Clarke graduates from club boss to national football supremo with Scotland
May 21 – Steve Clarke has been named as the new Scotland manager on a three-year contract.
MG Motor goes up a gear with Welsh FA in 3-year tie-up
May 21 – The Football Association of Wales (FAW) has agreed a three-year partnership with MG Motor UK to become its Official Vehicle Partner.
Kappa take over Villa kit deal with Premier League return in focus
May 21 – Championship club Aston Villa, who play-off against Derby County for a return to the Premier League May 27, have announced Kappa as their kit supplier for the 2019/20 season.
Ceferin says Champions League matches will avoid weekend league schedules
By Andrew Warshaw
May 20 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has publicly declared for the first time that radical plans to overhaul the structure of the Champions League post-2024 will not include playing European fixtures at weekends.
Guinea stripped of World Cup U17 slot for age-cheating, Senegal take spot
May 20 – Guinea have been thrown out of this year’s Under-17 World Cup in Brazil after they were found guilty of age-cheating at the recent U-17 Africa Cup of Nations which served as World Cup qualifiers.
Inter Milan clears final UEFA financial hurdle for return to full European play
May 20 – UEFA has announced that Inter Milan have fully complied with its financial fair play requirements and will no longer face extra financial scrutiny.
Hegerberg hat-trick drives Lyon to sixth Champions League title
May 20 – Conspicuous by her absence from Norway’s women’s World Cup squad, Ada Hegerberg proved she is still a global superstar by steering Lyon to a crushing 4-1 win over Barcelona on Saturday in the women’s Champions League final as they won the trophy for a fourth successive year.
Man City deliver record breaking ‘treble’, but Champions League still clouds their horizon
May 20 – Manchester City may have made history by becoming the first team to clinch the English “treble” of league, fa cup and league cup in the same season but they will ultimately be judged on whether they can finally land the Champions League says manager Pep Guardiola.
UEFA pledges 82% of 3m Euro2020 tickets will go to fans
May 20 – UEFA has pledged that 82% of the more than 3 million tickets for Euro 2020 will go to national teams fans and the general public. Next summer’s tournament will be staged in 12 different cities across the continent.
Match-fixing: FAI to probe second top tier match after betting volumes spark concern
May 20 – The scourge of match-fixing has again reared its head in Europe with suspicious betting activity surrounding a League of Ireland First Division match between Cobh Ramblers and Limerick at the weekend prompting an investigation by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).
Bundesliga keeps Derbystar ball in play in 3-year deal
May 20 – Germany’s Bundesliga has extended its official match ball deal with Derbystar, now taking the partnership through to the end of the 2021-22 season.
Netherlands beat Italy 4-2 to take Euro U-17 title
May 20 – The Netherlands resoundingly beat Italy 4-2 in the final of the U-17 European Championship in Ireland to retain their European crown after emphatically dominating the first half to take an unassailable 3-0 lead.
Final destinations spark English fan fury over too few tickets, travel and local price hikes
By Andrew Warshaw
May 17 – Fans of clubs taking part in the two all-English European club finals are up in arms over UEFA’s ticket allocation for both showpiece games and the choice of distant Azerbaijan for the Europa League final.
Sports Law at the Crossroads debates RSTP issues and looks down the gunbarrel at esports
By Paul Nicholson
May 17 – The 2nd Rex Sport/Insideworldfootball Forum, Sports Law at the Crossroads, completed two days of presentation and debate on a range of issues surrounding player contracts and transfers, as well as taking a hard and critical look at where, and whether, esports should be regulated and governed similarly to traditional sport.
From favela to fortune: conference sparks over role of agents and fees
By Andrew Warshaw
May 17 – FIFA is continuing to closely monitor the loan system to make sure that clubs stop hoarding players and beef up their squads for the right reasons.