Fans spend €1.3bn in Russia during World Cup 2018
By Paul Nicholson
July 20 – Overseas fans in Russia for the World Cup spent about €1.3 billion between June 14 and July 16, according to a report by Russia’s Sberbank.
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Russia 2018 scored A+ for medical provision – FIFA
By David Owen
July 20 – The chairman of FIFA’s medical committee has described medical provision during Russia 2018 as the best he has experienced in 10 World Cups.
Amazon builds its football presence with dedicated on-line Napoli store
July 20 – US digital giant Amazon is inserting itself deeper and deeper into football’s economic foodchain with the launch by Serie A’s Napoli of its own store on the ecommerce platform.
FIFA issues fines to non-paying clubs failing to follow the rules, and rulings
July 20 – Clubs from Russia and Qatar, World Cup hosts past and future, are among six fined by FIFA and warned they risk one-year transfer bans for failing to settle debts to players.
Hannover 96 vow to overturn ‘incomprehensible’ 50+1 DFL ruling
July 20 – Hannover 96 failed in its bid to get an exemption from Germany’s 50+1 ruling to allow the Bundlesliga club’s president Martin Kind (pictured) to take control, but has said it will appeal against the German Football League (DFL) ruling.
Hong Kong logistics firm Royale admitted to the Crystal Palace
July 20 – Asian sponsors for Premier League clubs have generally been from the betting industry unless local sponsors. Crystal Palace have expanded away from the betting sponsor focus with a global partnership with Hong Kong logistics brand Royale International.
Ghanaian club boss warns government to stay out of election for new FA chief
July 19 – The head of Ghana’s League Clubs Association (GHALCA), Kudjoe Fianoo (pictured), has urged the government not to attempt to impose its own preferred candidate on the national federation as talks continue to find a successor to disgraced former African powerbroker Kwesi Nyantakyi.
Name drain. £450K and still no sponsor partner for West Ham’s London Stadium
July 19 – Nearly £450,000 of taxpayers’ money has been spent trying to find a sponsor for West Ham United’s London Stadium, formerly the capital’s Olympic stadium, according to reports.
MLS’s D.C. United add USL affiliate Loudoun United for 2019 kick-off
July 19 – The USL has announced a seventh and final new club for the 2019 season. Loudoun United, based in Loudoun County, Virginia, will play in the USL’s Eastern Conference and will be a subsidiary of MLS’s D.C. United which has just signed Wayne Rooney on a three-year deal.
Infantino says joint bids are the World Cup’s future, but ‘desert’ comment looks tactless
By Andrew Warshaw
July 18 – With attention now switched to Qatar 2022 following the World Cup in Russia, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has again provided an indication of where his thinking lies with regard to future bids.
Sierra Leone stakeholders split as FIFA delays keep Johansen in place
July 18 – The bitter in-fighting over who runs the game in Sierra Leone has burst back into the spotlight after several months of relative quiet with the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) saying it will be submitting a draft of its new statutes for FIFA’s approval in the coming days.
Brazil wins Instagram World Cup while Ronaldo is the social media player of the tournament
July 18 – Brazil won the World Cup of Social Media with more than 193 million interactions on Instagram, according to data technology specialists Primetag. Across the whole World Cup there were more than 990 million interactions generated by the content on the platform.
Nigerian FA crisis deepens as league suspended indefinitely
July 18 – The resumption of Nigeria’s domestic league has been postponed indefinitely amid a leadership crisis that has caused total gridlock with a FIFA ban imminent.
Ceferin warns against 48-teams in Winter 2022, but says VAR is coming, just not yet
By Andrew Warshaw
July 17 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has warned against expanding the World Cup to 48 teams in 2022 for fear of disrupting the mid-season European calendar.
Croatia’s Lovren bemoans loss and questions if anyone really knows the VAR rules
July 17 – Croatia’s Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has poured out his heart over their World Cup final defeat saying his side “played much better football” than France.