Covid outbreak now hits Man City women’s team
January 5 – Four of Manchester City women’s team have tested positive for the coronavirus, continuing the club’s covid-19 woes.
Women's Euro 2025
Norway look for perfect group stage record against Iceland
July 10 – Norway take on Iceland in their final Group A match, looking to clinch a 100% record at EURO 2025 so far.
Covid fears and travel uncertainty forces Concacaf to cancel U-17 and U-20 men’s
January 5 – Concacaf has cancelled its U-20 men’s championship, which would have qualified teams for the U-20 World Cup, and its U17 men’s World Cup qualification competition scheduled for 2021.
Sportradar and UEFA Foundation for Children mark safeguarding partnership
January 5 – The UEFA Foundation for Children and Sportradar Intelligence & Investigation Services are marking a three-year safeguarding partnership that reinforces the work carried out by the foundation.
Man City Women looking good with Salento Creazioni Moda partnership
January 5 – Manchester City Women are putting on the style with Italian fashionwear production house Salento Creazioni Moda who have become the team’s first ever global formalwear partner.
AFC launches into 2021 with new look branding and logos for its major competitions
By Paul Nicholson and Samindra Kunti
January 4 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has launched into the new year with a major design rebrand of its major national team and club competitions, following up on the announcement at the end of last year of the alignment of its key national team competitions under the Asian Cup naming convention.
Premier League’s Christmas covid-breakers bubbled
By Andrew Warshaw
January 4 – What planet do they think they’re on? Just as the UK is battling a dangerous spike in Covid-19 cases, so English Premier League players continue to flout the rules, heaping embarrassment on their clubs and, as the epithet goes, bringing the game into disrepute – at least at elite level.
English FA’s ‘ethics’ questioned as Trippier betting ban put on hold by FIFA
January 4 – In a snub to English football authorities, FIFA have stepped in to block the 10-game worldwide ban imposed by the English FA on international defender Kieron Tripper for breaking betting rules.
As other big clubs suffer financial blues, Chelsea post £32m profit
By David Owen
January 4 – Chelsea may be having an up and down time on the pitch at present. But the West London club have achieved something that few of their Premier League opponents will manage, by reporting a reasonable profit for the covid-blighted 2019-20 season.
PMG adds fourth club to portfolio with AS Nancy buy
January 4 – Pacific Media Group have acquired AS Nancy, the French Ligue 2 outfit who will become the fourth club in Chinese-American consortium’s portfolio.
Juve gear up for new €45m per season shirt deal with Jeep
January 4 – Jeep has renewed its shirt sponsorship with Italian giants Juventus in a €45 million-per-season, three-year deal running through to the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
Pochettino takes reins at PSG with ‘attacking’ promise
January 4 – Just over a year after being shown the door by Tottenham Hotspur, Mauricio Pochettino is back in football as head coach at Paris St-Germain, his spiritual home.
ALK completes acquisition of Burnley
January 4 – The £120 million majority sale of Premier League Burnley to Velocity Sports Partners (VSP), the sports investment arm of ALK Capital, was completed just before the start of the New Year.
Word play. Cavani’s on-pitch brilliance blighted by social media blunder
January 4 – Manchester United’s Uruguayan international striker Edinson Cavani has completed the first of a three-match ban for a social media post containing a Spanish phrase that is offensive in some contexts but which has an acceptable interpretation in others.
2020: A football year indelibly marked by the Covid killer that refuses to go peacefully
By Andrew Warshaw
December 31 – Four hours before his team’s scheduled kick-off against Fulham on Wednesday night, Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho took to social media and remarked pointedly, “Match at 6 pm… We still don’t know if we play. Best league in the world.”
Israel’s Christmas Day bombing in Palestine delivers world football a political reminder
By Paul Nicholson
December 30 – Peace in our time? Not really if you are a Palestinian. While the UAE and Israeli signed high profile ‘peace’ agreements in September and even roped in their FA’s – overseen by FIFA president Gianni Infantino – to mirror the peace-pact with their own MoUs, the Israelis delivered a Christmas message to the beseiged Gaza strip via a bombing raid.