December 1 – The Vancouver Whitecaps booked their spot in MLS Cup with a composed 3–1 win over San Diego, setting up a final that the executives at Major League Soccer could only dream about as Inter Miami, led by Argentine Lionel Messi, will face off against a side built around Germany’s Thomas Müller in a repeat of the 2014 World Cup Final, which Müller’s Germany won.
December 1 – In the midst of the strongest season for Gabrovo football in three decades, OFC Yantra has been left without financial support by the Bulgarian city’s Municipal Council.
December 1 – Dutch club, Go Ahead Eagles striker Victor Edvardsen has been fined after mocking the appearance of Stuttgart midfielder Angelo Stiller, who was born with a cleft lip. During their Europa League match on Thursday, Edvardsen made gestures toward Stiller’s nose, an area often affected by cleft-lip surgery.
November 28 – The label ‘English fans – handle with caution’ used to be common across Europe in the 70s and 80s, when aggressive policing was the norm. Supporter behaviour has improved dramatically since those days, but the policing clearly hasn’t kept pace. Newcastle United have become the latest club to see their fans on the wrong end of heavy-handed tactics from the very people meant to keep them safe.
November 28 – Norwegian club, Valerenga, is calling on global anti-doping authorities to update research and understanding of artificial pitches after a bizarre case where a banned stimulant leaked out of the surface and triggered a failed drug test for one of their women’s players.
November 28 – On Saturday, Flamengo will be marginal favourites against Palmeiras in the all-Brazilian Copa Libertadores final, the showpiece event of the South American club season.
November 28 – The World Leagues Association (WLA) is growing like Topsy, adding its 47th member from Iceland. The Íslenskur Toppfótbolti (ÍTF) runs Iceland’s top tier national football competition.
November 27 – The Football Federation of North Macedonia (FFM), the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in North Macedonia, and the Ministry of Sport presented the first Spanish-Macedonian “LaLiga Football Dictionary.” The joint project was realised in cooperation with the Cervantes Institute.
November 27 – A major showdown is brewing in Belgian football, with broadcaster DAZN announcing it has ended its contract under Belgian law with the country’s top-flight Pro League.
November 27 – Claims that FIFA has cleaned house since the FIFAgate scandal of 2015 when more than 40 of its officials were indicted in the US, and which led to Gianni Infantino eventually being elected as president in 2016 to the fanfare of a new financial era based on transparency, honesty and good governance, are suddenly looking a little hollow.
November 27 – The Suriname Major League (SML) has joined the World Leagues Association (WLA), becoming its 46thmember.
November 26 – Earlier this month Bernd Neuendorf was re-elected as DFB president. In an exclusive interview with Insideworldfootball he talks about progress so far, strategy going forward and why Women’s Euro 2029 in Germany would be financial accelerator for the women’s game across Europe.
November 26 – Five rounds into its second season, the Baller League UK is beginning to look less like a novelty project and more like a functioning property in its own right.
November 26 – The Kings League – Gerard Piqué’s fast-growing, tech-heavy twist on small-sided football – has launched a nationwide search for three players to represent Team USA at next year’s Kings World Cup Nations in Brazil.
November 25 – The U.S. Open Cup is the true destination in American soccer where dreams collide with reality. Founded in 1914 as the National Challenge Cup, it started as a battleground for immigrant clubs who wanted to keep the game alive in a new land and has now grown into the oldest annual team tournament in American sports.