Italy mourns: Genoa and Sampadoria suspend season starts after bridge disaster
August 17 – Genoa and Sampdoria’s Serie A fixtures on Sunday have been postponed following Tuesday’s motorway bridge tragedy in the city in which 39 people died.
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Spurs score hat-trick of deals with Audi, IWC Schaffhausen and 1XBET
August 17 – Premier League Spurs have unveiled three new sponsors with Audi becoming the club’s official car partner in an exclusive four-year agreement, IWC Schaffhausen as the official timing partner, and 1XBET as its Official Betting Partner for Africa.
Man Utd app launch tops sports download charts in 68 countries
August17 – Manchester United has launched a free official app created in partnership with the club’s the Club’s Official Digital Transformation Partner, HCL Technologies.
Upwardly mobile: UEFA goes paperless with Super Cup tickets distributed to phones
August 17 – UEFA has reported a successful deployment of its new ticketing system via mobile app. This week’s UEFA Super Cup between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid in Tallinn saw UEFA distribute 100% of the match tickets via the app.
Zenit comeback makes history but no-one is there to see it
August 17 – Zenit St Petersburg produced one of the greatest comebacks in European history on Thursday – but there were no fans inside the stadium to see it.
LFP appeals to EC for help to stop Saudi-distributed beoutQ’s Ligue1 theft
November 16 – France’s Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) has written to the Directorate General for Trade at the European Commission calling for support in investigating the piracy activities of Saudi-broadcast beoutQ and demanding the copyright theft is stopped.
Evidence proves pirate channel beoutQ is Saudi-based and Arabsat promoted
By Paul Nicholson
August 16 – Pirate satellite broadcast beoutQ, which has been stealing the rights to beIN Sport broadcast content, has continued where it left at the World Cup, with every game of the first Premier League weekend stolen and broadcast via the Arabsat satellite. beoutQ also stole six of the 10 opening games of France’s Ligue 1, including PSG vs Caen.
Facebook adds UCL for Latin America as it keeps up its charge into live football rights
August 16 – Facebook has added more football broadcast rights to its rapidly growing portfolio, this time bringing to its streaming platform UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup rights in Spanish-speaking Latin American territories.
Women’s U-20 World Cup warms-up in Brittany with 8 nations still standing
August 16 – The Women’s U-20 World Cup has reached the business end of the competition with heavyweight quarter-finals set to decide the last four. Hosts France take on reigning champions Korea DPR, Spain meet Nigeria and Germany face Japan. Debutants the Netherlands play England in the last quarter-final.
Ghana politicos tell FIFA that GFA’s deep-rooted corruption make dissolution only option
By Andrew Warshaw
August 16 – Ghana’s authorities appear to be digging in their heels over FIFA’s ultimatum to get their house in order by August 27 or be thrown of international football.
Burnley owner warns Brexit will harm Premier League player movement and pay
August 16 – Brexit could be “hugely damaging” to English football, according to the chairman of Premier League club Burnley. Mike Garlick (pictured) warned that the end of freedom of movement and the fall in the value of the pound will harm British clubs.
TEAM complete UCL 2018-21 sales cycle with Expedia Group deal
August 15 – Expedia Group is to become the Official Travel Partner of the UEFA Champions League in a three-year deal that also gives the online travel booking firm sponsorship rights to the Super Cup, Youth League finals and the Futsal Champions League finals.
Conmebol pick Santiago for Copa Libertadores final
August 16 – Santiago has been chosen by Conmebol as the venue for the first single Copa Libertadores final in the competition’s history as the Continent’s flagship tournament moves into the line with Europe in 2019 and does away with a two-legged climax.
Six years on from the Port Said massacre, fans could be let back into stadia
August 15 – Egypt’s sports minister Doctor Ashraf Sobhy has announced that fans will be allowed back into stadia to watch league matches on a regular basis for the first time since 2012.
FIFA issues Aug 27 deadline to Ghana and Nigeria to end political influence or face ban
By Andrew Warshaw
August 15 – Nigeria and Ghana, whose respective federations have been gridlocked for several weeks, have been warned by FIFA to halt “undue influence” in their affairs by outside authorities or risk being thrown out of international football.