By Samindra Kunti
February 24 – The Maracana stadium will reopen in March with Rio club Flamengo hosting a Copa Libertadores match, but the future of the venue remains in doubt as bidders appear to be getting cold feet over taking on the management challenge of the iconic stadium.
February 24 – UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has once again dismissed the idea of a breakaway European super league, repeatedly mooted as an inevitability despite UEFA’s decision to reform the Champions league in favour of the continent’s top four domestic leagues.
By Samindra Kunti
February 24 – On a historic night for Belgian football, AA Gent, KRC Genk and RSC Anderlecht all progressed from the Europa League’s round of 32. In the round of 16 Manchester United, the biggest team left in the competition, will face Russia’s FC Rostov.
February 24 – England captain Wayne Rooney has ended talk of a possible move to China saying he wants to remain at Manchester United.
February 24 – Singapore’s S- League has signed Hyundai Motors as a new co-title sponsor in a two-year deal believed to be worth $1 million.
February 24 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has spoken of the need for Qatar to leave a lasting legacy when it stages the 2022 World Cup, almost certainly the last with 32 finalists.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 23 – When the previously little-known Aleksander Ceferin gained a stunning victory to win the presidency of UEFA last September, his landslide 42-13 triumph over Michael van Praag was a giant statement for the smaller European federations like his own Slovenia.
February 23 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has added another official sponsor partner for its club competitions with international financial services company Allianz becoming the first sponsor in this category.
By Paul Nicholson
February 23 – Chinese interest in acquiring Premier League Southampton looks to have doubled with a reported £246 million bid from materials giant Amer International and CITIC Securities to rival the Lander Sports Development bid of £200 million that was rejected by the club’s owner Katarina Liebherr.
By Paul Nicholson
February 23 – FIFA is continuing its meeting of member nations in regional workshops with the latest stop on their schedule being Jamaica, March 1-4, where 14 Caribbean member associations will be gathered.
February 23 – Jersey’s appeal against UEFA’s rejection of their membership bid will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on June 28.
February 23 – The regional fight for more slots in an expanded World Cup from 2026 is already under way with Africa stating it is looking for 10 places, double its current quota.
By Samindra Kunti
February 23 – New Caledonia and New Zealand have qualified for the Under-17 Football World Cup in India after defeating Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea in two nail-biting semi-final clashes at the U17 OFC Championship.
February 23 – A total of 53 footballers in Britain have been reported over potential breaches of betting rules according to the BBC.
February 22 – The 40,000-seat stadium to be built in the Al Thumama district of Doha, Qatar, for the 2022 World Cup, will have as its main contractor a joint venture between Qatari construction firm AlJaber Engineer and Turkey’s Tekfen Construction.