OL players agree share deal as part of reduced wage negotiations
March 10 – Olympique Lyonnais players have agreed to be compensated in shares rather than cash as the club has moved to offset its Covid-19 lost income.
Welsh in disarray as Ford forced out at FA
By Andrew Warshaw
March 10 – With what can only be described as bizarre timing verging on the foolhardy, Welsh football has been plunged into disarray with the news that Jonathan Ford is to leave his post as chief executive after 12 years.
Expanding NWSL to open with Challenge Cup in April
March 10 – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) will kick off its 2021 season with the NWSL Challenge Cup April 9.
Loew to quit German national team after Euro 2020
March 10 – One of the longest reigns in international football management is coming to an end with the announcement that Joachim Loew is to step down as Germany’s head coach after the European Championship finals in June and July, bringing forward his previous plan to quit after the next World Cup.
World Cup 2026: Houston make its case for hosting to FIFA bid inspectors
March 10 – Houston is the latest of the US cities presenting its host credentials for the 2026 World Cup to FIFA bid scrutineers.
LaLiga teams with Panini for limited edition, blockchain based tradeable cards
March 10 – LaLiga is using blockchain technologies via its partner Panini in the US to securely enter the online card trading business.
Juventus fall at last-16 again as Porto prove too strong
March 10 – Once again Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus won’t win the Champions League. For the third time since the arrival of the Portuguese superstar, the Turin-based club have been eliminated in the round of 16 – at the hands of Porto this time, a setback for Juventus and its chairman and ECA boss Andrea Agnelli.
High-flying West Ham see finances hammered by covid, resulting in £65m loss
By David Owen
March 9 – Yet another Premier League club has revealed that it haemorrhaged red ink during the covid-battered 2019-20 financial year, with high-flying West Ham posting a pre-tax loss of £65.3 million for the twelve months to end-May.
Bility scorns FIFA’s backroom deals and questions morality of Infantino’s CAF conquest
By Paul Nicholson
March 9 – Former CAF executive committee member and Liberian FA president Musa Bility has issued a warning to his African football colleagues over what he calls the “FIFA-fronted capitulation of CAF presidential candidates”.
CAF elections: Politics back in play as exco and FIFA Council seats come into focus
March 9 – While the race for the CAF presidency pretty much over with three of the candidates challenging for the position having agreed deals to pull out in favour of South Africa’s Patrice Motsepe, the jostling for position on CAF’s executive committee and the FIFA Council is taking centre stage.
Swiss refuse, again, release of investigation file to Infantino before his criminal hearing
March 9 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino was struck another legal blow in the criminal case against him in Switzerland with the Swiss Federal Criminal Court ruling he can’t have access to the investigation file into his case.
European clubs expects revamped 36-team Champions League format to be agreed this month
March 9 – The new format of the Champions League after 2024 could be agreed upon within a matter of weeks according to the boss of European Club Association, Andrea Agnelli.
Covid spike forces CAF to call off U17 finals at last minute as travel restricted
March 9 – The 2021 edition of the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations has been cancelled at the last minute by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), leaving hosts Morocco embarrassed on the eve of the governing body’s 43rd general assembly.
Samoura opens Female Leadership summit with call to challenge and innovate
March 9 – FIFA general secretary Fatma Samoura opened the Female Leadership in Sport Summit yesterday with a message that the world governing body has at its a heart a “mission to transform FIFA into an egalitarian organisation”.
Romanian official suspended for ‘inappropriate comment’ in PSG-Basaksehir case
March 9 – UEFA have suspended Romanian fourth official Sebastian Coltescu until the end of the season for his role in a racism case last December.