FIFA to boost Women’s World Cup to 32 teams and reopens bidding for 2023 edition

August 1 – The women’s World Cup finals will expand to 32 teams in 2023, putting it on a par with the men, though prize money will still doubtless remain an issue.
August 1 – The women’s World Cup finals will expand to 32 teams in 2023, putting it on a par with the men, though prize money will still doubtless remain an issue.
August 1 – Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli has rejected allegations that the Italian champions broke contract terms when Cristiano Ronaldo failed to feature in a pre-season friendly against the K League All Stars in Seoul last week.
August 1 – Australia have been the first of the declared bidders for the hosting of the 2023 Women’s World Cup to reaffirm their interest in the expanded competition which is being put out to retender.
August 1 – La Liga has not found a home for its broadcasting rights in the UK and Ireland for the 2019/20 season, leaving the big kick off in August in doubt for fans across the UK.
August 1 – The Bundesliga and Sportradar have renewed their match-fixing monitoring and integrity services partnership for a further two years.
August 1 – Bury’s 125-year membership of the English Football League could come to an end if club owner Steve Dale fails to provide the EFL with sufficient evidence he can sustain the club.
By Osasu Obayiuwana
July 31 – In a further twist to the controversy that has bedevilled last May’s abandoned African Champions League final in Tunis, between Esperance of Tunisia and Wydad Athletic Club of Morocco, the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) has nullified the decision of CAF’s executive committee on June 5 in Paris, ordering a replay of the game.
By Paul Nicholson
July 31 – Musa Hassan Bility, the CAF executive committee member banned by FIFA less than 24 hours after filing a complaint to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), has written an Open Letter to the FIFA Council calling into question the governing body’s “weaponised” Ethics committee.
By Paul Nicholson
July 31 – Football’s most powerful governing bodies and rights holders have issued the largest combined statement to date condemning the theft of their broadcast rights by pirate broadcaster beoutQ and “requesting” the Saudi Arabian (KSA) government to immediately take “swift and decisive” action.
July 31 – Angry South Korean fans are seeking compensation after Cristiano Ronaldo stayed on the bench during a Juventus pre-season friendly in Seoul despite being contracted to appear.
July 31 – Portugal and Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo is sport’s top earner on social media, according to new analysis by analytics firm HopperHQ.
July 31 – Jill Ellis is to step down as head coach of the US women’s football team after leading the country to back-to-back World Cup titles.
July 31 – Lionel Scaloni has extended his contract with Argentina until the end of the qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) has announced.
July 31 – Supporters of Cardiff City and Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas on the closing stages of the Tour de France last weekend, would have seen further inroads into the sports business by Ineos who debuted their shirt sponsorship of OGC Nice last weekend in a friendly in the Welsh capital.
July 30 – The festering row between the US women’s squad and the United States Soccer Federation over equal pay has intensified after the team ridiculed suggestions that they earn more than the men’s national side.