Concacaf seeds US, Canada and Brazil apart as it prepares for W Gold Cup 2024 draw
December 7 – The USA, Brazil and Canada will be the three seeded teams heading the groups for the draw December 11 for the 12-team Concacaf W Gold Cup 2024.
World Football
Bulgaria’s FC Hebar appeals to fans for cash to pay player wages after municipality ends its support
December 7 – Bulgarian side FC Hebar Pazardzhik is asking his fans and local companies for financial support to keep the club going after the Municipality of Pazardzhik pulled its funding.
Marseilles vs Lyon re-match played without incident, and travelling fans
December 7 – Just four days after the death of a Nantes fan that marked a new low in a French season marred by violence, a rescheduled game between Marseille and Lyon took place on Wednesday with no trouble.
UEFA launches women’s health expert panel with surge in ACL injuries their first focus
December 7 – UEFA has introduced a women’s health expert panel with the goal of gaining a deeper understanding of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries and their alarming occurrence in the women’s game.
UEFA breaks new ground with multi-brand Euro 2024 sponsorship with Unilever
December 6 – UEFA has secured a first-time partnership with FMCG giant Unilever with sponsorship activation during Euro 2024 for its personal care and nutrition brands.
Tebas secures fourth term as president of LaLiga
December 6 – Controversial Spanish league boss Javier Tebas is back in power after being re-elected for a fourth term.
Dutch double in added time kills off England and Team GB dreams of Olympic qualifying
December 6 – The Netherlands clinched the top spot in Group 1 of the UEFA Women’s Nations League with a 4-0 victory against Belgium on a night of added time goals and passion that saw England’s 6-0 thrashing of Scotland not being enough to take the European Champions and World Cup finalists through to the final four.
Concacaf recognises key founding partners for 2024 W Gold Cup
December 6 – Concacaf is celebrating four major sponsor partners for the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup which makes its debut in February with four invited teams from Conmebol and eight qualifiers from Concacaf,
Sevilla shareholders agree €300m stadium expansion
December 6 – La Liga’s Sevilla have unveiled plans for a large-scale development of their Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.
Adidas chip in with high tech Euro 2024 ball to speed up ref decision-making
December 6 – The ball being used at Euro 2024 will help produce faster offside and handball decisions, a welcome development after so many controversial calls in recent months.
French sports minister says football violence must end as part of a global response
December 5 – France’s sports minister has called for “a global and extraordinarily determined response” to violence in football after the death of a Nantes supporter over the weekend.
UEFA releases detail of expanded women’s club competition eco-system
December 5 – UEFA has released more detail of its reformatted Women’s Champions League and its new knock-out women’s club competition, both of which will come into effect with the 2025/26 season.
PAOK threatens Greece’s ERT after broadcaster goes dark on them in favour of Olympiakos and Panathinaikos
December 5 – Greece’s PAOK Thessaloniki have sent an angry letter to Greece’s public broadcaster complaining of ERT’s decision not to broadcast live PAOK’s Conference League match against Eintracht Frankfurt on 30 November 2023.
Copa America 2024 in the US to be played in 14 stadia across 10 states
December 5 – The Copa America in the USA in the summer of 2024 will be played in 14 cities across 10 states. The 32-game tournament will be a tour of the biggest and best stadia the US has to offer with only three of the 14 stadiums having a capacity of less than 65,000.
Euro 2024: Battle lines revealed at a fruity championship draw
By Andrew Warshaw
December 4 – Perhaps no group of death as such but plenty to get one’s teeth into. The draw for next summer’s Euro 2024 finals has thrown up some intriguing ties with a couple of heavyweight clashes that are bound to get the pulse racing.