-to-head in 2019 with Haiti just coming out on top 2-1. It was the precursor of a run that took them to the semi-finals, leaving Bermuda rueing what might have been.
Concacaf names female refs to Gold Cup officiating teams as VAR debuts
July 6 – Concacaf have broken new ground with their officiating teams and is introducing VAR – it debuted in the Preliminary Qualifying rounds last weekend – for the first time.