December 10 – Former FIFA executive committee member Jacques Anouma has received the backing of his Ivory Coast government in his bid to become the next leader of African football.
December 10 – Arsenal and Gabon star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been fined $10,000 by the Confederation of African Football for social media posts criticising CAF ahead of his country’s African Cup of Nations qualifier against Gambia in November.
December 10 – Another footballing legend has died prematurely, this time Italy’s 1982 World Cup hero Paolo Rossi at the age of 64, shocking friends, family and fans alike.
December 10 – Inter Milan were knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage for the third consecutive season on Wednesday night following a goalless draw with Shakthar Donetsk, who were also eliminated, allowing Real Madrid to squeeze into the knockout phase.
December 12 – Argentinean giants Boca Juniors triumphed on penalties against Internacional of Brazil to set up a Copa Libertadores quarter-final against Racing Club as the competition moves into the business end of the season.
By Paul Nicholson
December 9 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said that the new 24-team format Club World Cup, when it eventually holds its first edition “in China, will be the best club competition in the world.”
December 9 – UEFA have opened a disciplinary investigation into the disturbing scenes that marred Tuesday night’s Champions League fixture between Paris St Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir, abandoned after both teams walked off in protest at alleged racism, the first time that has happened in Europe’s elite club competition.
December 9 – Five of the 10 football clubs in the Moldovan top flight have been involved in match-fixing linked to organised crime this season, Europol has said.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 9 – Manchester United became the first high-profile victims of Champions League elimination on Tuesday as they failed to make the knockout stages, heaping even more pressure under-fire manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
December 9 – Major League Soccer’s 25th season has not turned into the celebration initially hoped for, with commissioner Don Garber in his State of the League address revealing that the MLS is expecting a $1 billion drop in revenue because of the coronavirus pandemic.
December 9 – World Cup hosts Qatar are to be included as a guest team in the European section of qualifying for the 2022 tournament in order to gain more match experience.
December 9 – UEFA have lifted their ban on club and national team matches under their jurisdiction in Armenia and Azerbaijan, imposed in October because of the military conflict in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 8 – For once there wasn’t a group of death as such but there is no doubt some got it far easier than others.
December 8 – Real Madrid head a ranking of big-5 league clubs who recruit the youngest players to their squads, with an average age of 22.2 years.
December 8 – FIFA is reporting a record 480 teams entered into its FIFAe Club Series, a 150% increase on last season.