Uzbekistan to host U23 Asian Cup, UAE keeps Futsal Club finals but for 2022
March 18 – Uzbekistan will host the AFC U23 Asian Cup in 2022, the first time the competition has been hosted in the Central Zone.
Gold Cup 2025
Costa Rica stun Suriname with added time penalty in a Gold Cup classic
Costa Rica 4 Suriname 3
June 15 – With the baking sun of a sweltering San Diego day in Southern California giving way to a cool evening, Costa Rica went from red hot to freezing cold as they threw away their lead and had to battle back to win with 10 men and a penalty more than 10 minutes into added time.
Tebas targets April for fan return but health minister sceptical
March 18 – La Liga president Javier Tebas believes a limited number of fans will be able to return to Spanish stadiums in April but separate reports that the two Copa del Rey finals the same month could open its gates have received short shrift from the government.
Barca boss Laporta focuses on keeping Messi, fixing finances and winning LaLiga
March 18 – New Barcelona chief Joan Laporta has pledged to do everything in his power to convince Lionel Messi to stay after being officially sworn in as the club’s new president on Wednesday.
Second Sudan ethics complaint emerges, made 3 months prior to Infantino’s pre-CAF Congress visit
By Paul Nicholson
March 17 – More details are emerging of alleged financial corruption at the Sudan FA by president Dr. Kamal Shadad (pictured), as well as evidence of a complaint made to FIFA’s Ethics department back in October 2020, three months before FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited the country and reportedly instructed Shadad to support new CAF president Patrice Motsepe ahead of the African confederation’s electoral congress.
Platini to give witness evidence in Infantino criminal case
March 17 – Former UEFA president Michel Platini spent six hours in front of a Swiss prosecutor as a suspect on Monday – but today was due to appear as a witness in a separate case against his nemesis, FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
BeNeLiga takes a step close as Belgian clubs vote in favour
By Samindra Kunti
March 17 – Belgium’s top flight clubs have voted in support of a cross-border BeNeLiga, a league that would see Belgian clubs play their counterparts from the Dutch Eredivisie.
FIFA’s Wenger bangs drum for more World Cups and to ‘kick out’ confederation comps
March 17 – Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s chief of global football development, is calling for an overhaul of the entire calendar – including holding the World Cup and Euros every two years.
Button pushed on start of eEuro 2021 qualifiers and eMLS Cup schedules
March 17 – The eSports football season is hotting up with UEFA’s eEuro 2021 qualifiers having started on Monday and the eMLS Cup finals in the US starting this weekend.
Dijon FCO refuse to release players for international duty
March 17 – Dijon FCO have become the latest of Europe’s clubs to refuse to release their non-European nationality players for international duty, the French club announced on Tuesday.
Man Utd are built for sustainable success, finds data report
March 17 – Manchester United are Europe’s leading club in terms of having a built a squad that will have a sustainable run at the major titles, according to a report from the CIES Football Observatory.
Zlat is back: Ibrahimovic returns to spearhead Swedish attack
March 17 – Sweden have recalled their talismanic Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the national team five years after he announced his retirement.
PFA recruits globetrotter Molango to take over from Taylor
March 17 – Maheta Molango, a former Swiss player who spent time in England’s lower leagues, is to become the first black chief executive of a leading English football body when he succeeds Gordon Taylor as chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association.
Motsepe backs Veron to hit the ground running at CAF and tells TV it is time to pay Africans
By Samindra Kunti
March 16 – New CAF president Patrice Motsepe has said he needs new secretary-general Veron Mosengo-Omba in his team “to hit the ground running”, even if the South African offered little detail on how he will tackle some of CAF’s pressing, existential problems.
FIFPro economic report finds lack of protections for players in an unstable market
March 16 – A FIFPro study of working conditions in the domestic game in 79 countries shows “less than one-third have a well-functioning system” with stable employment conditions.
Copa America to be played as 10 team comp after virus kills off non-Conmebol guests
March 16 – Co-hosts Argentina will kick off the 2020 Copa America in Buenos Aires on June 13, with South American Football Confederation Conmebol releasing the competition’s new calendar after both invitees Australia and Qatar withdrew because of the coronavirus pandemic.