Xavi picked Barca before Brazil
November 9 – New Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez says he wanted the job so much he turned down joining the Brazilian national team set-up.
REWE Group extend 1. FC Koln sponsorship through to 2025
November 9 – The Bundesliga’s 1. FC Köln have extended their 14-year main sponsorship with the REWE Group for a further three seasons to June 2025. The deal includes the continuation of the front of shirt branding.
Ooredoo answers FIFA call with regional deal for Qatar 2022 and Arab Cup 2021
November 8 – Qatari telecommunications operator Ooredoo has taken a tournament regional sponsorship with FIFA becoming the Official Middle East & Africa Telecommunications Operator for the World Cup Qatar 2022 and the Arab Cup Qatar 2021, to be held in December.
Playmaking the Wenger way: Integrity questions swirl around FIFA and its development chief
November 8 – FIFA’s chief of global football development Arsene Wenger, has come under renewed questions regarding his personal integrity over his involvement with sports technology startup PlayerMaker.
Premier League closing on £1.1bn of US broadcast deals
November 8 – The Premier League is on the cusp of confirming a record-breaking US television rights that will benefit all 20 topflight clubs.
Chelsea fan is jailed in for anti-semitic tweets aimed at Spurs supporters
November 8 – A fanatical Chelsea fan who posted antisemitic and racist tweets aimed at supporters of rivals Tottenham Hotspur, a club with large Jewish following, has been jailed for eight weeks.
China’s Li Tie rues lack of overseas opportunity for national team players
November 8 – Chinese coach Li Tie (pictured) says lack of overseas experience in his squad is hampering efforts to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Qatar.
Villa and Norwich fire managers in bid to rapidly reverse Premier League fortunes
November 8 – With less than one third of the new season completed, two more English Premier League clubs sacked their managers over the weekend.
Barca bring Xavi ‘home’
November 8 – Former Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernández has returned to the Camp Nou as the new coach of his boyhood club following the sacking of Ronald Koeman.
Early strike pushes Muharraq Club to AFC Cup win over FC Nasaf
November 8 – Bahrain’s Muharraq Club defeated Uzbekistan’s FC Nasaf 3-0 on home soil to win the AFC Cup for a second time.
Concacaf League semis see all-Guatemalan match-up and Motagua aiming for third title shot
November 8 – Concacaf has released the semi-final schedule for its 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf League (SCL), the confederation’s second-tier club competition for clubs that haven’t progressed into the Champions League.
USL W League names Charlotte Independence as 23rd club for 2022 inaugural season
November 8 – Charlotte Independence has become the 23rd club to announce it will join the United Soccer League’s USL W League for its inaugural 2022 season which is set to kick off next May. It is expecting to have at least 30 teams by season opening day.
Arsenal starting to believe ‘special times’ really are ahead
November 7 – In his rare media interviews, Arsenal director Josh Kroenke has repeated that the London club is not for sale and insisted “special times are ahead”. After Sunday’s 1-0 won over Watford he repeated his mantra.
Women’s Euro 2025 attracts record five bidders for hosting rights
November 5 – UEFA has received no fewer than five declarations of interest representing eight member associations to host the 2025 women’s Euros. It is another indication of the pace of growth of the women’s game, the increased profile it is achieving and the commitment from nations to invest in its expansion.
Louis Saha calls on Ronaldo to join sport integrity movement
November 5 – Former Fulham, Manchester United and France striker Louis Saha has called on former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo to engage with the sport integrity movement and use his profile to drive meaningful change across football from grassroots to boardroom.