By Samindra Kunti in Rio de Janeiro
July 2 – ‘Why are we so incompetent?’ lamented famous Brazilian football journalist Juca Kfouri last Friday when Chile’s team bus got stuck in Sao Paulo’s traffic gridlock en route to their quarter-final with Colombia at the Arena Corinthians.
July 2 – The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is facing a financial crisis as commercial partner IMG-Reliance, the backers of the Indian Super League, have not cleared a part of their dues. As a result, I-League champions Chennai City FC have not been paid prize money worth in excess of $2.5 million.
July 2 – A Colombian player says he was threatened via social media after his missed penalty kick in a Copa America shoot-out with Chile last week cost his country the chance to remain in the tournament.
July 2 – Nike have extended their kit deal with Premier League Brighton & Hove Albion for three years, taking them through to the end of the 2021/22 season.
By David Owen
July 1 – Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s big money move to Manchester United may have come as a disappointment but not a surprise to financially literate Crystal Palace supporters.
By David Owen
July 1 – International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has dropped a strong hint that the doors of sport’s most prestigious club might finally be opened to FIFA boss Gianni Infantino.
July 1 – Two months after sending a fact-finding mission to Pakistan to assess the administrative crisis in the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), FIFA has decided to appoint a normalisation committee to run the federation’s day-to-day affairs and hold elections within nine months.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 1 – Go through the start lists of teams at this year’s Gold Cup and one common denominator screams out at you: the number of players plying their trade in the MLS.
July 1 – PSG have confirmed the extension of their kit deal with Nike in a new agreement that now covers their women’s team and will take them through to 2032.
July 30 – The growing demand by online gaming businesses for shirt sponsor positions with Spain’s top-flight clubs has seen Valencia hook up with Bwin as their jersey sponsor in a three-year deal starting next season.
July 1 – Arsenal have extended their global partnership with Konami for a further three years, taking them through to June 2022.
July 1 – The eagerly awaited Women’s World Cup semi-final between favourites and defending champions United States and England, has been given extra spice by a new ‘spygate’ row that is reportedly infuriating English officials but has been played down as storm in a teacup by those across the pond.
June 28 – The 2034 World Cup might still be in the distant future with the bidding process for the 2030 iteration yet to be properly administered, but Australia and Indonesia are mulling over a joint bid for the tournament.
June 28 – Italian giants AC Milan will not play in Europe next season. The club and UEFA have struck a deal that will see the Milanese serve a one-year ban from European football for breaching financial fair play rules, CAS confirmed.
June 28 – FIFA have sanctioned the Macau Football Association for refusing to travel to Sri Lanka to play the second leg of their 2022 World Cup preliminary competition first-round match.