December 19 – Premier League attendance remains in a strong position despite the festive season being in full flow. Usually this stage would record a drop off in attendance due to money saving or family priorities, but match week 16’s average of 97.89% marks a strong score for the period.
December 19 – Vinicius Junior has hit out at his critics after bouncing back from losing out at the Ballon d’Or by winning the FIFA Best trophy award, accusing his detractors of trying to “invalidate” and “diminish” him.
December 19 – The highly anticipated return of FC Barcelona to their spiritual home, the iconic Camp Nou, looks set to be delayed yet again.
December 19 – Bulgaria’s Botev Plovdiv management has invited the deputies of six political parties to a meeting as the club seeks answers to questions on the travel restrictions imposed on the club’s Russian owner, Anton Zingarevich.
December 19 – Hot on the heels of announcing a deal with the beer giant of Asia, Tiger Beer, Tottenham Hotspur, is back with another Asian-themed partnership, this time in the form of the Netflix smash hit, Squid Game, which was developed in the country of their captain, Son Heung-min of South Korea.
December 19 – The start-up Northern Super League, the professional women’s league that launches in 2025 with six teams, has unveiled hummel as its official kit provider.
December 19 – Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has expressed his full support for Mykhailo Mudryk in the wake of the Ukrainian international winger failing a drugs test.
December 19 – UEFA Club Competitions SA (UCCSA), the joint venture between UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) that manages the commercial business of UEFA’s club competitions, will launch a tender process for Women’s Champions League media rights on January 3.
December 18 – In an open letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, European lawmakers have expressed “grave concern” over the hosting of the 2034 World Cup by Saudi Arabia.
December 18 – The European Super League (ESL) is dead in name only. It’s backer, A22 Sports Management, has proposed an alternative league hierarchy compromising 95 clubs across four leagues.
December 18 – Brazil legend Ronaldo has confirmed that he wants to run for the presidency of the Confederation of Brazilian Football (CBF) with a programme that will restore the prestige of the country’s game.
December 18 – In a further decentralisation of the organisation, FIFA have announced that the world governing body will be opening an office in Rabat, Morocco.
December 18 – The expanded FIFA Club World Cup has already drawn widespread criticism for cramming more fixtures into an already congested football calendar. But if the backlash over its scheduling wasn’t enough, the recently revealed ticket prices for the tournament could escalate the controversy to new heights.
December 18 – UEFA has begun the first stage of a tender for exclusive hospitality sales, marketing and production rights for UEFA EURO 2028, publishing a Request for Information (RFI) to hospitality companies worldwide.
December 18 – FIFA has apologised to the Ukrainian FA for displaying a map during the European section of the 2026 World Cup qualifying draw that excluded Russia-occupied Crimea from the country’s territory.