Beckham’s MLS franchise in Miami looks set for formal unveiling
January 25 – After almost four years in the making, David Beckham’s dream of heading a new MLS team has moved a crucial step closer to reality.
News
‘Leeds Salute’ club crest redesign fails to pass muster as fans up in arms
January 25 – Iconic English club Leeds United, pushing for a return to the Premier League, have got themselves into hot water over a new club crest unveiled ahead of their centenary in 2019.
Chelsea bring in Doyen to lead image rights sales for mens and women teams
January 25 – Premier League Chelsea has signed a two-year representation deal with Doyen Global as its exclusive player endorsement agency. Doyen Global will work with the club’s commercial team on the sale of image rights of Chelsea’s men’s and women’s first teams.
Arsenal sign world-first cryptocurrency sponsorship with CashBet Coin
January 25 – Bitcoin’s value may have crashed from its stunning high before Christmas, but cryptocurrency is alive and kicking and Arsenal are the first Premier League club to take advantage of this announcing a partnership with CashBet ahead of the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) of its new cryptocurrency, CashBet Coin designed specifically for iGaming.
First UEFA Nations League takes shape with groups drawn in Lausanne
By Andrew Warshaw
January 24 – It may look fiendishly unwieldly and complicated on paper but UEFA are convinced that their much-trumpeted Nations League competition, the draw for which was made today, will very quickly catch on and become an integral part of the European football landscape.
SPFL completes on Ladbrokes title sponsorship in 2-year deal
January 24 – After a long wait the Scottish Premier League (SPFL) has officially announced Labrokes will stay as title sponsors for a further two years taking them to at least 2020.
UEFA considers cap on agents fees to stop financial ‘hostage’ taking
January 24 – UEFA is considering imposing a cap on agents’ fees following a meeting of its Professional Football Strategy Group.
Russian tourist board focuses in on profiteering hotels over 5,000% World Cup price hikes
January 24 – Russia’s Federal Agency for Tourism has named and shamed a list of hotels that have jacked up their prices by massive amounts for the World Cup.
UEFA secures key broadcast package with Eleven Sports for Belgian market
January 24 – Sports broadcaster Eleven Sports secured exclusive TV rights in Belgium for a host of major international matches, reasserting its market position in the Belgian TV landscape.
UNITED 2026 powerplay comes with impressive credentials, no ‘s**t’
By Paul Nicholson
January 23 – The United 2026 World Cup bid heavyweights are on the road, locked and loaded with persuasive arguments and reasoning for why they are the only choice for hosting 2026. Absent were expensive gifts, brown paper bags of cash or even watches (not even Mickey Mouse ones) to shower their voting constituency with. For the faithful, FIFA 2.0 is a serious commitment.
Del Nero faces FIFA ethics investigators saying he has done nothing wrong
January 23 – Marco Polo del Nero has maintained his total innocence of bribery and corruption laid against him by the United States Justice Department’s FIFAGate inquiry in a cross examination by FIFA’s ethics investigation.
Weah sworn in as Liberian president and vows to end country’s corruption
January 23 – Liberia’s George Weah, the former world footballer of the year who made the remarkable step of switching to politics and going all the way to becoming president of his country, was officially sworn into power on Monday and promised a crackdown on systematic corruption.
La Liga-Saudi deal puts cash before player development, says Spanish players union
January 23 – A ground-breaking agreement between Spanish football and authorities in Saudi Arabia has received a furious rebuke from Spain’s football union which says the arrival of nine Saudi players in La Liga will harm local development and is purely a money-earning exercise.
Coke takes World Cup Trophy on a 91-stop, 51country global journey
January 23 – The global leg of the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour sponsored by Coca-Cola kicked off with an official launch ceremony in London on Monday and plans to hit 91 cities across 51 countries and six continents.
Bad bet. FUN88 logo stripped from Newcastle United youth team shirts
January 23 – Newcastle United has removed online betting firm FUN88 from the club’s youth team shirt. The sponsor’s logo was deemed by the club as a potential breach of FA regulations and comes after growing pressure on the UK government to look harder at the gambling advertising from betting companies in broadcast media and club sponsorships.