Guatemala 0-1 Panama:
June 20 – Friday night at Q2 Stadium bore no resemblance to the venue that hosted football just 24 hours earlier. The transformation was complete, and the catalyst was simple: unbridled passion provided by the hordes of Guatemala supporters who descended on Austin. Stark contrast to the lack of interest shown by US fans on Thursday.
By Mark Baber
February 14 – An updated study of Stadium Naming Rights by Duff & Phelps, the global valuation and corporate finance advisor, finds market rates of Premier League stadium naming rights have increased by over 80% over the last four years – rising from £74.6 million in 2013 to £135.6 mllion in 2017.
February 14 – Los Angeles is being given more time to submit its bid to be one of the host cities for the 2026 World Cup.
February 14 – A former English league coach has been found guilty of multiple sex offences in the 1980s in the latest development in the abuse scandal that has shocked the country.
February 14 – Uruguayan club Nacional have been fined $80,000 and their fans banned for three away games for taunting Brazilian rivals Chapecoense about the plane crash which killed 71 people including 19 Chapecoense players and staff in November 2016.
By Paul Nicholson
February 14 – The Jersey FA is seeking to become the 56th member of UEFA at the confederation’s Congress in Bratislava, Slovakia, next week. The island nation, part of the British Isles, has increased its lobbying and sharpened its case for inclusion, including making its case to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
February 14 – Tottenham Hotspur broke the Premier League attendance record for the third time this season with 83,222 at Wembley Stadium watching their 1-0 win over fierce local rivals Arsenal.
February 14 – German giant Bayern Munich has formed a player development alliance with MLS side FC Dallas to provide a pathway for players in their professional academies inot the game in Germany and the US.
February 13 – Inter Milan have expanded their academy programme into Indonesia with the launch of Inter Academy Indonesia that will see Italian coaches working in partnership with PERSIB Bandung and its elite academy.
February 13 – Who says sport and politics don’t mix? With Ukrainian journalists having already been refused accreditation by their national fa and having to approach FIFA directly, Ukraine’s public broadcaster has now decided not to show any of the games in Russia.
February 2 – As controversial refereeing decisions go, few are as worthy of condemnation as the booking meted out over the weekend to Nice’s former Italian international striker Mario Balotelli after he reportedly claimed he was the victim of racist chanting during a top-flight French game.
February 13 – Just days after a FIFA delegation led by secretary general Fatma Samoura, met with Spanish officials to discuss concerns about government interference in the aftermath of veteran powerbroker Angel Villar’s demise, the Spanish football federation (RFEF) announced it is finally holding elections in April to select Villar’s replacement.
February 13 – La Liga and Serie A are in battle for the services of Javier Tebas, the longstanding and mercurial Spanish league president. The Italian league has made an approach to lure him away from Spain.
February 13 – In a rare intervention, UEFA have stepped in to order referees to provide greater protection to Europe’s top players during the knockout stages of the Champions League.
February 13 – FIFA is facing calls from human rights organisations to scrap Chechnya as a World Cup base for Egypt this summer.
February 13 – Champions League sponsor Mastercard, who last week extended its 24-year partnership for another three-year cycle to 2021, has called up Pele to activate the brand sponsorship in advance of the last 16 knockout rounds.