January 31 – Canada opened up a four-point gap at the top of Concacaf qualifying for Qatar 2022 with a 2-0 home win over the US – their first World Cup home win over the US for 41 years.
January 31 – In the Africa Cup of Nations, Mohamed Salah led Egypt with a 2-1 extra-time victory past Morocco to set up a blockbuster semi-final against hosts Cameroon, who eliminated Gambia. On the other side of the draw, Senegal and Burkina Faso will compete for a place in the final.
January 31 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and several African FA presidents have came out in support of FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s controversial speech at the Council of Europe last week when he suggested the staging of biennial World Cups would provide a solution to the African migrant crisis.
January 31 – Fan token platform Socios has sued the Argentinian Football Association (AFA) for terminating their sponsorship contract.
January 31 – Manchester United footballer Mason Greenwood has been arrested on suspicion of rape and assault following allegations that were made on social media.
January 31 – Starlizard Integrity Services (SIS) has reported that the number of football matches it assessed as being suspicious in 2021 is 130, 0.30% of all matches played in 2021 that the firm analysed.
January 30 – South Korea kept themselves firmly in the hunt for their first AFC Women’s Asian Cup, securing a semi-final place with a 1-0 win over 2018 losing finalists Australia in Pune today (Sunday).
By Samindra Kunti
January 28 – On a visit to Paris, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has appointed French FA (FFF) president Noel Le Graët as his delegate to oversee the organisation’s newly opened office in Paris.
January 28 – Writing off Costa Rica as an ageing and tired team might be premature. Last night they put themselves back into Qatar 2022 qualification contention with a 1-0 win over Panama.
January 28 – The sense that FIFA’s senior leadership is running out of control under president Gianni Infantino has been reinforced by news that a key advisor, Miguel Macedo has evaded sanction despite being found to have sexually harassed a member of his staff.
January 28 – The integrity services arm of sports betting consultancy Starlizard has launched a new Integrity Knowledge Hub via its website. The resource makes publicly available detail on the extent of match-fixing in football.
By Samindra Kunti
January 28 – Iran remain the flag bearers of Asian football, becoming the first Asian team to qualify for the World Cup after a 1-0 victory against neighbours Iraq at the Azadi Stadium, with a limited number of women in attendance.
Of the three personality disorders frequently observed in psychology and psychotherapy, there is one that appears to apply to certain types of people often found in leadership positions (such as Trump, Johnson, and you guessed it: Infantino). The ones I am referring to here, are “Cluster B Personality Disorders”.
January 28 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has fined Comoros $5,000 for “not respecting shirt numbers” and $2,000 for delaying kick-off in their last-16 match against Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations.
January 28 – Saudi Arabia kept their four point lead over Japan at the top of Group B in the Asian World Cup 2022 qualifiers with a 1-0 win over Oman.