UEFA connects with smartphone maker vivo for Euro 2020 and 2024
October 23 – Chinese smartphone manufacturer vivo has committed to a four-year official partnership for Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.
Arsenal and KSE get environmentally friendly with Ball Corporation deal
October 23 – Arsenal have agreed an official partnership with global aluminium packaging company Ball Corporation in a co-operation designed to help the club and its fans reduce their impact on the environment.
Infantino defends Lauber meetings as he waits to learn, officially, what he is accused of
By Andrew Warshaw
October 22 – Three months after criminal proceedings were opened against Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president has broken his silence by declaring he still doesn’t know what he is accused of and defending his conduct throughout his dealings with Switzerland’s disgraced former attorney general Michael Lauber.
Mediapro seeks rights fee rebate on €172m demanded by LFP
October 22 – Spanish media rights agency Mediapro is seeking a negotiated solution with the LFP after the French league issued a €172 million demand for unpaid rights fees.
Report finds 43% of players in EPL racially abused on social media
By Andrew Warshaw
October 22 – A new report into the extent to which professional footballers are attacked online has thrown up damning and disturbing findings, with 43% of English Premier League players surveyed having experienced “targeted racist abuse”.
Swiss cut stadium attendances to 1,000 as FC Sion puts whole squad into quarantine
October 22 – Top-flight Swiss side FC Sion have put their entire squad and medical staff into quarantine and have asked for their next two games to be postponed following the club’s latest coronavirus tests, though results were not revealed.
Belgium keep top ranking in an international month that saw 120 matches played
October 22 – The international window at last saw a return to a significant numbers of national team matches with FIFA reporting 120 games played in October, the bulk of them in the UEFA and Conmebol region. The top five nations in FIFA’s men’s national team ranking all remained the same.
Infantino dismisses any interest in Euro Super League, his focus is on Club World Cup
October 22 – FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said he is not interested in the plotting behind the scenes in European football and the creation of a Super League, but he remains committed to the world federation’s revamped but delayed Club World Cup.
IFAB prepares way for ‘concussion sub’ trials
October 22 – Trials of permanent concussion substitutes could begin in January, the game’s law-makers have announced.
UEFA halts play in Armenia and Azerbaijan as military dispute intensifies
October 22 – UEFA have put a stop to all club and national team competitions in Armenia and Azerbaijan until further notice because of the continuing military conflict in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
UEFA pushes button on second edition of eEuros on Konami’s PES platform
October 22 – UEFA has launched the second of its national team esports competition – eEuro 2021 – which will complete with a London final in the summer next year.
Man Utd post £20m loss, but commercial strength limits the Covid damage
By David Owen
October 21 – Manchester United today fired the first shot in what is set to be an extremely sobering Premier League financial results season, reporting a pre-tax loss of £20.8 million for the year to end-June 2020.
Super League plan would deliver £6bn breakaway for Europe’s biggest clubs
By Andrew Warshaw
October 21 – Yet another audacious challenge to the Champions League is reportedly being plotted behind the scenes involving Europe’s biggest clubs and altering the entire landscape of the game at elite level. It is a repeating narrative in Europe but this time round appears to have FIFA’s encouragement.
Big clubs set dominate cash safe haven of UEFA’s Champions League payouts
October 21 – With the uncertainty surrounding club revenues in domestic leagues, particularly around match day revenue, clubs that have qualified for the UEFA Champions League will be grateful for the relative the financial stability that competition brings.
LaLiga goes live with Twitch channel focussed on clips and non-live content
October 21 – LaLiga has become the first European sports league to open an official account on the Twitch streaming platform.