July 2 – Having looked like a team that were struggling to find any cohesion or common purpose after four straight losses, including a miserable performance in March at the Concacaf Nations League final, suddenly the USA look as though, if not the real deal, they are certainly worth a reappraisal.
September 3 – Switzerland’s professional teams are to be allowed to have their stadiums back up to two thirds full from October, one of the first countries in Europe to do so in the wake of Covid-19.
September 3 – Kevin De Bruyne’s agent Patrick De Koster (pictured left) is to remain in custody after his formal arrest last Friday.
September 3 – Venezuela is the latest country to have its affairs run by FIFA after being plunged into yet more turmoil.
September 3 – The European Super Cup in Budapest between Bayern Munich and Seville later this month, under threat because of Hungary closing its borders to foreigners, looks like it is going ahead as planned.
September 3 – The coronavirus has reached parts that not even the US Justice Department could reach. Trinidad press is reporting that world football’s most wanted, Jack Warner (not Lionel Messi), has tested positive for Covid-19.
September 3 – French FA president Noel Le Graet (pictured) says he has no regrets about prematurely closing down last season’s domestic league campaign despite other European countries managing to complete theirs.
September 3 – English top-flight clubs are split over whether to use five substitutes instead of three, with the issue being debated for a second time at today’s shareholder meeting having already been rejected.
September 3 – Yet another fixture head-ache has emerged for UEFA which is discussing entry requirements with the Hungarian authorities for this month’s European Super Cup following the country’s decision to close its borders to curb a rise in coronavirus cases.
September 2 – Lionel Messi is reported to be edging closer to appearing in the English Premier League with cash-rich Manchester City.
September 2 – A new analysis of player values has found that in the major 10 European leagues they are showing signs of recovery due to the fact that almost all leagues were eventually able to finish the 2019/20 season. However, most players still have not regained their ‘pre-pandemic’ market value.
September 2 – The number of betting related fixed matches saw a fractional decrease in 2020, according to the third annual Suspicious Betting Trends in Global Football Report.
September 2 – It was Sepp Blatter’s turn to face the music on Tuesday when he appeared in front of a Swiss prosecutor over the “disloyal payment” of two million Swiss francs made to Michel Platini in 2011.
September 2 – Just over two weeks before he addresses the entire FIFA membership on-line at its annual congress and conscious of the adverse global publicity surrounding those undocumented meetings with the departing Swiss attorney general, Gianni Infantino has been quick to go on a charm offensive by praising the hosts of next year’s World Cup for passing new laws designed to improve workers’ rights.
September 2 – RB Leipzig have received permission to allow 8,400 fans into their stadium for their opening game of the new league season next month, the first Bundesliga club to be given the green light to do so in the wake of Covid-19.
September 2 – This Friday the trial of Portuguese whistleblower Rui Pinto (pictured) will get underway in Portugal and his lawyer has revealed that Edward Snowden will be one of the 45 witnesses testifying in Pinto’s defence.