Fiat drives new 4-year deal with Italian FA
June 13 – Fiat has renewed its sponsorship with the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) for another four years.
Japan gives Copa America 2019 oldest and youngest players, Qatar the tallest and shortest
By Abdelaziz Abuhamar
June 13 – The other face of Copa America 2019 to kick-off in Brazil on Friday shows interesting stats coming from the tournament newcomers Japan and Qatar.
Infantino re-floats concept of a womens’ club World League
By Andrew Warshaw
June 12 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino wants to resurrect the concept of a ‘world league’ for women in order to generate additional revenue to help address the disparity in prize money compared to the men’s game.
Clubs keep pressure on UEFA to prevent Champions League becoming ‘closed’
June 12 – European clubs are reported to be urging UEFA to come up with a different proposal for the Champions League in order to avoid it becoming a mainly closed competition.
Messi, with $127m, tops world sports’ rich list. Ronaldo and Neymar follow
June 12 – Lionel Messi is now officially the world’s highest paid sport star earning $127 million in the past 12 months, according to the Forbes top 100 ranking.
Damned when you do, damned when you don’t. US criticised at home for over-whooping
June 12 – After racking up the biggest ever victory in the history of the women’s World Cup with their 13-0 crushing of Thailand, the way defending champions the United States celebrated has been heavily criticised by North American broadcasters.
France 2019 ticket sales top 1 million, but fans still slow to fill stadia
June 12 – FIFA has trumpeted selling over one million tickets for the Women’s World Cup so far, but the first round of games has seen a lot of empty seats at venues across France, raising questions about the ticketing policy for the tournament.
Nothing unlucky about that 13. US massacre Thais setting World Cup scoring record
June 12 – The US broke a World Cup record by annihilating Thailand 13-0 to begin their title defence with an emphatic statement. Alex Morgan grabbed five goals in a 90-minute massacre.
Alipay launches UEFA app opening up Euro 2020 tickets to Chinese fans
June 12 – Alipay, the world’s leading digital payment and lifestyle platform with more than 1 billion users, has activated its European partnership with a new UEFA lifestyle ‘mini-app’.
Balloon goes up on Ahmad and Tactical Steel as ES Pro revealed to be on the deals
By Paul Nicholson
June 11 – More detail surrounding the commercial deals between French equipment supply company Tactical Steel and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and its embattled president Ahmad Ahmad are emerging, with a new company, ES Pro Consulting, now being linked to the parties.
Thailand face US firepower as World Cup holders set to open France 2019 campaign
June 11 – The United States will launch their title defence at the Women’s World Cup in Reims, France, against Thailand tonight. The Americans, the most successful team in women’s football, are sky-high favourites to win the tournament.
Turks complain of getting the cold shoulder at disrespectful Icelandic airport
June 11 – Turkish authorities have protested at how the country’s national footballers were treated at Iceland’s Reykjavik airport in the build-up to tonight’s Euro 2020 qualifier.
Macau, a goal up in 2022 qualifier, pull out of Sri Lanka return over security fears
June 11 – Macau have refused to travel to Sri Lanka to complete their 2022 World Cup qualifier citing concerns over safety in the country.
Adidas get shirty over Spanish FA’s attempt to end kit deal 7 years early
June 11 – Adidas has announced it is starting legal proceeding against the Spanish FA (RFEF) for seeking early termination of their kit partnership that runs through to 2026.
Zambia beat Botswana to grab fifth Cosafa Cup title
June 11 – Zambia won the Cosafa Cup in a narrow victory 1-0 over Botswana in Durban, South Africa, in the annual Southern Africa championship.