December 9 – Former Premier League midfielder Joey Barton has received a six-month suspended prison sentence and must complete 200 hours of community service for what a judge described as “humiliating” social media attacks on commentators Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko, as well as broadcaster Jeremy Vine.
December 9 – In 2021, when Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney rolled into the city of Wrexham, no one could’ve predicted what would happen next but in pure Hollywood fashion, a transformation occurred.
December 8 – CAF’s flagship tournament has been confirmed as heading back to SuperSport screens after New World TV (NWTV) – CAF’s exclusive media rights agent – and Iris Media struck a sub-licensing deal that restores the broadcaster’s rights to the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON 2025 across Sub-Saharan Africa.
December 8 – Inter Miami have their first MLS Cup in just their fifth year of existence, capping off the dream they have been chasing ever since Lionel Messi landed in South Florida in 2023.
December 8 – The Croatian Football Federation (HNS) and Panini have launched a new sticker album for the 2025/26 season of the SuperSport Croatian Football League (HNL).
December 7 – The 2026 World Cup is already reshaping American soccer in multiple ways, and no competition is safe, as evidenced by next year’s US Open Cup. With Major League Soccer shutting down for two months during the tournament, US Soccer has had to be creative to avoid a fixture pile-up and has taken the decision to compress the Open Cup into seven rounds instead of the usual eight.
December 5 – The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has partnered with TGI Sport to expand its commercial programme across all competitions – including the inaugural OFC Professional League (OFC Pro League).
December 5 – MLS NEXT has been compelled to look at its age-group structure, and it feels like another uniquely American moment in a sport that’s forever trying to balance global standards with local habits.
December 5 – World Sevens Football (W7F) has announced a five-strong commercial roster – Invisalign, Ally Financial, Emburse, mainelove and StubHub – as the women’s 7v7 series begins its Fort Lauderdale Grand Slam today.
December 5 – The Washington Spirit want Trinity Rodman in the National Women’s Soccer League for the foreseeable future and put a contract on the table, which sources say she was prepared to sign. But NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman vetoed the proposal, according to people familiar with the discussions who were not authorised to speak publicly.
December 4 – John Textor has attempted to clarify remarks suggesting he and Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis were able to “adjust” transfer fees between their clubs – comments that triggered renewed scrutiny of multi-club ownership networks and the blurred boundaries of influence within them.
December 4 – Channel 4 will broadcast the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the United Kingdom following a broadcast deal with the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
December 4 – The 2025 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup wrapped up in Kingston, Jamaica with a wild, tense second leg that encapsulated just how far the region’s competitions have come.
December 4 – French Ligue 1 club Nice have found themselves in the headlines after two of their players, Terem Moffi and Jérémie Boga, were placed on medical leave following an ugly confrontation with their own supporters.
December 3 – A new study from European Football Clubs (EFC) and the CIES Football Observatory has delivered a clear, data-driven warning: for aspiring elite European youth players prospects, early moves away from their training clubs are more likely to stall a career than accelerate it.