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,
October 5 – Days after withdrawing from any attempts to host the Club World Cup this December, the South African Football Association (SAFA) have confirmed football fans will soon be returning to stadiums in South Africa, if they are fully vaccinated.
October 5 – The AFC has renewed Japanese telecoms provider KDDI as a regional partner for its major national team competitions for the 2021-2024 rights cycle.
October 4 – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has taken the UK government to task over their change of heart in offering Premier League players exemptions if they are travelling to Covid red-list countries during this month’s international break.
October 4 – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), until last week a picture of positivity, progress and growth, has reacted swiftly to the multiple allegations of sexual harassment that resulted in the firing of North Carolina Coach Paul Riley but which senior players have said is also a wider league problem.
October 4 – FIFA is reportedly considering relocating its headquarters from Zurich to the United States and is looking at both east and west coast venues.
October 4 – Winger Pany Varela starred with two goals to crown Portugal futsal world champions with a 2-1 victory over Argentina in the World Cup final in Lithuania, reclaiming the title for Europe for the first time since 2004.
October 4 – Australia’s top tier men’s and women’s professional clubs – which in 2020 took over the running of their business and operations from the Australian federation – have unveiled a new brand identity under a unified ‘A-Leagues’ banner that includes their youth teams.
October 4 – Following the lead of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the South African Football Association (SAFA) has endorsed the proposal for a biennial World Cup, with the governing body’s strongman Danny Jordaan arguing that the tournament in its current form “has not brought progress in African football over the last 100 years”.
October 3 – Business magnate and controversial former Olympique Marseille president Bernard Tapie has died at 78 after a long battle with stomach cancer. He led the French club to the Champions league crown in 1993, a victory later overshadowed by a match-fixing scandal in the French league.
October 4 – Online trading platform eToro has secured partnerships with eight clubs in Italy’s Serie A for the coming 2021/22 season.
October 3 – Israeli football agent Pini Zahavi (pictured centre) has been charged in Belgium with forgery, use of forgeries, fraud and money laundering in relation to mismanagement at second-division club Royal Excelsior Mouscron, the federal prosecutor’s office said.
October 1 – In a further effort to garner support for his organisation’s much-criticised plan to stage the World Cup every two years, FIFA president Gianni Infantino held a summit with more than 200 national federations Thursday in which he banged the drum for how the game should look going forward.
October 1 – Belgium coach Roberto Martinez, whose team top the world rankings but have failed to win the world championship, opposes FIFA plans to stage the World Cup every two years, arguing the frequency would “devalue” the tournament.
October 1 – France has emerged as the first major European footballing country to give tacit conditional approval to staging the World Cup every two years.
October 1 – Scottish champions Rangers have written to UEFA to complain about the racist treatment of Glen Kamara during their Europa League game at against Sparta Prague on Thursday.