By Paul Nicholson
October 5 – The English Premier League are entering the esports business with the launch of ePremier League with league partner Electronic Arts. The ePL will be played on the FIFA19 game and operated by esports tournament organisers Gfinity.
By David Owen
October 5 – AFC Bournemouth, the Russian-controlled south coast minnows who have become an established and increasingly accomplished Premier League force under Eddie Howe, their bright young manager, have put plans for a new stadium on hold.
October 5 – While Barcelona were busy confirming they had broken the $1 billion revenue barrier and had profit of €124 million, LaLiga rivals Celta Vigo showed the huge scale of financial difference between clubs in the Spanish top tier, announcing they achieved a €12 million profit last season, and a budget of €72 million for the current season.
October 5 – The opposition to La Liga president Javier Tebas’ plan to play a regular season fixture in the US has not stopped the mercurial Spanish leader insisting that the idea iss still alive and is their “right”.
October 5 – The Brazilian top flight will be interrupted during next year’s Copa America, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) revealed in announcing the calendar for the 2019 season.
October 5 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has moved to integrate the Video Assistant Referees, VAR, into its major club competitions. On Thursday, CAF announced that the VAR will feature in the finals of this season’s African Champions League and Confederation Cup.
October 5 – Glasgow will welcome a galaxy of football legends and three days of world-class six-a-side Football as the Star Sixes come to town in January.
By Paul Nicholson
October 4 – Barcelona have confirmed record revenues of €914 million ($1.05 billion) for the 2017-18 season, an increase of €206 million on the previous year. The club says it is on course to break the €1 billion mark by 2021.
October 4 – A Croatian court on Wednesday cleared against Croatia international and FIFA’s world player if the year Luka Modric of giving false testimony in a criminal trial.
October 4 – Cristiano Ronaldo has issued a firm denial of the sexual assault allegations made against him by Kathryn Mayorga, an American woman, with whom Ronaldo went out in 2009 in Las Vegas.
October 4 – Premier League Liverpool have added insurer AXA as the club’s first Global Insurance Partner in what it describes as a multi-year deal. No value was given for the sponsorship.
October 4 – Club squad sizes are irrelevant when it comes to the Big 5 leagues, according to new research data that found that for the last 13 seasons big-5 league clubs fielded on average 27.5 players per season.
October 4 – A KPMG Football Benchmark study into the possibility of re-introducing standing-only for areas in stadia in the top divisions of England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain concludes that with the new safety measures available, the commercial and fan engagement opportunity for clubs merits a hard re-visitation of regulations in countries that still have a standing ban.
October 5 – FIFA’s competitions committee has proposed an increase in prize money for the upcoming Women’s World Cup in France next year. The amount of the increase has not been disclosed but the proposal has now been sent to the finance committee for review before it presented to the FIFA Council for approval.
October 3 – Kashima Antlers and Iranian giants Persepolis moved one step closer to an AFC Champions League title showdown after both sides earned narrow victories in the first leg of their respective semi-finals.