Mastercard sends integrity message with sponsorship of SIGA’s New York forum
February 24 – Mastercard has sent a clear integrity message to the sports industry that it expects its sponsor partners to meet the highest standards of governance.
Hublot clocks in for more UEFA sponsorship with major women’s partnership
February 24 – UEFA has agreed a sponsorship with Hublot for its women’s competitions as well as its Together #WePlayStrong platform that aims to get more girls and women involved in the game.
Covid-19 impact reaches Italy with three Serie A games postponed
By David Owen
February 23 – The coronavirus outbreak has started to impact European football, with three matches postponed in Italy’s top-flight Serie A on Sunday.
Scots are latest football body to cut ties with betting sponsors
February 22 – The Scottish FA is the latest British football body to announce the end of a major betting company sponsorship.
Belgium extend run at top of FIFA World Rankings, Palestine move up
February 21 – In a time of little international football Belgium have remained top of the FIFA ranking. Palestine moved up the ranking following their success in January’s Bangabandhu Cup.
Anti-corruption in sport: takeaways from SIGA’s Rome conference
February 20 – In a week where financial cheating and corruption have again dominated sports headlines with the UEFA ban on Manchester City and the Swiss indictments surrounding FIFA’s media rights, SIGA’s conference in Rome which focussed on Anti-Corruption in Sport had an almost eerie-like timing.
UEFA’s Euro 2020 ticket recall leaves travelling fans out of pocket
February 21 – UEFA have been forced to apologise to hundreds of fans after a technical error meant tickets for Euro 2020 that should not have been on sale ended up being cancelled after being paid for.
Covid-19 outbreak forces South Koreans to postpone season start for some clubs
February 21 – South Korea has postponed next week’s opening home matches for top-flight clubs Daegu FC and Pohang Steelers due to a surge of coronavirus virus cases.
Dortmund doubles up on shirt sponsors with 1&1 and Evonik splitting competitions
February 21 – Germany’s Borussia Dortmund will have two shirt sponsors from the start of next season with telecoms company 1&1 taking over for the Bundesliga short position while long running partner Evonik take over for European and other competitions.
Border crossing: Serbia resident Ivic to play for Kosovo
February 21 – In a significant move to break through footballing ethnic barriers, 17-year-old Ilija Ivic is set to become the first Serb-kosovan player to represent Kosovo having been named in the country’s under-19 squad.
Tickets on-sale for one of the oldest match-ups in history
February 21 – Tickets have gone on sale for what will be one of the oldest historical match-ups in world football history. Sheffield FC, the world’s oldest football club (founded in 1857) will play First Vienna Football Club 1894, the oldest club in Austria (founded in 1894) on June 1, the night before Austria host England in a pre-Euro warm-up.
J League deepens SNTV deal with launch of YouTube channel
February 21 – Sports News Television, SNTV, have struck a deal to manage the J League’s new international YouTube channel.
Tunisia join Morocco and Rwanda in bid to host CAF Champions League final
February 21 – Tunisia have become the latest country to officially submit a bid to host this year’s Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League final on May 29.
Fury and intrigue as Swiss charge Valcke and Al-Khelaifi with bribery over World Cup rights
By Paul Nicholson
February 20 – The Swiss Attorney General has issued an indictment against the former FIFA secretary general Jerôme Valcke, the chairman of the BeIN Media Group, Nasser Al-Khelaifi (who is also president of PSG and a UEFA executive committee member), and an unnamed businessman.
FIFA turn Council meet into a conference call amid fears of viruses, cost and rumours of insurrection
February 20 – In a rare example of cost cutting among its highest-ranking officials, FIFA have scrapped plans to hold next month’s two-day session in South America and have told members not to travel.