USA 2 Costa Rica 2 (USA win 4-3 on pens)
June 29 – You’d hate to use the word ‘sterile’ to describe a Concacaf Gold Cup quarter-final, but following the drama and passion of Guatemala versus Canada, it all felt a little flat as the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) and Costa Rica kicked off for the right to face Guatemala in St. Louis. After 90 minutes and the drama of penalty kicks,
November 14 – Northern Ireland are to push for the implementation of video assistant referees in the wake of the country’s failure to reach the World Cup courtesy of a highly controversial first-leg penalty that left players, officials and fans fuming.
November 14 – The English Premier League and Football League have agreed a three-year collaboration with Stonewall, the UK’s leading charity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues, to promote equality in football.
By Paul Nicholson
November 13 – Japanese video game maker Konami is entering into eSports live event competition with an agreement with Spanish-based eFootball.Pro to create an international league.
November 13 – It may not impact directly on its bid to stage the 2026 World Cup but Morocco struck a psychological blow against the United States-led rival bid when it qualified at the weekend for next year’s tournament in Russia.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 13 – As Qatar’s relationship with its Gulf neighbours grows ever more tense, the man leading the country’s 2022 World Cup preparations has re-iterated, not for the first time, that his country has nothing to do with terrorism and is in fact leading the fight against it in the region.
November 13 – Lander Sports, the Chinese holding company whose principal Jisheng Gao (pictured) holds 80% ownership of Premier League Southampton, has signed a deal with Zhihui Real Estate to speed up the construction of its sports projects.
November 13 – The Thai owners of surprise 2016 English Premier League champions Leicester City are reportedly being sued for £323 million over money owed to their government.
By Samindra Kunti
November 13 – The Indian Supreme Court has stayed the Delhi High Court order on Praful Patel’s election, offering the AIFF president relief and bestowing commissioner SY Quraishi with a new mandate. The Supreme Court appointed Quraishi, and former India football captain Bhaskar Ganguly, as ombudsmen to formulate the AIFF constitution within eight weeks.
November 13 – The career of former France captain Patrice Evra has been plunged into disgrace with the veteran defender thrown out of European competition by UEFA until the end of June next year for his infamous kick on one of his own Marseille fans in a Europa League tie at Guimaraes earlier this month.
November 13 – The sexual harassment scandal pervading public life has spilled over into football with Hope Solo, the best-known goalkeeper in the women’s game, making accusations against none other than former FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
November 13 – CONCACAF, the confederation for North, Central America and the Caribbean, will hold its third annual Women’s Football Day on Saturday, November 18.
By Paul Nicholson
November 11 – Chelsea’s development of Stamford Bridge into a new-build 60,000 capacity stadium has been pushed back by at least three years.
By Paul Nicholson
November 10 – The stand-off in the blockade of Qatar by its Gulf neighbours has inevitably dragged the hosting of the 2022 World Cup into the geo-political mix with news that the United Arab Emirates has a plan to attack Qatar’s currency and devalue its economy. Alongside the financial warfare sits a PR offensive designed to destroy confidence in the Qatari economy and change the hosting status of 2022.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 10 – FIFA has been urged by its own advisory board on human rights to step up monitoring risks to those working on construction sites at World Cup venues in Russia and Qatar.
By Paul Nicholson
November 10 – Amazon and Manchester City have now officially announced a ‘multi-part’ documentary series that will go behind the scenes at the club and will air exclusively on Prime Video next year across 200 territories worldwide.