Inside World Football

YouTube operator CazeTV adds LaLiga rights in Brazil

May 19 – Brazilian sports streaming channel CazeTV, the YouTube-based operation run by influencer Casemiro Miguel, has secured rights to LaLiga in one of the most significant broadcast deals of its short history.

The agreement spans the 2026-27 through 2031-32 seasons, with CazeTV’s YouTube channel becoming the league’s primary rightsholder in the market. The deal includes live coverage of every match across the six-year term, alongside the right to distribute ancillary content and highlights across CazeTV’s wider social media platforms.

Europe

Yuriev announces shock exit from Pirin

May 19 – Adrian Yuriev, the owner of Bulgarian second-division football club Pirin Blagoevgrad, has officially announced his shock departure from the club.

The decision comes just five months after he acquired a controlling stake in January of this year, initially promising grand changes and a long-term stabilisation plan.

Yuriev delivered the news through an official open letter addressed to the fans and the sports community, confirming his exit and reflecting on his short but intense tenure.

Competitions

North Korea set down World Cup marker with emphatic U17 Women’s Asian Cup final win

May 19 – North Korea stormed to their fifth AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup on Sunday at the Suzhou Sports Centre Stadium in Jiangsu, China, with a 5-1 dismantling of Japan.

The North Koreans are current U17 World Champions and will start as one of the favourites for the title at the 2026 finals in Morocco later this year. They will be joined by Japan, China and Australia in the world finals.

Europe

UEFA and ACE intensify war on organised crime gangs and their illegal piracy

May 19 – With UEFA’s sales agencies UC3 and Relevent Football Partners rapidly signing new broadcast partners for the next cycle of men’s club competition rights, UEFA has beefed up its war on pirates via an enhanced enforcement programme with more investigations targeting the biggest pirate operations.

Last October UEFA became the first sports rights-holder to join the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) – the world’s largest coalition dedicated to tackling digital piracy.

World Cup

Iran edge closer to USA after positive FIFA talks as team leaves for Turkish training camp

May 18 – FIFA has held positive talks with Iranian football officials on the team’s participation in this summer’s World Cup.

Iran was one of the first of the 48 finalists that qualified for the super-sized finals, but its participation has been in doubt ever since the US, World Cup co-hosts, and Israel launched a war against the Persian country. However, this weekend, FIFA’s secretary general, Mattias Grafstrom, offered new assurance that Team Melli will feature at the finals.

Europe

Celtic apologise to Hearts after chaotic pitch invasion leads to violence at Premiership decider

May 18 – Celtic have apologised to Hearts and pledged to fully co-operate with investigations after chaotic scenes followed their dramatic Scottish Premiership title win at Celtic Park on Saturday.

Supporters flooded on to the pitch moments after Callum Osmand scored a 98th-minute goal to seal a 3-1 victory and confirm Celtic’s fifth consecutive league title, with some fans reportedly confronting Hearts players as celebrations spiralled beyond the stands.

Hearts later said their squad were forced to leave the stadium immediately while still wearing full kit due to what the club described as a “menacing and threatening atmosphere”.

Premier League

Xabi Alonso takes on Chelsea role. Liverpool sticking with Slot?

May 18 – Chelsea have confirmed the appointment of Xabi Alonso as the club’s new head coach, ending weeks of speculation over who would take charge at Stamford Bridge following another chaotic managerial reset in west London.

Alonso has signed a four-year deal and will officially begin work on July 1.

“Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in world football and it fills me with immense pride to become manager of this great club,” Alonso said following the announcement.

World Cup

FIFA close $60m broadcast deal with CMG in China

May 18 – FIFA have concluded a broadcast rights deal with China for the 2026 World Cup, though at a reportedly lower price than pitched.

The global governing body had been struggling to market the rights in both China and India, two important markets in Asia. Insiders said that FIFA simply set too high of an asking price, reportedly of $300 million, but Chinese state-affiliated media reported that FIFA clinched a deal with China Media Group (CMG) valued at $60 million.

Africa

USM Alger stun Zamalek in Cairo with CAF Confederation Cup penalty shoot-out win

May 18 – It took USM Alger extra time and an 8-7 penalty shoot-out win to secure their second CAF Confederation Cup and the record prize money of $4 million in Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday.

USM Alger went to Cairo with a 1-0 advantage over Zamalek following a dramatic first-leg victory in Algiers the previous weekend, where Ahmed Khaldi converted a stoppage-time penalty.

Another penalty, this time by Palestinian Oday Al-Dabbagh early on,

Competitions

Gamba Osaka’s rearguard holds in face of Al Nassr’s superstar forward line

May 17 – Gamba Osaka’s 1-0 AFC Champions League Two final win over Al Nassr in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, makes the Japanese club the first in the East region to capture both the top-tier and second-tier titles in AFC club football.

The victory over Al Nassr was Gamba’s first continental trophy since their 2008 AFC Champions League campaign.

Deniz Hummet’s 30th minute strike from a Issam Jebali assist secured the win at the sold-out King Saud University Stadium on Saturday.

Premier League

Pressure builds on Premier League clubs with betting sponsors unlicensed in UK

May 18 – Gambling operator Entain has escalated its campaign against offshore betting sponsors in English football, writing to six Premier League clubs to call for an end to partnerships with unlicensed operators.

SBC News reports that Entain’s General Counsel Simon Zinger has urged executives at Burnley, Bournemouth, Fulham, Everton, Sunderland, and Wolverhampton Wanderers to “commit to only using UK-licensed gambling sponsors next season.” The move follows an earlier appeal by Entain CEO Stella David to the Premier League and the UK’s Independent Football Regulator.

Finance

Ronaldo buys into streaming business LiveModeTV

May 18 – Cristiano Ronaldo has acquired a what is described as a ‘significant’ stake in LiveModeTV, the international broadcast arm of Brazilian streaming enterprise LiveMode, which is affiliated with the influencer Casemiro Miguel’s CazeTV operation.

No value was given for his investment. What Ronaldo does bring to the table is a huge social media following with about 76 million followers on YouTube, 666 million on Instagram, 171 million on Facebook and 115 million on X.

Broadcast

Paramount+ trips over Scottish Premiership title decider

May 18 – Paramount+ left frustrated football fans staring at error messages on Saturday after its streaming service failed to load coverage of the most anticipated Scottish Premiership title decider in decades, between Celtic and Hearts.

For 41 years, the Scottish league title has been shared between just two clubs, the Glasgow pair of Celtic and Rangers. This season, however, broke that pattern, with Hearts entering the final matchday top of the table and chasing a first championship in 65 years.