UEFA Nations League to open behind closed doors
August – UEFA has decided no fans will be able to attend Nations League matches in September, confirming a report by the Scottish FA earlier this week.
FIFA suspends two more as Haitian sex abuse investigation escalates
August 20 – FIFA has suspended two more Haitian football officials and has extended a 90-day provisional ban meted out to federation (FHF) president Yves Jean-Bart while it investigates allegations of teenage girls being sexually abused at the national training centre, built with a FIFA grant.
Concacaf draws groups for first round 2022 World Cup qualifying
August 20 – Concacaf teams learned their pathway to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after the preliminary draw paired 2026 tournament hosts Canada in Group B with Suriname, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Aruba.
Swiss cut face saving deal for Lauber who agrees to go early
August 20 – Switzerland has dropped impeachment proceedings against Michael Lauber after the attorney general agreed to quit office early amid persisting accusations of misconduct during an investigation into FIFA.
Wiegmann ready for England job, but Dutch Olympic mission comes first
August 20 – New England women’s head coach Sarina Wiegmann (pictured) believes she will be working with a “world-class team” when she takes over the role in September next year.
AS Monaco signs on-line gambler VBET two-year deal
August 20 – Ligue 1’s AS Monaco have signed online bookmaker VBET as a partner in a two-year deal.
FIFA opens up Jan-Feb 2020 window to ease pressure on 2022 World Cup qualifiers
By Samindra Kunti
August 19 – In the latest modification to the international match calendar, FIFA has replaced the September fixtures window with a new window at the end of January 2022 for all confederations with the exception of UEFA.
Koeman quits Dutch job to take-over at Barca with two-year deal; Messi staying
August 19 – Ronald Koeman has quit as boss of the Netherlands to become the new head coach of Barcelona two days after the club sacked Quique Setien following that humiliating 8-2 Champions League drubbing by Bayern Munich that stunned world football.
PSG knock the wings off RB Leipzig to secure CL final spot
August 19 – It took them 110 games in the competition stretching back several years to get this far.
Dortmund catches Covid reporting a €44m loss as match day and transfer revenues hit
By Paul Nicholson
August 18 – German giants Borussia Dortmund have reported a loss of €43.9 million for the 2019/20 financial year ending June 30 on revenues of €486.9 million. The club had reported a €17 million profit in 2018/19.
Demba Ba calls on football to boycott Chinese over abuse of Uighur muslims
August 19 – Former Senegal and English Premier League striker Demba Ba has called on football’s stakeholders to condemn China’s treatment of Uighur muslims, whatever the financial cost in terms of broadcast deals and player contracts.
Atalanta trade up with Plus500 taking over shirt sponsorship
August 19 – Serie A’s Atalanta, whose fairy tale journey to the quarter finals of the Champions League was ended in the dieing minutes by PSG, has found consolation with a new main club sponsor.
LaLiga’s Granada renews Winamax short deal as appeal against gambling ad ban goes to EU
August 19 – Despite the strong threat of LaLiga’s clubs being prevented earning sponsorship income from the gaming and betting sector, another club has announced an online gambler as its main shirt sponsor.
England opens doors for return of fans to non-league stadia
August 19 – With so many grassroots clubs in danger of going out of business, English football’s lower non-league divisions will be allowed a limited number of fans after the government updated its guidance on recreational team sport events.
French Ligue 1 new season in turmoil as Covid cases force Marseilles to call off opener
August 18 – The start of the new French domestic season scheduled for this Friday has been plunged into turmoil by Covid-19 after Olympique de Marseille said they had confirmed four cases of the virus and had their game against St Etienne called off.