March 20 – While the US government has increased its pressure campaign against TikTok, threatening a US ban of the app if the company doesn’t split with its Chinese ownership, Major League Soccer has no issue with the social media platform being used to collect vast volumes of data.
March 17 – Manchester City’s quest for a first ever Champions League trophy has been made all the harder with the toughest possible draw in the quarterfinals.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 17 – FIFA has admitted defeat over plans to allow Saudi Arabia to be a major sponsor of this year’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand even though Gianni Infantino described objections to the idea as “a storm in a teacup”.
March 17 – La Liga’s outspoken president Javier Tebas says Barcelona face a heavy sanction if found guilty of manipulating referees and has urged the club to come clean sooner rather than later.
March 17 – While focus has been shifted to the 2025 Club World Cup and how teams will qualify, or have qualified, FIFA have also said they will run a global club competition every year.
By Samindra Kunti in Kigali, Rwanda
March 17 – FIFA said it has tripled the ‘prize money’ for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia/New Zealand as president Gianni Infantino lashed out at broadcasters for not offering enough money for the tournament’s broadcast rights.
March 17 – While details of the hosts for FIFA’s 32-team Club World Cup in 2025 are still to be announced, nine of the world’s biggest clubs have already qualified for the event as champions of their confederation’s leading club competitions.
March 17 – LaLiga CEO Javier Tebas says he has resigned from the European Leagues body saying that it does not take its role seriously and has done nothing to fight what he says are the financial abuses of the Premier League and state-backed clubs.
March 17 – Mondelēz International brand Cadbury is rolling out its sponsorship renewals in the Premier League in what is understood to be another series of three-year terms.
March 17 – Fortaleza Esporte Clube has unveiled online bookmaker Novibet as the team’s main sponsor in a two-year deal starting this season.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 16 – No sooner had he been re-elected FIFA president for another four years than Gianni Infantino indulged in yet another unexpected monologue today, this time defending his organisation’s global standing and, more tellingly, his own personal reputation.
By Samindra Kunti in Kigali, Rwanda
March 16 – Gianni Infantino has been re-elected FIFA president by acclamation for a four-year term until 2027. Football’s boss has also cleared a path that could see him seek to stay in power until 2031.
By Samindra Kunti in Kigali
March 16 – With FIFA’s wealth at an all-time high and his power base consolidated, FIFA president Gianni Infantino called on “unity” in the football family with the world federation in a “strong” and “stable” position, having “regained the trust of sponsors and institutions”.
March 16 – Speaking at the FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, FIFA’s chief of global development Arsene Wenger outlined plans for FIFA to create a youth development academy in every country of the world by 2026.
March 16 – Spain’s La Liga has thrown the book at FIFA for overhauling the international match calendar without sufficient consultation, in particular expanding the Club World Cup from seven to 32 teams from 2025.