USA 1 Saudi Arabia 0
June 19 – American comedian Rodney Dangerfield used to say, “I don’t get no respect.” The same could be said for the United States Men’s Soccer Team as barely 10,000 fans showed up for a supporter friendly 8.15 pm kickoff versus Concacaf Gold Cup, Group D opponents, Saudi Arabia in a 1-0 win that again raised more questions than answers.
August 18 – UEFA are reportedly considering ditching the controversial plan to award two Champions League places based on historical success following criticism from leagues across the continent.
August 18 – Louis van Gaal doesn’t do modest. The new Dutch head coach has said he would have picked himself for the role and added that he wants to lead Oranje to the world title.
August 18– LaLiga, which has struggled to establish a broadcast home in the UK following the non-renewal of its deal with pay TV Sky Sports, is now attacking the British market with distribution into bars and pubs.
August 18 – Rwandan President Paul Kagame may be furious with Arsenal’s opening day loss to newly promoted Brentford, but it hasn’t stopped the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) extending its sleeve sponsorship through to 2025, according to reports.
August 18 – Premier League Liverpool have online financial broker, ThinkMarkets, to their sponsorship roster as the club’s new Official Global Trading Partner.
August 17 – FC Barcelona president Juan Laporta (pictured) has revealed that the club’s debt has risen to a staggering €1.35 billion with the Catalan supremo blaming his predecessor for the unprecedented financial crisis that also led to the departure of talisman Lionel Messi.
By Paul Nicholson
August 17 – After promises of new television deals across the African continent following the disastrous fallout from the Lagardere representation agreement that saw a $1 billion commercial guarantee replaced by blank TV screens and rapidly retreating sponsors, CAF has announced that the Africa Cup of Nations 2022 will be broadcast by the members of the African Union of Broadcasters (AUB).
August 17 – Maurice Watkins, the man credited with bringing Sir Alex Ferguson to the club in 1986, and a legend in sports law and British sports administration, has died aged 79.
August 17 – The Mauritius FA has been plunged into an unusual scandal following an investigation involving alleged secret mobile phone video recordings of a women’s toilet at the federation’s headquarters.
August 17 – China’s Tencent has acquired the non-exclusive streaming rights for the Bundesliga in China in a two-season deal.
August 17 – Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps say three of its academy players were assaulted at an outdoor gathering and that the attack is believed to be racially motivated.
August 17 – Players of SK Brann held a raunchy late-night party at their stadium, but were caught on security cameras, leaving the club red faced.
August 17 – Premier League Crystal Palace have secured Facebank as the club’s new sleeve partner in a one-season deal for 2021/22.
August 17 – Online betting brand BK8 has secured five LaLiga club sponsorships for Asia for the new season which kicked off last weekend.
By Paul Nicholson
August 16 – The World Leagues Forum (WLF) has slammed FIFA’s decision to amend the international match calendar without consultation and which has seen the rescheduling of South America’s FIFA World Cup qualifiers that had originally been due to be played in March 2021 to extended triple match windows in September and March.