December 21 – Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) president Yasser Al-Misehal has said that ‘Everyone will be welcome’, including LGBTQ+ fans, at the 2034 World Cup, a tournament FIFA is set to formally award to the Arab Kingdom next year.
December 21 – The UK government’s Culture, Media, and Sport Committee is urging the Premier League and sports governing bodies to slash the volume of gambling ads within stadiums to protect children from exposure to betting logos and subsequent gambling.
December 21 – The Russian Football Association has voted against leaving UEFA to join the Asian Football Confederation despite its teams having been banned over the conflict in Ukraine.
December 21 – Brazil and Barcelona star Dani Alves’ trial for alleged sexual assault will start February 5.
December 21 – Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has told any supporter “not in the right shape” for Saturday’s top-of-the-table Premier League encounter with leaders Arsenal to give their ticket to someone else as the Anfield crowd disappointed again last night.
December 21 – The CIES Football Observatory has revealed the tallest and shortest teams in world football in its latest study, which ranks the clubs in 53 leagues around the world according to the average size of the line-ups fielded in the current or last completed season.
By Paul Nicholson
December 21 – The Nigerian businessman who was the preferred bidder for Sheffield United as they journeyed to England’s Premier League is facing multiple fraud charges from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for billions of dollars of fictitious transactions.
December 21 – Major League Soccer (MLS) has been told by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) that its clubs can only play first teams in the country’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
December 12 – The Slovenian women’s national team has achieved equal pay with the country’s men’s team, Fifpro said on Wednesday.
December 20 – FIFA’s head of global football development, Arsene Wenger, has backed plans for an expanded Club World Cup from 2025 and downplayed concerns about overload and player welfare.
December 20 – Members of Afghanistan’s men’s national team have urged FIFA to investigate allegations of match-fixing against the president of the country’s FA.
December 20 – In a landmark move, fans in Spain will be able to hear reasons for contentious VAR decisions following an agreement between the Spanish Football League (La Liga) and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
December 20 – Turkish football has been hit with another scandal involving club presidents and match officials.
December 20 – Match week 17 of the Premier League season recorded a huge improvement from last week’s double-header, as 403,822 fans piled into top-flight grounds with the four-way title race beginning to heat up.
By Samindra Kunti in Jeddah
December 20 – European champions Manchester City rekindled some of their form with a comfortable 3-0 victory against Urawa Red Diamonds to book a place in the final of the Club World Cup.