Coronavirus: Travel restrictions and safety issues force UEFA to cancel U19 championships
February 24 – UEFA has cancelled the 2021 Women’s and Men’s Under-19 Championships because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Lennon walks away from Celtic as Rangers run away with title
February 24 – Celtic manager Neil Lennon has resigned with the Glasgow giants 18 points behind arch-rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premiership table.
Forest Green Rovers owner tells football world to wake up and smell the coffee
February 24 – Forest Green Rovers, the English fourth-tier club that is powered by renewable energy, serves vegan food to players, staff and fans and prides itself on being the “greenest” club in the world, have launched a new team shirt partly made of coffee waste.
Dominican Republic and Curacao to host centralised Caribbean club competitions
February 24 – The Caribbean’s top regional club competition, the 2021 Flow Concacaf Caribbean Club Championship, will be centralised in the Dominican Republic, May 14-26 and, while the region’s Concacaf Caribbean Club Shield (CCCS) will be played in Curacao, April 23 and May 2.
TikTok builds football portfolio with Portland Timbers and Thorns
February 25 – Short-form video-sharing app TikTok has agreed a multi-year partnership with MLS team Portland Timbers and the club’s NWSL side Portland Thorns FC.
Messi, Pogba, van de Sanden and Sancho fizz for Pepsi activation
February 24 – Pepsi MAX is using its Champions League sponsorship to activate its new football ad campaign ‘Music Keeps Us Fizzing’.
England prepares to unlock its stadia as lockdown easing conditions released
February 23 – Up to 10,000 fans could be back in English stadiums by the end of May as part of the British government’s efforts to move out of the third and hopefully final lockdown.
Real Madrid caught in alleged tax evasion scheme over on-line commercial rights
February 23 – Real Madrid have become embroiled in a new potential tax evasion scandal following unconfirmed reports that it allegedly tried to keep part of the proceeds from the sale of a commercial rights with the help of two companies, possibly fictitious, based in the tax haven of the Cayman Islands.
Infantino pledges support to rebuild Sudan’s football culture
February 23 – Gianni Infantino’s African roadshow landed in Sudan on Monday, where the FIFA boss pledged more support for the north African country.
Real Madrid close in on securing €150m Qiddiya sponsorship
February 23 – Real Madrid have reportedly held “advanced talks’” with Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Qiddiya over a potential lucrative ten-year €150 million sponsorship deal.
Mbappé, Kane and Sterling top transfer values, Messi drops €27m, Delle Ali €15m
February 23 – Kylian Mbappé may still be worth €185 million and Harry Kane alongside Raheem Sterling may still be the world’s second most valuable players at €125 million, but overall the values of players have dropped more than 10% during the pandemic, according to the latest data from KPMG Football Benchmark.
Gravina returned as FIGC boss as Italy plans to host Euro 2020 kick-off, with fans
February 23 – Gabriele Gravina was re-elected as president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) on Monday and will now lead the federation until 2024, having amassed 73.45% of the votes.
K League launches dual-language OTT channel with eye on global markets
February 23 – Korea’s K League is launching a dedicated OTT platform for its top two leagues ahead of the start of the 2021 season that kicks off February 27.
Legia Warshaw to launch $LEG fan token on Socios.com platform
February 23 – Poland’s Legia Warsaw has become the latest football club to join Socios.com’s blockchain-based fan token platform with the launch of the $LEG Fan Token.
Marseilles line up Sampaoli to take over from Villas-Boas
February 23 – Following the acrimonious departure of Andre Villas-Boas and protests by the fans about the club’s poor form, Olympique Marseille have struck a verbal agreement with Jorge Sampaoli (pictured) to become their new head coach until June 2023, according to local reports.