Costa Rica 4 Suriname 3
June 15 – With the baking sun of a sweltering San Diego day in Southern California giving way to a cool evening, Costa Rica went from red hot to freezing cold as they threw away their lead and had to battle back to win with 10 men and a penalty more than 10 minutes into added time.
June 7 – UEFA have welcomed the new mood of co-operation with Europe’s major leagues but have made it clear that giving them a greater say in the decision-making process affecting European football must be rubber-stamped by the entire UEFA membership.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 6 – After months of thorny negotiations, Europe’s major leagues say they have ended their long-running dispute with UEFA after being promised a greater say in the decision-making process, not least when it comes to Champions League fixtures.
June 6 – The U20 World Cup progressed to the semi-final stages in South Korea with England, Italy, Uruguay and Venezuela ensuring that it will be a Europe vs South America final. But not before there was proof that video technology is still very much at the experimental stage and needs fine-tuning after an incident that saw Italy’s Giuseppe Pezzella shown his marching orders in controversial circumstances.
June 6 – Big players do big things. While Ronaldo was scoring two goals to win the Champions League final in Cardiff, Wales, with Real Madrid, Lionel Messi was in Beijing launching a football theme park that will bear his name in Naijing, China.
June 6 – Egyptian giants Al Ahly and Zamalek have announced they will boycott the Qatari-owned television network beIN Sports following the damaging diplomatic rift between Qatar and several Arab countries, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 6 – FIFA has been drawn into the escalating diplomatic crisis surrounding Qatar as speculation intensifies over the extent, if any, to which the rift with its neighbours and other Arab nations might impact on preparations to stage the 2022 World Cup.
June 6 – CONCACAF has signed the Allstate Insurance Company as its Official Insurance Sponsor for all championships for the next four years. No figure has been disclosed for the deal that also included four-year renewals of deals with the MLS and the Mexican national team’s US tours.
June 6 – Tributes are pouring in following the tragic death at the age of 30 of Ivory Coast international Cheick Tiote who collapsed during a training session in China.
June 6 – Former Guatemalan FA general secretary Hector Trujillo, arrested in the US while on a Disney cruise ship with his family in Florida, has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the Brooklyn federal court, New York. Trujillo was arrested in the US Department of Justice probe into corruption in football.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 5 – FIFA’s controversial decision to replace its ethics and governance chiefs has burst back into the public arena, with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin revealing that an official letter has been sent by his organisation to world football’s governing body complaining about the lack of communication over the decision-making process.
June 5 – The first football sponsorship fall-out from the cutting of diplomatic ties by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt with Qatar, has been the cancellation of Saudi club Al Ahli’s shirt deal with Qatar Airways.
June 5 – The city of Turin is recovering not only from Juventus’ heartbreaking Champions League defeat on Saturday but also from a terrifying incident in the city centre where more than 1,500 people were injured after what appeared to be a firecracker – mistaken for an explosion – provoked a stampede.
June 5 – With less than two weeks to go before the tournament starts, FIFA has secured a domestic TV deal in Russia to broadcast the 2017 Confederations Cup and 2018 World Cup with national sports channel Match-TV.
By Samindra Kunti in Cardiff
June 4 – Real Madrid were crowned European champions for a 12th time after comprehensively defeating Juventus 4-1 in the Champions League final. Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice for Madrid to retain their European title, a historic feat.
June 6 – Australian football, currently challenged by a slow moving reform process at federation level, has better news for stakeholders on the broadcast front with Ten Network announcing it has acquired the exclusive free-to-air rights to A-league and national team matches.