By Andrew Warshaw, extra reporting by Samindra Kunti
February 10 – With still no formal government support for this candidacy, South African millionaire businessman Patrice Motsepe (pictured) appears to be struggling to gain sufficient backing to become the next president of the Confederation of African Football.
February 10 – UEFA have been forced to move even more games to neutral ground as the chaos and confusion over Covid-related travel bans continue to take their toll, presenting a major head-ache to all concerned.
February 10 – The new Serie A deals for domestic and international broadcast rights – revenue that will underpin the league and its clubs – have reached crucial and sensitive stages at the same time.
February 10 – Brazilian club Flamengo is seeking a €5.3 million loan to provide working capital for the start of the 2021 season.
February 10 – The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) decision to break coronavirus stadium lock-out rules and allow privileged access to 150 healthcare workers in for the Fenerbahce vs Galatasaray derby backfired at the weekend.
February 10 – The market for betting sponsorship of Italian clubs may be drying up domestically as gambling authorities move in with new rules, but the appetite for promotion in international markets is still there.
February 9 – FIFA is extending until the end of April its relaxation of the rules that force clubs to release players for international duty.
February 9 – Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers say they are anticipating full stadiums when the tournament takes place in 21 months’ time.
February 9 – Bayern Munich completed the line-up for the Club World Cup final following a brace from Robert Lewandowksi in a routine 2-0 win over African Champions Al Ahly in the semi-finals.
February 9 – Major League Soccer (MLS) and the players union (MLSPA) have voted to ratify the amended collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that will govern their relation until 2027, avoiding a potential lockout or strike before the new season kicks off.
February 9 – The battle over who can collect match data from Premier League stadia took another ugly turn early this week when official data provider Genius Sports Group sued Sportradar in the UK saying it was illegally sending ‘data scouts’ to matches.
February 9 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has increased the pace of its broadcast rights sales with two new partners announced for its 2021 to 2024 rights cycle, one in Europe and one Asia.
February 9 – A second successive Champions League last-16 game as been switched to neutral ground in Hungary due to Covid-19 travel restrictions in Germany.
February 9 – English Premier League referee Mike Dean has asked not to officiate at any games this weekend after he and his family received online death threats following recent highly controversial red card decisions he handed out.
February 9 – Ajax’s international goalkeeper André Onana (pictured) has been banned for one year by UEFA for a doping infraction and is set to miss next year’s African Cup of Nations in his home nation of Cameroon for whom he has 15 caps.