Sexy football, sexy time? Argentine FA apologise for sexist gaffe
May 17 – The Argentine Football Association has apologised for the publication of a World Cup manual that included advice on how to seduce Russian women.
Ligue 1’s St Etienne enters takeover talks with US venture capitalists PEAK6
May 17 – US investment fund PEAK6, a minority owner of Serie A’s Roma that also holds a 25% stake in Premier League Bournemouth, is taking aim at another of Europe’s Big 5 leagues having entered into exclusive takeover talks with French Ligue 1 club Saint-Etienne.
European stakeholders refuse to be railroaded into Infantino’s $25bn calendar shake-up
May 17 – Europe’s leading football stakeholders have joined forces to oppose Gianni Infantino’s plans to radically change the game’s global landscape by saying they have “serious reservations about the process” surrounding his proposal to enlarge the Club World Cup to 24 teams and create a biennial global Nations League.
SIGA readies for Geneva forum as it reflects on 100 days of battling for sport integrity
May 17 – The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) will hold the fourth edition of its SIGA Sport Integrity Forum and General Assembly at the United Nations, in Geneva, on July 26-27.
AFC Champions League heads in to quarter finals with Qatar’s Al Duhail still unbeaten
May 16 – Eight teams remain in the hunt for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League glory this season, after the competition’s Round of 16 ties were completed on Wednesday.
FIFA trims its former apparatchik Makudi’s suspension to 3.5 years
May 17 – Former FIFA Executive Committee member Worawi Makudi has scored a token success in the fight to clear his name.
Europa Cup Final: Lyon on high alert as OM fans mass for Atletico showdown
By Samindra Kunti in Lyon
May 16 – Hosts Lyon are on red alert as thousands of Marseille fans descend on the city ahead of the European Cup final with Atletico Madrid. Stringent security measures have been implemented to prevent any scuffles or violence. For the match itself football bookmaker Unibet has the odds stacked firmly in favour of Atletico.
FIFA shrug off Morocco query over eligibility of four US territories for 2026 vote
By Andrew Warshaw
May 16 – Morocco’s request for four countries to be pulled from next month’s 2026 World Cup vote has received a non-committal response from FIFA with the simmering controversy quite possibly coming to a head at the ballot itself in Moscow.
Africans lobby SA to back Morocco 2026 as national politics threaten a ‘solidarity’ vote
May 16 – South Africa’s football leadership are being urged not to break ranks with the Continent and to back Morocco’s bid to host the 2026 World Cup.
UEFA Council meets to agree battleplan to challenge Infantino’s ‘takeover’ plan
May 16 – UEFA’s top brass were meeting today in an attempt to forge a united stance against Gianni Infantino’s plans to change the landscape of world football.
Hankook Tire renews Europa League sponsorship for further three years
May 16 – Korea’s Hankook Tire has renewed its sponsorship of the UEFA Europa League for a new three-year cycle, taking its association with UEFA’s club tournament through to 2021.
A dream partnership. Man Utd extends deal with China’s fast-growing MLILY
May 16 – Never ones to be caught napping when it comes to commercial partnerships, Manchester United have renewed Chinese firm MLILY as the Club’s official mattress and pillow provider.
World Cup ref Al Mirdasi banned after offering to fix Saudi cup final
May 16 – A World Cup-bound Saudi referee chosen by FIFA has been banned for life at home for a matchfixing attempt just days before he was due to fly to Russia.
William Hill keeps punting on Spurs in multi-year renewal
May 16 – Premier League Tottenham Hotspur have extended their partnership with bookmakers William Hill in what the club says is a multi-year deal.
Bayern push deeper into US and Hispanic markets via content deal with ESPN
May 16 – ESPN has signed a content deal with German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich to bring club content to the broadcaster’s digital and linear networks in the US, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America.