December 21 – French authorities have opened a preliminary inquiry into tax fraud and money laundering in the wake of the ‘Football Leaks’ revelations which claimed a raft of players and coaches were using tax havens to stash away undeclared funds.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 21 – Amos Adamu, one of Africa’s most notorious footballing figures, is facing a second ban from the game after FIFA’s Ethics Committee opened fresh proceedings against the Nigerian.
December 21 – The influence, importance and ambition of Internazionale’s new owners Suning Sports Group to the club’s development was reinforced yesterday with the announcement of a multi-year sponsorship agreement for a package of naming rights by Suning Group affiliates.
December 21 – Twitter week-on-week growth rates increased again this week for Premier League clubs, up to 253,000 across the league from 228,000. This was a week that saw Premier League fixtures on five days as three rounds were crammed in before Christmas.
December 21 – In what FIFA will surely consider a blow to their efforts to stamp out under-age players moving overseas prematurely, Real Madrid have had their ban on transfer signings reduced to one window following a successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
December 21 – Manchester City have pushed the digital and social media boundaries further with the introduction of a matchday Snapchat host.
By Samindra Kunti
December 21 – Atletico de Kolkata have won their second Indian Super League title after defeating Kerala Blasters in the final in a penalty shout-out.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 19 – The reaction has been understandably incredulous. In a disgraceful move that hardly enhances its attempt to turn over a new leaf and become a respectful, compassionate, modern-thinking organisation, FIFA have once again shown their true colours by predictably fining all four British home nations for their various poppy displays at last month’s World Cup qualifiers on or around Armistice Day.
December 20 – West Ham’s Christmas came early, topping the attendance capacity chart twice during the Premier League’s three fixtures in eight days, and taking seven points out of a possible nine in the league.
By Paul Nicholson
December 20 – The Gold Cup 2017, CONCACAF’s top event for national teams, will be played in a total of 14 stadiums in 13 metropolitan areas, four of them first-time hosts, as the confederation expands the competition to support emerging football markets in the US.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 20 – Three months after disgraced former CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb – not so long ago touted as a possible successor to Sepp Blatter – was banned for life, two more once all-powerful officials of the same confederation have suffered the same fate with Hondurans Alfredo Hawit (pictured) and Rafael Callejas thrown out of the game by FIFA’s ethics committee for taking bribes as part of the US-led football corruption scandal.
December 20 – Nigeria’s sports minister has called for a “reputable audit” of the national FA, constantly embroiled in financial troubles, over claims of irregularities in the use of FIFA grants.
December 20 – Bayern may dominate Munich and Germany, but they are facing challenges. RB Leipzig, backed by Red Bull cash, is now a realistic challenger at the top of the Bundesliga, while locally 1860 Munich are showing signs re-emerging from the shadows thanks to the deep pockets of Jordanian investor Hasan Ismaik.
By David Owen
December 19 – The short-term impact of the early termination of Chelsea’s kit deal with Adidas has been made apparent, with the West London club announcing a big net loss of £70.6 million for the year to 30 June 2016.
By Paul Nicholson
December 16 – It took a hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo to wake up the European football ‘world’ to FIFA’s often unloved Club World Cup in that region. The significant story of this competition, however, is perhaps not Real Madrid’s extra time win but that the European Champions were pushed by another team from Asia making a mark in world football.