Everton pick Laing O’Rourke to build £500m new stadium
February 20 – Everton have appointed construction firm Laing O’Rourke to build the club’s new £500 million, 52,000-seat stadium under a pre-construction services agreement.
Spanish women break new ground with first collective pay deal
February 20 – Spain’s women footballers have signed a historic first collective agreement over pay and conditions, after a battle for rights that led to an unprecedented strike in November.
Wenger backtracks on speed of offside rule changes, but not on need to change
February 20 – Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s new head of global development, appears to have spoken out prematurely about the need to tweak the offside rule sooner rather than later in order to get rid of the farcical situation surrounding a spate of VAR decisions.
Inter Milan role out Academy project in Brazil with IT.Sports
February 20 – Internazionale are expanding Inter Academy portfolio, agreeing a partnership with IT.Sports to launch a series of football schools throughout country.
Man City’s Soriano blasts UEFA ban as being about politics, not justice
By Andrew Warshaw
February 19 – Five days after the club were sensationally banned from Europe for two seasons by UEFA, Manchester City’s chief executive has denounced allegations of financial fair play “serious breaches” as totally untrue and politically motivated.
Sport must contribute financially to the battle against organised crime, says SIGA boss
By Paul Nicholson
February 19 – If sport, and football in particular, wants to get rid of the increased presence of organised crime both within their ranks and profiting from their activity, then sport must allocate some of its revenue to tackle criminals head-on.
Bundesliga breaks €4bn revenue barrier, 28 out 36 clubs profitable
February 19 – Germany’s Bundesliga has reported record 2018/19 combined revenue for the 18 clubs in its top tier, breaking the €4 billion barrier for the first time, a 5.4% increase on the previous season.
Wenger weighs into VAR/offside debate with new rule proposal for Euro 2020
February 18 – Former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, now FIFA’s head of global development, is pushing for the offside rule to be tweaked in time for this summer’s Euro 2020 finals in response to a spate of VAR controversies this season.
Gent agree Belgian TV terms leaving Antwerp as remaining block to deal
February 18 – KAA Gent has signed up to the Belgian broadcast deal with Eleven Sports, leaving Antwerp as the only club to oppose the agreement for the country’s domestic TV rights.
India confirms cities for U17 Women’s World Cup
February 18 – India has confirmed the host cities for the U-17 Women’s World Cup in November. Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium will host the final with Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati and Kolkata serving as other host cities.
Match-fixing: FIFA probe Myanmar World Cup qualifiers
February 18 – FIFA is investigating suspected match-fixing in Myanmar’s 7-0 defeat in a World Cup qualifier last year.
Cincinnati coach Jans quits after out-of-tune racist comments
February 18 – Football-related racism doesn’t usually hit the United States but FC Cincinnati head coach Ron Jans (pictured) has resigned in the wake of an incident in which he is accused of making “extremely inappropriate comments”.
VAR makes its Moroccan club debut
February 19 – Morocco has become the first African country to use VAR in a top-flight league game.
Miserable Mourinho bemoans a break he didn’t need as Son sidelined
February 19 – Tottenham Hotspur’s South Korean international forward Son Heung-min has fractured his arm and could miss the rest of the season, a crushing blow to last season’s Champions League finalists who are already without long-term injury victim Harry Kane.
Wolves enjoy life back in Premier League with £22m profit
By David Owen
February 18 – Wolverhampton Wanderers, the famous old Midlands club currently engaged on their first European campaign in almost four decades, have reported a rebound to profitability for their first season back in the Premier League.