By David Owen
March 11 – A 67-year-old German lawyer called Thomas Bach was re-elected as International Olympic Committee (IOC) president on the first day of a videoconferenced IOC session on Wednesday (March 10).
February 8 – Concacaf has released the schedule for the eight-team 2020 Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying to be played in Guadalajara, Mexico, March 18-30.
January 15 – Guadalajara in Mexico will host the Concacaf men’s qualifiers for the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games. The eight U-23 teams will play March 18-30 to qualify two teams for Japan.
October 19 – Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands have unveiled plans for a joint bid to host the Women’s World Cup in 2027.
September 29 – Qatar, guesting in the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup next summer, were handed a favourable group draw that kept the AFC visitors away from the local confederation heavy hitters of Mexico, the US and Costa Rica in the opening group stages.
By Paul Nicholson
September 3 – Qatar will play as a guest nation in the next two editions of the Gold Cup in the US , the blue riband national team event for Concacaf’s member countries, in 2021 and 2023. The Asian Cup Champions are also scheduled to guest at Conmebol’s Copa America in 2021 as they prepare for their own hosting of the 2022 World Cup.
By Paul Nicholson
September 3 – Concacaf has further expanded its bi-annual Gold Cup with a series of changes that increase member nation participation and the integrity of the competition structure.
By David Owen
September 1 – It is exactly 100 years since, Spain, nowadays one of the powers of the global game, appeared in its first international football tournament.
July 28 – Concacaf has scheduled the 2021 Gold Cup in the US for next July, and in a unique revamp of qualification – and to take account of lost international windows due to the Covid pandemic – the preliminary rounds will see the 12 competing teams centralised in the US.
June 25 – Odds-on favourites Australia and New Zealand won the right today to stage the 2023 women’s World Cup, beating outsiders Colombia in a two-horse race to make history by bringing the tournament to the southern hemisphere for the first time.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 25 – The vote later today for the right to stage the 2023 women’s World Cup is likely to be much closer than anticipated after it emerged that UEFA has controversially called on its nine FIFA Council members to back outsiders Colombia, according to sources close to the bid process.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 23 – The pain still lingers but all good things come to those who wait. Ten years after the humiliation of being trounced when bidding for the 2022 World Cup, Australia are poised to be granted what could arguably be described as the next best thing – the women’s equivalent. Even if it means sharing with neighbours New Zealand.
By Paul Nicholson
June 22 – Japan have withdrawn their bid to host the Women’s World Cup 2023 leaving just two bids still in contention for the blue riband women’s event, with the joint Australia-New Zealand bid being the clear favourite against the submission from Colombia.
June 11 – The prospects of an Australasian women’s World Cup in 2023 has received a significant boost after the joint Australia-New Zealand bid received a higher rating by FIFA’s evaluation team than rivals Japan and Colombia.
June 8 – Even though the tournament is not for another three years, Brazil has withdrawn its bid to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup, saying it cannot offer FIFA the financial assurances needed as a result of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.