New launch LaBa360 rolls the dice with record sponsorship deal for Burnley
July 3 – Premier League Burnley have swapped main sponsor Dafabet for new launch gaming and betting brand LaBa360 in a record shirt sponsorship deal for the club.
One step at a time. Neymar’s theatrics overshadow Brazil’s win over Mexico
July 3 – As Brazil await a mouth-watering World Cup quarterfinal against Belgium, the focus of attention is once again on their mercurial striker Neymar – but not for the right reasons.
Early World Cup exit impacts on Aussie FA budgets as grassroots fees raised
July 3 – Football Federation Australia (FFA), locked in a battle over money and control with its senior professional clubs, is coming under fire from its grassroots after a decision to raise registration fees for amateur and youth players.
Hope Solo slams USSF over failure of men’s game to progress
July 3 – The 2026 World Cup may have been awarded to North America but according to outspoken US women’s goalkeeping legend Hope Solo, the men’s game has gone backwards.
Toronto FC joins USL’s new third tier league for 2019 kick-off
July 3 – The fledgling third tier of US football – USL Division III – has announced its fifth founding member for its inaugural 2019 season. Toronto FC II will be operated by 2017 MLS Cup Champions Toronto FC and is owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Group.
Genius Sports wins official Premier League match data sales license for South Africa
July 3 – Football DataCo has agreed a deal with Genius Sports to be the exclusive agency to supply and sub-license official match data and fixture lists for England and Scotland’s professional leagues to licensed betting operators in South Africa.
Man City send their trophies on a pre-season tour
July 3 – With many European clubs back in training and looking towards pre-season marketing/training trips to foreign countries, Manchester City have announced that their two trophies – from their Premier League and Carabao Cup wins last season – will also be making a summer tour.
Collina sings VAR virtues as controversies over non-referrals continue to shape games
By Andrew Warshaw
July 2 – The controversies continue to rage but FIFA’s refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina and his colleagues insist the introduction of video assistant referees (Vars) has been an unqualified success in Russia.
Spanish trial looms for former Nike rep Rosell over Brazilian team TV rights deals
July 2 – Imprisoned former FC Barcelona president Sandro Rosell is to stand trial for alleged money laundering related to television rights and sponsorship of the Brazilian national football team.
Paying the penalty? Spanish FA boss Rubiales has no regrets over Lopetegui sacking
July 2 – With yet another pre-tournament favourite dumped out of a World Cup of unprecedented surprises, Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales insists he has no regrets over the decision to sack national coach Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the competition.
World Cup stadia fill up with more than 2m fans and 98% occupancy
By Samindra Kunti in Moscow
July 2 – Football’s governing body FIFA reported that 2,178,894 fans attended the 48 matches of the World Cup group stages in Russia, averaging a stadium occupancy rate of 98%.
Card sharps: Senegal complain they were dealt a crooked hand by FIFA’s Fair Play rule
July 2 – Senegal’s football federation (FSF) has urged FIFA to reconsider its new fair play ruling which controversially resulted in the Africans’ World Cup exit.
Chinese scale up mass participation with more than 20,000 academies and 10m players
July 2 – China’s Ministry of Education – which has been in charge of schools and university football development since 2014 – has updated the results of its national campus football project, revealing that there are now more than 20,200 specialist football academies across the country.
Inter tap into China’s fast growing sports tourism market with Lvmama deal
July 2 – Internazionale has unvelied Lvmama.com as the club’s Official China Travel Partner at a signing ceremony in the new Bellagio hotel in Shanghai, which was opened in June and is owned by the Suning Group which also owns the club.
Switzerland’s Lichtsteiner says eagle gesture was about joy and solidarity, not politics
July 2 – Swiss captain Stephan Lichtsteiner has opened up for the first time about being sanctioned for the controversial Albanian eagle salutes during his country’s group game against Serbia.