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,
October 16 – Facebook have one, Netflix announced they are making one, and now Amazon Prime are joining the US OTT broadcast entry into fly-on-the-wall football docuseries with a Manchester City biopic.
October 16 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held its first regional media and marketing workshop for ASEAN Member Associations las weekend in Bangkok, Thailand.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 13 – In a stunning twist to their anti-corruption football probe, Swiss federal prosecutors have opened a criminal case against the Qatari boss of Paris St Germain, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, for suspected bribery linked to World Cup broadcasting rights.
October 13 – Five Ecuadorian players have been suspended from the national side for indiscipline following this week’s 3-1 home defeat to Argentina which sent the visitors through to the World Cup finals.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 13 – Arab investment in European football has become commonplace in recent years with the likes of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates taking over a number of leading clubs. But further down the pyramid, a Jordanian businessman is reaping the rewards of putting his faith in a lower-league English team.
October 13 – Switzerland’s Esther Staubli is set to make history by becoming the first European female referee – and only the second ever – to officiate in a FIFA men’s tournament.
October 13 – Viewing figures for Premier League football in the UK are showing a rebound in interest from the start of the season, after summer data showed that viewing figures for Sky’s Premier League coverage had slumped to their lowest point in seven years last season.
October 13 – Having initially announced that 2 million tickets had been requested with two days to go before the close of the first 2018 World Cup ticket sales window, FIFA has now confirmed more than 3.4 million requests.
October 13 – Chinese football authorities have named the “high-level” European and American referees for the four remaining weeks of the Chinese Super League season in a move to boost the standard of officiating.
October 13 – After yet another bitter Scottish disappointment, Gordon Strachan has stepped down as manager of the national team after their failure to qualify for the playoffs of the World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 12 – He was the FIFA trouble-shooter who was eventually fired himself and fell spectacularly from grace. But now Jerome Valcke, for eight years Sepp Blatter’s right-hand man, has gone public with a vigorous defence of his reputation.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 12 – Players from Colombia and Peru have denied they deliberately colluded to make sure both had a chance of qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Russia.
October 12 – Portuguese legend Luis Figo, who ran for FIFA president two years ago before pulling out of the race with a stinging attack on the electoral process, has joined UEFA as a football advisor.
By Mark Baber
October 12 – Nike and the Portuguese Football Federation have extended their long-term partnership until 2024. No value was announced for the deal.
October 12 – The United States’ failure to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Russia marks a “sad and dark moment” for the game in the country says former star defender Alexi Lalas.