Giggs pleads not-guilty to charge of assaulting two women
April 26 – Wales men’s team coach Ryan Giggs will miss this summer’s rescheduled Euros after being charged with assaulting two women.
Eredivisie pushes Dutch brand with Score!Hero 2 mobile game hook-up
April 27 – The Eredivisie has agreed a three-year agreement with gaming developers First Touch Games with its 18 clubs appearing in the new version of mobile football game Score! Hero 2.
UEFA drop Bilbao and Dublin from Euro hosting. Seville, St Petersburg and London plug gaps
By Andrew Warshaw
April 23 – Bilbao and Dublin have been stripped of hosting rights by UEFA for this summer’s delayed Euro 2020 Championship because of concerns over whether fans would be definitely be allowed into stadia.
Of big promises and forked tongues. Was Infantino fuelling the ESL’s chutzpah?
By Paul Nicholson
April 23 – Suspicions are multiplying that the hand of FIFA president Gianni Infantino was present behind the scenes in the encouragement of the 12 breakaway European Super League clubs.
Barca and Real Madrid unrepentant over ESL, Barca say they will go again
By Samindra Kunti
April 23 – Amid a firestorm of condemnation and outrage at secretly concocted European Super League (ESL) plans, FC Barcelona have signalled their continued commitment to a proposed closed-shop, elite competition, highlighting “a need for structural reforms” and calling the backlash “intimidation” in an unapologetic statement.
2021 Gold Cup to use 11 venues with Texas stadiums taking the lead for group stage hosting
April 23 –Concacaf has released detail of the nine stadia that will host Gold Cup group stages and knock-out rounds this summer with a focus on centralising matches around city hubs to reduce team travel.
Kroenke says Arsenal is not for sale and they will work to rebuild trust despite fan protests
April 23 – In the aftermath of the crash of the European Super League (ESL), the owners of Arsenal, Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE), have vowed that they will not sell the club and promised to cover the cost of the failed ESL coup.
Accounts confirm near £100m Villa loss as £87m more capital funding is pumped in
By David Owen
April 23 – Aston Villa owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens appear to have pumped a further £87 million into the reviving, but still heavily loss-making, Birmingham-based Premier League club in recent months.
Belgian Pro League calls for stadia to be opened for season ending play-offs
April 23 – The Belgian Pro League have called for the partial reopening of stadiums for the season-ending playoffs, but their requests look unlikely to be met.
US fund pulls out of Bordeaux leaving club on brink of insolvency
April 23 – French Ligue1 club Bordeaux are on the brink of bankruptcy after American investment fund King Street decided to withdraw its financial support.
Transfer values: Man City tops squad value ranking, Man Utd second
April 23 – Manchester City top a ranking of clubs with the most valuable squads by transfer value, ahead of local rivals Manchester United and Chelsea and more than twice the value of PSG.
ePremier League to debut in China with Tencent. Clubs repped by local talent
April 23 – The Premier League is is launching ePremier League in China this monthin partnership with it broadcast license holder Tencent Sports, Tencent Gaming and EA SPORTS.
Spanish hammer their breakaway clubs; Tebas asks Infantino where he really stands
By Paul Nicholson
April 22 – Spain’s Laliga, and its clubs, are keeping their foot firmly on the pedal of opposition to the now fractured European Super League. With its two biggest clubs – Real Madrid and Barcelona – belligerent in their belief that the ESL is the way forward, the league’s clubs issued a statement rejecting the format, followed by a press conference that forcefully emphasised their unity in opposition.
Super League ‘good guys’ PSG and Bayern topped UEFA distribution payments for 2019-20
By David Owen
April 22 – The 2019-20 European club football season was overshadowed, interrupted and ultimately elongated by covid. Even so, UEFA still managed to distribute well over €2.4 billion to the clubs which took part in its main competitions.
Out in the cold: England’s Big-6 bosses feel the backlash as EPL reorganises, reviews begin
By Paul Nicholson
April 22 – With the European Super League dead in the water, at least in its latest incarnation, the Premier League has wasted no time in moving on the management of the renegade six clubs, stripping them of key positions on key Premier League committees and working groups.