Saudis awarded Asian Cup 2027 hosting and promise to deliver the best tournament ever
February 1 – Saudi Arabia was confirmed as the host for the Asian Cup in 2027 at the 33rd AFC Congress in Qatar.
Premier League clubs smash transfer spending records with £815m winter warmer
February 1 – Who says the mid-season winter transfer window is not the ideal time to bed players in?
Serie A clubs’ January transfer spending is lowest since 2006
February 1 – In contrast to the English Premier League, deadline day in Italy brought to an end a winter transfer window that saw the lowest spending by Serie A clubs in almost two decades.
Chelsea break British transfer record with €107m for Fernandez as Jan spending tops £300m
February 1 – Chelsea have completed their mind-boggling mid-season spending spree by smashing the British record after agreeing a record €121 million (£107 million) deal for Benfica’s Argentina World Cup-winning midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
Madrid court gives oxygen to Euro Super League clubs with protection from UEFA sanctions
February 1 – The rebel European Super League clubs have received a boost after a Madrid-based court restored an injunction to stop UEFA sanctions.
Infantino praises AFC passion and promises FIFA’s support going forward
February 1 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino, speaking at the AFC’s 33rd Congress in Bahrain, emphasised the financial support that FIFA has given the region since he took over as president.
Police bosses promise change as they apologise for Hillsborough disaster
February 1 – Britain’s police chiefs have promised a “cultural change” as they apologised to families of the victims in the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy, the UK’s worst sports disaster which saw 97 Liverpool supporters lose their lives.
Club World Cup kicks off in Morocco with Al Ahly vs Auckland City
February 1 – African powerhouse Al Ahly of Egypt and OFC champions Auckland City will today kick off the 2022 Club World Cup, with Real Madrid, the European representative, once again the big favourites to win the competition.
Tedesco set to take over as Belgian boss as Euro 2024 qualifying nears
February 1 – Domenico Tedesco is on the brink of becoming the new coach of Belgium, succeeding Roberto Martinez who exited the Red Devils following a disappointing first-round elimination at last year’s World Cup.
Millitech quits Austrian FA presidency over allegations of business interest conflicts
February 1 – Austrian football has been plunged into disarray with the resignation of FA president Gerhard Millitech with immediate effect.
NISA to debut three new clubs for 9-club 2023 season
February 1 – The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), the US third tier professional men’s league today, is bringing in three new clubs for the 2023 season, but is losing two clubs from its 2022 roster.
UEFA partners ERC to boost crucial CPR training across Europe
February 1 – UEFA and the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) have entered into a new training and education partnership focussed on increasing the number of people with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills and raising awareness of the importance of immediate CPR treatment in cases of cardiac arrest.
Argentina
Argentina qualified as one of the four Conmebol guests at the W Gold Cup with a third placed finish at the 2022 Copa America Feminina.
USA
Having qualified thanks to winning the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship, hosts USA will be looking to recover from a severely underwhelming World Cup campaign that saw them lose their place at the top of the FIFA world rankings.
Mexico
What to expect
Unbeaten in the past year, Mexico enter the W Gold Cup as dark horses to lift the trophy. Ranked 30th in the FIFA world rankings, they haven’t made the list of tournament favourites but certainly have an outside shot at going all the way.
The qualified via winning League A Group A, dominating all four games versus Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago, conceding just once whilst scoring 12 of their own.