USA 2 Costa Rica 2 (USA win 4-3 on pens)
June 29 – You’d hate to use the word ‘sterile’ to describe a Concacaf Gold Cup quarter-final, but following the drama and passion of Guatemala versus Canada, it all felt a little flat as the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) and Costa Rica kicked off for the right to face Guatemala in St. Louis. After 90 minutes and the drama of penalty kicks,
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.
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.
November 5 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has followed the IFAB lead on the extension of the five subs provision, and is keeping the temporary law amendment in place for its competitions through to the end of 2022.
November 5 – Women’s club football in Asia takes another step forward this weekend with the four team AFC Women’s Club Championship 2021 – Pilot Tournament (West) kicking off Jordan.
November 5 – Brazilian football officials have done it again: present an anachronistic club calendar, including 16 match days for the state championships, that will see the 2022 domestic top flight end in November, just in time for the Qatar World Cup.
November 5 – At the eleventh hour, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced broadcast partners for the maiden African Women’s Champions League which kicks off on Friday with the curtain raiser between Egypt’s Wadi Degla and Mali’s As Mande.
November 5 – English Premier League club West Ham say they are appalled by video footage of fans singing anti-semitic songs at a Jewish passenger on a flight to Belgium for a Europa League tie.
November 5 – The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) and the Comoros Football Federation (FFC) have entered a partnership that will see the Saudis support the development of the women’s game on the archipelago of islands off Africa’s east coast.
November 5 – Footballing history has been made in Jordan where an all-female refereeing crew took charge of a men’s match in the country’s Pro League.
November 5 – Lionel Messi says he wants to return to Barcelona, perhaps as technical director, after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain ends and he retires from playing.
By Samindra Kunti
November 4 – In a historic first, Egyptian hosts Wadi Degla and Mali’s AS Mande will kick off the maiden African Women’s Champions League on Friday, but question marks remain over the competition’s prize money, sponsorship and media visibility.
November 4 – Cash-strapped Barcelona are the latest club to enter the scramble to create NFTs, announcing a deal with Cyprus-based Ownix, a premium Ethereum-based NFT marketplace.
November 4 – The Chinese Super League (CSL) lurched deeper into club crisis with Hebei FC, based in Langfang in the northern province of Hebei, looking set to become the second to fold following February’s collapse of Jiangsu Suning.
November 4 – An English fan who racially abused Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka after England lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy has been sentenced to 10 weeks in jail.
November 4 – LaLiga has formally opened the bidding process for the domestic sale of domestic audiovisual rights, for the first time extending the license period from three to five seasons and increasing the number of packages of rights available.