October 17 – Has he made a comeback after all? According to the website of the Russian Football Union, Vitaly Mutko has regained the RFU presidency despite reports that he had been overlooked because of his alleged role in the recent doping scandal.
October 17 – The US will likely have more than one third tier league in 2019 with the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) announcing that Connecticut will have team, though the club’s specific location, ownership and team name will be revealed in the coming weeks.
October 17 – The German magazine which broke the story of a rape allegation made against Cristiano Ronaldo says it stands by its report despite the player’s lawyers describing the claims as “complete fabrication.”
October 17 – Germany’s Continental Tires has extended its sponsorship with the Chinese Football Association (CFA) and its national teams.
By Paul Nicholson
October 16 – FIFA for $21 billion or Manchester United for $4 billion? When you have $1 trillion, why not buy both? The Saudi Arabian determination to acquire their way to controlling positions in world football’s biggest brands knows no bounds – and football, like business, generally doesn’t discriminate when it comes to money.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 16 – Two ex-presidents of the German FA, Wolfgang Niersbach (pictured left) and Theo Zwanziger (pictured right), plus former general secretary Horst Schmidt have won a landmark legal case after a Frankfurt court rejected tax evasion charges against them saying there was insufficient evidence of wrongdoing.
By Samindra Kunti
October 16 – Local authorities have charged 20 suspects in the corruption scandal that has engulfed Belgian football. Agents Mogi Bayat and Dejan Veljkovic, FIFA referees Bart Vertenten and Sébastien Delferière, and Brugge coach Ivan Leko are among they key suspects. Charges range from money laundering and criminal organisation to bribery.
October 16 – The European Parliament is to host a high-level session in Brussels tonight to tackle the growing problem of child trafficking in sport, primarily focusing on football.
October 16 – Sierra Leone’s Sports Minister, Ibrahim Nyelenkeh, has accused the country’s FA president Isha Johansen (pictured left with FIFA general secretary Fatma Samoura) of being personally responsible for FIFA shutting down the federation despite on-going criminal investigations into its leadership.
October 16 – UEFA has diplomatically stepped into the debate over UK football’s traditional Saturday afternoon broadcast blackout being breached by saying it is in talks with the English and Spanish leagues following reports that online streaming service Eleven Sports is defying the rules.
October 16 – Any hopes that Vitaly Mutko (pictured), for years one of FIFA’s most influential administrators, might have had of returning to the forefront of Russian football appear to have been dashed, with Alexander Dyukov likely to be appointed as head of the national federation.
October 16 – New Zealand FA president Deryck Shaw has resigned in the wake of a damaging bullying scandal that has rocked the women’s game.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 15 – French authorities have confirmed they are investigating potentially one of the most damaging and high-profile allegations of match-fixing to hit the European game.
October 15 – UEFA is boosting its women’s development funding for member associations by an extra €50,000 annually from 2020.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 15 – UEFA has firmly denied reports that it has banned Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, from televising qualifying games in the disputed occupied territories.