February 28 – CONCACAF, who on Monday announced an expansion of their blue riband Gold Cup national team tournament, have followed up with the unveiling of a multi-platform digital media rights deal with Verizon for all its competitions.
February 27 – There are just 10 days left to register for the Tackling Matchfixing conference, March 9/10, at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel, London.
By Andrew Warshaw
The 24 qualifiers for the one-off pan-Continental European Championship in 2020 will share record total prize money of €371 million, €70 million up on last time, with each of the finalists receiving a minimum of €9.25 million.
February 27 – Chelsea’s Eden Hazard is the world’s leading dribbler of the ball so far this season, topping Neymar and Lionel Messi in an analysis of Europe’s Big 5 league players.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 27 – Gianni Infantino says he has had no second thoughts about using video assistant referees (VAR) at the World Cup despite a string of controversial incidents that have called into question how effective the system is.
February 27 – Tottenham Hotspur’s eagerly awaited 61,000-capacity, state-of-the-art new stadium may not quite be ready in time for the start of next season according to English media reports.
February 27 – Atalanta have officially been charged by UEFA after their fans aimed monkey chants at Borussia Dortmund’s on-loan forward Michy Batshuayi during their recent Europa League clash.
February 27 – German fans have staged more protests about top-flight matches being staged on Monday nights when some 25,000 Borussia Dortmund supporters stayed away from this week’s fixture against Augsburg.
February 27 – The next edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the confederation’s blue riband national team tournament held every two years, will be expanded from 12 to 16 teams in 2019.
February 27 – FIFA have decided to take no action in a dispute between Paris St Germain’s Brazilian star Neymar and his previous club Barcelona over an alleged unpaid €26 million loyalty bonus.
February 27 – After 14 years at Manchester United, Phil Townsend is joining UEFA as its new managing director of communications in succession to Pedro Pinto.
By Paul Nicholson
February 26 – The first weekend of football in Spain’s leagues after the dramatic arrests of 32 suspected matchfixers last week has seen a welcome return to normality in the Spanish football betting markets. LaLiga head of integrity Alfredo Lorenzo, said that the “from the intelligence we have on Segunda B and the Third Division, it is completely flat.”
By Andrew Warshaw
February 26 – Video assistant referees (VAR) will not be used in European competition next season even if they are approved for this summer’s World Cup, according to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 26 – Despite a measured and convincing plea to the whole of Europe to “put football first”, Jersey’s application to become the 56th member of UEFA was crushed at the organisation’s annual congress today when not a single federation supported its bid for inclusion.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 26 – The increasingly hostile Saudi-led diplomatic spat with Qatar, which recently spilled over into football, has taken an unsavoury new twist with the Saudis apparently briefing some German media that the Gulf state could be stripped of hosting the 2022 World Cup.