Israeli fury at being listed as ‘Palestinian Territory, Occupied’ on World Cup hospitality site
August 11 – Yet another controversy has broken out over how disputed territories are being identified in World Cup official documentation.
Mendy jury sworn in as Man Cty player denies 8th rape charge
August 11 – Manchester City’s French international Benjamin Mendy has pleaded not guilty to yet another charge of rape.
Real Madrid give Eintracht Frankfurt a lesson in Champions League quality
By Samindra Kunti in Helsinki
August 11 – In imperious form, Real Madrid kick-started the European club season with a routine 2-0 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt to clinch a fifth continental Super Cup and make a statement ahead of the Champions League.
UEFA issues NFT tender for national team competitions
August 11 – UEFA has issued a tender for licensing rights to NFTs for national team football competitions.
African Super League’s big launch falls flat with no teams, no money and no clear direction
By Samindra Kunti
August 10 – The African Super League has been launched – well, almost. CAF president Patrice Motsepe offered few details at a ‘soft launch’ of the new competition but repeatedly failed to address the elephant in the room: with CAF on the verge of bankruptcy, how will the Super League be financed ahead of its supposed kick off in August 2023.
Barca asset sell off raises further €100m in desperate bid to get new players registered
August 10 – Two days after Insideworldfootball and other media outlets reported that debt-ridden Barcelona are being blocked from registering all their summer signings by La Liga, there is still no breakthrough with the Spanish season almost upon us.
Motsepe tells Infantino and CAF Congress that all of Africa will be voting for him
August 10 – Delivering a public relations boost to Gianni Infantino’s re-election expectations, Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe has vowed that all of the continent’s 54 votes will go to the incumbent in FIFA’s presidential elections next year.
Real Madrid and Ancelotti promise more to come ahead of Super Cup
By Samindra Kunti in Helsinki
August 10 – For the first time since 1960 and the European Cup Final that the Spanish club won in a 7-3 spectacular at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt meet again in a competitive match with the Super Cup at stake in the curtain-raiser for the European season.
World Cup to start a day earlier with Qataris requesting standalone opening day slot
August 10 – FIFA have reportedly granted a Qatar request to start the World Cup a day earlier than scheduled with the hosts opening the tournament against Ecuador.
Ukraine’s Dynamo Kyiv face Benfica for Champions League group slot
August 10 – Despite their country being ripped apart by the Russian invasion and flattened by heavy artillery, Dynamo Kyiv are moving towards the group stage of Champions League following an extra-time 2-1 win over Austria’s Sturm Graz in the third qualifying round on Tuesday for a 3-1 aggregate victory.
SAOT top make its European debut at Super Cup tonight in Helsinki
August 10 – In a move that could revolutionise the game in terms of key on-field calls, semi-automated technology (SAOT) to speed up the time taken to reach offside decisions will be used in European club competition for the first time at the UEFA Super Cup tonight.
FIFA and PIFS inject pace into their commitment to tackle climate change in the Pacific
August 10 – With the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders having declared a climate change emergency in the Pacific in July, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and FIFA have increased the pace of their agreement to help tackle the issues.
LaLiga wraps up trio of sponsorship deals ahead of new season kick-off
August 10 – Ahead of the LaLiga’s kick off on Friday the Spanish have been unveiling a series of new and renewed sponsor partners.
German World Cup legend Lahm to boycott Qatar 2022 over human rights record
August 9 – Former Germany captain Philipp Lahm is to boycott this year’s World Cup over host nation Qatar’s human rights record.
Covid outbreak forces Chinese Super League to reschedule centralised games in Haikou
August 9 – Covid-19 has once more thrown Chinese football in disarray with matches in the Chinese Super League (CSL) needing to be rescheduled in Haikou, the capital of China’s island province Hainan, due to an outbreak of the coronavirus.