By Andrew Warshaw
December 8 – And then there were 12. If UEFA’s decision to drop Brussels as one of the 13 original hosts of Euro 2020 was widely anticipated, handing Wembley the four matches the Belgian capital would otherwise have staged is hard to justify in terms of what the tournament is supposed to stand for.
December 8 – UEFA has set the seedings for the inaugural Nations League draw on January 24 with Germany, Portugal, Belgium and Spain in Pot 1 of League A. England are in Pot 2 of the same league.
December 8 – Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded the Ballon d‘Or for world player of the year on Thursday for a joint-record fifth time, equalling the feat of Lionel Messi.
December 8 – Hope Solo, the United States’ World Cup-winning goalkeeper, has thrown her hat into the ring for presidency of the US Soccer Federation, taking the number of declared candidates to eight.
December 8 – Inter Milan, who have invested in building their content division via their new Inter Media House facilities, are seeing an immediate benefit with the club announcing they have passed the seven million fans mark on Facebook.
December 8 – Nottingham Forest have announced they will include as part of their diversity programme an initiative to embrace the Jamaican diaspora in Nottingham and the contribution they have made to the city.
December 7 – It has been a slow burn but ticket sales have suddenly ignited for the Russia 2018 World Cup following the Final Draw last Friday. 1,318,109 tickets were requested in the first 24 hours from when the sales window opened December 6.
December 7 – The president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has apologised for neglecting Nigeria’s women national team. The Super Falcons haven’t played a single match since winning the 2016 African Women Cup of Nations (AWCON).
December 7 – Australian football has won a stay of execution after FIFA decided not to take over the running of the sport in the midst of an internal power struggle.
December 7 – Are English transfer fees at last paying off at European level after Premier League clubs made Champions League history?
By David Owen
December 7 – It may come as a bit of a kick in the teeth to Russia’s sparkling wine industry, but Taittinger has just launched a limited-edition 2018 World Cup souvenir bottle of its highly-regarded Brut Réserve NV champagne.
By Paul Nicholson
December 6 – The iron fist of democracy with which Musa Bility rules the Liberian FA (LFA) has once again landed on his arch critic Rochell Woodson who has been suspended for a second time by the LFA from fulfilling her duties as an executive committee member.
December 6 – Unlikely as it may seem, FIFA are reportedly considering the option of pushing back Qatar’s staging of the World Cup to 2026 because of the current impasse in the area – and splitting 2022 between the United States, Canada and Mexico who are bidding for the later tournament.
December 5 – After considerable reflection Sunil Gulati has ruled himself out of contesting the presidential election for the US Soccer Federation (USSF). Gulati is standing aside after the United States’ abject failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and having been head of the USSF for 12 years.
December 5 – For the second time this year, a bronze statue of Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has been vandalised in Buenos Aires with the motive unclear.