By Paul Nicholson
October 5 – FIFA’s involvement in Africa’s football politics and the election of its officials has again caused resentment on the continent with the world governing body this time stepping into the Côte d’Ivoire presidential election furore surrounding Didier Drogba.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 5 – It was, as one national newspaper put it, the day football went crazy. What a shame there were no fans to see it live.
October 5 – The Copa Sudamericana will feature a group-stage format for the 2021 season, Conmebol has announced.
October 5 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has renamed its age group competitions to become AFC Asian Cups from 2021. The Asian Cup naming convention will also be rolled out across the confederations Futsal and Beach Soccer competitions.
October 5 – Persepolis became the first team to reach the final of this season’s Asian Champions League after defeating Al Nassr from Saudi Arabia on penalties in the last four.
October 5 – One of the biggest games in European domestic league football was plunged into chaos on Sunday when visitors Napoli failed to turn up for their Serie A showdown with Juventus after their squad was placed in isolation following positive coronavirus tests.
October 5 – English football’s National League – immediately below the four main divisions – returned at the weekend thanks to a £10 million rescue package from the government which allowed the delayed season to finally kick off behind closed doors.
October 5 – LaLiga’s Valencia have taken a deeper step into the digital world with a two-year partnership agreement with Canadian augmented reality specialists ImagineAR.
October 2 – Building on the success of the recent Super Cup, UEFA have made the landmark decision to allow limited numbers of spectators back into all its international and club fixtures.
By Paul Nicholson
October 2 – Clubs looking for financial relief for their coronavirus hit income streams should look harder at the revenue that can be generated from selling the naming rights to their stadia, according to a new report from the KPMG Football Benchmark team.
October 2 – AC Milan, the fallen giants of European football, needed a nerve-wracking 24-penalty shootout against unheralded Portugal side Rio Ave on Thursday to squeeze into the Europa League group stage.
October 2 – European champions Bayern Munich were handed a kind draw in the Champions League with Atletico Madrid, Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow, but all eyes will be on the clash between Messi’s FC Barcelona and Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo.
October 2 – Spain’s LaLiga has licensed its name and marks for a series of sports bars around the world, signing an agreement with Spanish chain Barceló Hotel Group.
October 2 – As widely anticipated, Saturday’s Serie A game between Genoa and Torino has been postponed after 15 positive Covid-19 tests among the Genovese staff and players as the virus continues to disrupt a spate of clubs across the Continent.
October 2 – Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski has been named UEFA men’s Player of the Year for 2019-20 after a remarkable 55 goals in 47 games.