April 8 – Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Maracana stadium won’t be renamed after Pele following a decision by state legislators. The proposal for a name change had been mired in controversy.
By Paul Nicholson
April 7 – Controversial AEK Athens owner Dimitris Melissanidis has again hit the headlines in Greece where he could be facing a life ban from football.
April 7 – The financial fall out of Serie A’s failure to back beIN Sport in its battle against piracy and in particular Saudi-focussed BeoutQ has now come home to roost via a drop in overseas broadcast rights that could be as much as €150 million annually.
April 7 – Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela, who was at the centre of a racism storm last month, has been provisionally suspended for one game by UEFA ahead of a full hearing.
April 7 – Ten clubs from the English Football League Championship placed under a transfer embargo last month are arguing that the English Football League (EFL) rules have not taken into account new government rules on company filings and that they are being unlawfully restricted.
April 7 – Bundesliga outfit Hertha Berlin have dismissed their goalkeeping coach Zsolt Petry over homophobic and anti-migrant comments that he made in an interview with Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet, citing that Petry’s values were incompatible with those of the club.
April 7 – MLS team San Jose Earthquakes have sealed a ten-year stadium naming rights deal with PayPal in a deal estimated at more than $20 million, according to local sources.
April 6 – South Africa’s leading football official Danny Jordaan (pictured right) has been appointed as a special advisor on sports and marketing to African supremo Patrice Motsepe (pictured left).
April 6 – After being empty for more than year because of the coronavirus pandemic, Wembley will welcome 8,000 fans for this month’s League Cup final between holders Manchester City, who are going for a unique quadruple of trophies, and Tottenham Hotspur.
April 6 – Umbro and the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) have extended their partnership to sponsor the country’s national teams in a new four-year deal.
April 6 – Valencia’s La Liga fixture at Cádiz on Sunday was suspended for 20 minutes after the visitors walked off the pitch in solidarity with one of their players who said he was subjected to racist abuse.
Without fans football has at times been void of excitement during the coronavirus pandemic. Football is not just about the players and the ball but rather the atmosphere created by the game and the fans on the stands. There are countless situations in football history where fans have lit football matches with crazy reactions.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 1 – The Confederation of African Football has rescheduled the controversially postponed Sierra Leone-Benin AFCON qualifier until the next international window June, the latest illustration of the haphazard nature of the organisation’s decision making.
April 1 – North Macedonia stunned Germany and Joachim Low 2-1 with an 85th minute winner from Eljif Elmas to record their most famous international victory, leaving Die Mannschaft’s World Cup qualification campaign in disarray.
April 1 – South Africa have sacked their coach Molefi Ntseki after Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.