July 24 – The US squad changes after the group stages of the CONCACAF Gold Cup bore fruit at the weekend with the host country beating Costa Rica 2-0 to qualify for the final. In contrast, Mexico, who left a number of big names off their roster, crashed 1-0 in their semi-final against Jamaica.
July 24 – With two rounds of group games completed in the Women’s Euro 2017 in Holland, the hosts and England are the only two teams with a 100% record.
July 24 – The Saudi Arabian-led boycott of Qatari-owned beIn Sport as part of the diplomatic dispute in the region has not prevented the channel being awarded Middle Eastern and North African broadcasting rights for the Champions League and Europa League.
July 24 – Javier Tebas, controversial head of the Spanish League who has fought an often acrimonious war of words with Federation President Angel Maria Villar, has welcomed the arrest of FIFA’s number two official saying Villar is now “history” after he was jailed without bail pending an investigation into corruption allegations.
July 24 – Premier League newcomers Huddersfield Town are capitalising on their commercial opportunity with a new record shirt sponsor as well as new and renewed commercial partnerships.
July 24 – The world players union FIFPro is demanding a response from UEFA after a player with Serbian club FK Vojvodina was allegedly attacked in the dressing room by his team’s own fans following a Europa League tie.
July 24 – El Salvador defender Henry Romero has received a six-game ban after biting USA striker Jozy Altidore during their Gold Cup quarter-final.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 21 – Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the FIFA-appointed official who led the inspection team that evaluated the credentials of all 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding candidates, has emerged from his prolonged silence with all guns blazing to launch a blistering attack on those he says turned his life into a “nightmare”.
July 21 – The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has reacted swiftly to accusations that money from Puma’s kit deal has not been accounted for through the federation’s accounts, saying that the reports are “maliciously false, calculated to cause damage to the reputation of the GFA and (GFA president) Mr Nyantakyi.”
By Andrew Warshaw
July 21 – Angel Maria Villar, FIFA’s second most senior official and an ally of Gianni Infantino, has been denied bail along with his son following their sensational arrest earlier this week as part of an anti-corruption probe by Spanish authorities.
July 21 – Football has always been global but the concept that its biggest club brands are also global opportunities is never more obvious than in the pre-season tours that see the giant of the European club game play ad-hoc tournaments, friendlies and exhibition game across the globe.
July 21 – African football chiefs have rubber-stamped the biggest ever overhaul to the Continent’s showpiece competition by agreeing to switch the African Nations Cup from its traditional January date to June and expand the finals to 24 teams – starting with the next edition in 2019 in Cameroon.
July 21- US telecoms giant AT&T has extended its long-running sponsorships with soccer in the country renewing deals with the MLS, U.S. Soccer and the annual Mexican national team tour in the US.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 20 – The biennial club-versus-country row that has dogged African football’s major competition looks set to end after a landmark decision to switch the African Cup of Nations from January to June.
The man who was arrested by the anti-corruption unit of the Guardia Civil in Madrid the other day, former FIFA and UEFA Grande Angel Maria Villar-Llona (alongside his son Gorka who ran CONMEBOL, leaving behind a major shambles) should not have been arrested at all.