Bayern boss Kahn defends Qatar links, Hainer says human rights change will take time
July 7 – Bayern Munich’s chief executive Oliver Kahn has defended the club’s contentious sponsorship agreement with World Cup hosts Qatar.
World Football
Brazil start as favourites for expanding Women’s Copa America
July 7 – With England defeating Austria 1-0 in the curtain-raiser of Euro 2022 and the Concacaf Women’s Championship in full swing, the Copa America takes centre stage on Friday when Bolivia and Ecuador kick off the South American competition.
UN scores UEFA partnership with ‘Football for the Goals’ initiative
July 7 – Timed with the kick-off of the Women’s Euro, the United Nations has a new initiative – ‘Football for the Goals’ – with UEFA as an inaugural supporter.
Fifpro issues red list of countries where players risk going unpaid
July 6 – Global football players union Fifpro has warned footballers about “systematic and widespread contractual violations” in football, singling out Algeria, China, Greece Libya, Romania, Saudi Arabia and Turkey as countries where these risks are high.
Zambia withdraw star striker Banda from women’s AFCON for failing gender test
July 6 – Zambian captain and star Barbra Banda has been ruled out of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations over ‘gender eligibility’ issues, prompting controversy at the tournament.
Another ‘new era’ at PSG as Galtier brought in to take the big players to the big prize
By Andrew Warshaw
July 6 – It was the most open of secrets and now it’s official. Mauricio Pochettino’s reign at Paris Saint-Germain is over after Christophe Galtier was appointed the club’s seventh coach in 11 years.
Mainz 05 refuse to cancel friendly after fans protest Newcastle’s Saudi links
July 6 – German side Mainz 05 have resisted calls from their own fans to cancel an upcoming friendly with Newcastle United in Austria because of the Premier League club’s Saudi ownership.
Sierra Leone FA investigates improbable 95-0 and 91-1 scorelines for match-fixing
July 6 – The Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) is launching a match-fixing investigation into a pair of games that farcically featured no fewer 187 goals, finishing 95-0 and 91-1 respectively – two of the most one-sided margins in the history of the game.
African Super League gets all clear with $100m prize pot earmarked
July 5 – The African Super League will be launched in 2023 with a prize pot of $100 million, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has said.
CAF shifts Ivory Coast AFCON from summer 2023 to winter slot of January 2024
By Andrew Warshaw
July 4 -The Africa Cup of Nations, seemingly buffeted constantly by logistical issues, has suffered another setback with next year’s tournament moved to 2024 and switched from June to January because of likely adverse weather conditions.
Ireland coach Vera Pauw reveals she was raped as a Dutch national team player
July 4 – Former Netherlands international and current Ireland coach Vera Pauw has revealed that she was sexually abused by three men employed within Dutch football when she was a player.
UEFA starts programme to hunt and destroy on-line racist content
July 4 – UEFA is launching a programme to combat online racist abuse of players by working with social media companies to remove harmful content from platforms.
Costa Rica have 9 players suspended after U20 World Cup qualifying clash with US
July 1 – A mass brawl after the USA’s 2-0 win over Costa Rica at the Concacaf U20 Championships in Honduras earlier this week has resulted in bans for nine Costa Ricans and one American.
Qatar human rights concerns force Shrewsbury to cancel friendly against club side
July 1 – A second English team has cancelled a fixture against Qatari opposition following a backlash over the World Cup host’s human rights record.
Canada taking big steps but can they maintain a sustainable pace?
July 1 – Football is a cruel master, Canada will tell you. Having broken back into the upper echelons of Concacaf’s national team hierarchy with World Cup 2022 qualification, they came down to earth with a bump losing the second match of their new Nations League campaign to Honduras.