By Paul Nicholson
May 15 – It has been a quiet week so far in terms of news regarding FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s frantic lobbying to get backers for his $25 billion sell off plan for new FIFA endorsed Club World Cup and Nations League competitions. But he has received support from one area.
May 15 – Premier League Chelsea have scored a record £50 million, five-year sleeve sponsorship deal with Hyundai, who are reportedly doubling that paid by current sleeve sponsor Alliance Tyres.
May 15 – On-loan Deportivo Alaves forward Munir El Haddadi has lost his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a bid to switch national allegiance from Spain to Morocco ahead of the World Cup.
May 15 – Home appliances brand Beko has used its Barcelona sponsorship partnership to raise €1 million for UNICEF to help tackle childhood obesity.
May 15 – Peru’s joy has quickly turned to disappointment after captain Paolo Guerrero was ruled out of the World Cup after his doping ban, which had just expired, was increased from six to 14 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
May 14 – Despite the Greek authorities going to extraordinary lengths to maintain order by flying in a Spanish referee to take charge of last weekend’s domestic cup final, a season of unprecedented turmoil was capped by yet more trouble – on and off the pitch.
By Samindra Kunti
May 14 – A World Cup-bound referee who is one of Asian football’s most experienced officials has been placed under investigation in Saudi Arabia after being removed from handling last weekend’s Saudi cup final.
By David Owen
May 14 – The Football Association is budgeting £16 million of capital expenditure on Wembley – the world famous stadium which might soon be sold to Shahid Khan, owner of Fulham and the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) – in 2018.
By Samindra Kunti in Jeddah
May 14 – The political splits in the middle east between Qatar, Iran and their neighbours looks to be spilling over into football in a more formal basis with the creation at the weekend of the South West Asian Football Federation (SWAFF).
May 14 – UEFA’s decision to stage next week’s Champions League final in Kiev “needs explaining” according to Liverpool’s head of club and supporter liaison.
May 14 – The Women’s U17 Concacaf Championship that was abandoned last month in Nicaragua after three matches due to civil unrest and security concerns in the country, will resume in June in the US.
May 14 – Chadian football is in turmoil as the first vice-president of the Chadian Football Federation (FTFA), Ibrahim Foullah accused the country’s governing body of embezzling over CFA780 million (£1.05 million).
By Andrew Warshaw
May 14 – Israel’s most right-wing club has taken its ethos to unpredecented new levels of nationalistic pride by officially adding the word Trump to its name following the US president’s decision to relocate his embassy in the country to the divided city.
May 14 – Peru’s football federation have confirmed captain Paolo Guerrero has been selected in the team’s World Cup squad despite an appeal by anti-doping authorities to have his ban for a positive test increased.
May 12 – The Chinese Super League (CSL) has extended its kit partnership with Nike for a further 10 years – starting in June 2019 and taking them through to 2029.