July 17 – After weeks of speculation the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed that its showpiece event, the African Cup of Nations, will stick to the summer months in 2023 and be held June/July in the Ivory Coast – a massive ask for the players who will now have to play three major tournaments in 18 months.
July 17 – 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar will act as the regional hub for matches involving clubs from West Asia in the AFC Champions League, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced.
July 17 – Newly-promoted VfB Stuttgart’s achievement in getting back to the top flight in Germany has been marred by them becoming the latest cash-strapped Bundesliga club to seek financial aid because of lost matchday revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic.
July 17 – Spain’s Health Minister, Santiago Illa, has cast doubt on the possibility of fans being able to go back to stadiums when the new season starts in September.
July 17 – Despite a season when they were often far from their scintillating best, Real Madrid are Spanish champions once again, ending Barcelona’s two-year grip on the title and prompting coach Zinedine Zidane to declare it felt sweeter than any of the three straight Champions League crowns the club has won under his tenure.
July 17 – Serie A’s Roma and US sportswear giants Nike have cancelled their 10-year partnership with three years left to run on the contract.
July 17 – Inter Milan, who have expanded their academy concept to more than 21 sites worldwide, has launched a series of virtual meetings giving youngsters at Inter Academy and Inter Campus projects the chance to talk to former club stars.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 16 – Fans watching the first ever winter World Cup in Qatar will be treated to four games a day, organisers have confirmed as they announced the tournament in November and December 2022, will kick off at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.
By Paul Nicholson
July 16 – Egyptian giants Zamalek are taking their protests over CAF’s 2020 award of the ‘African club of the Century’ to Al-Ahly to the confederation’s ethics function, claiming the club rankings that decided the title were rigged.
July 21 – A New York court has delayed deciding on a request for compassionate release from prison by former Conmebol president Juan Angel Napout (pictured).
July 16 – The German Bundesliga is working up plans to return fans to stadia following discussions with health authorities, with the start of the 2020/21 season, September 18, being the target date for opening up of the leagues.
July 16 – Former FIFA vice president Prince Ali bin al Hussein of Jordan says the governance of world football must be stepped up in the wake of the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) judgement to uphold the life ban on ex-Afghan FA chief Keramuddin Karim for sexual abuse.
July 16 – Fans often bemoan the fact that footballers are paid far too much money but the perception that they do not carry out their social responsibilities is misplaced according to the international players’ union FIFPro.
July 16 – Football’s rule-making body has given the green light for teams to continue to use up to five substitutes instead of three next season in a bid to cope with potential fixture congestion in the aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak.
July 16 – Real Madrid will have a new official bank from the start of the 2020/21 season. An agreement with Liberbank will see the financial institution take over from Caixabank.