February 21 – After just four months Brazilian top-tier side Santos have renegotiated their kit deal with Umbro, saying that the original agreement was unfair and having threatened to cancel the partnership.
February 21 – The Chinese owner of AC Milan has described suggestions that he has been declared bankrupt as “fake news” amid unconfirmed reports in Italy that his assets will be auctioned off on Taobao, the Chinese equivalent of eBay, to settle his debts.
February 21 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is set to introduce the video assistant referee (VAR) system for the first time this weekend.
February 21 – English Premier League club West Ham United are facing a Football Association charge alleging they broke rules on anti-doping procedures.
February 21 – The Dominican Republic will host the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield this April 13-21. The 12-team championship provides a pathway for the region’s smaller football nations towards the newly formed 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF League.
February 20 – The scourge of matchfixing has reared its ugly head in Spain yet again with a spate of arrests relating to alleged rigging in the country’s lower leagues.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 20 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino insists the world governing body was simply applying the rules when banning Morocco from promoting the country’s 2026 World Cup bid credentials before its own African supporters.
February 20 – The whistleblower whose revelations prompted the Russian doping scandal claims he was personally instructed by the country’s former sports supremo Vitaly Mutko, until recently a senior member of FIFA’s inner circle, to make sure footballers were protected.
February 20 – Former coach Barry Bennell, the serial paedophile whose sickening treatment of aspiring youngsters mainly in the 1980s rocked British football, was sentenced to 31 years in jail on Monday for 50 counts of child sexual abuse.
February 20 – Monday night games may have become relatively commonplace in the English Premier League but in Germany fans don’t take kindly to traditions being constantly eroded.
February 20 – Jack Warner, the most wanted man of all among powerbrokers snared by US authorities in the $200 million FIFAGate corruption scandal, has again managed to thwart extradition by having committal proceedings against him put on hold – for another nine months.
February 20 – Arsenal have extended their shirt sponsorship with Dubai airline Emirates in a five-year deal that is reportedly worth £200 million, a record for the club.
February 20 – Five players at English clubs, two of them in the Championship, make the top 50 list of European U20 players with the best career prospects, according to a ranking compiled by the CIES Football Observatory.
February 20 – Marketing success in sport is often all about being in the right place at the time. That place was on the sleeve of Wigan Athletic on Monday night for cryptocurrency firm Jetcoin as the Latics became only the third team to be Manchester City this year.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 19 – The race to land the 2026 World Cup has exploded into fresh controversy with FIFA facing accusations of double standards and underhand tactics despite its efforts, in public at least, to ensure a squeeky clean bidding process ahead of the June vote.